"Why are we leaving? I thought we were having a meeting?" Chase asked as the group of five filed out of the room. Even though he didn't know much about Arcanese custom, it seemed rather counterintuitive that they were leaving the palace to meet the King.

"You didn't think we were going to have an important Order meeting here, did you?" Roy scrunched up his nose. "This place is chock-full of staff and tourists. It's important that we keep the distinction between the Arcanese government and the Order of Chance- the same people ultimately run both, but one is very, very public and one is absolutely not."

"Then where do we have meetings?" Chase followed up, bewildered.

"Why, at our very own Nader V. Hesche Financial, of course," Chase's father smiled knowingly at his mother. "You've always wanted to see where we work in Arcana, haven't you, Chase? Well, you're about to."

"Wait... let me get this straight... Hesche is real? Princess Juliana said it was-"

"Just because it has a designated building does not mean it is real, Chase," Violet sighed.

"How hard do you think it is to buy a skyscraper and slap a logo on it?" Roy laughed.

Chase had never felt more confused in his life.

They were back in the elevator by then. Chase, in an effort to make himself useful among people who most definitely did not need him, reached over to press the elevator button. Juliana motioned to him that she had it taken care of, pressing the "0" button instead of "1".

"Wait...the first floor isn't the lowest one?" asked Chase, who hadn't realized the button even existed.

"Technically, it is, but we have an underground garage," Juliana explained. "It comes in handy when we want to leave the palace without running into too many non-Order members along the way."

"We're going underground?" Roy grinned as the elevator opened up to a large, dimly lit space that didn't look much different from an average concrete parking garage. "I'm parked here! I can drive, if you're all alright with that."

"Your bright red Ferrari is the most tastelessly ostentatious vehicle I have ever seen in my life, and in an effort to uphold my royal dignity, I shall never set foot inside it."

"Well, Your Highness, that was a very tastelessly ostentatious way to tell me you don't like my new car," Roy retorted.

"Children, please," Violet chuckled, shaking her head as if they were five years old. "I'll drive." The look she gave them surprised Chase- it was a warm, protective, motherly look that he'd only ever seen her give his sister. This raised a new question in his head. Exactly how close was his family to the Arcanese royals??

"Thank you, Lady Violet," Juliana said as they walked down a long row of vehicles including several black Nader V. Hesche vans and what Chase assumed was Roy's infamous red Ferrari. Violet stopped in front of one of the vans, reaching into her purse.

"Ah!" she exclaimed. "Henry told me I probably left them in America, but I knew I still had the keys to this thing!"

She triumphantly retrieved a keyring, unlocking the van and waiting as the other four filed in. Chase's father was the last to take his seat in the van, circling around to the back to get something first.

"Maskeys, anyone?" he asked once he was seated in the front, turning around to face Chase, Roy, and Juliana. In his palm, he held five round, black buttons that looked to be made of some kind of dull metal. Roy and Juliana took one each and Chase followed their lead. He watched as they opened their mouths, placing the buttons under their tongues.

"Go on, the Maskey tastes a little funny at first but it won't kill you," Juliana smiled encouragingly at Chase, who still held the button in his hand with a confused look on his face. Raising an apprehensive eyebrow, he inserted the disc into his mouth, cringing at the metallic taste. Remembering the suits that had fluidly sheathed Juliana and Roy's bodies during battle, Chase wondered if the strange device was a similar instant battle-suit, or some other kind of advanced defense system.

"So what exactly is this thing?" he asked as the van pulled out of the parking space, noticing that neither his nor the nobles' clothes were growing armor platelets.

"It's quite self-explanatory," Roy replied smugly. "Mask. Key. Maskey."

"How helpful," Juliana rolled her eyes. "It's a security system. When we're using the Maskeys, anyone who's not using a Maskey sees us as entirely different people. We don't want any outsiders making connections between us and Hesche. The scanner that lets us into Order headquarters also works by detecting the presence of a Maskey."

"So it's a disguise in a button?" Chase gasped. "How does that work!?"

"Some kind of complex projection system that creates a 3-d reconstruction of a random face in front of your own. You'd have to ask the Serpentines about the details- they oversee security and surveillance tech production," Juliana replied. "They're the fourth Bloodline- you'll probably meet at least one of them at this meeting," she explained, noticing Chase's confusion.

"The fourth Bloodline..." Chase had gotten so used to the idea of himself, Juliana, and Roy as a unit that he'd almost forgotten that the Order had four ruling families. "Do they have an heir too?"

"I wish they didn't," Roy grumbled.

"Hayley Serpentine is a darling!" Juliana retorted, elbowing him in the ribs. "In case you can't tell, she and Roy don't get along very well, and that's because she's a ray of sunshine while he can be quite the...er...realist. She really did want to come with us to get you, and was quite disappointed when she found out she had her exams this week. No one can afford to miss exams at the Royal Academy, after all." 

Chase nodded, understanding. He wondered how seriously the Arcanese took school, if an heiress couldn't miss a couple of days for something as important as an Order of Chance mission. If the Order even considered him a mission. He was probably just a side errand. 

"Hesche is just a few streets over," Juliana smiled. Chase looked past Roy to see her resting her chin on her hand as she looked out the window. The scrapes on her face were already beginning to heal, and Chase could tell she'd worked very hard to conceal them with makeup. He wondered if she was secretly embarrassed by her loss at the hands of the Eagle. If he was defeated in hand-to-hand combat with an international terrorist, he certainly wouldn't be embarrassed. He'd feel lucky to be alive. 

"So, what do you think of the city so far?" she asked, leaning forward to make eye contact with Chase. 

"It's-it's magnificent," Chase replied honestly, marveling at the soaring skyscrapers and efficiently layered parking garages all around him. The city fit together like a puzzle- every piece had its place and not an inch of space was wasted. 

"It's something, isn't it?" Juliana smiled proudly. "And you haven't even seen the best part yet." 

As if on cue, the van stopped in front of a building. While it was average in height and size, it more than made up for that in its unique design. Chase wasn't an expert on architecture by any means, but he could tell that it was daringly modern: the right half, a glazed obsidian, protruded from the left, covered in a much more conservative glass. On a hanging ledge, the words "Nader V. Hesche" were inscribed in block lettering. 

"Why don't you kids go on ahead? We'll park in the back and join you in a few minutes," Chase's mom offered. 

"Thank you, Lady Violet," Juliana nodded her head, reaching for the door. "Come, we must go before we start holding up traffic." 

Chase agreed, glancing at the line of cars that was beginning to accumulate behind their van. He followed Roy and Juliana out into the street, half expecting to be mobbed by the copious passerby, but to his astonishment, the people simply walked by, not paying the heirs any mind as they walked through the revolving doors of Nader V. Hesche Financial's world headquarters. So the Maskeys really did work. 

"So, what do we do?" Chase whispered to Juliana as they entered the spacious lobby. Aside from a small customary portrait of the King in the corner, there was nothing to connect the place with the royal family. Most of the customers standing in lines and waiting in the chairs lined up along the wall looked ordinary enough, but for all he knew, they could all have Maskeys under their tongues. 

"Follow our lead," Juliana replied, standing in line at the nearest counter. For an international firm, Nader V. Hesche had relatively few customers- they reached the front of the line in a matter of minutes. 

"Good evening, ma'am," the clerk smiled. "What can I do for you today?" 

"I'm filing my taxes this week," Juliana replied. "I'd like some information on service plan #231, please." 

"I'm afraid that'll be in the back," the clerk replied, a knowing twinkle in his eye. "Follow me. Sorry!" he waved at others in line behind them. 

Curious as to where this was going, Chase followed the clerk around the counter along with Juliana and Roy and the three of them made their way through what looked like the typical back area of an office, complete with a printing area and an employee break room. 

"Stand by the printer- one at a time, please. I'll zap you right in," the clerk instructed. 

Juliana went first, walking toward the wall and standing with her back pressed firmly against the printer. She braced herself, crossing her arms across her chest, as the clerk pulled a sleek, black remote out of his back pocket. A loud whoosh resounded through the room as he pushed a button on it and Chase watched, shocked, as a panel in the wood underneath the princess' feet opened up and she fell straight through the floor. 

"Wait!" he grabbed Roy's sleeve as the floor replaced itself and the duke went to stand in Juliana's place. "Is this safe?" 

"Newbie?" the clerk grinned, noticing his fear. 

"Yeah," Roy smirked just before the clerk pushed the button and he plummeted down to who-knows-where. 

"Well, Mr. New Member, it's your turn," the clerk gestured to the loose piece of flooring, which was beginning to replace itself. "You mustn't worry. As you can see, the probability of you being injured by the entry mechanism is less than .0002%. Too low to even bother manipulating. You're in for a treat, I tell you. Don't be afraid." 

Don't be afraid. Easier said than done, Chase thought as he stood beside the printer, wrapping his arms around his torso like he'd seen Juliana and Roy do. He tensed every muscle in his body in anticipation as the clerk pushed the button with one thumb, giving him a cheesy thumbs up with the other. And then, before his brain could catch up to his body, he was falling through the darkness at an unimaginable speed.