Crimson Red, Cerulean Blue
Epilogue

Argot’s eyes scanned the report, narrowing as they nearedthe bottom of the page. They’d failed again, as expected. How stupid. He’dwarned Fallon not to put the plan in place.

He was surprised, though, to replace out that the other membersof the Seven had shown up. He hadn’t thought they’d be able to replace theplace. Obviously, that was a mistake.

Mask would not be pleased.

Argot stood, placing the report to the side. There was onlyone thing he could tell his master now if he wanted to keep his life. Withany luck, the project would be finished. He’d certainly given it enoughtime.

He walked over to the wall of his room, sliding a hand overthe smooth surface. It opened to reveal a keypad, which he inputted a fewdigits into. After a beep, the entire wall slid away without a sound.

Argot entered the hidden chamber, his eyes fixed on a tubein the very center. A display to the left flashed green, reflecting the assassin’sgaze as he took notice. A smile out of a child’s nightmare appeared onhis face as he opened the door of the tube, releasing a billowing cloud ofsteam.

“Are you awake?” he asked crisply to Phase Three of theOpposite Plan.

Slowly, out of the steam, a person appeared. A boy, withnut-brown hair and bright green eyes.

“Argot?”

Argot smiled. “Fully functional. Mask will be pleased. Howare you doing, Reuben?”

The boy was silent for a second, something twisting acrosshis face. “Where’s Red?” he finally asked.

Argot raised an eyebrow. “You already know the answer tothat.”

Reuben stared at the ground. In a very soft voice, hewhispered, “He replaced me, didn’t he?”

“Correct. I’m glad the information has registered.” Argot’seyes glittered. “You do know the name of your replacement, don’t you?”

Reuben’s hands clenched into fists, so hard that the knucklesturned white. “Blue.”

“And your mission?”

He looked up, eyes full of rage. In a voice like death, hereplied, “I need to kill her.”

“Correct again. But, of course, that’s not going to be easy.Blue’s a smart girl. That’s how come she wiled her way past all Red’s defensesand into your place.” A corner ofArgot’s mouth turned upward. “You really can’t blame the poor boy, not with howdevious that girl is.”

“Tell me how to do it,” Reuben demanded sharply. “Tell mewhat to do, and I’ll kill her.”

“Very good!” Argot clapped. “I’m so glad you’re willing tolisten to reason. Now, listen close. Here’s the plan…”

Reuben listened as the plan unfolded. Once he’d memorized everything, he nodded.

“Understood?” asked Argot.

“Understood,” Reuben confirmed. A cruel smile that matchedArgot’s exactly appeared on his face.

“No one messes with mybest friend.”

Book 1 – End