The majority of the week was spent in training and planning. Thomas avoided me as the bruises on his face began to fade the slightest bit. Even though I wanted it to, the anger that rose within me when I saw him ceased to diminish. He wasn't someone I wanted to have on our team; he was a loose end. But we were already short on people.

Silas and I were partners in an awkward tango. When I would try to talk to him, he'd avoid me, and when he spoke to me when he needed to, I found myself shutting him out.

As Lucy, Oliver, Silas, and I sat around the small dining table in the Noll apartment, we found ourselves bracing for what we'd have to face in a week's time. There wasn't much we could do but train and formulate a plan that was guaranteed not to get us killed. The truth was that no matter how kind Lucy and her father were to Silas, Oliver, and me, I still didn't trust them, so the three of us had plans of our own. It was in mine and Oliver's blood not to trust others, so of course Silas didn't understand. 

"You mean we shouldn't tell them about the box your mother left you with?" He questioned, confused as his fingers tapped away at the keyboard in front of him. 

Avoiding his gaze, I shook my head. "They don't need to know. We're only with them so that we can get information from Lara, Lucas's wife, find the other codes, and possibly Harris or anyone else who has a hand in this."

"And stop Schneider from gaining control of the military resources," interjected Oliver, the cigarette between his lips muffling his words. He took a long drag, constantly checking his phone for any sign of communication from Maya. Though he tried to hide it, his concern for his girlfriend was not something he could conceal from me. Each passing second without her became unbearable for the both of us, mostly because her fate was unknown. 

Silas laughed mirthlessly. "I can't believe I'm doing this. It feels like I'm in a movie. Can we name this mission?" He piped up, his eyes full of excitement. Oliver laughed, but I simply shook my head in disappointment. 

"Stop taking this so lightly," I snapped for whatever reason, "What you're doing right now is illegal. There's no going back, Silas. You need to accept that."

Without removing his gaze from the laptop's screen, he mumbled, "I've accepted it. Have you?"

And something inside my chest sank. Ignoring his words, I dove deeper into my mother's journal, searching for any clues or information I might've missed. Her wooden box remained next to me, both alluring and taunting in its essence. Oliver was nose-deep in some Alliance documents, along with information he'd gotten from allies at Arc. 

What brought all three of us out of our intense concentration was the sudden ringtone coming from Oliver's phone. It nearly fell out of his hand as he answered it abruptly, putting it on speakerphone before rushing to my side. 

"Oliver?" Maya's voice was hopeful. Strong. "Are you there?"

Both him and I breathed sighs of relief, our shoulders relaxing in synchronization. "Oh thank God," Oliver huffed, "Are you alright?" He squeezed his eyes shut, keeping one hand on my shoulder, his fingers tightening around my skin. 

"Yes," Maya laughed, the sound like music to our deprived ears, "What about you? Zara?"

"We're fine," I pitched in, my voice an octave higher out of relief, "Just hurry up and get your ass out here."

"Yeah," Oliver chuckled, "Come back."

"I'll be there soon," Maya's voice was interrupted by some shuffling in the background, and she began to whisper. "I don't have much time, but I have some information I need to share with you guys."

"We have some intel, too. An insider in Germany." 

There was a pause, and Maya finally spoke. "Oliver, can I speak to you in private?"

He shared a look with me, confusion in his features. I nodded and squeezed his hand before he walked away, one hand still holding a cigarette, and the other wrapped around the device.

"Aha!" Silas shouted a little too loudly, "I got it. I'm in the database for the initiation, but it'll kick me out soon."

Within seconds, I was by his side, peering over his shoulder and at the screen. Somehow, he'd managed to hack into the guest list for the event, which held the names of about a hundred people, along with R.S.V.Ps. 

"Good job," I muttered underneath my breath, "Filter it to those who can't attend." 

He complied, clicking some options before a list of about fifteen people popped up. 

"We need ID's," I started, my eyes scanning the list of officials, "seven people. Pick the ones who can't attend, change their selection to 'can attend', and we can go in their place."

Silas nodded, then frowned. "There are six of us..."

"Maya."

"Ah," he pursed his lips, "right. I'm on it."

While he dove into the work I'd assigned him with, I checked my phone for any status updates from the Nolls. They'd gone to meet with some connections and their insider, leaving the three of us alone to speak freely. 

The notification bar was empty, and I huffed and tucked my phone back into my pocket, watching as Oliver strolled back into the room. His face was as stiff as stone as he walked right past us and onto the balcony, lighting another cigarette held lazily by his lips. 

"Is he okay?" Silas asked, concerned. 

I shook my head. "Do your work before it kicks you out." Without sparing him another glance, I followed Oliver out onto the balcony that overlooked the city, and closed the door behind me. Wrapping my long hair into a bun, I took a seat beside him silently. He kept his eyes fixated on the streets below us, his jaw clenched, features contorted with what seemed to be conflict. 

Holding my hand out, I nudged his shoulder. "Give me one." I pointed at the cigarette box beside him. 

Oliver rolled his eyes and slipped the small carton into his pocket. "No, they're bad for you," he muttered as he proceeded to take a drag from his own cigarette. He ran a hand through his spiky black hair, dark brown eyes refusing to meet mine. 

"Since when do you deny my orders, Callisto?" Although my words were laced with humor, buried deep within them was a truth Oliver couldn't deny. He winced at the sound of his code name, finally meeting my gaze. Immediately, his expression softened. 

"Since everything went to shit." He blew smoke from his nose, the white cloud swirling upwards, dancing among the breeze before dissipating into the endless air. "How can so much change within only months?"

Oliver was the strongest man I ever knew, and I'd never seen him tired. He was exhausted from what life had offered us in such little time. We remained silent, consumed in our own thoughts for quite a while. The day was still new, and we should've spent every waking second preparing, but this felt like it was necessary. I needed this.

"What's going to happen when all of this is over?" I asked, placing my head onto Oliver's broad shoulder. He scooted closer to me, wrapping a muscular arm around my smaller frame. The comfort his embrace offered me was like no other. Aside from my mother, Oliver's friendship was the strongest I'd ever had. Even stronger than mine and Maya's. 

"You mean if we survive?" The laughter that ensued from the both of us was laced with darkness and fear for the fact that his words hinted at a possible future for us.

"When we survive."

"Right," he nodded, rolling his eyes. "Are we going to be the ones who have to clean up G.O.L.D.'s mess?"

The thought had crossed my mind, but like always, I'd pushed it far away. I couldn't think about it; there were more important matters at hand. "We can run. Hide. Jeremiah did it, and others have, too."

He snorted, ruffling my hair with his hand. "So optimistic. What's happened to you? Simon's made you soft."

For some reason, his words struck a chord within me. I pulled away from his body, crossing my arms in front of my chest. Instead of responding, I played with the scar on my arm--the same one Silas had been the one to tend to.

"Hey," Oliver pulled me back to his side, eyebrows raised skeptically. "You know there isn't much you can hide from me." Because he could tell that I needed it, he handed me the cigarette he'd been smoking.

I placed it between my lips, taking a long, soothing drag. The deadly smoke filled my lungs and and I breathed it out as slowly as possible, my eyes closed as the pleasure succumbed my body.

"He's naive. Or, at least, he was. I feel like I've taken his life away from him."

Oliver sighed. "You treat him like he's a child. Isn't he older than you? He can make his own decisions, Zar."

Handing the stick back to Oliver, I rubbed my tired eyes with my hands. "Why is he staying with me, Oliver? I haven't been kind to him. I'm not kind to anyone."

Unexpectedly, laughter escaped his pink lips, rumbling through his body. "You're the smartest person I know, Ganymede, and the best agent, too. But you're also an idiot."

When he saw my glare, he grinned and placed a kiss on my forehead, one that made me cringe. However close we were, I wasn't one for affection. 

"You know when I met Maya--"

Oliver's words were interrupted by the loud buzzing of his phone. His eyebrows furrowed, he fished through his pocket and brought out the device, staring intently at the screen. I tried to read what it said, but it was too dim for me to make out the words. 

Again, his expression hardened. "Let's go."

He stood up abruptly, taking my hand in his. "Where? Is it Maya? Is she okay?"

Oliver pulled me back into the room, where Silas was still focused on the laptop screen, his tongue peeking out of the corner of his mouth in concentration. 

"It's my father. He's here."

Realization dawned on me, and Silas stood up at once, closing his laptop a bit too roughly. 

"Why?" he asked, unaware of the history between Oliver and his family. Nonetheless, he complied, throwing his belongings into his backpack and swinging it across his shoulder. 

"I called him. If we're gonna do this, we need weapons. Gadgets. More agents." He took his motorcycle keys and spun them around on his finger, slipping on his jacket. How Oliver always managed to find a vehicle was beyond me. And how he got his father to help us was an even bigger mystery. 

"Sweet!" Silas walked over to me and handed me my backpack, which I took silently. "Can we get some food on the way out?"

Groaning, I trudged after Oliver, who snickered at the curly-headed boy's words.