"My father tells me many things." Theo's hands found their way into his pockets, and he dug them as far as they would go. "He tells me stuff about his job, about his coworkers, about the top pier people he meets...and about things he's not supposed to discuss with outsiders. It's the kind of relationship we have. We see each other as equals, so we trade equal information."

Sounds more like a business deal than a relationship between a father and son.

"My mom has a similar job in the government, but she's a lower level so doesn't get the kind of information my dad does. A few months ago I caught her spying on my dad. My mom's a master hacker, but she can be a bit messy with her coverups so it can be easy to spot trails she leaves."

"Are you a hacker, too?" I asked.

"It's just a hobby," he replied casually. "When I approached her, she told me her suspicions about my dad and some of his other co-workers. When I helped her look further into it, we realized it was deeper and stretched further than we imagined.

"Time went by, but we couldn't find anything worth bringing to light. Mother pushed it to the back of her mind, but I made sure to keep tabs on my dad just in case. If he's noticed, he hasn't said a word. We still have our evening meetings to talk about his work and mine—although he's definitely holding lots of information back. Information that I find in his computer later."

I grinned and said, "I never knew you were such a naughty child, Chippy."

"Chippy?"

"Short for Chipmunk."

"I see," he grumbled.

His eyes closed, his lashes barely brushing against his cheeks as he sighed. "I just admitted to doing things that could put me in prison for longer than I'm going to live. I expect you to all keep this secret. Do you understand?" He opened his eyes and gave every person in the room a hard stare.

Everyone nodded silently.

The knock that pierced through the silence made Theo and me jump. Elio and Wren acted as though they had somehow heard the footsteps before the knock and just turned to face the door calmly.

"Pizza delivery," a low voice said through the door. Then a thump sounded and footsteps receded.

We all remained tense for a few minutes.

I walked over to the door and opened it, my eyes drifting to both sides of the hallway outside. The lights flickered, but I saw no other movement. Looking down I saw a large pizza box resting on the floor against the wall. I brought it inside, kicked the door closed, and set the box on my desk.

Minutes passed, but no one moved to open the box.

"Are seriously none of us brave enough to open it?" I questioned the silent room. Before any of them could reply, I leaned over and flipped the top back. It hit the wall with a soft thud.

There, lying on top of a normal-looking pizza covered in nothing but vegetables, was a small slip of paper.

'Wisely and slow; they stumble that run fast'.

Be careful, young rash Romeo.

—Flambard

I looked over at Theo whose eyes were shifting over the words, reading them over and over. "Isn't that the name of that creepy-looking sword you picked for our duel?" I questioned him.

"Yeah..." he murmured.

"What an odd code name," I stated. My hand reached out to grab the paper, but Theo slapped a hand on my wrist and yanked me back. In a flash, he himself had grabbed it and brought it to his other hand, tearing the page in half once, twice, three times—over and over until it was nothing but small specks of white. He let it fall to the floor like snow.

"Pistener," said Theo. "Paper thin listening devices." He stomped on the ripped pieces of paper for good measure.

"How did you know?" I asked.

"I didn't—but it wasn't worth risking," he replied.

I sighed. "I can't believe on top of all the trouble they caused us, they still got my order wrong." I stared at the large pieces of mushrooms in dismay.

"At least you didn't have to pay for it," Theo pointed out.

"No, I just paid for ten of them," I returned, showing him my phone. "Since it wasn't working, I kept pressing the order button."

"Well, that was stupid."

"Gee, thanks."

Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Elio grab a slice of pizza and tear into it ravenously. It was the most emotion I've ever seen him express. His eyes widened in delight, and his eating speed increased.

"It has brussels sprouts," I deadpanned.

"Rich in nutrients, fiber, antioxidants, vitamin K—."

"I don't care." I pulled off all the toppings and tossed them in the trash. He watched in silence as he grabbed a second slice.

"You guys do realize that pizza came from the people trying to murder Lumi, right?" Theo spoke up.

I finished chewing before replying, "I take an anti-poison pill every day. It's so incredible that I could eat a death cap mushroom and not even have the smallest bit of a stomach ache afterward. I'll be totally fine."

"That's a thing?"

"My dad made it, but it hasn't been officially approved yet. Especially since it has some...side effects."

"Like what?" he asked.

"You know how in those ads, they always say the side effects with supersonic speed? Well, imagine I can do that."

Two dings sounded, one after another. Fishing out my phone, I flipped it in my hand and it turned on.

There will be a party held in a few days. Your father would like you to attend. A dress will be delivered to your room.

It was a message from my father's assistant: the flirty Lilith Warner—a total simp for my dad and freakishly obsessed with his 'beautiful brain'. The only reason my dad accepted her job request was out of sympathy for her sob story.

If you ask me, I think she was just giving lip service. Being a woman that's been in jail over five times for embezzlement, fraud, and many other unspeakable crimes, you can understand my suspicion and hesitation.

I believe in people changing for the better. I really do. But I just don't think Lilith has reached that point yet. Why? Her body language for one, her overly touchy hands—

And the way she tries to act like she's my mom or my guardian angel or something.

I rolled my eyes. "If she thinks I'm going to start listening to what she says now, she's more delusional than I thought." I looked up and saw Theo staring at his own phone. "What's with your face?"

"My dad wants me to attend some party," he replied.

"You too?"

Two dings followed.

You will be going with a date, so be sure to behave.

A date? Is she serious?

"Apparently he even chose a date for me," murmured Theo.

I gave him a quick look before posing my thumbs above the keyboard and preparing to make my reply. Before I could type a single letter, she began typing again.

This is an extremely important party. You will be attending.

There she goes doing that 'I'm your mom so you have to do what I say' jazz.

I pressed the call button and put the device to my ear. When she answered, I opened my mouth to speak. But before I could utter a single word, she said, "This is not optional, Lumi. You will be going and that's final."

I hung up and called my dad instead, hoping that he would pick up and give me some answers. The phone stopped dialing, and to my surprise, I heard my dad's voice come through the small speaker.

"Did you get Lilith's text?" He asked.

A bitter taste filled my mouth at the mention of her name. Of course one of the first words he spoke through the phone I hadn't heard his voice from in years had to be her name.

No 'Hello' or 'Hi' or 'hey'.

I heard a bit of shuffling from his end and a nervous throat clear. "It's an important party. I hope you're not giving Lilith any trouble."

"Lilith and I would really like you to attend."

"Lilith picked you out a dress and everything!"

"Lilith has been especially helpful lately."

"Lilith has been doing even more than I tell her to in the office and lab."

"Lilith is just amazing. Don't you think so too?"

Stop saying her stupid name!" I yelled. Her name ceased ringing in my ear.

All the heads in the room turned to me and my face went red. I quickly padded out of the room and into the hall, my socks hardly making any noise on the floor as I ran.

Once I reached a quiet corner void of any nosey listeners, I sank to the floor and pressed the phone closer to my ear.

"Sorry, dad," I said. "You know I don't like parties." I tried to breathe normally as I awaited his reply.

"I know, Striker," he replied, allowing the butterflies in my stomach to rest at the sound of the nickname. "But I really want you to attend. I have a bit of a surprise for you."

"At the party?"

"If you come, you'll see."

"You really want me to go that badly?"

Silence.

"Oh, I forgot you can't see me nod." He let out a low, comforting laugh. "I do. I really do, Striker."

"Then I'll be there."