"What is this?" Alex demanded, storming into Zephyr's office and holding up his phone to show her the announcement Akram had made. "What happened?"

Zephyr paused the video and handed him Amanda's note. "She left this, before they took her."

He took it, and read it. Then he read it again. And a third time. His hand curled into a fist, crumpling the paper. He dropped it on the desk and turned his attention back to Zephyr. "We have to get her back."

"I know, Alex. You aren't the only one who wants to save her. But she won't come with us unless River and her parents are safe," Zephyr explained. "And we have to execute her plan too."

"We don't have time to plan for those things, he's going to kill her tomorrow!"

"Alex, listen. I'm sending you in with a squad to get Wren out, but you have to stay focused. You won't help anyone if you're too busy worrying about her."

He stared down at Amanda's note for a moment, processing Zephyr's words. They made sense. She was right. "What squad are you sending?"

"The Outlaws. It's a squad of seven. They're the best we have when it comes to missions like this."

"Great, where are they now?" Alex asked, standing. "When do we leave?"

"They're waiting in the conference room with Ajax, Hawk, and Supai. Most of the plans are already laid out, but for it to work, Akram has to be out in public."

Out in public? Does that mean... "You mean we have to rescue her at the last minute?" Alex demanded. "What if we time it wrong? Or he does it earlier?"

"We'll get her back, Alex. But if we don't do this, we'll lose the perfect opportunity to take him down. Our forces are already stretched thin as it is. We've been hanging on for a while, but if this drags out much longer, he's going to win." Zephyr met his gaze. "I'm just as terrified of losing her as you are, but this is something she asked us to do."

Alex frowned. "Alright."

***

The first people he saw when he walked into the conference room was the group sitting in the back of the room. He vaguely remembered reading about them in D's notes. These are the Outlaws, then?

One of them, the girl he assumed was the leader, stepped forward. "I'm The Strategist," she said, holding out a hand.

"Nighthawk." The Strategist? Who named her that?

He shook her hand, noticing the snake tattoo winding up her left arm. Her hair was brunette, and reached to around the middle of her back. She examined him as well, her blue eyes slightly narrowed.

"Can you fight?" she asked.

"Yes." Alex moved his attention to the rest of the squad, still seated behind The Strategist. "Look, I'm sorry, but... your code name is..." How do I put this...?

"Ridiculous? I know. Blame Thief, here," she said, gesturing to a dark-skinned, green eyed girl.

Thief grinned. "Well you are our best strategist," she pointed out.

"Can I just call you Strategy or something?" Alex asked, before the two of them could fully engage.

"Sure. And um... I should probably introduce everyone else." Strategy pointed to another girl, this one with light gray eyes and light blonde hair. "This is Cipher."

Cipher glanced up from her phone and gave a little wave. "Hi." Then she went back to whatever she was doing before.

Strategy rolled her eyes and gestured to the boy sitting beside her. "And that's her twin, Sugar."

"Sugar?"

The guy in question had the same blond hair and gray eyes as Cipher, but he was taller, and looked a lot more capable of fighting. And he was busy eating a candy bar. "We call him that because... well, you can probably tell," Cipher said.

"Right..."

Strategy shook her head, a slight smile on her face. "Anyway..." She pointed to a guy with red hair, who was also glued to his phone. "This is Code."

Code? Should I even bother asking about these names? "Behind him is Shade. And next to him is Frost."

Frost was probably the most eye catching member of the squad. Her white hair alone was unique, but combined with her chocolate brown skin and ice blue eyes, she left an impression. And that was without paying attention to the serious expression on her face and the feeling she gave off, like she could take you out in seconds if she wanted to.

Zephyr cleared her throat behind Alex. "If you're done with the introductions, we have some planning to do."

"Right," Alex agreed, glancing down at his wrist to check the time, only to find his watch was gone. "Where...?"

Strategy sighed. "Give it back, Thief."

Thief frowned, and handed the watch back.

"Alright, let's get started," Spy said.