The sparks from the flare hung in the air like stars.

Luca’s heart sank. He didn’t need to think to understand what the hovering red light meant. The plan was a failure.

“This is amazing!” someone yelled. It wasn’t Ocean. Was it the killer? “I can’t believe this thing really works!”

It couldn’t be. They sounded too young. Did he have an accomplice?

“Shit!” Luca took a step forward, adrenaline coursing through his body. He had been too caught up in finishing things today. How the hell did he let himself get swept up in a plan created by a bunch of kids? He couldn’t believe how stupid he was. He hurried toward the flare.

The first thing he saw was Xavier stuck in place. Nearby, Ocean stood with his tantou drawn.

Luca reached into his pocket and flipped out his knife. He wasn’t sure why he hadn’t taken it out earlier. If he had run into the murderer on the way over here, would he have had the time to defend himself?

Fuck. This was a disaster.

“Ocean, where’s John Doe?” Luca asked. “And where the hell’s Pietro?” It felt like his eyes couldn’t focus. His head was spinning.

Forget plan B. They needed to get out of there immediately.

Ocean didn’t answer. He only pointed his finger forward, just past a small group of people in the crowd.

A man stood staring straight back at them about twenty feet away. Nothing about him was remarkable. He was like anyone you could pass on the street. No. There was something off about him. Something that made Luca’s skin crawl.

It was his expression. The wideness of his eyes. The corners of his mouth curled up. No matter how Luca looked at it, it was the face of someone enjoying themselves. It was a look of unbridled excitement.

Then he saw what the man was holding, and his hopes of escaping were shattered. John Doe stood directly behind a boy, no older than Cory. A knife was pressed firmly up against his neck. He had a hostage, and that meant that Luca wasn’t going to be able to get Ocean to agree to get out of there.

“Take one step closer, and I kill him,” with the room silent, John Doe didn’t even have to raise his voice for Luca to hear him.

“Please…” the boy trembled. “I… don’t want to die.”

Luca glanced at Ocean next to him. He looked frozen in fear. As much as he talked about revenge, he was just a kid. He didn’t know what it was like to be in a life or death situation.

But Luca did, and he knew what was at stake. If Liliana was smart, she was setting her trap and preparing to run away. That was the plan, but he doubted she would run like she was supposed to. She was too determined to prove him wrong. She would put her life in danger in a second, and she would end up like the boy in front of him.

He couldn’t let that happen. He wouldn’t. He wasn’t going to let another person he cared about be killed. If that meant letting the hostage die, then it was a sacrifice he was willing to make.

“Alright,” Luca said. “Let’s all… just calm down.” He studied the man, looking for any kind of change in his posture. If he could get him talking, he just might be able to get him to make a mistake.

“I agree,” John Doe replied, keeping his eyes on the two of them. “Let’s take our time. We have a lot to talk about… before we can begin.”

Even outnumbered, John Doe didn’t show any signs that he was panicking. In fact, he sounded calm, like he anticipated all of this. Like nothing he didn’t already expect had happened.

If that was the case, then they needed a surprise attack. As long as it wasn’t from Liliana, then he didn’t care who it was from. Where the hell was Pietro? He was supposed to be with Ocean, but he was nowhere to be seen. Luca needed to stall for time.

“Well…” Luca tried to sound calm, but he was already breathing shallow. “Let’s talk then.”

John Doe grinned. “Drop the weapons, please.”

Shit. Luca wasn’t going to be able to keep up the act. There was no way he was going to set down his knife. If he did that, then his chance to deal a fatal blow might never come. He would have to sacrifice the hostage.

He had to act before Ocean threw his sword away. It was unlikely, but maybe Ocean would follow him if he just started running. If he could keep John Doe busy, even someone as inexperienced as Ocean would be able to deal some damage.

Ocean looked like he was moving to set his weapon down. Luca needed to move, and he needed to do it now. He glared at John Doe, trying his best not to look at the hostage. If he did, he knew it would destroy his resolve. He would see Cory in the boy’s place.

Now. He needed to go now.

Something shattered, and it felt like a bomb went off in Luca’s brain. It came from up near the stage. Whatever it was, John Doe hadn’t been expecting it. His eyes were completely off of him.

Luca didn’t waste a second. He bolted forward, knife at the ready. He closed the distance in no time at all, plunging the knife into John Doe.

At first, he didn’t register where the knife landed. He aimed for John Doe’s neck, but somehow, his strike was way off mark. Luca’s blade had found its way into John Doe’s right arm.

John Doe dropped his knife, and it stopped in midair near the boy’s collarbone. He let go of his hostage, stumbling backward.

The boy didn’t move. Was he not wearing a watch? No, he had to have been. After all, he had just spoken to them, begging for his life.

“That was close,” John Doe’s calm demeanor remained, even with his right arm cover in blood. He held up a red watch in his left hand, and reached into his pocket with his right. He pulled out another switch blade, flicking it open. “I can’t have things ending before they’ve even started.”

“You’re outnumbered,” Luca said, moving around the frozen boy. He kept his knife pointed out in front of him. “And as soon as time starts again, you’ll be on camera. You won’t have anywhere to go. If we don’t catch you, the police will.”

“Catch me?” John Doe talked like he was speaking to a friend. “I thought that you of all people would understand how unconcerned I am with that.”

“Me of all people?” Luca glared. “Stop talking like you fucking know me.”

“Oh, I know all sorts of things about you, Luca,” John Doe sighed, his smile not wavering for even a moment.

Hearing him say his name made Luca’s heart jump for a moment, but he quickly rationalized things. If he had really been following Bruno on Clock Link, it made sense that he knew about him. He needed to keep his head level.

“Ocean!” Luca yelled, keeping his eyes on the man in front of him. “You back there?”

It took a moment before Ocean answered. “I’m… looking for Quinn!”

Alright. He could work with that. He just needed to keep John Doe distracted long enough for Ocean to get back with her. Of course, it would be even better if he could finish things before then.

Luca rushed forward. He jabbed the air with his knife, trying to zone in on his target.

John Doe back stepped, nimbly darting between people in the crowd. If Luca wasn’t careful, he was going to stab bystanders. If we wasn’t careful, he would leave himself open. One wrong move and he would die.

He kept up his pursuit. If he lost sight of him, then he would be at a huge disadvantage. After all, John Doe had snuck up on Bruno so fast, he hadn’t even realized what had happened until it was already too late.

John Doe went deeper into the crowd. With the way things were going, Luca couldn’t keep focusing on swinging his knife around. He was going to lose track of him. John Doe was slipping away.

Just then, John Doe cried out ahead of him. What happened? Was it Pietro? Ocean?

The sudden outburst caught Luca so off guard that he didn’t remember that it was a sign that he needed to stop running. He went right through the cloud of pepper spray hanging in the air.

“Fuck!” Luca screamed. His face burned. It was like someone had taken a hot poker and jammed it into his retinas. He lifted his free hand up, desperately wiping at his eyes, but it didn’t help.

He was defenseless, and swinging around his knife would only create danger for Liliana, assuming she was nearby. He was a sitting duck.

No, that wasn’t true. Judging from the scream, John Doe was in the same position as he was. Even just a little of this stuff was bound to keep him blind for at least ten minutes. That was more than enough time for Ocean to finish him off.

It wasn’t going smoothly, but Liliana’s trap had worked. They could do this.

Then Luca felt the knife puncture his side.

He howled in pain. His legs turned to jelly. He tried swinging his knife in return, but the pain from both the pepper spray along together with his wound was unbearable. The switchblade slipped right out of his hand.

How? Had John Doe been faking it? Had he avoided getting it in one of his eyes?

Luca toppled to the ground, landing on his side. As soon as he felt his body land, he flipped onto his back, punching into the air above him in the hopes that he might make contact.

A crushing force struck him on the side of his ribcage. The wind left his lungs, and his mouth opened, gasping for air.

The next moment, John Doe was on top of him, pushing his arms down hard. “Do you see what happens?” John Doe sounded like he was still trying to stay calm, but his tone changed as he was forced to put more attention on keeping Luca from struggling. “Do you see what happens,” he struck him across the cheek. “When you don’t,” he hit him again. “Follow,” and again. “The script?”

Fuck. He couldn’t break free. Every time he tried to move his arms, pain shot up from his side. Every instinct in his body screamed at him to rub his eyes. They burned so badly that it felt like they would melt.

“Now,” John Doe hit his face again. “Let’s try this again.”

“Hey!” a girl’s voice yelled out. Even with his consciousness getting fuzzy, Luca knew right away who it was. The realization sent another burst of energy through him.

“Liliana!” Luca barked. “Get the fuck out of here!” He tried to struggle again, but it was no use. He didn’t have the strength.

There was a moment of silence so unbearable that it felt like Luca’s heart would burst.

“Set down your weapon and I’ll let him live,” John Doe said.

“Don’t you dare drop that thing,” Luca screamed again. “Find Pietro… Then get out of here.”

Just then, he felt something make contact with John Doe. Then, he heard struggling next to him. Doing his best to ignore the pain, he reached out toward the voices and felt his hand come into contact with someone’s hair.

It was too long to be John Doe’s. He moved his hand down a little more until he felt an arm. It was skinny. Way too skinny to be Pietro. Was this Ocean?

“Oh my god,” an unfamiliar voice whimpered. “A… little help.”

Luca didn’t recognize it at all. He strained his eyes, but tears streaming down his face made it impossible to see. Who the hell was this?

What the hell was going on?