“Alright,” Ocean adjusted the watch around his wrist. “Let’s go over this one more time.”

The nine of them stood huddled up in a circle, just outside of the convention center. A long line of people steadily made their way into the building behind them.

“Hold on a sec,” Liliana put up her hand and pointed to a man in a blazer standing next to Luca. “Who is this exactly?”

“I’m Marco,” the man gave them a slimy smile. “I’m a friend of your uncle.”

“Don’t worry about him,” Luca sighed.

“I mean, I appreciate the extra help and everything,” Liliana pouted. “The two of you just kind of mess up our team name.”

“Uhh,” Ocean narrowed his eyes. “We have a team name?”

Liliana narrowed her eyes back. “Well it was going to be Lucky Seven.”

“Lucky seven?” Luca sounded agitated.

“Seven is lucky,” Liliana groaned. “Duh.”

Luca waited a moment before responding. “Liliana, you’re Italian,” he said. “Thirteen is our lucky number.”

Ocean had never heard of that before. Why was it unlucky here anyway?

“Well we don’t have thirteen people either,” Liliana said. “We have nine, and nine doesn’t mean anything.”

“Buddha had nine virtues,” Xavier said. “How’s that?”

“Really?” Liliana turned toward him. “Are those lucky?”

“We don’t have nine people though,” Ruby suddenly spoke up. “We have ten.”

“Ten?” Ocean looked around the circle. “I get that math isn’t your strong suit but…”

“Cory,” Ruby smiled. “We have Cory too.”

“I guess you’re right,” Liliana started laughing. “Lucky Ten is kind of cool, I guess.”

“This is so cheesy,” Celeste said under her breath, but obviously loud enough for Ocean to hear it. He thought about joining in just to bother her, but he stopped himself. They didn’t have time to fool around. Their lives were going to be in danger.

They were going to kill someone.

“Alright, it doesn’t matter what our name is,” Ocean said, changing his tone to a more serious one. “Focus on the plan.”

The sound of people entering the convention center filled the air as they went quiet. Everyone but Marco looked over to Ocean.

“Like Luca said, his methods don’t make any sense,” Ocean said. “He acts like he wants to be caught.”

“Yeah,” Luca said. “Otherwise… he would have killed me when he killed my partner.”

“I wish he had so it would save me the trouble,” Marco sighed.

“Huh?” Ruby’s eyes went wide.

“Are you… sure this guy is okay?” Celeste asked as Ruby hid behind her.

“Uncle Luca…” Liliana put her hands on her hips.

“It’s between the two of us,” Luca said. “He’s not going to lay a finger on anyone else.”

“Alright, we seriously need to set some ground rules about talking,” Ocean groaned. “We need to get this out of the way before the event starts.”

Everyone went quiet again.

“Sorry,” Quinn said. She hadn’t even said anything in the first place.

“Anyway,” he cleared his throat. “If the killer really has a burn mark, I don’t think he’s going to try and hide it. In fact, he’ll keep it out in the open for us.”

“That’s crazy,” Liliana said.

“Well I think it’s safe to say we’re not dealing with someone ‘sane’,” Ocean responded. “For all intents and purposes, I don’t think this is anything more than a game for him, a game that he thinks he’s in control of. We can use that confidence against him.”

“Let’s hurry this up,” Pietro looked behind them. “We only have about fifteen minutes before it starts.”

Ocean nodded. “Pietro and I are going to start by identifying our target. If we find a white guy with a burn mark on his hand, then I’ll approach him. Pietro will stick close by me just in case he tries to grab me or something.”

“Got it,” Pietro said.

“Xavier, I need you to stand back a little farther,” Ocean said. “I don’t want him knowing where you are when the plan starts.”

Xavier put his hand on his chin and scratched at his stubble. “Alright.”

“Celeste and Ruby,” Ocean turned to them next. “I want the two of you up on the second floor, looking down over the balcony.”

“Do we really have to be up that high?” Ruby asked.

“It’s fine,” Celeste put her arm around Ruby. “It’ll be easier to target him for there anyway. Besides, we’ll be safer from there. I’m not throwing my life away for this.”

“Good,” Ocean flashed her a smile. She gave him a grimace in return. “When I confirm that he’s the killer, I’ll give the signal. That’s when the two of you will freeze him, and Xavier will cut his hand off.”

“It might be tough to get through the crowd without hurting them,” Xavier said. “But I’ll manage.”

“Okay,” Ocean took a deep breath. “Liliana, Luca, Pietro, and uh… Marco? Since we have watches, we’re part of plan B. If he manages to stop time, we’ll have to stop him ourselves.”

“Not me,” Marco said.

Ocean looked at Luca, and then back to Marco. “What do you mean?”

“I’m saying that I’m not a part of your little plan,” Marco stood up straight.

“Then why are you here exactly?”

“I’m here to make sure that I’m the one that kills Luca,” Marco said the words like it was the most normal statement in the world. “I’m not intervening unless I think he’s in trouble.”

“Then you’re not getting involved,” Luca said. “Because I’m not dying here today.”

Ocean exchanged a look with Liliana. What they were doing was so ridiculous, he supposed they shouldn’t be surprised about this.

“Uhh, whatever then,” Ocean sighed. “Just don’t get in the way.”

“I won’t,” Marco gave him a smile that send chills down his spine. Ocean started to wonder if maybe more people involved didn’t necessarily mean a higher chance of success.

“And me?” Quinn’s voice snapped him back to his senses. “Do I just keep jumping then?”

“Oh yeah,” Ocean gave her a thumbs up. “Like we talked about before, just keep jumping. Hopefully it won’t even have to come to that though.”

“Like a rabbit,” Quinn put her thumb up too. “Got it.”

“Okay, that’s everyone,” Ocean said. “Any questions before we head in there?”

“Yeah, right here,” Celeste raised her hand with an annoyed look on her face. “Why exactly do you need to be the one to go up to him? Just have the samurai guy do it.”

“We can’t,” Ocean turned to Xavier. “No offense, but you’re kind of an intimidating guy.”

Xavier smiled. “None taken.”

“If Xavier does it, he might immediately active his watch right there,” Ocean turned back to Celeste. “That will totally ruin our element of surprise.”

“Ocean, I know you and Liliana just got those watches,” Luca spoke up. “But I think you should give them to Xavier and Quinn.”

“Uncle Luca!” Liliana yelled.

“I’ll hear nothing of the sort,” Xavier said.

Luca looked at Xavier with fire in his eyes. “Excuse me?”

“This fight belongs to them,” Xavier smiled. “If it comes down to it, they should be the ones to finish things.”

“Agreed,” Quinn said.

“They’re just kids,” Luca’s voice came out rough. “I think we can all agree the watches would go to better use if you had them. We’re putting our lives on the line here, remember?”

“I… agree with him,” Pietro said. He tried to avoid eye contact with Liliana.

“Yes, and we’re putting our lives on the line too,’ Xavier crossed his arms. “And we’re doing it for these two.” He pointed over at Ocean and Liliana. “If I fail at my job, then I’ll leave it to them.”

“You’re insane,” Luca said.

“Perhaps.”

“Ocean,” Luca turned to him next. “If you really care about Cory, then you’ll give up those watches.”

He felt Liliana’s hand grab his, and his heart skipped a beat. “I’m sorry,” Ocean looked at Luca unblinking. “But we’ve made up our minds.”

“If anything happens to my niece, it’s on you,” Luca’s eyes were fierce. “I mean it.”

“For the last time, I’m not a kid,” Liliana held his hand tight. “If you’re really that worried, then just shut up and help me.”

Luca seemed surprised by her sudden outburst. He opened his mouth, but Ocean cut him off.

“This is pointless,” Ocean said. “We’re here, and this is happening the way we want it to. If you don’t like that and you want to back out, this is your time to do it.”

Everyone around the circle was totally silent. No one moved.

“Then we’re doing this,” Ocean said.

“Fine,” Luca spit on the ground. “But I’m serious about what I said. You better protect her with everything you have.”

Pietro put his hand over his face and let out a deep sigh.

“Let’s go!” Liliana threw her fist into the air.

“Wait,” Ocean yelled. They all turned back to look at him. “One more thing.”

“Huh?” Liliana sounded disappointed.

“Judging from the stage they set up, Sadie’s going to perform before the autograph session actually happens,” Ocean said. “It doesn’t look like they’re having people line up inside either, so we’ll have an opportunity to look around the crowd before that.”

“Seriously?” Liliana’s mouth opened. “Maybe she’ll play Magic Kiss.”

“She’s not going to play anything,” Ocean cut her off. “We’re going to catch him before that, and that means that this event isn’t going to happen. If everything goes according to plan, then people are going to panic. If we have to go to plan B… well, things are going to be even worse.”

“There’s no helping it,” Pietro said. “If things happen like you want them to, then any one of us could be arrested.”

“A… Arrested?” Ruby looked like she might faint.

“You and Celeste will be fine,” Ocean reassured her. “You’ll both be far enough away that no one will know you were even involved.”

Ruby swallowed hard. “Okay…”

They were all quiet for a moment.

“We gotta go,” Pietro said.

“Yeah,” Ocean nodded.

“Should we all put our hands in the middle or something?” Liliana suddenly got excited. “We could yell ‘1, 2, 3, Lucky Ten’!”

“Yeah, not happening,” Celeste frowned.

Liliana puffed out her cheeks. “You guys are no fun.”

With that, the nine of them turned and walked toward the entrance. Ocean’s head ached. Trying to keep that many people on topic was exhausting.

When there was some distance between them and the rest of the group, Liliana grabbed Ocean by the sleeve of his shirt.

“What’s up?” he asked.

“Are… you okay?” she looked down at the ground.

“Where’s all this coming from all of a sudden?”

“It’s just that…” She looked up at him, her eyes glassy. “You don’t seem nervous about this.”

“Liliana,” Ocean placed his hands on her shoulders and looked her directly in the eyes. “I’ve never been so scared in my entire life.”

“Me too,” she smiled. “Tell me everything’s going to work out.”

“Yeah, we’re going to be fine,” Ocean said. “We’re only catching a murderer, after all.”

“Thanks, Ocean.”

They hurried after everyone else, and into the convention center. Inside, hundreds of people were crowded around in front of a stage. The majority of the ceiling was covered with huge windows, filling the room with natural light.

He gave Liliana one last look, and they parted ways.

Pietro was standing over by a pillar. Ocean nodded to him and the two started walking around the floor.

Ocean passed by man after man, trying his best to get a look at their hands. Minutes passed. If their hands were in their pockets or obscured, he skipped them altogether. The concert would start soon, and he wanted to end this before then.

He glanced up at the second floor. It looked like Ruby and Celeste were already in place on opposite sides. He could see Xavier a distance away from him, keeping an eye on him.

He moved deeper into the crowd. Still no sight of any burn marks. As he moved to move a little deeper, a voice came from behind him.

“Shields.”

He turned to see Jaden standing there with a big stupid grin on his face.

“Jaden,” he let out a deep sigh and his heart calmed down.

“I didn’t know you liked Sadie Quasar,” Jaden said. “Guess your taste isn’t so bad after all.”

“Yeah, she’s great,” Ocean dismissed him, continuing to look around.

“Well I’m going to get a lot more than just an autograph,” Jaden smiled. “I’m going up on stage and kissing her.”

“Yeah, right, sure,” Ocean rolled his eyes.

“Just you wait,” Jaden smirked. “I’m gonna do it.”

“Sorry, man,” Ocean did his best to sound friendly. “I really gotta go.”

“Alright,” Jaden said. “Well keep an eye out for me.”

“Uh-huh,” he turned to his left and moved away. He didn’t have time to deal with delusional sociopaths. He looked back behind him.

Where was Pietro? Had he lost sight of him or something? He wasn’t supposed to wander too far.

And that’s when he saw the burn mark. The man stood just a few feet away from him, facing toward the stage. His sleeves slightly short enough to show the watch wrapped around his wrist.

“Hello,” he turned and gave Ocean a smile.

Ocean was so caught off guard that he stopped dead in his tracks. “Hell… o,” the word fell out of his mouth.

“Exciting isn’t it?” the man went on, his voice calm and soothing. “I’m a huge fan of Sadie Quasar.”

“Yeah,” Ocean responded, keeping a close eye on the man’s hands. “I’ve… been looking forward to this too.”

There was a crackle from the speakers on stage and everyone burst into applause. “Hellooo Portland!” a female voice yelled. It was undoubtedly Sadie Quasar, but Ocean didn’t look toward the stage. The man didn’t either.

“Thank you all so much for coming out to see me today!” Sadie yelled. “I wanted to surprise you all with a performance, but I guess the stage gave it away, huh?”

The crowd laughed.

“You tried to kill my friend,” Ocean raised his voice. “And now we’re going to kill you… John Doe!”

“Let’s get right into it then!” Sadie yelled. Everyone around them yelled back at her. The drums and guitars burst to life as a song started. “Magic Kiss!”

“Now!” Ocean yelled. He pulled the flair gun from his pocket and shot it into the air.

Everyone around them screamed as a burst of red exploded in the air. They probably didn’t even realize that it wasn’t part of the show.

Ocean moved to jump at John Doe as he reached for his watch. Just then, Ocean felt a force blow past him. John Doe’s limbs were pulled outward, and he hovered in midair. People screamed to Ocean’s left. He turned his head just in time to see Xavier rushing toward them, sword drawn.

This was it.

Xavier pushed past one last person and swung his sword upward toward John Doe’s arm.

They had him.

Ocean’s legs quaked as Sadie’s music went silent.

Xavier stood completely still, mid-swing. John Doe was back to the ground, standing on his feet. Ocean’s heart dropped as he realized what was going on.

It was impossible. He was sure of it. There was no way that John Doe had been able to press his watch. He saw it with his own eyes. Had Luca pressed it? Liliana?

“This is amazing!” a familiar voice came from behind him. “I can’t believe this thing really works!”

Ocean understood it all at once.

Jaden was dumber than he had ever imagined.