I outstretched my hand, smiling gently. Hesitantly, I felt her little fingers clasp into mine. 

“Come on.”

We darted ahead, feet pattering the plush carpet floor. I kept squeezing her hand, making sure she was still there. 

I was never good with kids. I liked them, but I was always too loud, too rambunctious. I scared them off. 

But that had to change. This was no place for one as young as her. Case be damned, if a kid died on my hands, I’d regret it for the rest of my life.

“Aurum.”

I rapped at the main entrance. Shit. It was closed. Locked from the outside. I pressed my foot against the door, cocking my knee back. 

THOOM.

THOOM.

THOOM.

I wasn’t going to be able to kick it down. Too sturdy, probably reinforced with metal. 

“AURUM!”

I jerked my head back sharply. 

“Huh?”

Clover’s trembling finger poked anxiously at the lobby right in front of the main entrance. It was dark and empty, like a bottomless void, casting ominous shadows into the entrance room. 

Right on cue, her eyes sparkled, her skin sizzling with energy.

A sharp, grating, high-pitched squeal of an alarm bloomed across the room, the dark, ambient interior of the lobby shifting to an agonisingly red glow. 

“LOCKDOWN IN PROGRESS.”

I ran my slick fingers through my sweat-crusted hair. Millions of possibilities flashed through my head. Could the gala have had an accident? What was with the masked soldier? Did it have something to do with the kidnappings?

“ALL ENTRANCES AND EXITS ARE NOW SEALED.”

Clover was handling it remarkably well. Her body shook like a tree in the wind, but her breathing was low and shallow, controlled. Her eyes still burned with a fierce determination. She could move, operate. That was good.

She was going to need that strength for what was coming next.

“Clover. Get behind that tank, the one with the sea worms.”

The main hallway’s darkness was pierced by a beam of bright white light. As soon as her skin sparked and the alarm went off, I knew it was coming. The guard I took out had to have backup. I had to play this smart. 

“Clover. I’m going to lead them back into the main lobby. I’m going to make a stand here, and slowly push them back in.”

She opened her mouth to protest, but I placed a finger over her quivering lips. 

“I know it sounds counterproductive, but leading them deeper into the aquarium gives us more cover. It gives me more space to fight. And we need to find a way to disable the lock anyway. That’ll be deeper into the building.”

Clover nodded hesitantly.

“Good luck.”

I ruffled her hair. She squinted, her bangs brushing her eyes.

“I expect you to keep up. Move into the lobby when I give you the clear.”

“Okay.”

A walkie-talkie crackled.

“Jackals in the front room. Permission to engage?”

I held my breath.

“Permission granted.”

I leapt out from the shadows, causing the guard to stagger back, fumbling for his pistol.

WHAM!

Side kick to disable the weapon. I unleashed a flurry of palm strikes. Head, body, head, body.

With a grunt, one final push kick sent him crashing into the wall, slumped over, unmoving.

“AURUM! BULLETS!”

The guard had two cronies. With him down, the others raised their assault rifles, approaching me quickly and steadily.

Good thing her foresight warned me. They were still turning the safety off. 

My leg shot forward in a sweeping motion, tripping the guard. Capitalising, I sent an elbow to his masked cheek while he was in freefall. 

With a strangled gasp, a stomp to the face put him to sleep. 

The last one was going to be a little trickier than the rest. This one was smarter.

Gunfire peppered the ground, sending me ducking for cover. I huffed, palms and neck slick with sweat.

I sat against a tank, knees against my chest. He had disabled the safety beforehand, as soon as they lit up the hallway. His pistols were primed. There was no way I was going to get close.

Clover sat, brows furrowed in deep concentration, about ten feet away from her. I needed to get close. She had an idea.

“Come out, you little bitch. Fight me!”

I held my breath, scooting ever closer. His light swivelled rhythmically, angling the tips of his pistols with perfect concentration and control as he approached.

One more. With a sharp diving motion, I slid into home, just as the glare of his light passed over me.

I huffed, skidding into place beside Clover. I opened my lips, my voice a hushed whisper. 

“You found something. A weakness? You looked real deep in thought.”

She grabbed my hand, pulling me into a tight, squatting position, out of sight. 

“Look at him closely. What do you notice?”

I groaned softly. I hated when people did this. Just tell me. Why do I always have to jump to my own conclusions?

I scanned the man. He was armed similarly to the other guards. Black tactical vest. Probably Kevlar. A utility belt. Reinforced black trousers and a long-sleeved, plated shirt. Grenades and pistol slots on the waist. An assault rifle slung across the back. An all-black, Daft Punk lookin’ helmet thing. 

“I dunno. Just tell me.”

Clover pointed at his face, forcing me to squint.

“His helmet has a crack. If you hit that, the glass will fall into his face. With that, you can blind him. He’ll drop his weapons, and you can take him out.”

I nodded gravely. 

“That tank with the little hermit crabs is closest to him. I’m moving!”

With that, I pounced.

I cocked back my elbow, grunting as I swung it forward with all my might. 

It collided directly with the crack. A rain of shards fell directly into the man’s eyes, and he stumbled back, screaming.

Blinded with his own blood, his pistols clattered to the floor as he clawed his face. I dipped onto the slick floor, diving forward, snatching one up. 

Spinning the trigger around my finger to gain momentum, I slammed the steel butt into his exposed face. He fell to the floor, stiffened, unmoving. 

I huffed, chest heaving, stomach moving in and out as my sweaty shirt tried and failed to cling to my abs. 

Clover trotted over, eyes sparkling.

“That was amazing. They had weapons, and you took ‘em all out!”

I waved a hand dismissively, but my heart was still pounding against my ribcage.

“Not that big of a deal. Let's head into the lobby, talk things over.”

The main entrance, impressive as it was, had nothing on what was coming. Moving deeper into the lobby, a massive tank took the form of a huge wall. Giant, neon coral spires teeming with life shot from the bottom of the tank to the top of them, millions of multicoloured fish darting in and out of the crevices. Some big fish stared into the water with huge, glass eyes, and the other tiny ones swam in shiny, mesmerising spirals against the glistening water. 

I plopped down on the floor, motioning for Clover to sit next to me. 

Clover was the first to speak, voice hushed, but renewed with determination after our first scuffle.

“I’ve been to the aquarium so many times before. Nothing like this has ever happened. I get it’s closing time, but…”

I crossed my legs. 

“There’s a big party happenin’ tonight. A gala. Wealthy people flock here to make connections, and the admission fee helps fund the aquarium. Big win for both parties.”

Clover nodded, deep in thought. 

“These masked guys are nothing like the regular security guards. Do you think they’re trying to rob somebody?”

I scratched my chin.

“Probably not. Even for a high-stakes heist, this is overkill. They have too many heavy weapons, too much tactical gear. Those aren't thieves or guards, Clover. They’re soldiers. They aren't kitted out to secure an objective—they're armed to eliminate targets.” 

Clover stammered, waving her hands around animatedly as the information shot through her tiny little head.

“A-and you! Where did you learn to fight so well!? And without punching anyone even once!”

I flexed my fingers. My palms were baby soft, the skin light and loose around the knuckles. No calluses. No bruises. 

“I don’t punch. Ruins the fingers. I need ‘em for detective work. If I handle my fingerprints, my samples, with my own, bloodied, broken fingers, it’ll ruin the integrity of the evidence.”

Clover shook her head up and down slowly.

She was a remarkably smart thinker. She took some time to process things, but she understood how things worked. She could puzzle out the cracks in every system, literally.  

I squatted down to her level, looking her in the eye. 

“And that brings us to you," I said, my tone turning serious. "Something massive is going down tonight, and you know that’s exactly what I came here to investigate. I can't do this alone, Clover. I need your wit, and I need that foresight of yours. Tell me everything you know.”