Even though the whole celebration had been Kayla’s idea, Summer had somehow been the one who called everyone together. It felt like it would be too much to go all out after such a bittersweet success, but she didn’t want to celebrate their first mission halfheartedly either. After wracking her brains, the idea she settled on was a picnic.

  The weather was nice, and to be honest she was a bit nervous about going out anywhere with what had happened during their mission. The apartments had a nice yard, a fire pit, and even came with a picnic table. That was what really settled Summer on the idea. The only problem was they had no ingredients so they would probably have to go shopping first. A grocery store would probably be safe, right?

  "We could always just order the groceries for pickup so we don't have to go in," Kayla suggested, "I've always wanted to try doing that. I think shopping would be fun, though. What if we all go together?"

  "Are you sure it will be safe?" Summer asked, unable to bite down her trepidation about going out.

  Kayla crossed her arms and stared Summer down. "Summer, if we hide now after a successful mission where no one got hurt, we will never be able to handle the aftermath of the real dangerous missions," she pointed out firmly, "We can't avoid danger when our goal is to take down MysteriousMaskz. That is why it is even more important to enjoy normal comforts in life while we can."

  "You're right," Summer agreed, "Let's invite everyone shopping, then. That way we can all pick what we want for the picnic."

  Surprisingly, everyone seemed excited about the team shopping trip and following picnic. It turned out none of the guys had ever had a picnic before. Kayla had, but it was a long time ago. Now that Summer thought about it, she hadn't been on a picnic for a long time either.

  The whole team couldn't fit into one car, so both Ashton and Summer had to drive their own. Summer couldn't help but feel a little disappointed that she couldn't enjoy the drive with Ashton, but they were just going to the nearest supermarket.

  "We need a tablecloth and some paper plates," Summer instructed once they all gathered in the parking lot, "We might need some plasticware too depending on what we choose to eat."

  "How about sandwiches?" Kai suggested, "They always eat sandwiches at picnics, right?"

  "Sandwiches are a good start," Kayla approved, "but we need something to go with them."

  "We should get something to drink, and cups," Levi suggested, "Mayba soda or fruit punch."

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  "Chips usually go with sandwiches," Ashton added.

  "Do we want to buy pre-made sandwiches or make our own?" Summer asked.

  They continued discussing the food details together, and before they knew it, the cart was full. Shopping with everyone was more fun than Summer had expected, and it was completely normal. No fake bombs or doomsday contracts hidden at the end of the receipts. The groceries had to be split between the cars as well. There was no way they were actually going to be able to eat all that in one picnic, but they could share the leftovers later.

  The next problem was the little circle picnic table. While it was large enough for them to sit around it, there was no way it could hold all of the food either. Summer was glad she had purchased a cooler to bring the cold things back in. It doubled as an extra surface to hold their picnic.

  “We should have gotten another table,” Levi muttered, struggling to secure a place for the tub of fruit salad he had purchased.

  “Should we grab a blanket and eat in the grass?” Summer suggested, “It might be fun.”

  “Does anyone have a spare blanket?” Kayla asked, “I only have what is on my bed.”

  “I might have a spare sheet,” Ashton offered.

  Summer did a mental check of what she had in her apartment and quickly realized she did not have any blankets suitable for a picnic either. Ashton came back with a wrinkled old sheet. It was a fitted sheet, but it was big enough for them to sit on. Why did he have a fitted sheet that was far too big for his bed?

  It was a chaotic mess of a picnic, but it was peaceful and fun. Kayla had been right. They couldn’t let themselves be scared away from enjoying themselves just because something scary happened during a mission. Their missions going forward would continue to be scary. In that case, maybe she should plan something like this after every mission. Well, hopefully the next one wouldn’t be so much of a mess.

  The sound of a phone chime instantly deflated Summer’s relaxed mood. Lately, the only people who contacted her were Ashton and MysteriousMaskz. If it was her parents they would be more likely to call than message. She didn’t want to look, but she also didn’t want to live in fear.

  Slowly, Summer unlocked her phone. There was a notification from a game she hadn’t played in ages, a message from her bank confirming the deposit of her first paycheck, and one message from an unknown number. Her breath caught as she assumed it was Maskz, but something seemed off. Then she saw Kayla pull out her phone as well, then the twins and Ashton.

  “Did you all get the same message?” Summer asked nervously, showing her phone to the others.

  “This can’t be good,” Ashton muttered, “I need to check how far this has spread. If we aren’t specifically being targeted, that means this has been sent out to countless people. Don’t reply to the message. Don’t even open it if you can.”

  Summer bit her lip and looked at the message again. Unfortunately, she had already opened it, but everything should be fine as long as she did not reply, right? It was only one sentence, but given what they had discovered, she almost wished it was another threat from Ned instead.

  “Would you like to sign a contract?”