"This is the FBI's headquarters?" Malik asked as he parked alongside a meter bordering the sidewalk wrapping around the J. Edgar Hoover Building. "Why does it look so...boring?"

"You want it to look like Disney World or something," Thea quipped.

"Isn't Disney World in Florida?"

"How should I know? I actively boycott anything Disney-related. It's just a capitalist monster feeding off—"

"I dunno," Henri interrupted while rubbing his hairless chin. "I'm with Malik on this one. They could've added a little more color, some pizazz, you know? Maybe some interesting shapes? I mean, this looks like one of my old Lego sets."

Thea snorted. "Those were horrible."

"I was like eight, Thea."

"And you swore you were the second coming of Archimedes. Or maybe Da Vinci. Remember that helicopter you thought would fly when you dropped it off the roof?"

Henri wasn't listening anymore.

Once Malik cut the engine to the Thunderbird, the trio stepped out of the slightly damaged car and onto the pavement. They'd lost Sergei and his lackeys a couple of blocks down. Even if the mercenaries followed them here, Henri doubted they'd try anything. Attacking the FBI's headquarters didn't seem like the smartest of ideas—even for someone as bold as the Serbian.

Henri shuddered as the image of the man's hand reaching out for him strobed through his brain. He'd been about five seconds away from capture. Had their getaway driver not shown up when he did, who knows what would've happened to him and Thea.

"Who're we looking for again?" Malik asked as they approached the J. Edgar Hoover Building. It was a concrete low-rise behemoth peppered with parallel rows of identical tinted windows. A separate level had been built above the west wing. From the street, one could see the massive HVAC units looking down on the pedestrians below.

The place looked like it hadn't been updated since the Cold War. Plenty of buildings like it existed throughout America and Great Britain. The two countries could've learned a thing or two from Europe—or any other country with a shred of culture. Henri was no architect, but he surely could've designed a better-looking headquarters for the Federal Bureau of Investigations. Alas, he wasn't there to critique the layout of the building.

"We're looking for a Special Agent Derek Callahan," Henri said, answering Malik's earlier question. The trio walked through the building's revolving door and immediately caught a speculative glance from the woman sitting behind the front desk.

"How may I help you today?" she asked as they stopped in front of her.

Thea spoke first. "Derek Callahan. Where is he?"

The receptionist shifted in her seat. "Do you have a meeting scheduled? Let me check—"

"No meeting. It's an emergency, actually, so if you could just tell us where he is that would be great."

"Young lady, you look like you've just survived a bomb strike. You cannot just barge into a government facility asking for the whereabouts of one of our agents."

Thea narrowed her eyes at the woman. Her hands were folded tightly across her chest. "And why not?"

Henri resisted the urge to facepalm. The only thing that would come out of this was an argument, and he wasn't interested in seeing his sister verbally duke it out with some lady who seemed to be a week away from retirement. Flashing one of his brilliant smiles at the receptionist, he stepped in front of Thea, gently pushing her out of the way. Before she could protest, he held a finger to her face.

"I got this." Clearing his throat, he glanced at the woman. The look on her face suggested she was unimpressed, but she wouldn't be for long. "Hello, good afternoon. My name is Henri Beck. The young woman behind me is my sister, Thea Beck. And behind her is our friend, Malik Jackson."

Thea kept the sour expression on her face while Malik waved halfheartedly.

"Beck..." The receptionist's entire face lit up like a Christmas tree. "Oh, I know that name. Your parents are those famous historians! My husband's always watching their show on the Discovery Channel. He loves history." She glanced at Malik. "You look familiar too. Are you an athlete?"

"Er, I used to—"

"Oh, that's right! You used to play basketball for Howard, right? My niece goes to that school, you know. Maybe you know her." The woman tilted her head at him. "You were supposed to be the next big thing. My husband says the Wizards were going to draft you. What happened? All that talent gone to waste! Such a shame."

Malik stiffened. His eyes darted around as he took a half-step backward.

Henri glanced at him. The beginnings of a panic attack weren't a foreign sight to him. Before Thea got on her medication, she used to get them whenever they went out in public. Navigating them had become second nature to him.

He grabbed the boy's hand, squeezed it, and nodded reassuringly at him. Before the receptionist could badger his friend with more useless conjecture, he cut his eyes at her with the precision of a samurai's katana.

"Ma'am, it's been a long day for us."

"But...it's not even lunchtime—"

"We're here on important business. Classified business, even. It's highly confidential, so I'm afraid I can't disclose the finer details to you, but we really need to speak with Special Agent Callahan."

"I see, I see."

"Would it be possible for you to let him know we're here to see him?"

"It certainly would be possible."

Henri's smiled. "Great!"

"Just so I can confirm...you don't have an appointment, correct?"

His smile slipped. "Er...no."

"Then I'm afraid you'll have to schedule one and come back another time. Agent Callahan is a very busy man." The woman gestured toward the revolving door. "Goodbye now!"

Henri was full-on frowning now. "You're not a very nice woman."

"I don't get paid to be nice, sweetie."

Thea pointed a menacing finger at her. "You better watch your back—"

"Did you just threaten a federal employee?"

Henri immediately grabbed her hand and hightailed it for the exit. Malik followed, struggling to keep his laughter under control the entire time. The three of them found themselves standing outside in front of their parked Thunderbird—which had somehow earned a $50 parking ticket during the five minutes they'd been inside.

This day just keeps getting better.

Thea snatched it off the dashboard, crumpled it up, and threw it over her shoulder.

"I thought you were an environmentalist?" Henri joked.

She sent him a look that said stop talking.

"Well, that was a bust." Sighing, Malik leaned against the hood of the car. "What now?"

Henri stared at the building. They needed to speak with Agent Callahan. But they didn't have time to wait around for his next available appointment. He was in the building somewhere, and they were going to find him. They just needed to find a way past the front desk. Going through the main entrance wasn't an option anymore. They'd need another way in.

Sneaking into a federal building full of the nation's best FBI agents wasn't exactly easy.

But it was necessary.

"We need to get back inside and find Callahan," Henri said.

"That stupid lady isn't going to let us pass without an appointment," Thea grumbled.

"Yeah..." Henri's eyes scaled the building until they reached the top. He spotted a janitor exit one of the smaller structures built atop the roof. His eyes lit up.

Thea squinted at him. "Uh oh. He's got an idea."

"Shut up," he hissed. "It's a good one. Besides, I don't see you coming up with anything."

"Yeah, yeah. Just tell us what it is."

Nodding, he gathered Thea and Malik into a tight huddle on the sidewalk and relayed his grandmaster plan to them.

###

"For a genius," Thea began as they tiptoed up the metal staircase, "this is a pretty stupid plan."

Helming the group, Henri took the liberty of ignoring her negativity. He couldn't remember the last time his sister gave anyone props for anything. He certainly wasn't expecting her to start now.

Besides, the plan was a good one. Well, as good as it could've been. Breaking and entering a federal agency building was a felony. The last thing they needed was to end up in prison. So, he devised a strategy that gave them plausible deniability should they get caught. Plan A involved them not getting caught. But a good strategist always kept a Plan B in their back pocket.

He hoped they wouldn't need it, but with how the day was going, he was sure they would.

After a thorough canvassing of the J. Edgar Hoover Building, and a quick Google search courtesy of Thea's phone, the trio realized the west wing of the headquarters had recently been renovated. The entire upper level had been added within the last couple of years. While accessible via the main building, a standalone staircase had been constructed that led straight to the top.

That was their route to the roof.

The stairwell was guarded by a locked door accessible only by keycode, but Thea's quick thinking saw her keep the door slightly ajar with her shoe after being opened by an employee. The entire time, Malik kept complaining about how "two black men and a weirdly dressed white girl" loitering around the headquarters was sure to sound off some alarms. He might've been right, but they were low on options.

No one had arrested them yet, meaning they were in the clear. Henri didn't want to keep trying their luck, though. The sooner they made it inside and found Special Agent Callahan the better.

They emerged from the top of the staircase and into a rooftop garden.

"So this is where they've been hiding all the color," Henri mumbled to himself as they passed by a sparkling fountain.

"Is that a soccer field?" Malik pointed toward another tier of the building above them.

It was, in fact, a domed soccer field.

"Huh. You don't see that every day."

"Come on," Thea said. "I think I see a door that leads inside."

The three of them kept their heads down and their feet moving. A few people threw strange glances their way, but no one stopped them. Miraculously, they made it through a set of sliding doors and continued their journey into the J. Edgar Hoover Building.

"So far so good," Henri said with a satisfied grin.

"Hey!"

The sharp voice made the trio stop dead in their tracks. A set of boots stomping in their direction filled Henri's ears. He exchanged uneasy glances with his two partners in crime.

"You just had to say something," Thea muttered with a scowl.

The three of them faced the owner of the voice. A stocky man in a plain black suit stood before them. His salt and pepper hair had been cut closely along the sides of his head. He obnoxiously chewed on a wad of gum as he glared at the trio.

"What're you doing in here?" he questioned. His eyes scanned over them as if he were a living metal detector. Except he wasn't searching them for weapons. He was searching for lies.

"Er..." Malik rubbed the back of his neck. "We were just...headed to the bathroom."

"That's funny. The bathroom is in the other direction."

Henri internally cursed.

"Alright," the man began. "Who are and how'd you get in here?"

Sighing, Henri stepped forward. "Okay, look. We tried to get in through the front but the nice lady at the reception wouldn't let us through. We're looking for a Special Agent Callahan. It's urgent."

The man stiffened. "What're you looking for him for?"

"It's about my parents. Simon and Aminata Beck of the Beck Foundation. They've been kidnapped." Henri watched the man's expression steely expression give way to wavering concern. "That's not all, either. But I'd rather tell—"

"Come with me."

Henri blinked. "Huh?"

"I won't tell you twice, kid. Come on." The man glanced at Thea and Malik. "You guys come too. If you stay in here long enough, the janitor might mistake you for trash."

The two of them glanced down at their clothes.

"Do we really look that bad?" Thea whispered to the taller boy beside her. He simply shrugged.

"Yes, you do." The man headed down the brightly lit corridor. "Come on, I've got some FBI merch in my office."

Henri pursed his lips. "Er, thank you and all, but I was told to speak to Agent—"

The man pulled a folded, leather badge out the inner pocket of his suit jacket. Flipping it open with a satisfying thwip, the name underneath his portrait read Derek Z. Callahan. Special Agent.

"I did not see that coming," Malik said with a laugh.

"Now, quit standing around and follow me," Agent Callahan ordered. He popped his gum in his mouth, the noise grating in Henri's ears. "We've got some things to discuss."