Lucas stood in the middle of Agent Zero's safehouse, staring at the dozens of strings connecting maps, photos, and newspaper clippings. It looked like the inside of a detective's brain—or a madman's garage.
Ava was scanning each wall with a small device that beeped softly as she moved. "There has to be a pattern here," she said. "Zero never left anything to chance."
Lucas sat on a creaky chair, still feeling like he didn't belong. "You sure he wasn't just a really paranoid scrapbooker?"
She gave him a look. "Lucas, he was a living legend. He stopped five global disasters and two alien invasions."
Lucas raised an eyebrow. "Wait—aliens?"
"Classified," she said flatly. "Point is, Zero was obsessed with preparation. If he gave you something—anything—it meant something."
Lucas frowned. "But I lost the pen."
Ava paused. "Wait… What if that pen wasn't just a pen?"
Lucas's eyes widened. "Don't tell me it was some kind of hidden device."
She nodded. "Probably. GPS tracker, memory drive, maybe even an encrypted key. We have to find it."
"Yeah," Lucas said, rubbing his face. "No big deal. I'll just check the garbage bin from three years ago."
But Ava was already tapping her tablet. "Or… we track it."
"What?"
"Every MAYHEM device—even secret ones—have a signal. The pen might still be active."
Lucas leaned over as she zoomed in on a blinking red dot on the map. "Edgewick City… It's moving."
She looked up at him. "Let's follow it."
---
Three hours later, they were disguised as delivery drivers, speeding through Edgewick in a suspiciously fast pizza van Ava borrowed from "an old favor."
The tracker led them to a shady part of the city—a rundown arcade with a flickering neon sign that read: "LEVEL UP OR DIE."
Lucas looked at the building. "That's not suspicious at all."
Inside, the arcade was dark and loud. Flashing lights, kids yelling, machines buzzing.
The signal on Ava's tablet blinked faster.
Lucas pointed. "It's near that old claw machine."
They walked over. Inside the machine, among the stuffed toys and fake gold watches, was the pen.
Lucas groaned. "Of course. It's trapped in a game."
Ava rolled her eyes. "Stand back."
She pulled out a laser cutter.
"Whoa, whoa!" Lucas grabbed her wrist. "You can't just break it open. We're undercover!"
She sighed and handed him a coin. "Fine. Your turn, hero."
Lucas nervously dropped in the coin, grabbed the joystick, and focused harder than he ever had in his life.
The claw lowered… grabbed the pen… and dropped it at the last second.
"Ugh!" Lucas yelled. "This is impossible!"
The third try, somehow, worked. The claw clutched the pen and dragged it over.
As it dropped into the slot, the pen began to glow.
A tiny voice came from it: "Protocol unlocked. Welcome back, Agent Zero."
Ava and Lucas exchanged a look.
The pen projected a hologram—a 3D map, with blinking red markers all across the globe. Then a voice played. A recording.
Agent Zero's voice.
"If you're hearing this, then I'm gone. Or worse. I was getting too close to something, and I couldn't trust anyone—not even MAYHEM. Someone inside the agency is dirty. I've hidden the truth in seven Echo Nodes. You'll need to find them all."
The hologram ended.
Lucas stared at the pen in shock. "He was setting up a backup plan."
Ava was already scanning the map. "And now we're in the middle of it."
Just then, the arcade lights flickered.
Over the speakers, a new voice played.
"We found you, imposter."
Lucas froze. "That's not the game, is it?"
Ava yanked him behind a pinball machine. "Get down!"
Three dark figures entered the arcade, dressed in black stealth suits with glowing blue visors.
They moved fast—too fast.
"Those aren't regular agents," Ava whispered. "They're shadows."
Lucas whispered back, "Cool name. Also, terrifying."
The shadows scanned the room. "Return the device. Or be terminated."
Lucas gulped. "I vote we run."
Ava nodded. "Good plan."
---
They bolted out the back door as lasers scorched the air behind them.
Lucas clutched the glowing pen like his life depended on it—which, apparently, it did.
They dove into the pizza van. Ava slammed the gas pedal.
As the van sped away, one of the shadow agents threw a tracker onto the bumper.
Inside the van, Lucas sat in silence for a few moments before saying, "I'm starting to think Agent Zero didn't give me this pen by accident."
Ava nodded. "I think you were part of his plan all along."