Keifer was in his study, brooding over the "Black Ledger" revelation, which gave the Section E boys the perfect window of opportunity. In their minds, Seraphina Von Heist was a Level 99 Boss, and they were the level 5 players who thought they could cheese the game.
"Listen up, men," Felix whispered in the middle of the hallway, wearing a black beanie that said FBI (Federal Board of Idiots, probably). "Jay-jay said that woman is a spy. And what do spies have? Secrets. And what do we have? High-tech equipment we borrowed from Keifer's drawer without asking."
Ci-N held up a tiny, spider-shaped microphone. "I call this the 'Spy-der.' It's sleek, it's stealthy, and I accidentally sat on one earlier, so now I can hear my own heartbeat in high definition."
Edrix sighed, leaning against the wall. "This is a bad idea. If Keifer finds out, he'll skin us. If Seraphina finds out, she'll probably turn us into origami."
"Relax," Felix grinned. "We just need to stick this to her air vent. We listen for ten minutes, find out who her boss is, and we're heroes."
Using a sophisticated "human ladder" (Felix holding Edrix, who was holding Ci-N), they managed to plant the bug in the vent connecting the two penthouses.
They scrambled back into the Watson living room, huddling around a laptop like they were about to hack the national bank. Jay-jay walked in, holding a bag of chips.
"What are you guys doing? Why is the room dark?"
"Shhh! Mutya!" Ci-N hissed. "We are performing a counter-intelligence sweep. We're listening to the Ice Queen."
Jay-jay rolled her eyes but sat down. "You guys are going to get us killed. Fine, turn it on."
The audio crackled to life. At first, there was only the sound of running water.
"She's in the shower," Edrix whispered. "Probably communicating with her handlers through waterproof code."
Suddenly, a sound erupted from the speakers. It wasn't code. It wasn't a secret meeting.
"L'AMOUR EST UN OISEAU REBELLE QUE NUL NE PEUT APPRIVOISER—!!!"
The boys jumped back. Ci-N fell off his chair. "IS THAT A SIREN?! IS SHE SUMMONING KRAKENS?!"
"No," Jay-jay said, her jaw dropping. "That's... that's Carmen. She's singing Opera."
Seraphina wasn't just singing; she was performing. Every note was hit with the power of a professional diva, but with the added "shower acoustics" that made it sound like she was standing in the middle of a cathedral.
"TOREADOR, EN GARDE! TOREADOR! TOREADOR—!!!"
"My ears!" Felix groaned, covering his head with a sofa cushion. "Why is she so loud?! It sounds like she's fighting a bull in her bathtub!"
As Seraphina transitioned into a particularly aggressive vibrato, the door to the study opened. Keifer walked out, looking exhausted, only to find his wife and his four best friends huddled around a laptop that was currently screaming Italian lyrics at them.
Keifer stood there for a full ten seconds, watching Ci-N try to "conduct" the music with a breadstick.
"Is there a reason," Keifer said, his voice terrifyingly calm, "why my tactical surveillance software is being used to listen to Seraphina Von Heist's shower concert?"
"Keifer! It's not what it looks like!" Felix yelled over the singing. "We were looking for the Black Ledger! But all we found was... a lot of talent!"
Suddenly, the singing stopped. There was a brief silence on the audio, then the sound of a towel being wrapped.
"You know," Seraphina's voice came through the bug, crystal clear and terrifyingly close. "If you wanted a private performance, you could have just asked. But if you keep listening, I'm going to start charging the Watson Group by the minute. And I'm very expensive."
The laptop screen suddenly flickered. The audio feed was cut, and a video window popped up. It was Seraphina, standing in her bathroom with a face mask on, holding the 'Spy-der' microphone between her fingers.
She winked at the camera.
"Also, Keifer? Tell Ci-N that if he wants to conduct properly, he needs to use a baton, not a breadstick. It's insulting to the art."
The screen went black.
The silence in the Watson living room was deafening. Keifer looked at the boys, then at the laptop, then back at the boys.
"Run," Keifer said.
"What?" Ci-N blinked.
"I said... RUN."
The Section E boys didn't need to be told twice. They scrambled for the exit, stumbling over each other as Keifer began counting down from ten.
Jay-jay stayed behind, laughing so hard she had to hold onto the kitchen island. Keifer looked at her, his stern expression finally breaking into a smirk.
"Your friends are idiots, Jay."
"Yeah," she gasped for air. "But they're our idiots."
Her laughter died down when she noticed Keifer's hand was shaking slightly. He was holding a piece of paper—the real one he'd found in his study.
"Jay," he said softly. "The opera was a distraction. While they were listening to her sing... someone sent this to my private server."
It was a photo of an old, faded student ID from their high school. The name on the ID wasn't Keifer or Jay-jay.
It was Yuri Hanamitchi, and across his face, someone had written: "THE DEBT IS DUE."