If I hadn't been so tired, I probably would have created a hole in the carpet from pacing in my room, waiting for the Team to arrive for the briefing over the specifics of the mission. Instead, I was sprawled on my bed. I needed all the rest I could get before this big mission. The others had the entire day to sleep, while I was stuck in my room, forced to navigate the many complexities that arise when trying to develop a solid mission plan.

Fortunately, I finished the plans around one in the afternoon. I set the briefing time for four o'clock to give myself three hours to unwind. As much as I wanted to sleep, anxiety tied my mind into knots.

Will my plans actually work? Am I overlooking something, just like I did in Belgium?

Logistics played through my head, pointing out flaws in the plans I had created. I worked and reworked our strategy. The results were always the same.

This isn't helping. Just get some sleep!

The weight of my eyelids gradually pulled my eyes shut. Tension melted from my body. I drifted into my subconscious, the world around me fading.

Knuckles pounded against the door. My eyes cracked open to look at my watch.

Darn it. It's already four o'clock.

What a waste of three hours.

Voices buzzed in the other room. I suppose I better get up. For a moment, I just lay there, unable to move.

Get up, I told my body. Move.

Slowly, my limbs complied. My legs swung over the side of the bed, bracing themselves to stand. I started to roll forward off my bed, but caught myself at the last moment. It can't be normal for me to feel this tired. I've gotten so much sleep in the past twenty-four hours. Why am I not like Xara? She can pull all-nighters with no problem.

I would never understand her, even though she and I were the same, even though I had all her thoughts stored in my head. The fact saddened me. It was like I would never understand a part of myself.

Come on Xara, wake up! I bounded on my toes thrice to get the blood flowing in my body, then strolled into the room. The members of Team Summit were sitting in the living room—Dari and Finn on one couch, Jax and Ty on the other.

"Hey," I said to the others, trying to sound energetic.

"Hey, X," Dari said. "We're just waiting on Dawn and Jef."

"Okay." I grabbed an apple from the fruit bowl sitting on the living room table. Hopefully the sugar would give me enough energy to keep going. I plopped onto the cushions next to Ty and took a bite of the apple. Sweet juice burst from the crunchy fruit. A tiny bit of energy flowed into my body. It's not much, but it'll be enough to get me through the briefing.

"You look tired," Ty said.

"Yeah," I replied. I took another bite of the apple to avoid conversation. Ever since the Director told me about the double agent, I was apprehensive of the others.

Trust no one, he said. No one.

The words danced through my head in a loop. How could I possibly complete this mission knowing that I could be betrayed at any moment? These missions depended upon trust. We needed to rely on each other. How could I delegate tasks if someone could betray me at any moment? And worse yet, what if there were multiple moles within my Team?

I glanced at the other members of Team Summit out of the corner of my eye. Dari was absorbed in some advanced tech thing on her ipad, Finn was playing a grand theft auto on his phone, Jax was polishing a machete, and Ty was staring into space and murmuring to himself in a Brooklyn accent.

They all looked so innocent, but one of them was a traitor.

Another knock sounded at the door. Before I could get up, Professor Nyryn beat me to the door. Dawn's voice said,

"Sorry we're late. We just got a little bit carried away with training."

"I'm sure it's fine," Professor Nyryn said. Dawn and Jef hurried over to us.

"Glad you could join us," I said, sounding very business-like. "Take a seat and we'll get started."

Jef sat next to Finn, taking the last seat on the couch. Dawn quietly stood nearby, blinking at the two, full couches.

"Do you want me to pull up a chair?" I asked.

"Naw, I'm good," Dawn replied. She parked herself on the arm of the couch by Dari.

"Okay, let's begin." I reached over to the coffee table and opened the file for Operation BR100. "Our options for agents to follow are either Agent Fox or Agent Saber. According to the file, Agent Saber is leaving for WAOIC headquarters on July third, and Agent Fox is going to WAOIC headquarters on July fourth. Each one has benefits and drawbacks.

"The advantage of going for Agent Saber first is that if something happens we love his tail, then we can have a second chance following Agent Fox. Additionally, we will likely arrive sooner if we try to follow Agent Saber."

"Sounds like a no brainer to me," Ty said. "More time and opportunity sounds like a pretty sweet deal."

"There's only one problem, though," I continued. "Agent Saber is in New York City."

"So?" Ty said.

"New York City is made up of five burrows," I explained. "We don't know which one Agent Saber is in. It would be like searching for a needle in a haystack. Agent Fox, however, is in Siren, Wisconsin. It's a small town, meaning a higher shot at tracking her down.

"oOooh," Ty said.

"We also have an extra day to track down Agent Fox. So I've decided that we're going to follow her."

"Whatever you decide, chief," Dawn said.

I nodded. "Good. Now here's the plan. We're going to split up into two groups when we arrive in Siren. Dari, Finn, and Jef will be Team A, the rest of us will be Team B."

"Why aren't you on Team A?" Dawn said. "You're The Lead, afterall."

"It doesn't matter," I said. "It's just to distinguish between the two groups so I don't have to say everyone's names."

"Why don't we split up into pairs?" Dari suggested. "We can cover more areas that way."

Ordinarily, that's what I would have done. But unfortunately, after what the Director told me this morning, I knew that was out of the question. Dawn and Jef's placement was strategic, since they weren't a part of Team Summit. I needed at least one person I could trust in each group. And I had placed myself in the larger group so as to keep an eye on more people.

"No, I think we should try to stick together," I countered. "There's more security in numbers in case Fox were to fire upon us."

Fortunately, no one pressed the issue. That was one good thing about being The Lead. No one questioned my authority.

"Are we just going to roam the city looking for Agent Fox?" Finn asked.

"I'll discuss that in a moment. I need to tell you the Operation's timeline first."

In actuality, I was trying to buy time for myself. I was embarrassed to admit that I hadn't thought of that. But I had determined a timeline for the operations. I decided to focus on my preparations for the time being, hoping I would have a stroke of brilliance before I had to address Finn's question.

"Today, Finn will get the plane ready to fly to the Appleton International Airport in Wisconsin. We've gotten special permission to land and keep our airplane there. Ty, you're going to prepare disguises for each of us..."

"Really? I am?" Ty exclaimed.

"Yes, Ty, you are," I said, annoyed. "Otherwise, Agent Fox might recognize us when we are trying to follow her. We're going to need lots of different ones. And when I say lots, I mean that you need to pack an entire suitcase full. This entire mission requires us to remain undercover.

"Dawn and Jef, prepare equipment for getting into WAOIC headquarters. I anticipate that we're going to need rope, a tool box, and maybe some high-power digging equipment. If you think of anything else, add it. We want to have all the tools we need at our disposal, especially since we don't know what sorts of challenges we're going to face.

"Dari, I need you to bring whatever you need for hacking into security systems. You may need to shut down the power in the building or access security cameras. What type of technology will you be needing for that?"

"Just two laptops and my ipad," she said.

"Good. And Jax, I need you to gather the weapons. We need some heavy duty ones, like some machine guns, rifles, and maybe a grenade or two. But we should also have small weapons that can be easily concealed in case of being captured. At a bare minimum, every member of the Team must be armed with a knife and a gun at all times. Hide it in a place no one will find it."

I hoped that in case the double agent attacked us, everyone would have a secret weapon to fight back with.

I swept my gaze from person to person. "I think that just about covers everything for duties."

Finn cleared his throat. "You were supposed to be discussing the timeline."

I wanted to facepalm. "Right. So you know what you're doing today. Tomorrow, we leave for Wisconsin at eight a.m. sharp. That gives you lots of time to get ready in the morning."

And a chance for me to sleep in, I added silently.

"We'll arrive around noon. Then we'll split into the two groups. We have July second and third to track Agent Fox down. By the end of July third, we need to know where her hotel is. We shall book a room at the same hotel and leave when Agent Fox leaves. We'll follow her the rest of the way to WAOIC headquarters."

"And are we just going to wander the city to look for her?" Finn asked again.

"Do you have a better idea?" I countered.

Finn shrugged. "Naw, just asking."

I sighed. "I know, it doesn't sound very efficient, but we have nothing to go on. It's the only way to find her."

"Do we know her interests?" Dawn suggested. "Or what mission she is on?"

"I don't know what mission she is on. It doesn't say in the file."

"But what about her interests?" Dawn repeated. "Have you read her agent file?"

Not only had I read Agent Fox's file, I had it memorized. Every single WAOIC agent's file had been taped and played back so that I memorized it. As I recalled the information, I realized that she had two weaknesses: shooting ranges and Italian food.

"We need to hit up every single Italian restaurant in Siren during mealtimes," I said.

"Wouldn't it be more efficient to split up into smaller groups for that?" Dari said.

I felt my heart sink because I knew she was right. It really did make more sense to split up. We could cover more restaurants that way.

But why does she keep pushing for us to split up? I wondered. She was right, but something felt odd for her to constantly mention it.

"We'll cross that bridge when we get to it," I said. "We need to do some research and find out how many Italian restaurants are located in Siren."

"I'm on it," Dari jumped in.

Ugh. I guess we'll have to tackle this issue now. Her thumbs tapped on the screen. She began scrolling through a page of search results.

"It looks like there are only two Italian-style restaurants in Siren," Dari said.

I exhaled. Wow, that's kind of perfect. "So we can just stay in our assigned groups."

"Yup. Crazy how that worked out,"

I paid careful attention to the tone of her voice to see if she was disappointed. I couldn't detect anything.

"So I guess everything is settled," I finished. "Since we're taking lots of disguises and gear, I need you to pack light for your personal belongings. Only bring what is absolutely necessary. I'm thinking clothes, tech, weapons, and basic toiletries. Understood?"

My crew nodded.

"Good. Get a good night's rest tonight, and I'll see you in the morning."

"You need to sleep too," Ty said.

You're telling me?

"Yeah, I plan to."