By some miracle, we vacated the driveway before Boyd came out for work. I even had enough time to reconnect his car's battery, which is a good thing since that would have been a dead giveaway that something was up.

The initial adrenaline that kept me going through the morning was waning fast. I nearly fell asleep in the car on the way back, especially since they blind-folded me so that I couldn't see where they were going. But just as I was nodding off, Cougar jostled my arm. I wondered if part of the job of being the muscleman was to wake people up. It was like I had two options—my brain could hurt from fatigue or my shoulder could hurt from being dislocated. Why do all of my options involve pain?

I felt for the car handle and opened the door. My knees wobbled as I put weight on them. I felt like I might collapse at any moment.

"Dude, you good?" By now, I could recognize Parrot's voice.

"No." I'm tired and cranky, edging on hangry. My stomach was hollow and growling for food.

Someone—I'm assuming it was Parrot—placed my arm around his shoulder for support. I stumbled forward, trying not to trip since I was tired and blindfolded.

They led me through winding halls and open doors, the same route that I remembered from two hours ago, when we were on the way to Boyd's home. In spite of the familiarity, however, I couldn't help but feel nervous since I couldn't see where I was going. I felt like a lamb being led to the slaughter. For all I knew, they could be leading me to a dungeon instead of the interrogation room that they had been using for the past few meetings. They could even be turning me in to the police!

Stop worrying, Claude. I'm sure that's not what's going on. After all, they are criminals themselves. You could rat them out if they take you to the police.

I was not being led to a dungeon or a police station. When the blindfold was finally removed, I saw that I was in the interrogation room, standing right in front of the wooden chair that I had been seated in previously. My legs gave way from sudden exhaustion. I plopped down into the chair, my tailbone smacking the chair. Ouch! The throbbing bone stole any remaining energy I had. I slumped in the chair, my eyelids half closed. Can I take a quick nap before my next task?

Raven turned around and settled his blue eyes on me in a stone-cold gaze. I decided not to ask for a break. He didn't seem to be in a charitable mood.

Much to my surprise, he said, "I hear you got the listening device. Good work."

"T-thank you," I stammered.

"That's what I expected of you," he continued. "Anything less..."

Okay, I get it. You'll kill me.

"It's right here," Falcon said. He held the tiny pill in his hand.

"Parrot, you will be responsible for listening to it. Try to get as much information from it as possible. Calico, Falcon, and Cougar, I have another job to brief you on. It's a three-person break-in."

"Got it," Cougar said. Calico and Falcon nodded.

"And as for you, Jordan," Raven began. "Your job is going to be to hack into the Federal Archives."

I stared at him, perplexed. Did I hear him right? He just wants me to go to the National Archives website? Anyone can do that! I started to laugh a little. "That's it? Just accessing the National Archives?"

I breathed a sigh of relief. Finally, something that wasn't illegal! All I had to do was go onto the website and get whatever information they needed.

"No Jordan, not the National Archives. We need you to go into the Federal Archives. It's a Federal database."

My heart sank. I spoke too soon. This does sound very illegal.

"Ever since Shark was killed, we haven't been able to get in. We've been locked out."

No duh you've been locked out. You're trying to hack your way into a Federal database! That's probably treasonous, or something like that. I didn't really know what treason was, but I assumed it was comparable to accessing information that was only for governmental officials.

"W-what do I need to do once I get into the system?" I asked.

"Nothing in the federal system, we'll take it from there. All we need is for you to open it for us. But when you are done we need you to access a few sites on the dark web."

I shut my eyes for a moment. I didn't want to think about how illegal it was to hack into a top-secret, government database. And the dark web, well, that's a whole other story. That's a place I had never ventured, in spite of my technological expertise. It was another fear stashed under my bed, one that I wished never to come in contact with.

You'll get through this, Claude. I don't know how, but you'll get through this.

I opened my eyes to see that the wooden box I had retrieved from the Mayhad's Mansion was sitting on top of the desk. Calico, standing in front of the box, raised a metal bar over her head. She smashed the lock with a resounding crack. I jumped in my chair.

"AH!" I cried.

The others paid no mind to me. Calico lifted a large, porcelain teapot on the table out of the crate. It was a work of art, with hundreds of painted flowers, colors ranging from pink to gold. Green vines were interlaced with the flowers, each leaf meticulously detailed.

My blood started to boil. They stole that masterpiece that the Mayhads had purchased, and they were probably just going to sell it and make money. It wasn't right. I shouldn't have helped these crooks. How could I have been so foolish?

Parrot let out a whistle. "Isn't that a beauty?"

"It sure is," Raven agreed. He lifted the lid. His eyes skimmed the inside of the teapot, nose wrinkling.

How dare you wrinkle your nose at a piece of art? I guessed criminals had no appreciation for art. They were only after the money. Money is the root of all evil.

"It's exactly what we're looking for," Calico said.

"How much money do you think it brings in?" Cougar asked.

"Too much." Raven handed the teapot to Cougar. "Put it with the others."

"Will do, boss." Cougar marched the teapot from the room. I felt like crying for the poor teapot, separated from loving tea drinkers to be sold by a gang. It wasn't right.

Raven glanced down at his watch. "We need to get going. It's already 8:33. Parrot, head over to the listening room."

"Got it."

Parrot exited just as Cougar returned. Raven picked up a laptop from the ground that I hadn't noticed before and set it on the table.

"Here's the device you need to use to access the database. You have until noon to get everything done. I'm going to step outside to brief Calico and Cougar. Don't try anything foolish, we have security cameras watching your every move. When I return, I bring the list of dark websites that you need to hack into."

He motioned for Calico and Cougar to follow him out the door. The click of the lock in the door echoed, reminding me of how trapped I was. I sighed a heavy sigh. At least he didn't give me a deadline for the task. Maybe I'll be able to rest for a while.

I wondered why he had given me the warning about the security camera. I mean, wouldn't he want to catch me in the act of wrongdoing? Now is not the time to dwell on Raven's motives. He has a better poker face than poker players.

Regardless of his reasons, I was grateful for the heads up. If I hadn't known, I would have called the detective agency to get help, or even called the police. I would even call my mom given the opportunity.

As I glanced around the room, I realized that my plans to call for help probably weren't the most feasible anyways considering that there was no phone in sight. I sighed. Just hack the database and get into whatever sights they want on the deep web as quickly as possible. Then you can at least catch up on some sleep. I was beginning to wonder when these people slept or ate.

I opened the laptop. In the corner, there was a sticky note saying 'the password is your name.' Jeez, how dumb are these people? They just leave the password lying around for the whole world to see. I quickly realized that even if someone opened up the computer, they might not necessarily be able to get in, since they wouldn't know who 'you' is.

Another problem came to mind. I didn't know what name I had. I obviously knew my real name. I was Claude Wintsor. But I didn't know the mysterious hacker's name. I knew the first name was Jordan...but what was the last name? Raven had told me at some point, but I couldn't remember. Maybe the password will just be the first name.

I powered the laptop on. The screen lit up with the word 'password.' I draped my fingers across the keyboard and typed in 'Jordan.' Password denied. Oh dear. Don't tell me I'm going to have to hack into the computer. My eyes flicked around the room, but I didn't see any sign of a phone that I could use to call for help. I slumped backwards in my chair. They're assuming that I know my name, which means that I would know the password. They fail to consider that I'm not Jordan.

I had never felt so trapped, so alone, in my entire life. I couldn't call the detectives for help. I think Jordan's last name started with an 'f' sound, maybe an 'fl?' Or was it 'pl?' There was definitely a 'd' in the word, maybe it started with d...

For the next ten minutes, I stared at the words 'access denied' on the computer screen while putting letters and sounds together to create names. Why me? Out of all the people in this world, why me?

Bledou! The word popped into my head suddenly. That was it. Jordan Bledou. I put my hand on the keyboard and eagerly typed it in.

Password denied. What? How can this be? I tried the same password again—all lowercase, all upper case, first name uppercase, last name upper case, replacing letters with numbers and symbols, using dashes. All of them got the same response: Access denied.

I could feel the minutes ticking away. Before I knew it, my three hours would be up and it would be over for me. Then, a new thought came to me. I typed in 'your name.'

Password accepted.

I was unamused. Really? 'Your name?' That's not very secure.

The door swung open at that moment. Raven walked in, carrying a cup of coffee and a donut box. My stomach started growling.

"Food," I murmured.

"Yes, I brought food. I don't want to be accused of cruelty."

And yet you steal stuff, want me to hack into federal databases, and need information from the dark web. Not to mention the fact that you threatened to kill me if I don't comply with your demands.

I didn't voice any of this, as I didn't want him to take the coffee and donuts away.

"Coffee and donuts... I guess they're not just meant for cops," I said. That's the only thing you have in common with them.

"Nope! We eat them too." Raven set the food on the table. My stomach growled, begging me to eat something. But something held me back. They might have drugged or poisoned the food. You could die! I resisted the urge to stuff my face with food.

Raven unfolded a piece of paper from his pocket. "Here are all of the sites you need to find. Remember, you have barely three hours to get everything done. We're on a tight schedule and can't afford delays. I'm giving you more than enough time to complete the task. Do you need anything before I go?"

I shook my head. The only thing I could think of was a pillow, but I doubted he'd fulfill my request.

"Okay. I'm going to be in the other room. Holler if you need anything."

He disappeared from the room. I tried to resist the smell of coffee and donuts. But hunger crawled at my stomach. You win. I'll eat. I tore into one of the sugary dough pillows.

At least if this is my least meal, it's a delicious one.