Ben had a hunch he’d be the last to return to base—and he wasn’t wrong. When he stepped into the spacious hall where Urs was waiting, casually playing something on his phone, he saw that nearly everyone else had already arrived. The gathered contestants had naturally split into two groups: those holding metal boxes, and those without.

Relieved, he drifted toward the box-holders—and felt even more relieved to find only familiar faces among them. But then he noticed something more concerning.

“Where’s the princess?” he whispered, barely moving his lips. The doubtful expressions of the others said it all.

“Oops,” was all he managed before the door creaked again, and in came the man with the stubby legs. He confidently approached the group with boxes. The boys exchanged a quick look.

Oops?

A few minutes later, Kelly walked in—empty-handed, hands tucked into her hoodie pockets. She headed straight for the “losers” group without glancing at her crew.

“Ay, ay, finally!” Urs called, tossing his phone aside. “Come up here, my lovely people!” He clapped his hands, eyes scanning the group with amusement. He was having the time of his life.

“I hope you had as much fun as I did. Now, without further ado—those of you with trophies, please open your prizes!”

The Trouble Crew sluggishly complied, doing their best not to glance at Kelly. Had she really screwed up the first part of the mission already?

One by one, they pulled shiny pistols with red ribbons from their boxes and raised them into the air. All of them—except the man who had arrived just before Kelly. His box was empty.

He whirled toward Kelly—only to see her lift a pistol into the air as well. She winked at him, laughing internally at his incompetence.

When he’d walked off after ambushing her from behind, he hadn’t even checked the contents of the box. If he had, he would’ve noticed that while he was recovering his manhood from the ground, she’d slipped the pistol out and hidden it under her waistband. He’d walked away thinking he’d won—but with nothing.

Urs clapped excitedly and shot Kelly a wink, clearly pleased they wouldn’t be parting ways just yet. His attention on her kept him from noticing the silent sighs of relief from her hidden teammates.

“Well then, beautiful! We have our winners—give them a round of applause!” he beamed, his voice echoing off the empty walls. He exhaled and planted his hands on his hips, eyes drifting across the victorious group.

“Ah, such young, bright faces—fantastic! Just what we need: fresh blood in the crew.”

Then he turned to the gloomy bunch of “losers.”

“As for you lovely people, please stay a little longer and observe the final test for our winners. Now then, my dear victors—load your magazines.”

They glanced at him, unsure, but under his pressing gaze, they followed orders—though hesitant.

“Excellent. Now, lift your guns. Yes, just like that... now aim them at the unarmed group and... fire.”

He whispered the last word. Everyone flinched. Then at their guns and then at their supposed “targets,” who instinctively took a few steps back and raised their hands.

“Well? What’s the hold-up?” Urs said cheerfully. “This is your final test. You do want to be part of the crew, don’t you? On three. One... two...”

Kelly aimed her gun straight at Short Legs. The man shook his head wildly, begging silently for mercy. Her heart pounded. Each gun held a single round. Seventy percent chance it would fire. Her pulse thundered in her ears—it felt like standing in front of an open vault full of diamonds. She squinted. Tightened her grip. And when Urs yelled three, she pulled the trigger.

A flurry of shots rang out. A few screams, then—laughter. Urs’s laughter.

Kelly’s eyes flew open, scanning the room in a panic, expecting to see blood. But no one was hurt. Every bullet had hit the surrounding walls.

She turned to Urs in disbelief. He was stomping one foot in giddy excitement, wiping tears from the corners of his eyes. He met her stare with a grin she’d never seen before—psychotic.

“Oh ye of great faith,” he cooed. “Surely you didn’t think I’d hand you real weapons on day one? All the bullets were blanks—you couldn’t hurt a fly with them.”

His voice was warm, gentle, even and that made it worse.

“And now, after a test that proved you’ll blindly follow our commands and really want to be here…” He spread his arms wide. “Let me officially welcome you to Ace Busterrix’s crew. Congratulations!”