Kate listened for footsteps as she stalked through the halls, Ave following close behind. They'd encountered two of Novak's men so far, and both were now slumped over, hidden between tarps as best as she and Ave could place them. Everything was going smoothly, but she was too aware of the seconds ticking by. Hazel had given them all the intel the agents managed to scour up, but it wasn't enough for Kate to feel as confident as she wanted to: they didn't even know what the stone looked like or how it was contained.

"Kate?"

She glanced over her shoulder. Ave had a finger pressed to his earpiece.

"The Crimson Snake is here," he said.

She stopped dead in her tracks. "Did he come alone?"

"Tara says yes."

Kate exhaled and kept walking. Crimson on his own, they could handle. It would be four against one only if it came to blows. She couldn't help but find the situation ironic: there was finally a decent chance of catching even one Snake, but the mission demanded that they focus on the stone. She would have to let Crimson go.

"We'll stay out of his sight," she said.

"Got it."

Kate stopped in front of an opening and poked her head around the wall. They'd reached the center of the building: a large, open space filled with neatly stacked containers of Novak's finest goods. The stacks were only waist-high, and in the narrow paths between them roamed his lackeys. They were organizing and taking stock with weapons clipped to their belts and hung over their shoulders. The ceiling here was at least two, maybe three stories high. A lone skylight let in some sun, and running along the cases and snaking up the studs were thin strips of blue light.

"See that?" Ave whispered.

Kate followed his line of sight. There were walkways suspended over the space: a higher vantage point that looked to be accessible from an upper floor. If the stone was in this room, then they might be able to see it from up there.

"Alright," Kate said when they returned to the hallway. "To the stairs."

........................

While Jack went to meet Novak, Elle stayed invisible and roamed the building. Her task was to find exits and count heads; if things went south, then knowing the easiest way out would make the difference between a Czech arrest and returning to New York. She already knew that Novak's people—and the arms—were concentrated in the center space, so it was the hallways, entrances, and miscellaneous rooms that she needed to go through to track how many people he had and where.

Invisibility had its perks, especially since her clothes and anything she was holding—within reasonable size—turned invisible along with her. It was easy to sneak around as long as she stayed quiet.

But even that was hard sometimes.

She turned the corner to find a guy on the floor, and she let out a surprised curse before shutting her mouth.

There was a rip in the tarp-wall behind him. It looked as if he'd fallen through, but the only reason he would be in that small space in the first place was if someone had tried to hide him. Elle hadn't done it, and Jack was being escorted...so who knocked out this guy?

Her question was answered when someone rounded the corner. Elle resisted another surprised curse and moved aside as the lone woman strode past her. It was Agent Kate, one of the League's top operatives. The same one who led the team at the exchange.

Elle stood watching, tense, as Kate pushed the body back into hiding. Of all the days for the League to decide to tackle Novak, it had to be this one.

Kate opened a door to a staircase. "Found one," she said.

And as Elle realized that Kate was, in fact, not alone, it was already too late. Elle turned to leave just as someone else rounded the corner, and they collided. She stumbled back and froze. The man wasn't so lucky: in his shock, he'd fallen over.

"Ave?" Kate said, clearly trying not to laugh. "What was that?"

He scrambled to his feet. "I bumped into something!"

"There's nothing there."

Elle held her breath. The agents were on opposite ends of the short hall, and she was standing right between them.

Ave reached up and dropped his sunglasses from the top of his head and onto his face. He tapped a finger on the left hinge, and the lenses flickered.

"There's a person standing there," he said.

Damned thermal imaging. Elle remained invisible, weighing her very few options.

"Who do you think it is?" Ave mused.

"A Snake, most likely," Kate replied, eyes narrowing, "since we know Crimson's here."

Elle inhaled. Not only was she stuck, but they knew Jack was here, too.

Kate took a step forward. "You have two options," she said calmly. "You can make yourself visible and we can talk out what we can do without making a scene, or..."

The rest went unsaid, but Elle got the message. Her hands clenched. She couldn't fight both of them at once and win. If she ran away instead, she would have to get past one of them first, and even then, they could chase her down immediately. She needed to get rid of Ave's glasses, but if she attacked him, Kate would rush to help.

Which meant Elle would end up fighting both at once, no matter what she did.

Think, she urged herself. Think!

She didn't have to for long. Two of Novak's men entered Kate's end of the hallway and stopped short. As they shouted and raised their guns, Kate ripped a metal stud from the wall and charged at them with it. Taking advantage of the distraction, Elle ran at Ave. She practically threw herself at him, knowing she wouldn't get around him, and brought her fist down toward his face. He jerked his head aside just in time, and she hit his shoulder instead of the glasses.

Elle wrapped her arm around his neck and forced him to the ground. The next thing she knew, he vanished, and her grip closed around nothing but air. A sparrow was flying away from her, and then it turned into Ave. He still had the glasses.

Elle straightened and ducked just as fast; one of Novak's men had dodged Kate's swinging fist and gotten a round loose. A line of bullets hit the metal frames, and Kate elbowed the guy square in the nose, rocking his head back. She was doing well but getting overwhelmed; three more people had shown up.

Elle focused on Ave. She'd never met him before and hadn't guessed he was a superhuman, but now that she knew, she was prepared. He was still in her way; she had no choice but to fight again, but this time, she waited for him to make the first move.

Ave glanced over his shoulder at Kate. He looked back at Elle, bouncing on the balls of his feet as frustration flashed across his face, and then he turned on his heel to go help Kate instead.

Elle took her chance and bolted. No one followed. They might find her again, but since Ave hadn't watched her leave, he didn't know which direction she'd gone in. That would give her a good head start.

She'd reached the other side of the building when she almost ran smack into someone else before skidding to a stop. She turned herself visible, eyebrows raised. The party kept getting bigger and bigger. "What are you doing here?"

Azure looked at Amara. Neither of them answered.

Elle swallowed, catching her breath. "If you're here to help, we could use it. There's a League team here, Agent Kate and some bird guy, but I don't know if they're here for the stone." She started walking, expecting them to follow, but she stopped when she realized that they weren't.

"You should find Crimson and leave," Azure said. "Amara and I will get the stone."

Elle blinked. Never had she seen Azure look so...conflicted. "We can do this together, can't we?" she asked.

"Yes," Amara said. "But he doesn't want to tell you."

Azure's face soured. "What was that for?" he muttered, glaring at her.

"What's wrong?" Elle asked.

"Nothing's wrong."

"Then why don't you want us to help you?" Elle tilted her head accusingly. "And how did you get here?"

She'd done the math: she called him a few hours ago, when they were already in Prague, to update him on Black's assignment, and at that time, Azure and Amara were in New York. There was no reason for him to have lied about his location, but there was also no way he got here in such a short time.

Azure opened his mouth to answer, but Amara said, calmly, like it was nothing: "He teleported."

Azure shook his head dejectedly. "Amara," he snapped, "please stop talking."

Elle stared at them. She always suspected that they knew more about each other than they let on. "I didn't know you could teleport," she said flatly.

Azure shrugged, trying to brush it off, but she could sense his unease. "I can teleport," he said. "I'm sorry for never telling you guys."

Elle shook her head. She didn't care about that; he had a right to keep his secrets, and she didn't expect him to tell them every detail about himself. But whatever was driving him over the edge right now, that she cared about, because they were friends, practically family, and she wanted to help.

She waited, and when it became clear he wasn't going to explain further, she came up with something a little more crafty. "Let's play a game, why don't we?"

Amara turned away, taking a few steps in this direction and that, offering no more commentary or interest. Azure was left to answer alone, and he said, "I'm listening."

"If Novak hands the stone over to Jack," Elle explained, "or if this goes south and leads to a fight and Jack or I get the stone, then you tell us what's going on, and we'll gladly give it to you." She ignored the fact that it was Black who told them to get it—she trusted Azure and had no problem handing it over to him instead. "If you or Amara get it, then, well, the stone's already yours, and you don't have to tell us anything. Deal?"

Azure thought about it for a moment and ultimately nodded. "Game on."

It was only when Elle parted from them to find the stone herself that she realized she forgot to consider what would happen if the League team got it instead. It was too late; Azure and Amara had already gone the other way to find it themselves.

Oh, well. The game was one, and time would tell.