I keep scanning the park, starting to lose hope, when suddenly I spot him, standing near a tree.

He's scowling now, talking on the phone. By the gestures he's making with his free hand I can guess he is pretty upset, but I can't make out what he's saying from here. Where is Mara when I need her?

 Mara! 

Still keeping an eye on Simon Says, making sure to be discreet and not get myself caught, I slip out my TekPad and put it next to my ear.

"Call Mara," I say, waiting for my friend to pick up. Simon Says is still talking, and by the way the conversation is going I give myself five minutes tops before he hangs up and moves on. Come on, come on. Pick up!

"Bri? What's u..."

I don't wait for her to finish her sentence before cutting in.

"Get to the Park, Simon Says is here."

She doesn't need to answer for me to know she's already grabbing everything and heading out the door. I can hear her talking to Kalen and Ash from the other end, voices muffled.

"Alright, hang tight Bri, we're on our way."

"Tell her not to do anything stupid." I hear Kalen shout from the background, and I feel my spirit lighten somewhat at his words. I hang up, just as Simon Says puts away his own phone and heads back to the area where the charity is taking place.

I send a quick text to Diana, letting out a breath I didn't know I was holding when she tells me she made it to the café.

I pocket my TekPad and follow Simon Says with my eyes, watching as he chats with parents like it's the most normal thing in the world. If only they knew who they were talking to.

I start to inch closer, not wanting to lose him for a second, when his eyes, covered by dark lenses, land on me. I try not to be too obvious as I freeze in place, turning my head to the side as I pretend to scan the crowd for someone.

I don't dare look in his direction, but eventually I slowly turn my head, feeling my heart sink when I find he is still watching me. He says something to the mother he had been talking to, and makes his way up the grassy hill, smile disappearing once he has turned away. I guess he recognized me then. 

Okay, time to go.

 I start walking backward, not wanting to turn around and give Simon a chance to jump me, but my progress is slow, and he is getting closer by the second.

I don't know whether I should take out my TekPad and send a call for help to the others, but I quickly stomp on the idea as soon as it pops into my head. There is no time, besides, all of my training should have been for something right?

I search my pockets, remembering the emergency equipment I had grabbed just a few hours earlier, after Kalen had insisted it wasn't a smart idea to go out unprotected. I send him silent thanks as my fingers curl around the cool metal cuffs that are inside one of my inner pockets.

Simon Says is still walking towards me, but this time I don't run. I start walking, keeping my head held high, and my footsteps steady as I get closer and closer to the man who has already escaped us once.

He is not escaping again.

He must notice my sudden change, because this time it's he who freezes. Oh, the irony. 

The scowl is still firmly plastered on his face, but I don't miss the way his hand twitches nervously at his side. I speed up, and that's when he starts running, going straight for the crowd of parents and children.

"Stop!" I yell, running after him. Obviously, he doesn't listen to me. What I would give to have his Gift right now.

He darts in between trees and people, not looking back once, nearly tripping on a discarded water bottle lying in the grass. I run faster, pushing my legs to the limit. I nearly have him, when he seems to remember he has a Gift worth using.

I quickly take out the special earplugs Jordan made for us and put them on, effectively blocking out every noise. I watch as Simon turns his head to the side, yelling his order, but the earplugs do their job well. No sound reaches my ears, and I just barely make out the word that escapes his lips.

"Freeze."

Thankfully, unlike the last time he used that same trick on me, I keep going, barreling through the park.

He's going to turn right.

I listen to the voice in my head, watching as Simon Says runs down to the parking lot, and turn at the same time he does, not losing pace with him for a second.

"Stop!" I yell, even though I know my attempts to make him turn around or slow down are futile. Just when I think my legs are going to give out from under me Simon Says drops to the ground, hands covering his ears as he screams. I stop puzzled, before something tall comes barreling past me, landing on top of Simon Says and forcing his hands behind his back. My eyes widen when I realize who it is.

"Kalen?"

Said person is currently strapping some metal cuffs around Simon Says hands, even though the man still has his eyes screwed shut and is yelling and spasming on the ground. I take out the earplugs and put them back in my pocket, just in time to hear someone coming up behind me.

"Don't forget us!"

I turn around at the new voice and come face to face with a grinning Asher, who is walking in front of a serious-looking Mara. Her hand is outstretched, eyes never leaving Simon Says.

So that's why he suddenly dropped, Mara is using her Gift on him.

I glance back over at Kalen, who has finished handcuffing the screaming man and is currently trying to force him to his feet. Mara walks up to the two and puts on the muzzle that Jayson had used the last time to prevent Simon Says from using his Gift on us, and only once it's secured over his mouth does she stop manipulating the sound waves around him. I can tell the exact moment she stops using her Gift, as Simon Says sags forward, head lolling to the side as if he had no strength left to sustain himself. If it weren't for Kalen still holding him up, he would have crashed to the floor once again.

"So, when I said don't do anything stupid," I turn to Kalen, who is watching me with a stern look on his face. "That also meant don't chase villains on your own in the park."

I raise my eyebrow at him, unimpressed.

"What would you have me do then? Let him escape? I'm sorry Kalen, but you would have done the same thing had you been in my shoes."

He scowls, mumbling something under his breath, but he must agree with me because he doesn't say anything else on the matter.

"What do we do with him?" Asks Asher, nudging our semiconscious villain.

"We send him back to the compound, where he will be interrogated," I say, remembering what Christian told us just before we left on our mission. Should we encounter and manage to capture either Simon Says or our mystery assassin we were to send them back to the compound, where Christian and the rest of our mentors would be waiting. I don't even want to imagine what they are going to do to Simon Says when he gets there, considering he already got away from us once.

Asher nods and walks a little ways away with his TekPad held in front of him, presumably to contact the compound and get someone down here to pick up our package.

I leave Simon Says in the capable hands of my teammates and hurry down the street to the café I told Diana to hide in, praying that she will still be there. Sure enough, I find her sitting at one of the many round tables pushed up against the walls but, to my dismay, she isn't alone. Three men, all dressed in black, surround her from all sides. So, in a moment of panic, she called her bodyguards. I can't blame her really, I guess I would have done the same thing if I were in her position. One too many kidnappings had to make a person on edge at any sign of danger. Diana spots me standing in the door and gets up, rushing towards me, throwing her arms around me in a hug. I stagger backward, not having expected her to launch herself at me when I returned, but I smile and pat her on the back nonetheless.

"Are you okay?" She asks, checking me over, a frown pulling at the corners of her mouth. I nod.

"Nothing I couldn't handle."

She smiles at that, shoulders relaxing slightly.

"Good, I was worried sick!"

 I smile, and glance over her shoulder at the three bodyguards who are still watching Diana, making sure I am not some sort of threat. I smile at them as well and give them a mock salute.

Diana notices and winces, looking guilty

"I'm sorry, I just didn't know if you were going to come back. I panicked, they are here to take me to my father."

I figured as much. Once Khan found out about what had happened, I doubted he would let Diana out of his sight for a while.

"I don't know when we will be able to meet up again," she says, confirming my suspicions. She battles with something for a second, eyes studying my face before she leans in to whisper something in my ear. "I'm not supposed to tell anyone this, for safety reasons. But I'm going to be going away in a month, to a children's orphanage in Cana."

I hold back the curse that is threatening to burst from my mouth. Cana? That's the last place I expected her to go. Ever since the war our two countries have been a bit, well, let's just say the border between us has been heavily guarded since then. The northern country is known for its hospitality however, maybe the President is trying to clear the air by sending his daughter in a sign of respect. Who knows, all I need to find out is why she's telling me this. As if reading my thoughts, she continues, making sure her bodyguards are still giving us some time to talk.

"It's just, no one knows where I'm going, and I don't want you to worry if you don't hear from me. I can't specify which orphanage I'll be at, if my father found out I told someone he would kill me. But just know that I should be safe while I'm there, and hopefully when I come back, we can hang out sometime? It's been very nice having someone to talk to."

My heart aches as I listen to her. This poor girl, who seems to have everything yet has nothing at all. I nod again, assuring her that I will see her once she gets back. I don't tell her that I already know what orphanage she is staying at, or my worries that something will happen to her while she is there. If she leaves in a month that means we have exactly that time to find our rogue. Which means I have less time than I thought to find any substantial evidence that her father is our killer.

One of the bodyguards comes up to us and puts her hand on Diana's shoulder, nodding at me once before she guides the president's daughter out of the cafe. Diana gives me one last smile before she disappears into the busy street once more, her other two bodyguards following close behind, not sparing me another glance.

One month Bri, you have one month to make sure nothing happens to that girl.

I crack my knuckles and head back to the Park. Someone is going to give me answers, and he is going to do it now.