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It didn’t work.

He sat on the sidewalk near the pier, water and something black and foul dripping off him, hands handcuffed behind his back, two cops standing in front of him, arms crossed. Their patrol car was behind them, the light bar flashing red and blue.

“Okay,” the cop on the left said. “Let’s go through this one more time. You jumped into the river because…”

Nick sighed. “Because I wanted to go swimming. That’s not illegal. I’m a citizen of Nova City. I know my rights!”

The cop on the right snorted. “You broke at least three city ordinances, kid. There’s a reason you can’t go swimming here.”

“Well, then there should be a sign that says that!”

“Like the one right over there?” Left Cop said, pointing to a large sign about five feet away that showed a black stick figure jumping into black triangles with a big redXgoing right through the middle.

“That could mean anything,” Nick muttered. “For all I know, that means don’t jump onto shark fins.”

“And the words right underneath that say something about absolutely no swimming?” Right Cop asked.

Nick shivered. He was cold and smelled like ass. “I have ADHD. Sometimes, it’s hard for me to focus. Are you holding me responsible for my disability? Because I’ll have you know, that’s just cruel.”

Left Cop snorted. “Mr. Bell, I highly doubt it affects your reading comprehension.”

“Yeah,” Nick said. “That was low, even for me. There are people out there with worse disabilities, and also people who actually can’t read. I feel bad now. You know what? I’ve learned my lesson andhumbly ask that we forget all about it. How about you let me out of the cuffs and I’ll promise to never do anything like this again? My friends can hold me to that promise.” He nodded toward Jazz and Gibby who stood next to the cop car. Jazz waved at him. He tried to wave back, but since his hands were still handcuffed, he could only jerk his elbow a little bit. “How about it, guys? Everything good?”

“What do you think?” Right Cop asked Left Cop.

“It could work,” Left Cop said. “But then, we’ve already radioed dispatch. And I haven’t arrested anyone today. You know how I get when I haven’t arrested someone in a while.”

“There is that,” Right Cop said. “And also, Aaron Bell would probably be upset that we let his son go when we were told in no uncertain terms releasing him wasn’t going to happen.”

Nick panicked. “You know mydad? I mean, I have no idea who Aaron Bell is. He sounds devious. You should ignore him.”

“Says the guy who jumped into the Westfield River wearing nothing but his underwear and a ring for drag queens.”

“It’s not for drag queens!”

Right Cop rolled his eyes. “My son performs at a bar in midtown as Ivy Chantal. He’s got the same ring, kid.”

“How’s he doing with that?” Left Cop asked.

“Great,” Right Cop said. “Makes good money for school with his performances. Helps out his old man quite a bit. Books are expensive these days.”

“That’s wonderful,” Left Cop said. “I had a blast when we went last time. We’ll have to do it again. Mr. Bell, by order of your father, you are under arrest. You have the right to remain silent. Anything you say can and will be used—”

“Record this,” Nick bellowed at Jazz and Gibby. “Record this so I can use this in a lawsuit I’m going to file against my dad and the city for police brutality! I will have—”

“—my vengeance,” Nick’s tinny little voice said from the phone sitting on the table in the interrogation room. “I will have my vengeance!”

The video cut off.

“Gibby didn’t need to forward the video to you,” Nick muttered, laying on his arms on the table. “That was rude.”

Cap snorted and pulled his phone back in front of him. “I hope your friendship survives.”

“And the dust mask you’re wearing is a little overkill, don’t you think?”

Cap adjusted the strap around his head. His mustache stuck out oddly from the sides of the mask. “You smell terrible.”