"Good thing you didn't get killed," Zaira said, moving closer to her. "We all need to survive and, luckily, you lasted that long in that neighbourhood."

"I was only out for a second before Theo found me," Eniola admitted. "I swear I almost pissed myself because I thought he was some seedy guy."

"I thought you were going to fight me," Theo said, relieved. "But it's good we're all back here again."

Once she and Theo had come back through the sketchy motel, nervous hugs and almost tears when she came inside the hallway attacked her. It made her blissful enough to almost regret staying behind to attempt to confront Bee. She might as well have because Bee gave her no information.

Eniola was sure she had seen shoeboxes bigger than whatever this was. The hotel Bee suggested was no luxury hotel, but this wasn't even close to her low expectations.

Eniola and Lucia sat with each other on the rickety bed in the middle of wooden floors that wobbled and creaked with every footstep. The walls were moist and sodden gray, and small holes blew air into the room. Eniola could consciously agree with everyone that they were gunshots.

A piece of cloth hung from the room and into a round corner. Eniola took one look and closed it back when she found a sketchy-looking toilet. Two hammocks hung on either side of the room.

This place was miserable. Just like they were going to be soon if they had made no progress. Eniola looked to the other side of the room. Zaira was curled up in the corner, as she looked at the screens as she always had. Iris had sprawled herself on the bed and looked up to the sky in an extensional crisis. Jay swung back and forth on the hammock, and Theo sat crisscrossed on the floor.

"This place is so small," Jay pointed out. "I can touch the walls from side to side."

"That's because you have long ass arms," Iris mumbled. Eniola snored.

"It's true," Eniola pointed out, as she looked at the floor. "When we hold hands, I feel off balance. But I guess those are the sacrifices we make for love."

Eniola could feel the change in mood from miserable to curious. Jay paused for a second. "You love me?"

Eniola paused. "Wait a minute, did I say that?"

"You just did," Lucia said, gushing.

Eniola looked at Jay, whose cheeks had tinged red. Eniola thought he was the cutest when he blushed. She smiled back at him before she averted eye contact again shyly. Wait? Did she love Jay? They were dating and she for sure liked him, but there was still a sizable distance from that to love. She didn't even realize she talked until she did. It just slipped out.

Then one singular knock interrupted the moment. Then the person knocked 4 times, then 3 times, 2 times, then once again. Eniola's eyes widened as she looked over at everyone. Woah. Bee was that fast?

"It's Bee," Zaira said, as she got up from her corner and opened the door.

It was decidedly not Bee or anything another shady criminal runner. Instead, it was the frail and short old man that was running the desk when Theo and she had come in. He held a box of pizza while he smiled brightly with crooked teeth.

"Pizza delivery," he stuttered. The words translated under her eyes. She almost forgot she wore them. South Korea seemed like such a long time ago.

"We ordered nothing," she turned back to them. "Did you guys order anything?" They met her back with negative muffles.

Zaira faced the old man again. "We ordered nothing. I'm sorry."

"I insist," he continues. "It's a very special pizza."

"I am hungry, and if this is for free, then we might as well do it," Jay said, before reaching past Zaira and taking the box.

"Have fun," the old man smiled before he walked down the hallway. Jay closed the door and turned back with pizza in his hands before he sat it on the ground. Everyone shuffled around him.

"Alright," he said, anticipating it, rubbing his hands together excitedly before opening the box. Eniola expected cheesy goodness or its variant, but it was decidedly not pizza.

Instead, a stack of 6 clear cellphones, 6 ID cards, passport screens, and a paper note all lay there in a bunch. Eniola's eyes widen.

"It's from Bee," Eniola instantly said. "He gave us the identities."

"That's why the man didn't rat us out," Lucia said. "This place is probably some travel hub for criminals. He's a middleman."

Jay took off the sticky note. Why would Bee send something on paper? How did he even get access to paper?

"Inside, I've put in some ID cards, passports, and some burner phones for you to use around the world. I value this current package at $2,000, but for you, I'm giving you half off. You can start paying me back with that abundant amount when you get back to SCOPE. Good luck cousin, because you sure as hell need it. Bee."

Jay slumped in disappointment. "How am I going to pay $1,000?"

"We can figure this out later," Zaira said. "Let's just figure out this stuff."

Eniola grabbed the stuff labelled with her name, and so did everyone else. She first took the ID card, which was a small square holo-screen lodged in a black outline.

Eniola was 17, meaning she didn't need one of these, but she knew you shook it when you wanted to turn it on. She shook it and a bunch of information that wasn't hers appeared, along with a name.

Eniola read it out. "Moniquisha Jenkins. Come on, this had to be offensive at least some time in history. Bee couldn't choose anything else?"

"I'm Roberta Rodriguez. 23 and a business consultant born in El Paso, Texas," Lucia read out.

"I'm Giuseppe Ragusa," Theo sighed. "It's gonna look like I'm some mobster or something now."

"Moniquisha Jenkins is 19 and a full-time student at NYU," Eniola read out. She focused more on NYU. That's where she would've gone had she not stood up to her parents. She probably would've been there right now and not in this dingy motel room.

"So now we have identities," Theo began.

"But what?" Iris asked. "We don't know anyone and we have no potential allies and no lead on Paradox."

Eniola thought. It was true. They were alone on this journey. It was the 6 of them and Paradox.

And Kain and the PSEUDO.

Bee telling her they were dangerous was still a fresh thought on her mind. But she didn't care. They followed her for a reason, and Kain knew more than he let on.

Whatever he knew, she had to know too. And that meant she couldn't keep this a secret.

"I know who we can trust," Eniola began. "The PSEUDO."

Lucia raised an eyebrow. "What's that?"

"You know Kain Harrison?" Eniola began.

"The world's most wanted fugitive," Theo began. "And only the most attractive. He reminds me every day why girls aren't my only option."

"Then go marry him or something," Lucia mumbled. "Anyway, what about him, Eniola?"

Eniola braced herself. "I think we need his help."

"How do you even know him?" Iris asked loudly. "Any why do you think he's going to help us?"

Eniola sighed. "Remember when we were coming back from New York?"

"Yeah," Jay replied. "Not that long ago, right?"

"After you guys left," Eniola prepared. "Kain came up to me."

"Kain Harrison?" Iris asked. "As in British, cyberterrorist criminal who's been on the run for months?"

"You met him?" Lucia asked. "Why didn't you tell us?"

"I was so confused," Eniola admitted. "I didn't recognize him at first and he just started talking to me, so I talked back and then he touched my phone and then he just took off. By the time I realized it was him, he was already gone and his message started playing at the airport."

"Oh my gosh," Lucia muttered. "Why didn't you turn him in?"

"I was going to, but this is going to sound crazy," Eniola continued. "He sent a shock, like an electric shock, through my phone. And then he told me not to tell anybody. You know how criminals are."

"I believe you," Lucia admitted. "We're battling someone who has the power to change reality and one of those devices is here. That's unrealistic, but it's happening."

"Either Kain is just messing with me, or he wants to do something and involve us," Eniola admitted. "But I figured he could somehow help."

"This is crazy," Theo mumbled. "You know he's a cyberterrorist?"

"And your crush, yes," Iris put in. "How do we get in contact with Kain and the PSEUDO?"

"I had his number, but it's on my phone," Eniola explained, disappointed. "It's with all the stuff that we left in Seoul when we met up with Zaira for the second time. I don't even remember it."

Everyone let out one collective sigh.

Speaking of Zaira, Eniola turned over to her corner when she had toggled no screens. Instead, she was just sitting there and watching them like an outside observer. Eniola raised an eyebrow.

"What?" she asked, as she looked away.

"What do you think about this?" Theo asked her.

"Kain is a criminal," Zaira mumbled. "That organization he's in is full of dangerous people. But we've been close to death multiple times."

Eniola raised an eyebrow. "How do you know?"

Zaira stopped as her eyes widened. Then she narrowed them. "If Bee grouped them with the mafia and the yakuza, then it's safe to assume or something. Right?"

"Yeah," Eniola replied in a fake high voice. Zaira seemed like she knew more than she let on. She spoke about the PSEUDO familiarly.

"So are going to sleep or anything?" Zaira said again. "But there are 6 of us and one bed."

"Easy," Lucia began. "Us girls will take the bed, and you boys can take the hammocks. There are 2 of them."

"I want to disagree," Theo began, but Lucia gave him a look with lowered eyes. "But I won't."

Eniola got up and all 4 of them somehow migrated to the bed. Eniola took a spot near the outside left, and Lucia and Iris sandwiched her. The 4 packed super close like they were sardines. Lucia spread a kind of long blanket over them.

"Whose foot is that?" Zaira groaned. "It's metallic. Iris!"

"Sorry," Iris mumbled. "It's not like I can put it anywhere else."

Meanwhile, the guys went to the thin hammocks swinging at the side of the room. It was cute that Jay curled up into a small ball because he was exponentially long for the hammock. He breathed in frustration before Eniola caught his gaze. He smiled. She smiled back.

Suddenly, he got up from his hammock and undid all the work he did before he leaned over Iris and hovered over Eniola.

"What the hell?" Iris groaned.

"Good night," Eniola he whispered before he leaned in and kissed her, cupping her cheek. Eniola curved upwards into him and kissed back. She didn't realize she hadn't kissed him in a couple of days until he pulled away with a soft click and smiled against her lips.

"Good night, Jay," she replied.

"Go. To. Bed," Iris groaned. Jay quickly pulled away and curled back into the hammock.

Everything would get worse from this point, but Eniola knew at that moment, that maybe it could be okay.