The Elements Series: Power Swap

By Ryan D Pearson

After discovering his brother and true biological parents, what his Grandfather was truly capable of and Crystallic's plan to bring forth an apocalypse, will Reagan have the strength to expand his protection detail worldwide?

Having once again received a call from Division: Unknown, requesting their help, the Elements commit to worldwide missions in an attempt to combat Crystallics plan. With their group relationships still in turmoil, especially towards their latest addition, the Elements must try and overcome their personal issues to surmount blackmailers, prehistoric creatures and haughty Russians.

However, Crystallics broken seals will be the least of the Elements issues when their powers go awry. Having spent the past eighteen-months developing their powers, Reagan and his friends must start from scratch as they attempt to cure pestilence, prevent a war and deal with a group of martyrs, whilst struggling with their duties with De Ja.

Power Swap begins a new chapter of The Elements Series, challenging everything about the characters we know and love. Each character will expose more of themselves than ever before as the Elements personalities, relationships and powers are swapped. This installment dares to push the groups boundaries more and more as they chapters go on, until one member of the Elements is finally rushed to hospital at the hands of another.

• Language: English
• Publisher: AuthorHouse
• Release date: Aug 31, 2012
• ISBN: 9781477261750

Ryan D Pearson

Having grown up on the beautiful east coast beaches of Australia, and completing a bachelor of laws degree by the age of twenty-one, Ryan Pearson pursued a chance to immigrate to Montreal, Canada. After travelling through majority of the South Pacific and Northern America, immersing himself in this new ostentatious lifestyle, he took to writing in his spare time. Ryan grew up with his vivacious Mother and fun-loving sister, and was surrounded by his caring Grandparents. His inevitable goal was to share personal experiences he had overcome, coupled with a supernatural and over-zealous way of life, in the form of his character Reagan Jameson.

Book preview

1. My First Mission

It was just like déjà vu. It had only been a few months since we had been called by the same person, getting ready in the same costumes, for the same airport and on route to the same destination.

Once more we were headed for New York City.

Having collectively decided that we would take up Andrea Marshall’s offer, a representative of the United Nation’s secret division; Division: Unknown, we were once again bound for the big apple. The Elements,

a masked group of my friends and I that exhibited supernatural abilities, were beckoned to the surreptitious underground within the United Nations for a follow up meeting.

Today we planned to negotiate the terms of our agreement.

Andrea had again called my twin-sister, Renae, to ascertain our final answer on working for Division: Unknown. Though we had initially planned on declining her offer, recent information discovered through Crystallic, our most powerful enemies to date, forced us to spread our protection detail worldwide.

We needed to find out exactly what we were getting ourselves into.

After discovering that Lucifer and the seven princes of Hell had blessed Crystallic, in the name of Hades, with the power of the seven deadly sins, in return for bringing forth a global apocalypse, we realized we needed to protect more than just Oracle City. We didn’t know where, when or how they would strike, but we did know their plans were no longer limited to our home city.

It was now our duty to hinder their plans and stop the day of reckoning.

Up until this point we had still not seen or heard any signs that related to the four horsemen being summoned, the initial signs of a pending apocalypse, so we decided to take a preemptive strike. By extending our protection detail worldwide, we hoped that we would be able to stop them before they were able to start anything.

Unfortunately we really had no leads as to their whereabouts.

I tried to ignore Crystallic’s plans for now as I joined my friends. All of the bags were packed, and we were dressed in our Elements costumes, so we headed out to the foyer. Given our previous experience, where a stewardess drugged the pilots and attempted to blow up the plane we were on, we decided to take our own transport.

Neither Wyler nor I could go through that stress again.

When the elevator arrived we headed up to the roof of the penthouse and saw a helicopter waiting. We had secretly purchased this as our new way of travel, as we didn’t want to take any further risks before the big meeting. Renae had experience with flying and her speedy reflexes, as well as a helicopter full of supernatural teenagers, allowed me to expunge my concerns for the time being.

Now I simply wanted to enjoy the ride.

As Renae jumped into the pilot’s seat, I jumped in the co-pilot seat and the rest of our friends sat down along the row of seats in the back. Renae turned on the helicopter and I heard the blades begin to spin. Only about a minute had past and they were spinning so fast they could chop someone’s head clean off.

That thought made me want to gag.

Renae pointed to a set of earmuffs that were on the floor and we each placed them on our heads. They were tight, but effective. The sound of the helicopter’s blades had been drowned out almost completely. I watched as Renae began pressing a few buttons, flicking some switches and eventually twirling her finger in the air briefly to alert us we were about to take off.

My stomach began to churn.

Though I had flown numerous times, using my telekinesis, being in any type of aircraft seemed to make me feel uneasy in the air. Likely because of my third experience flying resulted in the plane going down; I now had these constant fears of crashing. This helicopter was much smaller than a plane, so my powers would have likely been able to support its weight.

That fact was reassuring.

Breaking me from my reverie was the sudden jolt of the helicopter leaving the safety of the flat roof and beginning to ascend into the clouds. I watched as Renae pulled the stick towards her before pushing it forward. As she pulled it in the various directions, we had eventually gained a decent height and had begun to hover over the De Ja Building and the rest of Oracle City.

We stayed hovering for almost twenty seconds before we began flying.

The ride was very pleasant but unfortunately I was unable to relax, even though we were safely in the air. I couldn’t enjoy the beautiful view of Oracle City or the surrounding landscape of beaches to the right or mountains to the left.

All I could think about was crashing.

No one said a word as we flew, though my friends’ minds were racing. Being blessed, or cursed—depending on which way to look at it—with the ability to hear thoughts, I knew that everyone shared the same fear of failure.

We were mere teenagers with the fate of the world’s survival over us.

Personally I had tried to hide my concerns as much as possible, given I was somewhat of the leader. Regrettably there was nothing I could really do or say to stop any of them fearing the reality that we may not actually succeed.

That thought had my stomach churning even faster.

As a way to try and keep my mind distracted I watched the clouds rushing by and the endless blue ocean below. My mind began to wander and I thought about how naïve we were seeing Andrea the last time we were at the U.N. Now we were equally as clueless as to what we were getting ourselves into.

Once again my mind was sent racing.

Andrea’s original proposal was relatively unclear, so we really had no idea what to expect now. Once more we were flying blind into the unknown, hoping that our powers and teamwork would be enough to keep us alive.

Even Renae’s ability of foresight was useless at this time.

It was clear that Andrea wanted us to work for them, using our powers to help the world like we had been in Oracle City. We also knew that they had much more advanced technology than we had, which was how they discovered we were the Elements in the first place. What we didn’t know was exactly what this new responsibility would entail.

The uncertainty had all six of us on edge.

I felt a slight nudge on my knee and I opened my eyes abruptly. At some point I had obviously fallen asleep and the bright light from outside stung. I looked to my left and watched as Fallon knocked Eli’s knee to wake him up also.

Obviously we were nearly there.

Without any further sign I felt the helicopter begin to descend, causing my stomach to churn once more. The cloud cover was making it very hard to establish exactly where we were but I knew we must have been close.

Through the clouds I could see the tip of the Empire State Building.

Connect us, Renae thought to me, and I connected the six of our minds. We are almost here now. Given we don’t exactly know how to get to Division: Unknown, I figure I will just land anywhere and have Andrea send for us.

Likely they have already been alerted of an aircraft hovering near the United Nations by now, I added, so I think it’s safe to assume Andrea has already got a car waiting for us somewhere.

True.

She pushed the stick away from her and we continued to descend even faster now. We broke through the cloud cover and, for the second time in the past few months, we saw the United Nations.

It was a sight to behold.

The huge white wall and adjacent mirrored building was surrounded by perfectly manicured gardens and healthy green grass. One hundred and ninety-three flags, representing each of the supporting nations, enclosed the grounds.

We were in awe.

Last time I hadn’t noticed how beautiful this place was, likely because of my mood, after a seemingly endless drive here. The driver had been very unhelpful and, having just survived a terrorist attack, we were all on edge.

The death of the innocent stewardess was also lingering.

The terrorist of the plane had actually been a member of Crystallic’s sister. Lust had cast a spell on her own flesh and blood in order to blow up the plane, and inevitably take out the Elements.

Wrath also added by drugging the stewardess, effectively killing her.

At the time I had been so angry and distraught, having found out the entire situation by searching Lust sister’s mind, so I was in no mood for anything. Somehow Andrea had improved my mood though, as well as Eli’s and Fallon’s, when she showed us our new toys.

I couldn’t wait to see them again.

As our helicopter landed, near the entry to the United Nations, we were greeted by an unfriendly mob of security and international police. They ran over to us yelling various things, which I supposed was understandable, but their approach was interrupted by a black limousine.

All of them began to pick up their pace.

We began to jump out of the helicopter as carefully as we could, considering the blades were still spinning. A voice from inside the limo yelled for us to jump in and it was safe to assume who it was.

Each of us ran over to the vehicle without thinking any further.

Welcome back, Andrea said, smiling her large, perfect smile when we were all inside and the car was moving.

Andrea was equally as beautiful as the last time I had seen her. The twenty-something supermodel in front of me, with ginger-blonde bangs and big blue eyes, smiled her perfectly white teeth.

Once more my day became substantially better.

Did you get here okay? She asked, pulling her hair out of her face and tucking it behind her ear. I see you made quite an entrance.

We always like to make an entrance, Fallon said, winking at Andrea.

It literally was déjà vu, but with a twist.

I was well aware that Fallon was trying so hard to keep up his usual smart-alecky persona, just so Renae didn’t notice how much pain he was truly in. When she didn’t take him back straight away, after their recent tryst, he was crushed.

Even a part of me was wishing she would get back with him.

Their relationship baffled all of us, in that they were either purposely not acknowledging each other or they were acting over-affectionately. No one knew which mood they were in and, often, neither did they.

It was a never-ending battle of pride.

Well that’s good to know, Andrea replied, nodding her head uncomfortably.

This was kind of our, like, only option, Wyler added, in a snarky tone. Especially considering last time we almost crashed in the plane you provided us.

I am still terribly sorry to hear that even happened, but you must know we had nothing to do . . . Andrea defended before being cut off by Renae.

It’s done—let’s just forget about it. Please make sure our helicopter isn’t removed; we plan on using that as our transport home.

Certainly, Andrea responded friendlily, despite the attitude of the girls. I will take care of it once we are back at our base.

Thanks, Renae replied, halfheartedly.

I must say I was very surprised to hear back a positive response, given how we left our last meeting together, Andrea added.

I would say you’re not surprised at all, I said, tapping my temples. Don’t forget I can see everything.

Andrea simply laughed in response.

Though I made the gesture, it was interesting that I couldn’t get a grip on Andrea’s thoughts. They seemed to be blurred for some reason. It wasn’t the first time I had come across this though, and still I was equally confused.

It didn’t make sense.

I hadn’t noticed it as much the first time I had met Andrea but now, when we were in close proximity, I remembered the last time I had experienced this. On one of the first jobs the Elements had taken on in Oracle City, a gas station had been set on fire by two thugs and both were holding several customers hostage.

Given I was the only Element there, I went in alone.

When I was inside the gas station I realized that there was a young girl in her twenties coordinating the entire operation. She had held me at gunpoint before I had taken control of her with my telekinesis. Once the hostages were released and one of the thugs were arrested, the girl told me the other thug had captured Renae.

Immediately I went into hysterics at the thought of losing my sister.

I tried searching this girl’s mind but it was just a blur of thoughts. Her mind wasn’t silent, like Renae’s had been when Crystallic cast the spell on her to grant her powers, but it was nowhere near as clear as any regular person’s thoughts.

It made no sense.

One of my greatest regrets to date was what happened to that girl. After continuing to threaten my friends’, my sister’s and my safety, I had begun using my telekinesis and kinetic energy pulses to force her to tell me where my sister was.

I had left her lying on the floor with broken bones and bleeding.

In my state of rage and fear I couldn’t control myself. Eventually the walls within the station had begun to crack, from my powers being forced upon them, and a piece of concrete landed on a gas pipe.

The resulting explosion ensured nothing could survive.

I had been lucky enough to be protected by Eli’s shield of rock, in addition to my own shield, just in time for the explosion to occur. My friends hadn’t noticed the girl but she still sometimes haunted my nightmares.

If the gas pipe hadn’t killed her, I just might have.

The only other time was when Mackenna was being held hostage by a man at knifepoint, in downtown Oracle City. His mind was all muddled and I couldn’t get a read on any of his thoughts at all.

However, in that situation, he was quite clearly on drugs.

Yes I can imagine you can, Andrea said, smiling widely at me.

And we are well aware that you can see everything too, Izzy added, glaring at Andrea. Still watching over our apartment I assume?

That was another thing I had noticed lately.

Even though I genuinely believed my girlfriend, Isabel De’ Morgan, could do no wrong, lately she had been showing me a side of her I never knew existed. Though my track record wasn’t the best, given I had inadvertently kissed a number of girls whilst dating her, she was forever jealous of any girl who spoke to me.

Given that I was publicly recognized as Reagane that was an issue.

We had spoken about this a few times, but no matter what, she still despised me for what happened with Mackenna and the stewardess. Even though I had clarified that Mackenna was actually my half-sister, she still was on edge.

It was incredibly frustrating.

I really didn’t know how to address it to her though, or who to speak to. Given my best friend, Eli, was her brother, and my second best friend was Fallon; enough said, I really had no male friend I could speak to about issues I was having in my relationship.

Each of them had some connection to my love life.

Of course there was Joe, my legal guardian, but I always felt weird talking about this sort of stuff to him. There was Roman, my long-lost brother, but he had a lot going on in his own life right now; with his ‘sister’ missing and the loss of his father.

The only other person was Renae, but, being a girl, it wasn’t the same.

Not just you, Andrea retorted, dismissing Izzy’s accusation. We need to keep an eye on everyone—it’s our job. Keeping an eye and ear out for potential danger allows us to be somewhat prepared for when dire things happen.

What do you mean by that? I asked.

Well, when there is limited to no technology around a terrorist organization, there is no way for us to see or hear what they are planning. Some of the worst disasters over the past fifty years have been prevented due to our constant surveillance. People believe that, just because they have a personal phone, computer or device, no one is listening. They couldn’t be more wrong.

Like, how is that a good thing? Wyler snapped.

"National and international security is our paramount concern. You never hear about the countless disasters we have averted through our work within Division: Unknown. In saying that, some disasters have occurred before we were able to do anything about it because we haven’t had the manpower or skill to pull it off."

That’s where we come in? I guessed.

Exactly, she replied, smiling at me and giggling. Obviously you can hear my thoughts.

She had no idea I couldn’t hear her clearly.

So, what you’re saying, Renae clarified, is that what we hear on the news is where you have failed. We never hear when you succeed?

What? Fallon and Wyler screamed in unison, clearly surprised.

Where we have failed in the past, you six will not, Andrea retorted. "You have an advantage of manipulating the elements, which our mercenaries do not. You have the power to stop terrorists from one country attacking another, from using their weapons as a means of bargaining and preventing important technology getting in the wrong hands. You will be able to save the world more times in one month, than we have been able to in six—but we can go into that later."

How? I pushed, anyway.

"Well, we will tell you where to go, when to go and how to get wherever you need to be. The technology we have is so elite that we are certain Division: Unknown will finally achieve our primary goal since its origin—world peace."

Sounds like a beauty pageant, Wyler said, sarcastically.

Fallon, Eli and Izzy laughed.

It may sound that way, Wyler, Andrea chided. "The difference is we are doing much more to achieve our goals than anybody, outside Division: Unknown, is aware of."

No recognition? Fallon and Wyler scoffed in unison.

What we are saying, Renae reasoned, is that your failures are made public but when you succeed it is kept a secret. How can people respect that? How can people appreciate what you have done for them?

How can people recognize you for it? Wyler added.

I understand that you are more accustomed to making quite a spectacle of your achievements, Andrea said matter-of-factly, though clearly making a stab at our need for the public’s approval of what we did. "Your generation seems to have an obsession with publicizing what you do; be it saving a hostage or checking in at a fast-food restaurant, via Facebook.

We, however, believe that helping others is satisfaction enough—we are content with that, even if our failures are ‘publicized.’ Though what you do is commendable, it is child’s play in comparison to what you have the potential to accomplish. We want to take advantage of each of your abilities in situations that actually require manipulating fire, water, earth and weather, rather than using them to stop a robbery, for example.

Wyler simply scoffed.

I had to admit her logic was intriguing and, to some extent, I agreed with her—helping others was usually satisfaction enough. The only reason we became public in the first place was to draw out Crystallic, after their first attack on the Oracle City Museum.

Admittedly, since then we had begun to relish being in the limelight.

The thoughts of my friends around me were interesting; both agreeing and contesting my unspoken opinion. Eli and Fallon seemed to be so intrigued by Andrea that anything she said they would have agreed to. Izzy seemed to detest the fact she kept smiling at me, thereby disagreeing, and Wyler despised Andrea simply on the basis that Izzy seemed to.

Renae’s opinion seemed to be the only one that I listened to.

Renae was using her ability to read emotions to try and grasp why she had this severe hatred towards this woman she had only met one other time. She ruled out anything to do with Fallon flirting with her, though I wasn’t so sure that didn’t play a part, but there was something about Andrea that she just couldn’t trust.

She felt uneasy just being around her.

It was fascinating that we guys were all so taken back by this beautiful, intelligent and technologically savvy woman in front of us, though the girls were the complete opposite. I could not fathom why they would be feeling this way when Andrea was offering us such an opportunity to help the entire world, not just our city.

Once again my ability to read minds was no help understanding women.

Before anyone had an opportunity to say anything further, the limousine stopped. We all waited as someone opened the door for us to exit and, though I should have expected this sort of immaturity, Andrea, Wyler, Izzy and Renae all stood up at once to exit, silently fighting to be the first one out.

Eli, Fallon and I simply shook our heads.

As we all grouped together, outside of the limo, Andrea beckoned us forward. Again we went through the same routine by passing the infinite hallway, which was actually an elevator in disguise, but this time we simply stood in place as opposed to walking through each door.

Soon we were back at the boardroom we had been last time.

The room contained a large pine desk with twenty or so leather chairs surrounding it. There was that same, random black disk in the centre of the table but no windows or view of what actually lay outside this room.

Andrea gestured for us all to take a seat.

Perhaps, before I take you back on the main floor, I may be able to answer some questions you have, Andrea said, smiling at us. I think there may be a few of you who have a few things you would like to get off your chest.

I think that may be best, I said, failing to hide my widening smile.

Andrea winked at me, but kept her professional façade in tact.

"Well I think the first question should be, what exactly we will be doing for you?" Wyler asked, sitting back in the chair and folding her arms.

Good question Wyler, Andrea replied, as Wyler shivered at her name being used despite being in her Wind costume. You will be deployed, either as a team or in teams; where the situation only requires a few of your powers, to perform tasks as instructed. Each of you is aware that we can monitor almost anything, so we will be aware when an attack is imminent or not. We will ensure that your powers are being put to the best use in every situation, so neither your time nor ours is being wasted.

That doesn’t answer my question, Wyler retorted.

Let me put it this way. Andrea’s patience was starting to wear thin and it was highly amusing to the girls. There is no short answer to your question; when we know what you will be required for, you will be immediately informed. It will be nothing you can’t handle.

The best you have is ‘when you know, we will know’? Renae asked, condescendingly.

Wyler went to speak again but I interrupted.

Look guys, I said, leaning forward and using a tone to show I wasn’t joking. "We technically already know what we are in for. We don’t know who or what we’ll be up against, just like on any regular mission in Oracle City. We do know that we have Andrea and Division: Unknown to assist us in putting our powers to better use on a worldwide scale, right?"

Right, Andrea confirmed. "You have already seen what we can offer as a means of transport and you can take it with you today, if you wish. I am under the impression you have a helipad on the De Ja Building."

Yup, I said.

Great.

I think we also want to know when we will be required and for how long? Renae said.

Good question, Andrea said, smiling. Again the simple answer is when we know, you will know. We will only be using you in situations that we cannot handle ourselves, so we shouldn’t be using too much more or your time than you already give to being the Elements.

Fair, I said, simply.

So what you are saying is that you want us to commit to your little ‘gang’ here without knowing anything? Izzy sneered.

I honestly do not know what to tell you short of sharing classified information on previous missions, Andrea replied, before adding, which will not be happening.

"Did the Justice League know every mission before it happened? Or the Avengers? Fallon asked, seemingly rhetorically. Same principle here."

You are such a nerd, Wyler jeered.

Maybe everyone would feel more comfortable seeing the jet again, I suggested.

Absolutely, but I do have one question for you? Andrea said. When is Roman going to be joining us?

We all sat there silently.

Though she posed a very good question, and we technically had considered asking my long lost brother to join our team, we hadn’t asked him as yet. Roman recently discovered my friends and I were the Elements and showed us that he had powers of his own, when he rescued us from Crystallic.

We weren’t sure if we wanted to drag him into this life though.

Roman would definitely have been an asset to our team, however life as a member of the Elements wasn’t always as glamorous as it seemed. We would constantly be making excuses to get out of things in order to perform a mission, which involved lying to the people we most cared about regarding our true identities and whereabouts. Also our lives were constantly being put in danger against criminals with weapons or people with powers.

Now we were going to spread ourselves even thinner.

Fallon’s hesitancy towards offering my brother a place on the Elements definitely had a lot to do with it too. For whatever reason, my friend held a lot of animosity towards Roman and was not shy about expressing his true feelings.

They had seemingly made amends, but to what end I wasn’t sure.

We haven’t asked him yet, I answered simply.

I see that, she replied. Why not, though?

Is that really important? Renae interjected.

No I suppose not. Though I do believe he would be a very valuable member to this little grouping. I have personally seen what he is capable of and I am impressed.

Maybe you should show us that plane now, Renae recommended, between gritted teeth.

Good idea, Andrea replied, seeing the unimpressed faces around her.

Before continuing, Andrea opened a small box on the desk and pressed the black button, just like last time. As she did, the gigantic wall began sliding up into the ceiling as if it were a blind.

Behind it was the same scene from before; fit for a sci-fi movie.

There was a gigantic room easily the size of ten Yankee stadiums. In it were thousands of people in the same standardized uniform; a loose black jumpsuit and silver accessories. There were gigantic tanks of water containing submarines; helicopters flying around in the air; jets that went in and out of focus before our eyes; computer screens covering a hundred-meter distance with a hundred or more people watching over them.

I was as equally stunned now as the first time.

Andrea opened a door, that seemed to blend in with the wall, and held it open for us as we walked down the stairs to the main floor. Once we were grouped downstairs, she led us through the mass of people and machinery.

Fallon and Eli were having a field day watching all of this.

We all walked down to a golf cart that was waiting for us at the base of the stairs. It was large enough to fit all seven of us, including the driver that drove us through the various weapons, peoples and other forms of technology.

As we continued to drive I was suddenly happy we didn’t have to walk.

One thing that did surprise me though was how unphased these people were by the six of us walking through the workplace, dressed like superheroes. It was as if they had seen us a hundred times before and the novelty of people with powers had worn off.

I supposed it was better than the alternative; them staring at us.

Here it is—your present, Andrea presented, grabbing a clipboard off one of the workers.

Another thing I had noticed now, and not from the last visit, was that each worker seemed to be dressed in a black jumpsuit and a silver stripe down the sides. They all wore a thick silver belt, silver gloves and boots. From afar you couldn’t see the detail within the silver; a repeated symbol that I felt I had seen before but couldn’t place.

Andrea however was not wearing this attire.

Not that I hadn’t noticed before what she was wearing, but I was more concerned with how great she looked in her clothes. She was wearing a white turtleneck dress in a satin fabric that clung to her beautifully, accentuating each part of her that guys wanted to see, and a thick black belt across her waist.

She was gorgeous.

Now, Andrea said, as the back of the gigantic aircraft started to open. Follow me and I will show you each of the items.

We followed her in.

This is awesome! Fallon cheered, fist-bumping Eli and myself.

"Given you will not be based here, like our other teams, we are giving you an assortment of transportation to aide in any situation you may be presented with. Inside you will find three motorbikes, three jet skis, three snow skis, one mini-submarine, one Jeep Hurricane, one helicopter and one speed boat."

Woah! I said, as I saw each of the mentioned vehicles in front of me.

When I looked closely at each vehicle revealed, I realized that each was branded with the Elements symbol. The Elements symbol was worn on each of our belts and featured on each of our watches, when they were transformed from a regular watch.

There was a button on each that activated the Elements watch.

Our Elements symbol was a pentagram surrounded by a circle and a large ‘E’ in the centre. It represented the original pentagram that we stood in when we were granted our powers; five points symbolizing the original five Elements. The circle around it represented spirit, protecting each of the Elements.

The large ‘E’ was simply the first letter of our team.

Each of our belts and watches matched the color of our base elements; brown for earth, blue for water, white for air and red for fire. Orange and purple were given for Mind and Spirit, respectively, because we didn’t necessarily have a designated color.

On the equipment, though, the Elements symbols were black.

Now each has its place and is complete with a communication device, to keep in contact with us here, and a tracking device . . .

So you can keep tabs on us, Wyler said, completing Andrea’s sentence.

So we know you are safe, Andrea corrected, trying not to sound patronizing but not entirely succeeding.

Wyler rolled her eyes and walked up to one of the bikes.

Sure, Izzy mumbled, under her breath.

"Knowing where