Cross said nothing as she maintained a white-knuckled grip on the steering wheel, but her teeth grinding together made her feelings clear. Amber, Leo, and Bess sat ramrod straight, not daring to move or otherwise draw her attention.

“Of all the harebrained…this is the worst…that-that goddamn #@%$&* punk bastard. He’s lucky he’s already dead, or else I’d kill him.” She growled.

“Um…” Her gaze, sharp as a knife, turned in Leo’s direction. He’d never felt more afraid for his life, not even when he’d died. “W-Well, without this girl and her sister, w-we wouldn’t have this lead.” he said, cowing.

“This is very true. This is a very good point.” Cross said in a clipped tone. However, her voice rose with every word in the next sentence. “It is also a good point that HE SHOULDN’T BE TEACHING CHILDREN NECROMANCY!”

“I completely agree.” Amber tried to soothe. “If I know Scott, he made them keep it a secret from everybody, for their own good. He shouldn’t have done it in the first place, but it’s too late for that now. All we can do is play the hand we’re dealt.”

“He’s still a bastard.” Cross said irrefutably. Amber sighed and nodded.

“Yeah, I guess.”

“N-Not to break up this wonderful conversation, but did this apprentice say what her sister was going to grab?” Bess said nervously.

“No. No she did not. Unfortunately, I was unable to gather that information before the conversation was over.” Cross said, far too calmly. The teens in the car recalled differently, as Cross managed to choke out a time and place for a meeting, then crushing her phone in her hand. What did she eat? “We’ll be there in twenty minutes. I’m sure we can explain to the kids why they shouldn’t follow the kid’s example.”

“Hey, he wasn’t that bad…” Amber said halfheartedly, not entirely believing it herself. As his former girlfriend, she felt she should stick up for him somehow.

“Be that as it may, it’s quite beyond the pale to involve a couple of kids like that though.” Leo said.

“I’m curious about the sister though. What kind of incantations and rituals does she know? Ultimately, Stephanie only taught us a handful of spells, I’m curious as to what else was in the book. O-Only professionally.” Bess said, noting the looks she was getting from the rest of the car. “I always wanted to know what Stephanie was keeping from us.”

“She should’a kept it more hidden.” Cross growled, and they passed the town limits of Craven Falls.

Shortly thereafter, they pulled up to Riley’s house. Leo knocked, and the door was answered by a girl barely over three feet tall with dirty blond hair and bright brown eyes.

“Hi! You must be Detective Cross an’ her friends, right?” Riley said. Leo leaned down and smiled gently at her.

“That’s right. You’re Riley, correct? We need to talk to you, but our most pressing concern is your sister. May we come in and meet her?” Suddenly, Vanessa’s earlier advice about boys started to make sense.

“Yeah! I mean, yes, please come in.” she said, holding the door open.

“Where’re your parents, Riley?” Cross said, breathing deeply to let her anger flow away. This kid wasn’t responsible for…most of it. Riley laughed shyly and scratched the back of her head.

“Yeah, um, funny thing about that, sis kinda…put a mind whammy on ‘em.”

“A ‘whammy’? Please explain.” Cross asked.

“Well she kinda…trapped ‘em in an illusion that everything was normal and fine when they’re in our house. We had a whole magic battle upstairs and everything, it was so cool! Scary, but cool! They didn’t hear a thing, ‘sides some thumping. They’re asleep right now.” Riley explained, shrugging. “Oh! But that’s when Vanessa was kinda crazy, she’s good now. We worked it out, no prob. We figured it’d be better to leave ‘em like that for now.” she added quickly and Cross groaned, holding a hand to her face. Yup, definitely the kid’s apprentice; that particular vein hadn’t throbbed in a while.

“That’s…ugh. I don’t like it, but…fine, I can work with it. Where’s your sister?”

“Upstairs, with Connor and Bones. They’re keeping an eye on her.”

“Bones? Are-are you talking about the skeleton?” Amber said, perking up at mention of a familiar zombie. It was…unsettling to have another necromancer in control of him. She realized that skeleton was the very first one she’d seen Scott animate. Riley nodded enthusiastically.

“Yeah, he’s great! We got him form Scott’s lab, we figured y’know, since he didn’t need him anymore…and he’s super useful! He saved my life!” she exclaimed. Bess pulled Leo to the back of the group.

“Okay, I don’t know much about necromancy,” she admitted. “But I do know it was over nine months before we could cast even a single spell when Stephanie was teaching us. And we were working at it hard every day, too. It was nearly two years before we began…began collecting parts for the ritual. Now I don’t know how hard it is to raise a corpse or control one, but it took me five weeks to learn to start fires with my mind. From what I’m hearing, she learned how to do this in about two weeks. Either Scot missed his calling as a teacher, or there’s something not exactly kosher going on here.” she said. Leo thought about it, and nodded.

“You may be right. I really hope they didn’t take any Taboo.” he said. Bess shook her head.

“No, I don’t think that’s it. I don’t know for sure, but I never heard Stephanie talking about raising the dead, and she seemed keen on getting Scott on her side. I don’t think there’s really any necromantic magic in the Libris Malefactorum Arcana.”

“That’s-she just happens to be really, really good at it, maybe?” Leo hazarded.

“Yeah. Not just her, but that Connor kid too. Three people who just happen to be naturals at sorcery and necromancy, in a town that just so happens to have the Necronomicon in it.” she said, nonplussed. Leo grimaced, acknowledging her point.

“Okay, here’s what we’re gonna do. Amber, Leo, take the kids to her room and talk to them. Find out everything he taught ‘em, why, and make sure they’re on the up-and-up. And see if you can persuade them that continuing their endeavors is a bad idea. Bess, you’re with me. We’re gonna interview this Vanessa, see where the Third Eye is headed. It sounds like if they get that amulet, they win. We have to stop ‘em no matter what.” Cross said.

“Got it.”

“You and Connor are going to come with us, okay? Can you show me your room?” Amber asked gently, offering her hand.

“Sure!” Riley said, grabbing the hand and calling to Connor. Cross and Bess went in Vanessa’s room, and Riley led them all to hers.

It was a typical room for a nine year old girl: light pinks, pastels, stuffed animals, fairy and princess toys and memorabilia scattered on the desks, shelves, and in the corner. There were several Disney posters with Belle, Anna and Elsa, and Rapunzel. Perfectly normal…but next to them were Day of the Dead posters, princesses smiling at undead ready to tear a man’s guts out. And of course there was a large diagram of a magic circle on the floor, a hint of a charnel, foul scent in the air.

“Oooh, this isn’t what she wanted at all.” Leo muttered under his breath.

“Interesting décor.” Amber said, her voice hitting an interesting pitch.

“Yeah, right!? I was seeing if I could summon the spirits of the dead-that didn’t turn out too well, heh heh.” Riley said, embarrassed.

“You know Scott said we shouldn’t be doing this stuff, right?” Connor said.

“Well he should’a told me himself. Oh wait, he can’t!” Riley growled, sticking her tongue out at him. “I know he said not to, but I’ll never get any better if I don’t try. I know that’s what he would’ve done!” she declared, and Amber and Leo shared a look. Hoo boy.

“Well, you’re not wrong.” Amber said, inviting them to sit on the bed with her. Leo folded his arms and leaned against the door. “Scott probably would do something like that. But there’s a big difference between you and him, right?”

“Yeah, he’s a lot better at it. Which is why I’m trying to get good at it myself, so I can bring him back, so he can be alive again and teach us more. It was fun.” she said.

“The lessons were always interesting, even if they were difficult.” Connor added.

“Oh? What did he teach you? How was he? I can’t really imagine Scott as a teacher.” Leo asked, and the teens were surprised at their reactions. Riley made a sour face, while Connor had a far-off, haunted look in his eye.

“He was a real…” Riley began, trying to find the words.

“Slavedriver.” Connor finished. “He drilled sigils, incantations, diagrams, spells, methods of mysticism, over and over. And you can’t mess ‘em up because one wrong move’ll raise an army of ravenous zombies that will eat you, or break a hole in reality an’ a betentacled monstrosity will rip off your face and eat it, or you’ll be possessed by something that’ll make you eat your friends and family, so draw! Draw until it’s impossible to get it wrong, even under pressure! No, not the animation circle again, please don’t give Bones the stick, why are you giving Bones the stick, no, I’ll raise the mouse this time, no, no!” He started trembling his hands unconsciously tracing mystic inscriptions in the air, lost to the room. Riley sighed and smacked his head. “Ah! What? Oh.”

“Yeah, he does that, don’t worry ‘bout it, he’s fine.” she reassured the worried-looking teens, waving her hand dismissively.

“Are…are you sure?” Amber asked nervously.

“Yeah, Scott was just really, really worried about us messing up. He had me draw the same circle once for eight hours, ugh it was horrible. But he was right, I didn’t forget it when I was done.” Riley sighed. “I hate it when he’s right. And he was always right.”

“He was the one teaching us.” Connor pointed out.

“I see.” Amber said, nodding. “It sounds tough. Why’d you want to do it in the first place, then?” she asked, careful to sound curious, not judgmental. “Necromancy isn’t exactly a passion a little girl usually has. I know it sounded creepy to me when I was your age. Scott’s shown me the usefulness of it, but I’m still not exactly over the moon.”

“Because zombies are the coolest!” Riley declared, happily and loud, giving a big thumbs-up. “Last Halloween some monster guy broke into our house. He was about to get us when boosh! A whole horde of zombies busted in an’ dragged him out! They tore him to pieces, it was the coolest thing I ever saw in my life! And it turns out Scott was the one who animated ‘em and told ‘em to go out and save people, it’s incredible!”

“Uh-huh.” Amber said, recalling the incident all too well. She had to admit, the enthusiasm this little girl had for a daemon being ripped to shreds was concerning.

“But now I’ve studied under Scott, he’s showed me the real appeal of necromancy.” Riley continued, turning slightly more serious. Her brown eyes were bright and shining with passion. “See, before I thought zombies were just cool. Scott told me that to him, zombies were proof. Proof that with the right knowhow and some guts, it was possible to do something impossible, something amazing, beyond the composition of conventional wisdom.”

“Comprehension.” Connor corrected.”

“Comprehension of conventional wisdom.” Riley said without missing a beat. “The natural order of things is to be born, live, then die. To live again, in any capacity, is to reject what is in favor of what should be. Necromancy lets you impose your will on fate, because fate does a crummy job of it. And necromancy’s the ultimate art of self-expression! Right, Connor?” she asked the boy, who nodded.

“I have to admit, I wasn’t thrilled when Riley enlisted me in her plan. But after seeing what he could do, after Scott agreed to teach us? How could I say no?” He shrugged. “Opportunities to learn actual magic don’t come around every day, and despite his…methods…” Connor shivered, getting that faraway look again. “I find myself fascinated by all these spells. Did you know the Pythagorean Theorem doesn’t apply in fifth-dimensional space, but does in the sixth? That’s crazy!” he said, throwing his hands in the air. “It’s insane! Simply what it takes to channel that necrotic energy stuff…I don’t know how he did it! Our fundamental understanding of the universe is flawed! There’s so much out there!

“But that’s not all. Necromancy is so much more than raising zombies! There are ghouls, vampires, wights, ghosts, all sorts of creatures you could make. And the amount of customization that you can do simply by adjusting the magical formulas is outta this world! Like, Scott showed me if you just attach a third arm to a zombie, it can use it just as well as the other two! You can mix and match all sorts of stuff, he showed me his blueprints for the Zombie Titan Mk. 1!”

“Oh god.” Amber muttered, recalling the unholy amalgamation of bones and flesh to form a giant super zombie Scott rode in like a mech.

“God has nothing to do with it! Don’t you see? With just a little info from the Necronomicon, we can do only what the gods were supposed to! Scott was a Prometheus! The existence of necrotic energy alone redefines, well, existence! And there’s so much more, like…Riley, where’s the Necronomicon?” he asked, not seeing it anywhere in the room.

“It’s…huh. It was here. I must’a misplaced it.” Riley dismissed. Amber sighed.

“Don’t worry about it. Please excuse us a sec.” she said, getting up and convening with Leo. “Yeah, they kinda…”

“Took to Scott’s influence like ducklings. He got his hooks too deep into them now.” Leo said quietly, sighing and shaking his head, but with a small smile on his face. “But something remains to be seen. Let’s see how much they absorbed.” He went over to them, and knelt before the bed.

“Okay guys, listen up. I’m Leo, Leo Manning, and I have a question for you guys. Scott taught you a lot, it seems like. But assuming you continue your studies in necromancy, I have to ask: what exactly do you want from it?”

“Huh?” Riley asked.

“I mean, what do you hope to achieve? Waking the dead’s swell and al, but if you graduate from necroschool, what are you going to do with it?” he asked.

“I’m gonna raise a ton of zombies!” Riley declared proudly. Leo nodded.

“Yeah, I get that. But what do you want to raise them for? Wat are you going to do with them after you’ve got them?” he asked. Riley blinked.

“Uh…” Honestly, she’d never given it much thought.

“You see? Even Scott didn’t animate the dead if he didn’t have a reason.” Amber pointed out.

“Um…” Connor sighed as Riley stared at them, wide-eyed and uncertain, her mind blown. Not make zombies when you didn’t have to? Does not compute. “B-But you could-!”

“Just because you can do something doesn’t always mean you should. For instance, you can steal a car, doesn’t mean that it’s a good idea.” Amber said.

“Huh.” Riley grunted philosophically, the gears turning in her head. “That’s…I never really thought of that.”

“Of course.” Connor deadpanned, and she kicked his leg. “Hey.”

“I hope I’ve managed to open your eyes about this stuff, at least a little.” Leo said, smiling. “Necromancy allows you to do a lot of things, and I can’t stop you, but I hope you keep in mind its’ not a good idea to be messing with these spells, especially at your age. Understand?”

“Yeah, you’ve given me a lot to think about.” Riley said, nodding. Her brain was churning this new information over. Amber sighed in relief.

“And you, Connor?” she asked.

“Don’t lump me in with her. I’ve seen some of the stuff in the Necronomicon that has firmly convinced me how dangerous magic is.” he said, repressing a shudder. There were far too many spells that called for live sacrifices. “I’m just studying theory, at least for a good long while yet.”

“Good enough for me. Let’s go get the detective.” Leo said, standing up.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

“So, miss-?” Cross began, pulling out her trusty notebook.

“Dawson. Vanessa Dawson.” Vanessa said. She was curled up on her bed, hugging her knees to her chest. She looked haggard, like she’d been put through the wringer.

“Miss Dawson. Or should I call you Vanessa?” Cross asked.

“Vanessa’s fine.”

“Now then, Vanessa. Your little sister has informed me of the situation and what went down, but children are prone to leaving out details. I’d like to hear what happened tonight from you.”

“Am I going to jail?” she asked dully. Cross raised an eyebrow.

“Have you done anything that warrants jail time?”

“Heh. What haven’t I done.” Vanessa snorted, looking down. “For starters I…I take Taboo.” she said hesitantly, Cross and Bess listening silently. It was so much better in here now that the skeleton was gone, she’d felt paralyzed. But now she was facing what she’d done, and it wasn’t pleasant. She went on despondently. “I’ve taken Taboo, and I’ve done bad things. I used the powers it gave me to have Mom and Dad think everything was normal while I snuck out. I stole documents and artifacts from museums, and materials and money from other places.” The words were coming out faster and faster, like she couldn’t get them away from her fast enough. “And tonight I…tonight I…tried to attack Riley.” She was trembling, staring at her shaking hands with tears coming down her cheeks. “I didn’t mean…I never wanted…I, I only thought…b-but it turns out I-I’m a monster.” she sobbed.

“I understand you’ve been through a great deal of stress recently. However, I need to know what happened and what’s going on. Please, just the facts for now.” Cross said, as gently as she could. Vanessa nodded.

“I-I c-came to pack. We w-were going down to New York City, and we might not be back for awhile, so I had a lot to do. R-Riley was watching a movie or something, and she got scared and ran into my room. W-We started talking when my bottle of T-Taboo fell out. She r-recognized it, I d-didn’t know how, she knows what it does. She demanded I stop immediately, and-and I got…angry. I was…I was going to put her in an illusion of normalcy in her mind like Mom and dad, but not so…gently. And then…I’m not s-sure what happened, Riley tried explaining it b-but I couldn’t understand, she did something that hurt my hand, and she ran into the hallway. I followed, but then…” She gulped. Her shaking grew worse, accompanied by a far-off, hunted look in her eyes. “T-Then…h-he c-came out. T-There w-was…was…a sk-skeleton, h-he…Riley told him to g-get m-me, a-and…no matter what I did, he just kept coming…he kept coming…t-the zombies just kept coming...tearing, ripping…blood everywhere…black blood…” She was whimpering.

“Hey. Hey!” Cross snapped her fingers in front of her face. She blinked and started.

“What? Oh, um…” she mumbled, rubbing her red face. The hot tears soaked into her sleeve. Cross was concerned.

“What was that about?” she asked.

“Err…l-last year, um…you, you know about this weird crap and magic, right?” she said.

“Yes. It’s the organization that I work for’s job to curtail such activity.” Cross nodded, eyebrow raised.

“Well…last Halloween, th-there was a guy. H-He broke into our house. I-It was just me and Riley. I swung an ashtray into his head, and he just laughed. The h-he started changing. He w-was a monster, like a demon. He-He was going to…I grabbed Riley and went into the kitchen, and outside was an e-entire army of zombies. T-The demon c-caught us, and there was nothing I could do. T-Then the zombies smashed in, and started tearing him to pieces. Th-They just kept coming, and uh…you know.” She curled up even further into a ball, her frightened eyes peering up at them over her knees. “I-I still have dreams about it. T-They never end well. Crazy, right?”

Cross sighed and rubbed her head, Bess shuffling uncomfortably. It was obvious why she turned to Taboo; a traumatic experience, no one would believe her, so she didn’t get treatment. No wonder she would latch onto the first thing that would give her such control. This girl needed therapy, but that couldn’t happen right now. She bent down to look Vanessa in the eye.

“Okay, I want you to listen very carefully.” Vanessa stopped sniffling and stared at her. “What happened to you was a very traumatic experience, and very frightening one. I don’t blame you for reacting negatively, this wasn’t something anyone should have to go through or witness, let alone one as young as yourself. There isn’t anything wrong with how you feel, or that you’re scared.” Cross said, sternly but softly. Vanessa sniffed.

“B-But-”

“No buts! I am never wrong about these things, and I say it’s okay. It’s all right for you to be scared.” she snapped. “Or are you calling me a liar?” Vanessa’s eyes went wide as saucers and she shook her head. “Good. Now, how you reacted is the problem. Did you tell anyone about the daemon or zombies?”

“Who’d believe me?” she asked in a small voice.

“I understand. But it wasn’t good to keep that bottled up. Look at what those feelings of powerlessness made you do. You’re taking drugs, joined a cult, stole for them and have altered your family’s minds, with intent to do the same to your nine year old sister. Does that sound right to you?” Cross said, emotionlessly laying down the facts. Vanessa’s heart sank into her shoes. “Yes, you reacted poorly, and made some questionable decisions. However, not all is lost. We need all the information you can give us about the Third Eye Society and what they’re planning. I think that’s a good start to making up for your mistakes.”

“M-Make up?” Vanessa sobbed in disbelief. “H-How could I ever make up for what I’ve done? I attacked Riley.” She stared at her hand, recalling how easily the spell for hallucination came to her. “I-I’m supposed to protect her, look out for her! And…and Mom and Dad! What have I done!?”

“Look, that’s-” Cross started, but Vanessa was lost in despair and self-loathing.

“-a mistake? A mistake is getting the wrong answer on a test, not frying your family’s brains! And-And I was happy to do it! I…I thought I was helping my friends by doing it! H-How could I call anyone a friend now, after what I’ve done!?” Vanessa wailed. She clutched her head, wracked with so much guilt it was feeling like her skull would spilt open. “I’m a monster!”

“You shut your mouth!” Bess shouted. They both turned to the seething girl, who’d had more than enough of this nonsense. “Boo hoo, you got into a serious fight with your sister. You made your parents think everything was okay. You took some things that didn’t belong to you. You think you’re a monster because of that? Don’t make me laugh.”

“And what would you know about it!? Did you do all those things, huh?” Vanessa rounded on her in rage. “How can you say that!?”

“I murdered a girl and ripped her heart out with my bare hands.” she hissed coldly. Vanessa froze and fell back, stunned. She met Bess’s eyes, flat and empty. “I was part of a coven that harvested seven hearts of maidens in order to bring daemondkind into this world and become the rulers. That was a mistake. The girl you saw with us? She was killed by her best friend. What you did? Get over it. If you don’t, the guilt will drive you mad. You will always live with what you did. But if you do nothing to repent for it, that is an even greater mistake.” She turned and stomped out into the hall, pacing and grumbling.

“Uh, that’s-”

“And another thing!” Bess said, poking her head into the doorway. “You don’t have to be a monster! If I can find something resembling peace with myself, so can you! Jesus, how dense can they…” She went back to muttering in the hall. Cross gave her a thin smile.

“There you have it. Are you gonna take her advice or not? We need the info you have, not a guilt trip right now. If this plan of theirs succeeds, your parents and your sister will have more to worry about than what you did to them.” she said, and Vanessa nodded numbly.

“Uh, r-right. Okay, we’re supposed to go down to New York tomorrow evening, me, Leader Nigel, four others, I don’t know who yet, and apparently the leaders of other cells from China and Britain. We’re supposed to get something from Thurgood Lampwick’s penthouse, an amulet I think.” she said uncertainly. Cross’s scribbling stopped.

“The Amulet of Puluhtu?” she asked. Vanessa nodded.

“Sounds about right.”

“Damn. Less time than I thought.” Cross growled. “Alright, we have their objective. Ours is not to let it fall into their hands. What else can you tell me, how many members are there, your meeting place, etcetera.”

It was an hour before Vanessa confessed and explained everything, Cross nodding along, a plan forming in her mind. She called all the others in with them.

“Okay, I have the situation. It’s dire, but not unsalvageable. Thanks to the intel Vanessa has provided, we know where the Third Eye Society will strike next. Therefore, we’re going to lay a trap for them. We’ll ambush them in Lampwick’s penthouse, round up three of the leaders at once. Hopefully we’ll be able to shake ‘em down to grab some dirt on Delacroix, do some damage that way, but the main concern is the amulet. If they get away with that, it’s game over. I’ve sent my report to Crenshaw, he’s sending us a helicopter for ten a.m., meet up at headquarters.” she said.

“Sweet! A helicopter ride!” Riley said, pumping her fists and rolling on the floor. Cross glared at her.

“You two will not be going.” she said in a tone that book no argument. Riley laughed nervously and sheepishly sat up. “I don’t know what the kid said, and I don’t care. You’re entirely too young for any of this, and are hereby forbidden from practicing necromancy from now on.”

“But-” Connor started, then she looked at him. “G-Got it.” he said, cowed.

“Good. Now, I was able to secure another team of agents, but I don’t know how useful they’ll be with all this magic stuff. Bess, Leo, Amber, your help is going to be invaluable. I need you to understand that we must do everything in our power in order to make this work. Therefore, while capture is the top priority, I am authorizing the use of lethal force. Use your best judgement.” Amber swallowed nervously, and glanced at the others. Leo nodded sadly, while Bess snorted and stared ahead emotionlessly. This was it, their last chance to counterattack. Scott’s smile came to her mind. She nodded too.

“Good. Then-”

“Um…if, if I could say something?” Vanessa squeaked. Cross turned an eyebrow on her. “Uh, I’ve been giving it some thought, especially what Bess said. If it’s alright with you…could I come too? Join your mission?”

“Are you sure? This is extremely dangerous.” Cross said harshly. This could be a trick, but the girl would have to be a very good liar to get past Cross’s body reading and instincts. Then again, if illusion and misdirection were her specialty…

“P-Please.” she begged. “I-I’ve done some horrible things. This could be the best chance to make up for it, at least a little.”

“Hmm…” Cross growled. From what she’d seen, she was telling the truth.

“She would be in a perfect position to help us out, both as informant and when it comes time to spring.” Leo said, hand on his chin.

“Her magic powers are scary.” Riley added.

“I know you don’t have much reason to trust me, but-”

“Done.” Cross said, deciding.

“Huh?” Vanessa said.

“The kid’s loss hit us too hard. So to make up for the lack of depth of magic, I’ve decided to get as many people with a varieties of supernatural specialties as possible. I may not like what he does-did, but I can respect that he knew what he was talking about, and was able to use his skills in a variety of ways. TO be honest, I’m not seeing illusions as useful as an army of the dead, but I don’t think it can be beat in stealth. If you’re willing to work with us, I’ll extend the same offer I did to Bess-a full pardon in exchange for service. I’m willing to give you a chance.” Cross aid, extending a hand and boring into Vanessa’s eyes with her own. The illusionist took it and shook solemnly.

“I won’t let you down.”

“See that you don’t.”

“Okay!” Leo jumped up, clapping his hands. “It’s getting late, and we have to get up early to prepare for the operation, not to mention I believe it’s well past bedtime for the kids. Break off and meet at HQ before ten?” he asked Cross. She looked at the time on her phone, a little after midnight.

“Yeah. Alright people, you have your orders, dismissed. Bess, Amber, since you’re not going home yet, you two can stay at the base. It isn’t glamorous, but it’ll do for now. Get some rest, and pray to whatever God you have. And you two will do nothing, correct?” She shot a glare at Connor and Riley, who vigorously nodded their heads.

“Course not.”

“Wouldn’t dream of it.”

“Who, us? Never.”

“Scout’s honor.”

“Good.” she growled, mollified. As they prepared to leave, one of the present teenagers or adult should have paid closer attention to Riley. Though her face was solemn, she had a secret grin as her hand was behind her back, fingers crossed.