Ashton returned while they were in the middle of cleaning up the mess they had made with the various files. His brows furrowed slightly in confusion as his eyes swept the room.

  “Finished already?” Ashton asked.

  “With what we can do for now,” Derrick replied, “We have our most likely suspects, but we can’t tell if they are Checkmate, Maskz, or someone working with them.”

  “How many?” Ashton asked.

  “Three,” Levi replied, “Well, three we can all agree on.”

  On cue, Kai passed Ashton the files they had set aside on Gilbert Rook, Gerald Moore, and the Gould family. On that last they had made sure to highlight the brief mention of Edmund Gould, the crippled son. Summer still felt it was a bit wrong to suspect someone weakened like that just because they were out of the public eye, but Maskz was too cunning to let their guards down. Ashton carefully looked over each file once they were passed to him, then spoke again.

  “Were there some you didn’t agree on, then?” he asked.

  “Claudia Jones, Amos Wyndart, and Amber Gale,” Kayla reported.

  “Claudia, huh,” Ashton repeated, “Then Claudia is where we will start. Ms. Gale is assembling a team to support us in her rescue. We will be paying a visit to the address Maskz gave me.”

  “Are you sure?” Summer asked, a bit nervous, “Last time we did what he wanted…”

  Summer couldn’t bring herself to continue, but she didn’t need to. Everyone remembered the fiasco involving Jargon. Well, everyone but Derrick who hadn’t been there. She still felt guilty towards Kayla, her young cousin, and all the other victims who had been drawn into the sham.

  “This time we will be prepared,” Ashton said, “and his hostage is a suspect and our potential enemy. He should know he can’t use her against me.”

  Summer nodded. “Still, what if he left you another suspicious gift?”

  Even before they confronted Jargon there was that fake bomb with the warning message inside. Every move MysteriousMaskz made was one that singled Ashton out. If things kept going like this, then Ashton wouldn’t be able to escape the public eye even after Maskz was finally defeated.

  “Then I will open it, but not before I mess with him first,” Ashton said, “I have a plan to test if he is still listening in. Can you help me research common death flags?”

  “Are you trying to get him to kill you?” Derrick asked with a frown.

  “Not exactly. MysteriousMaskz doesn’t want me to die, but if I start triggering all the cliches for characters doomed to die, it might at least throw him off a bit.”

  “Or he might kill you,” Levi pointed out, “We can’t guarantee you are more important than his dedication to the perfect story.”

  This book was originally published on Royal Road. Check it out there for the real experience.

  “I have no intention of just lying down and dying,” Ashton said.

  “That is one, right there,” Derrick muttered, “You might be unexpectedly good at triggering death flags.”

  “Now all you need to do is promise to confess your undying love for Summer once this is all over,” Kai said with a smirk, “And don’t forget to talk about all the things you are going to do once you make it out alive.”

  A flush crept up Summer’s neck as she was suddenly dragged into the conversation. There were plenty of incredibly embarrassing things to say that could count as death flags. Did Ashton intend to use all of them? Just the thought deepened the blush in Summer’s cheeks. These death flags might kill her before Maskz could.

  “Let’s wait for all of that until we are somewhere he is sure to be listening,” Ashton told them, drawing Summer out of her wildly spiralling thoughts, “Summer, I need your help to recognize Ms. Jones. Her profile has pictures, but you and Kayla met her in person so you will have a better idea of what we are looking for.”

  “I won’t let you down,” Summer promised.

  “There is another one,” Levi muttered, “Though I guess that is more of a failure flag than a death flag.”

  Despite Levi’s ominous words, everything went surprisingly smoothly. They met up with their support team, and it was led by someone familiar. It was kind of relieving to be working with Jared again, even if Summer still didn’t really know anyone from his team.

  They arrived nearby the house. Just as her earlier research had shown it was an older house right at the edge of the business district. There was little to no foot traffic, but the surrounding busy streets made it difficult to find a place to park. Nothing about the house itself or the general surroundings seemed suspicious, but all of them knew better than to let their guards down.

  "There are cameras everywhere," Ashton muttered, looking up at the streetlights and power lines above them.

  When Summer looked closer, she could see them too. This must be why Maskz had chosen the location. There was the proof he was watching them, but could he hear them? If he wasn't receiving audio, Ashton's plan might be a bust. If he could even watch or listen to them at all anymore.

  "Don't worry," Ashton said, holding her hand as she stepped out of the car, "Everything will be over soon. Once this is over I will give you a proper proposal."

  Even though Summer had known this was coming, the sudden lines still took her by surprise. It looked like the death flag summoning had already begun. They didn't make any moves towards the house until Jared's team was finished setting up. The plan was for Ashton and Summer to enter first and test Maskz. If they encountered any danger Summer would use her power to flash a signal through the windows. The rest of their team still accompanied them to the door.

  "We should split up to cover more ground," Ashton told them, clearly ignoring Derrick's hurried cough to disguise his laughter, "Summer and I will look around the inside. You block the exits and make sure there are no other secret passages."

  "Got it," Kai said, excited to play along, “I will scout the back with Levi.”

  Summer hesitantly approached the door as Kai dragged his twin to the backyard. The entire area was surrounded, but she still felt nervous about knocking. What if someone was in there and tried to escape? Ashton seemed to have no such concerns as he raised his hand to knock without hesitation. However, when his fist met the door, instead of knocking, the door pushed open.

  The inside was dim, with sunlight filtering in through the curtains being the only source of light. It was still enough light to clearly see the state of things, though. The house was completely empty. There were no people, but there was also no furniture, or even decorations. Those curtains that blocked the windows were likely the only things in this entire building. Was it really just a dead end?

  “Let’s check it out,” Ashton urged, pushing forward, “There might be something further inside.”