We left my dad's secret cabin an hour before sundown, which means we entered Coastal City under a veil of darkness. By the time we arrive at the old fort, a snow shower had left the surrounding landscape covered by an inch of precipitation. The flakes are powdery, blowing off the roads shortly thereafter but remaining on the grassy areas. To the east, waves batter the coastline, pounding the craggy rocks that provide a barrier between the fort and the ocean.

To the north, when it's time, Kayla positions herself on top of a level plateau that gives her a straight sight line down a steep hillside. From there, she has an unobstructed view of the fort and the surrounding area. In the distance, there's a road behind her that curves along the coast, leading back to the city. But her biggest concern is the nighttime temperatures. Fortunately for her, my dad had a thick parka jacket with a fur-lined hood. She'd have to wait over an hour in the cold for Agent 24 to arrive. She had to be ready, and she had to find some way to stay warm.

After we drop her off within walking distance of her lookout spot, my dad circles the Jeep around and steers us down onto the aging asphalt that runs right up to the north side of the massive stone-walled structure.

Built during the Civil War, the fort has a history. Tourists frequent the place during the day, but no one is here tonight, save for us. When we ease to a stop, we sit in the Jeep and wait, but in the meantime, we stay in contact with Kayla.

"How you doing up there?" A microphone in a tiny earpiece picks up the sound of my voice.

"Good for now," she says.

"On a scale of one to ten, how would you rate your level of frostiness?"

"Six-point-five." There's a long pause. "Your dad's coat is a tad big for me, but it's thick enough to block out most of the chill."

"That's good, Kayla," my dad says. "If you need to abort—"

"I'm fine, and I'm ready to do my part."

"Sound off if you need anything."

"Will do."

My dad checks his watch. "Almost eleven-thirty."

"He should be here soon," I say. "I would imagine he'd get here early. Early enough to scout the place and see if we've planted any surprises."

"That's what I'm afraid of, but we got here earlier. We scouted the place out. We should have the upper hand tonight."

"I hope you're right."

Ten minutes pass. Then five more. Then five more. At eleven-fifty, a white van devoid of markings pulls onto the grounds. The vehicle circles around behind us, makes a wide U-turn, and then comes up broadside, facing the driver's side of the Jeep, headlights glaring at us. My dad raises his arm to shield his face. The scene gives me an eerie ache in the pit of my stomach. I catch myself swallowing my trembling nerves as I visualize the vehicle t-boning us in a violent side-on crash.

For another ten minutes, the van idles with the driver behind the wheel. An overhead security light illuminates the parking area, but the way it's position, it shines from behind the van, failing to reveal the driver, only a vague shadow and a pair of gloved hands on the steering wheel. I can imagine Agent 24 with the same wicked grin on his face that he had on the bus in the downtown traffic, thinking he has us right where he wants us.

"That's the van he used to abduct Kayla's father," I say. "He removed the CCPD decals and the sirens on top. That's it, I'm sure of it."

"You're probably right. I'm sure it never was a police van."

"Nope. Never was." I pause, my eyes squinting into slits. "You still good, Kayla?"

When she doesn't answer, I raise my voice. "Kayla? Are you good? Are you still in position?"

"Yes, I'm okay. I have my eyes on the van, waiting for him to exit."

The bright headlights glow on the other side of my dad. "I'm sure he's just trying to intimidate us. Nothing more."

"Hopefully," I say.

The seconds tick by. The clock on the dash reads 11:59 p.m.

I sit here, thinking Agent 24 will never grace us with his presence. I move to get out of the Jeep, but my dad stops me. It's then, when the clock changes to twelve o'clock midnight, that's when the van headlights switch off and the mysterious assassin exits the vehicle, stepping out onto the crumbling asphalt.

Under the security light, he holds up a hand for us to wait as he disappears around the back of the van. A moment later, he reappears with a gun to the head of Kayla's father. With his right arm coiled around the mayor's neck, he motions for us to join him.

As we step out of the Jeep, I snort with frustration because Kayla's father stands between her and Agent 24, most likely blocking her line of sight. Our plan is complicated. Anything we do might get the mayor killed. As much as my dad wants to give himself up to keep us all safe, Kayla wouldn't stand for anything that involves just a straight exchange, which would probably be a one-way ticket to death-town. So, we have to take a calculated risk to save us all.

I round the front of the Jeep and stand next to my dad with the SIG Sauer pistol behind my back in my waistband. Again, I'm sixteen, with a freaking gun about to have a showdown.

Agent 24 wears a black turtleneck sweater under a black jacket. And yes, he also wears that same evil grin on his face, a snarky—I'm smarter than you and I'm in full control—kind of smile.

"Nice to see you again, Aiden," he says. "Or should I call you Agent 23?"

A scabbed-over gash cracks open above the mayor's brow, trickling fresh blood. "Help me." The words sputter over dried and split lips.

Agent 24 tightens his arm-hold around the man's neck. His smile morphs into a twisted grimace. "I thought I told you not to talk?" He shifts his gaze back to my dad and I. "Where were we? Oh yeah, right, Everett Zane Quick—Agent 1—please step forward with your hands up."

My dad does as he's instructed, inching toward the assassin.

"Kayla," I say, hoping to speak loud enough for her to hear me, but low enough that Agent 24 can't. "Now."

"I can't get a clear shot," she replies.

"Now," Agent 24 says to Kayla's father, "toss the cuffs over to the young man over there."

While staring at me with bloodshot eyes, the mayor reaches inside his jacket and withdraws a set of standard issue police handcuffs. With a whimper, he slings them at me and I catch them.

"Okay, now put them on Agent 1 with his hands behind his back."

I glance at my dad, and he nods at me.

Our plan is falling apart.

"Kayla?" I hope to right the course.

"My dad is in the way."

"What are you waiting for?" Agent 24 says. "Do it now, or the mayor dies."

My breath stalls in my throat, and I can't make my feet move.

"Now!"

I pace the distance to my dad, my heart pounding in my chest.

"Go on."

"Do it, Aiden," my dad says, glaring back at me. "You don't have a choice."

I open the handcuffs and place one of them on his left wrist, close it until it's tight.

"Hurry." Agent 24 jams the barrel of his gun deeper into the mayor's temple. "I told you the game has changed. I'm going to release him to you if you cooperate, but if you don't..."

I secure my dad's other wrist.

Agent 24 latches onto the collar of the mayor's jacket and aims the gun at me. "Now, lead Agent 1 around to the back of the van and lock him inside."

Reluctantly, I obey his order as he backs away to grant us passage between him and the van, all the while keeping his eyes trained on us. After I close the rear door with my dad inside, I return to the Jeep, peering up at the hillside, trying to spot Kayla. She's fifty yards away, well within range, and I need her to act now, while there's still a chance.

"Kayla?"

"Not yet," she says. "Almost..."

Agent 24 moves toward me. Kayla's father shifts a fraction of an inch to the front of him, hopefully giving her the opening she needs.

"I guess it's my turn to live up to my part of the deal," the assassin says, shoving the mayor toward me.

Kayla's father looks back like he has doubts.

That's when a whoosh of compressed air rips through the night, and a dart pegs Agent 24 in the neck, sticking in the turtleneck of his sweater. His eyes flash with surprise, and he falters on his feet. The hand with the gun drops, and the other hand shoots out to the side as he searches for balance.

As he wavers, I believe our plan has worked.

But then he straightens, and his aim returns, and he grins like a wolf.

"My sweater is layered with Kevlar." He plucks the dart from the turtleneck and flings it to the ground. "And unfortunately for the mayor, a double cross must be dealt with swiftly and appropriately."

As I watch, Agent 24 aims the gun at Kayla's father and pulls the trigger.