"Where is Tyson?" Nyssa asked.

                "He had to stop to talk to a teacher after class," Farren said. "He can't wreck his perfect-schoolboy act."

                It had been a few days since Tyson had told me the truth of Mallory. I'd been texting him hourly every night to make sure he was awake and doing his work, but also bothering him to go to sleep on time. He seemed to be doing better, though I could tell he was still stressed from the workload he'd taken on.

                "Is there anymore on Mallory's project?" I asked.

                Farren shrugged. "He's arranging everything. It'll take place shortly after our volunteer project so he can hog the spotlight before we get more than a taste of it."

                "There's already talk about Mallory stealing our idea, though," Connor said. "Tyson's plan worked. I'm sure Mallory knows we're behind it, though."

                "As long as he can't trace what you did, we should be okay," Bishopp said. "Mallory can't come after anyone without solid proof. Even with his influence, he can only bend the police to his will so much before the law overpowers his money."

                "If Mallory tried to say Tyson was behind anything, my dad would shoot the guy," Farren said. "Dad already hates Mallory and, for some unknown reason to me, adores Tyson."

                "Well, you guys have been best friends since elementary school. Tyson grew up split between his house and yours," Nyssa said. "Your dad would fight to keep both of you out of trouble."

                "Let's say, on the off chance I did fuck up, that Mallory does find a way to trace it back to me. I guarantee my parents would ground my sorry ass and then erase every possible trace of what I've done since joining this club," Connor said. "Mallory has money, but we have our own weapons."

                "There's nothing to prove we were involved. Anyone could be a hacker, not just Connor. There are no security cameras in this room, we have no physical contact about what we do, and if we talk about it outside the club, we're careful," Nyssa said.

                "We also turned their spy into our agent," Talon said in amusement. "The outcast vouches for us."

                "I vouch for you guys too. If we got questioned, I'd maintain that we only talked about volunteer work during our meetings," Bishopp said.

                "I burn the notes once we do the jobs," Farren said. "Tyson keeps his notebook about our services safely hidden, and I keep unfinished jobs hidden."

                "We'll be fine," Talon said. "We're not idiots."

                "Well, some of us aren't," Nyssa said.

                "Hey! Don't be mean, Nys," Talon said.

                "Honesty isn't the same as cruelty, Tal," Nyssa said.

                The door opened and Tyson came in. "I was busy being a good student. Let's get this going."

                He shut the door and took his usual seat. He took out a folder and flicked through papers in it.

                "Alright, I've got a volunteer list, I made up the jobs on Connor's template, I secured funding and materials, and I coordinated with the police and Mr. Zigor about meeting times. We got the local news' attention and I've assigned Connor with camera duty to make sure we have plenty of material to brag with after. Connor is also readying for an attack at sites pushing Mallory's project over ours," Tyson said. "I emailed you all the meeting times and your jobs. Be ready to work hard and look good."

                "What about Alex Camillo?" I asked.

                "I was getting to that, be patient," Tyson said. "We're going to do that job tonight. I went to Connor's yesterday and we planned out escape routes. They have a camera system installed inside to watch their dog because he has seizures. Connor is going to hack into it so they can't access it, and use it to keep an eye out on the downstairs of the house. It's only installed in the living room."

                "I hacked it last night and with it, I can see the whole living room, the sitting room, and part of the kitchen. The camera doesn't store any recordings, and even if it did, you'll all have your masks on," Connor said.

                "The dog is old and not a barker, but we'll drug him just to be safe," Farren said. "I've got the pill all set up already."

                "The twins will sneak in through a window and unlock the back door for us. The house has three bedrooms. We're assuming the largest is Alex's parents, so we'll check the two smaller ones first," Tyson said.

                "Will his parents be home?" Nyssa asked.

                "No. They're out of town at a business party for Mr. Camillo," Connor said. "Alex is home alone tonight only."

                "Which is exactly why we're striking tonight. His parents work day jobs, so it'll be harder if we wait until they get back," Tyson said. "We pull this job off, take a short break for our volunteer work, and throw ourselves back into things next week."

                "Let's go for a smaller project next," Bishopp said, concern in his eyes as he looked over at Tyson.

                "Smaller? No, no." Tyson shook his head. "We need something even bigger. We're going to have the attention we need, and we're not going to waste that opportunity. This is our last year here and we're going to make it count, Bishopp."

                "Make it count by stressing yourself into a stroke? Great plan," Farren said, flashing Tyson a thumbs-up.

                "You're worrying your mom so much she's going to kill you to save herself the anxiety," I said.

                "Worst case scenario, I'm tired and successful. Best case scenario, I'd dead and don't have to worry about anything ever again," Tyson said. "It's a win-win, really."

                "Where are we meeting tonight?" Nyssa asked, changing the subject before Farren, Bishopp, and I could argue with Tyson anymore.

                "On that side street by Alex's house. Nolan, do you know what I'm talking about? Side street with a fenced in white house next to it," Tyson said.

                I nodded. "I've seen it. I'll be there. My Uncle lives close."

                "Good. Then we're done for today. Everyone go home, get your work done, and meet at the spot by one," Tyson said, standing up.

                As the others gathered their stuff, I approached Tyson. He shoved his folder in his bag and held a hand up before I could speak.

                "I don't need you to fret over me. You're not my mom," he said.

                "Promise me you'll at least nap a little before the job. If not for your health, then for our safety. We need your mind sharp and focused to pull this off," I said.

                "I'll go to sleep once I've got my work done. I'll be rested for tonight," Tyson said.

                I let our fingers brush together. "Good."

                "See you tonight." Our hands mingled a moment longer before Tyson pulled his bag over his shoulder and left the room with Farren.

                "He's biting off more than he can chew," Bishopp said, coming over to me. "I met him when he was this ambitious 14 year old kid, and he hasn't changed much. I'm not blind and stupid, Nolan. I see what's going on between you two. And while that's none of my business, the health of students under my care is. If we do take on another big project, I'm splitting the work between you and him, and I'll take on the bulk of the paperwork and meetings with the principal for it."

                I nodded. "Anything that helps him."

                "Farren has been trying for years to get Tyson to slow his pace, but Tyson just doesn't listen. Maybe he'll actually listen to you," Bishopp said. "Drive safe to get home and have a good evening. Be careful tonight."

                "I'll make sure we all are. See you tomorrow, Mr. Bishopp," I said, giving a small wave before leaving the room.

                By the time I'd reached the parking lot, Tyson and Farren were gone. I could see the twins talking in their car, and Connor was following Jonesy around a patch of grass by the edge of the parking lot.

                I got in my car and left the parking lot. If we could just get through this revenge job and the cop project over the weekend, Tyson would finally have a chance to catch his breath and relax a bit.

                                                                                                ***

                I locked my bedroom door, dressed in dark jeans and a black hoodie. I pushed my window open and had to carefully scale my way down the side of Uncle Brian's house. Great, I was probably going to die just trying to sneak out.

                Miraculously, though, I made it to the bottom without injury. I pulled my hood up and crept along backyards as I headed for the side street we were set to meet at. Hopefully I'd be able to make it back into Uncle Brian's house when this was all over. Despite the fact that we were breaking into a kid's house to blackmail him, my biggest concern was with my lack of upper body strength and my second story bedroom.

                By the time I reached the side street, Tyson and Farren were already waiting together. I joined them and Tyson handed me a mask and gloves.

                "Police response time will be fairly quick to this area. We'll have to be quick," Farren warned.

                "If we really need to hide, I made sure the backdoor to my Uncle's house was unlocked. I can't get back into my room, but we could hide out in the basement," I said.

                "It's just Alex in the house," Tyson reminded. "We'll be okay even if he wakes up."

                We fell silent, Tyson and I standing close enough that our shoulders touched. It was a few more minutes before the twins appeared.

                Tyson stepped away from me so he could hand everyone their earpiece. "Nyssa and Talon will stay by the back door for a quick escape. I want Farren at the edge of the yard, out of sight. Nolan and I will be the only ones going in again."

                "It's safer that way. Minimizes the risk," I agreed.

                "The house is dark," Connor said. "The dog is asleep on his bed in the living room. Have the twins give him the pill when they go in."

                Farren slipped the pill to Nyssa and we all got moving. Tyson carefully led us to the house and around to the backyard. He and I waited at the backdoor as Farren went off to hide himself at the edge of the yard.

                The twins helped each other scale the side of the house until they reached a window. They worked together to get it open and disappeared inside.

                 It was a few minutes before the back door opened. Tyson and I crept inside, looking over at the sleeping dog in the living room.

                The twins hid themselves near the door and nodded at us. Tyson and I found the stairs and went upstairs, Tyson leading me to a room. He peeked inside and shook his head, going down the hallway to a closed door.

                Tyson tested the handle to make sure it was unlocked. He carefully opened it, making sure it didn't creak.

                We entered the room, both of us silent. A boy was asleep in his bed, covers pulled up to his chin.

                Tyson unzipped his bag and held a paper out to me. The room was so dark that I just barely made out the paper, but I took it from him along with a tack, careful not to stab myself with it.

                "Hide." Tyson's voice was a silent hiss.

                I didn't question him, because I'd heard the creak of the bed too. I darted under a desk and out of sight. Tyson grabbed his bag and hid himself behind a dresser.

                We watched Alex as he rolled onto his side, body shifting under the covers. He settled after a moment, but neither of us moved.

                It was a few silent minutes before Tyson got up and moved forward. He set his bag down and I began to shift to get out of my hiding spot.

                I only saw it because the movement was slow at first.

                But then it got faster. So fast, I didn't have a chance to warn Tyson.

                They hit him from his blindside. He never stood a chance.

                An elbow or a fist, I wasn't sure. Whatever it was hit Tyson's head so hard I heard the rough contact just before Tyson fell to the ground on his knees, gripping the back of his head.

                Alex was getting out of his bed as what looked like three other dark shapes knocked Tyson to the floor, kicking at him. One sat on Tyson's back, pinning him down.

                "Connor." My voice was so silent I prayed he even heard me. "Connor, we're caught."

                "Finally got you, you sneaky bastard." The voice was familiar, and my eyes widened. Marcus Crawford. We'd targeted him.

                Tyson was struggling to get free, but the harder he struggled, the more they hit him. The person on his back drove an elbow into Tyson's head again.

                "Quit squirming," he said, and his voice wasn't familiar to me. "Tiffany, turn the lights on."

                Another target. Were these all targets of the revenge service? But how did they trap us like this? How the hell did they know?

                The lights came on, sudden and blinding. I winced and squinted at Tyson as my vision readjusted.

                "Take his mask off," Alex urged. "Come on Nick, let's see who this ballsy fucker is."

                The boy sitting on Tyson's back, Nick apparently, elbowed Tyson in the back of the head again. "We finally caught this stupid fucking revenge service. You broke into my house a few months ago, and now you're finally going to get arrested. We already called the cops."

                "Quit talking and take his mask off. I want to know who he is," Tiffany said impatiently. "I'll tear down him and his whole damn family for what he did to me."

                Nick grabbed the back of Tyson's mask and slammed his face against the floor. "Just to make sure he doesn't squirm." He tightened his hold on the mask and started pulling it up.

                My heart slammed. They didn't know I was here. They thought it was just Tyson. I could stay hidden and have a chance at getting away.

                But of course that was never really an option.

                I darted out from my hiding spot, grabbing Tyson's bag and whacking Nick in the face with it. A few papers and tacks fluttered out of the unzipped bag.

                Tyson pushed himself up, clearly unsteady. I swung the bag and hit Nick again, feeling my arms being grabbed. I could hear police sirens in the distance and knew we were in a bad spot.

                "He had a friend," Marcus snarled, yanking my arm so hard I almost lost my grip on the bag.

                A loud shattering sounded from downstairs, and I used the distraction to pull my arm free, sliding the bag onto my shoulders. The papers were meant to stay here anyways. The bag could be used as evidence against us, though.

                I wasn't a fighter. I'd never been in a fight in my life, nothing more than playful wrestling with Dylan when we were young.

                Tyson was injured, still trying to recover from the blows to his head. He needed me and I wasn't good enough.

                I pushed him back, standing in front of him with my fists raised like I knew what I was doing. I'd go down swinging. I'd go down protecting him.

                "Check downstairs," Marcus said, blocking the doorway. "The cops will be here any minute. We'll keep these two in here for them."

                Alex hurried out of the room as another shattering sound reached us. My mind was in overdrive as the sirens grew louder and louder with each second. We needed a plan, we needed an escape, we needed something.

                My eyes fell to the light switch, a plan forming. It wasn't much, it was a long shot, and it would leave Tyson open. But we were out of time.

                I made like I was going to jump at Tiffany, and the two boys instinctively moved to protect her. I used the slight opening to dart past them, hitting the light switch and plunging the room back into darkness, none of our eyes adjusted.

                Tyson looped around, throwing himself over Alex's bed to meet up with me as the other tried to grab him, everyone rapidly trying to adjust to the darkness. I grabbed Tyson's shirt, yanking him behind me and pushing towards the door.

                Tyson hauled me out of the room with him and we bolted down the hall as they chased after us. Tyson pulled me into a room and we slammed the door shut, pressing our bodies against it as they tried to force their way in. I fumbled with the lock until I heard it click.

                "I think...I think this is the right room," Tyson said, rubbing his head and looking around. He pushed a window open and looked down. "Fuck. Fuck, wrong room. Fuck, Connor, where are the others?"

                "The twins are hiding just outside the house," Connor said. "Alex is in the living room with a bat. Christ, Tyson, the cops are here. I can see the lights flashing through the window. Get out, now."

                "This is going to hurt," Tyson warned me, swinging his body out of the window.

                I hurried over, watching as he dropped down, hitting the bushes below. They eased his fall, but he still struggled to get to his feet, gesturing at me.

                I dropped out of the window, not even having enough time to let out a yell before I collided with the bushes, the air knocked out of me. My body bounced before it hit the ground hard, my ankle throbbing.

                Tyson got me to my feet, dragging me along as I limped as best I could. I felt someone grab my other arm and start hauling me along and realized the twins had been caught up to us.

                "Hurry," Nyssa hissed. "Hurry, hurry. The cops won't take long to come around to the backyard."

                Farren was waiting for us at the edge, and we all took off as fast as we could. Between my injuries and Tyson's injuries, we weren't a quick group.

                "My Uncle's," I said. "We can hide in there."

                I directed them there, my heart pounding as I kept looking over my shoulder. I could hear more sirens now, and knew anyone could be looking out of their window. Hopefully they'd all be looking out the front.

                We reached Brian's house and hurried in through the backdoor. I led them down to the basement, the stairs hell on my ankle. We settled ourselves away in the very back corner of the basement.

                Farren used the flashlight on his phone so we could see each other. We pulled our masks and gloves off, shoving them in the bag I'd grabbed.

                "Were any papers in there incriminating?" I asked Tyson.

                He shook his head. "No. Just blackmail and taunts."

                I took his face in my hands, examining him for injuries. His nose was bloodied, but there was no other physical evidence. "Did he give you a concussion?"

                Tyson shook his head. "No, no. I'm okay. Your ankle, though."

                "I think it's just twisted," I said. "I'll ice it and keep weight off it as best I can."

                "What happened in there?" Farren demanded.

                "They ambushed us. I only got lucky Alex moved first. We hid, and when we thought it was safe, we started to come back out. They got Tyson on his blindside," I said.

                "But they didn't know it was my blindside. They didn't know it was me," Tyson said. He looked frustrated, raking his hands through his hair. "How did they manage to ambush us? How did they know we'd be there tonight? How did they know we'd target Alex?"

                "Because they wanted us to target him," I said, my eyes widening. "Tyson, what if they used Alex as bait? If they figured out the riddle, they could put in enough requests to get us to pick a target."

                "But that doesn't explain how they knew we'd strike tonight," Farren said.

                "I only watched the camera when you guys got there. They were hiding well before you showed up," Connor said.

                "Our victims are coming back to haunt us," Talon said, shaking his head. "They weren't very smart about it, though. They all waited in one place to catch you."

                "They don't know much. They thought only Tyson was there," I said. "They must have been hiding under Alex's bed. I bed the creaking was so Alex could hide any sounds of them crawling out from under it."

                "So they were smart enough to figure out our riddle, lure us in, trap us in the bedroom, and call the police right away. But they weren't smart enough to cover the rest of the house," Tyson said.

                "Unless they did," Nyssa said, looking up. "Connor hijacked the camera, remember? I bet they were relying on that to watch the rest of the house. But Connor made sure they couldn't access the feed. I bet that's why they chose Alex's house."

                "So we foiled their plan without knowing it," Farren muttered. "And my dad didn't mention anything, so I doubt they tipped the police off that they were doing this. They probably had the phone ready to go as soon as you stepped into the room."

                "A camera covering the downstairs, four victims waiting in the bedroom they knew we'd hit, and a quick police response time," Tyson said, letting out a bitter laugh. "That's why they used Alex. His house was the perfect spot to ambush us."

                "We need to stop the service if they've figured it out. The riddle isn't a reliable shield anymore," Farren said. "Nyssa and I will have to carefully get rid of the evidence from the locker rooms."

                "We still have past jobs stacked up from before they figured us out," Talon reminded. "We don't have to stop the service necessarily, just any future jobs."

                "He's right," Connor said. "But this whole thing just got a lot riskier."

                "How did they know?" Tyson clenched his fists, that rage flashing through him. "How? It doesn't make sense. Knowing who our target is isn't enough information to catch us."

                "We should hide here until it blows over a bit and then head home," Farren said. He put a hand on Tyson's shoulder. "Is your head really okay? We could fake a gym injury tomorrow if you need to get it checked out."

                "My head is fine," Tyson said, and his voice was angry but he didn't push Farren's hand away.

                "I'll ice my ankle through the night," I said. I was too shaken up to sleep, anyways.

                "Meet us at our car in the morning. We'll bandage your ankle for you. If it has enough support, you can probably hide the majority of your limp. If anyone notices, just say you fell and landed wrong," Nyssa said.

                "If you think it's broken, we'll fake an injury and take you to the emergency room," Tyson said.

                "It'll be fine," I said. "Your nose is still bleeding."

                "It'll stop eventually." Tyson touched it and looked at the wet blood on his fingers. "I just can't...how did they..." He grit his teeth and wiped his hand on his pants.

                "We won't figure it out tonight. It's too dangerous to stay here with all the cops," Farren said, finally dropping his hand from Tyson's shoulder. "We need to go home, rest, and discuss it at the meeting tomorrow. Everyone make damn well sure you act normal tomorrow."

                I reached out, offering Tyson my hand. He eyed the traces of dried blood on his fingers before taking my hand with his clean one.

                "We'll figure it out," I promised him quietly.

                He didn't respond to that, just wiped at his nose with his sleeve. The others were trying to come up with escape routes to leave the neighborhood without the police catching them, and I just prayed that everyone made it home safely.

                Still, this was bad. This was very, very bad.

                They'd managed to ambush us. They knew who and when we'd be attacking. They'd almost caught us tonight. If I hadn't been with Tyson, they would've taken his mask off and discovered he was behind all this. It wouldn't have taken long for them to trace it back to the others and take down the whole Social Action Club, probably even Bishopp.

                Somehow they knew we'd be attacking tonight. I highly doubted we had a snitch on our team, so that meant they'd found another way to catch us. And even if they hadn't known Tyson was blind in that eye, they'd all chosen to attack him from that side.

                There was something deeper going on here. I looked at my hand, linked together with Tyson's. The victims of our service were banding together to catch us, and they'd almost succeeded on their first attempt. That meant they'd only get better at it, and if we weren't careful, they'd catch us.

                They'd left two of us injured and all of us shaken. One night, one plan, was all it took to turn social menaces into panicked kids.

                I held Tyson's hand tighter. We'd waged a war, and they were finally meeting the challenge. One wrong move and we'd be done for.

                All the risks had finally hit us, and we weren't prepared for the blow.