Things were not going the way Kai had hoped—but they rarely did when Alex was involved. His usual chaos had only been multiplied over the last 24 hours, and Kai wasn't sure she'd survive much more of it.

And then Eliot reported that Flores had shot fire at him, and Kai stopped thinking about her own survival and started worrying about his. Flores had fled to the stairwell, where Alex was racing to get to his brother. Now that she could no longer see them, she had a hard time telling which one was speaking. She thought Eliot had reached the stairwell and was running after Flores, who would soon be caught between the two brothers. If she left now, she should be able to—

Alex cried out—and she knew it was Alex, somehow, even though his shout didn't have any words. She heard the surprise and pain in his voice, and it froze her in place.

"Fire," Eliot snarled. "Alex, you there? Alex?"

Kai had been about to leave the security room, but she rushed back to the monitors and searched frantically for one in the stairwell. There wasn't one—she'd checked before—but she couldn't help it. Maybe she'd missed something earlier. Maybe—

A door opened on one of the screens, and Alex tumbled out into the hall in a cloud of smoke and sparks. He kicked the door shut behind him, coughing, and choked out, "I'm okay. Kai, get everyone out of here. He's gonna burn the whole place down."

"Eliot," Kai said. "Are you still in the stairwell?"

"Most of the flames have died down, but I can't see Flores anymore. I'm going back down."

"What the hell is going on?" Jake demanded, his voice sharp and harsh in Kai's ear. "Flores just got a text and locked me in the car with his driver."

"Well get in here," Alex—or maybe Eliot—snapped.

"Working on it," Jake said. "We've got another problem. Flores has more artifacts."

"We'll deal with that later," Kai said.

"I—holy—" Jake cut himself off, and Kai heard the faint sounds of a scuffle and a slamming door. "Uh, okay, Ernesto took care of the driver. We're on our way to the lobby."

Kai bent over the desk, clicking between screens. "One is in the stairwell, one is... heading down the hallway toward the stairs on the ground level... I can't find the third. I'll stay here and try to find him. Someone go pull the fire alarm."

"Got it," Ernesto said. A moment later the alarm blared through the halls, and Kai watched the hotel guests spill from their rooms and hurry toward the main door.

"Alex, Eliot," Jake said. "Where are you?"

"Second floor," Alex coughed, followed by Eliot's, "Fifth floor."

"I'm coming," Jake said. On her screen, Kai watched as he and Ernesto ran through the halls, dodging frantic guests and staff members as they ran for the stairwell.

"Wait," Kai said, catching a flash of movement in an empty hall. "Two of the Floreses are on the main floor. They're heading toward the loading dock."

"Meet you there," said Alex, throwing open the stairwell door.

Where was the third Flores? If she could find him, she could meet the others at the loading dock, make the arrest, and be done with this whole thing. But she was the only one with eyes on the hotel, and she wasn't about to leave the room unmonitored. Eliot was still in the stairs, unseen, and she waited impatiently for them all to reappear on her screens. She bounced from camera to camera, scanning the screen in seconds before moving on—kitchen, hallway, hallway, lobby, hallway, restaurant, hallway—Alex joined Jake and Ernesto on the ground floor, running for the loading dock—hallway, hallway, hallway, front desk—Eliot was down now too, tearing around a corner. He was closer to the dock, and he ran without hesitation, trusting her to warn him of any danger.

Kai switched views and swore at the image of all three Floreses leaving the building. "They're outside," she said, abandoning the security station. She sprinted down the hallway, listening to the others' breaths in her ear, counting the distance to the loading dock. Just a little farther... one more turn...

"Flores!" It was one of the brothers—Eliot, she thought—and he didn't sound happy.

Flores shouted something, but his answer was lost over the earbud. "For a man who claims to be peaceful, you've sure endangered a lot of people today," Eliot said.

"Distract him," Alex said. "Jake and I will cut them off. Ernesto, cover Eliot."

"I'm almost there," Kai added.

"Both of you then."

"So much for our partnership," Eliot said. "I don't normally try to burn my partners to death."

Bits of Flores's reply drifted through the earbud: "...course, Mr. Spencer... would have thought... from your reputation."

"You keep talkin' about my reputation," Eliot said. "But you don't act like you believe it. Maybe I can clear up some confusion."

"...might be working from older information... Veritas Lenses have an unfortunate... only tell the truth the wearer wants to see."

"Sounds a little risky," Eliot said.

"I believed it was worth..."

"Keep him talking," Alex—or maybe Jake—panted. "We're at the next door."

Kai had caught up too. She turned the last corner in time to see Ernesto pause before the loading dock exit, his gun drawn. He met her eyes as she hurried toward him, then glanced back at the door.

"Ernesto and I are in position," she reported. The door had a small rectangular window above the handle, and she peered out it carefully. Eliot's back was to her, so she could only see his shoulder and two of the Floreses a few yards past him.

"...was hoping I wouldn't have to use this," one Flores said. He lifted some kind of small harp and began strumming. Kai leaned forward, frowning, listening to the scattered notes in her ear, trying to make sense of the melody.

"Don't listen!" Jake yelled, so loud it startled her. "Cover your ears! Don't listen!"

Kai slapped her hand to her ear, knocking the earbud to the ground in her haste to pull it free. Ernesto did the same, but when she looked back through the window she found Eliot hadn't moved. The Flores with the harp said something—Kai had to lean close to the window to read his lips.

"Take off the ring."

Eliot reached for his hand. A door on the other end of the loading dock burst open and Jake and Alex spilled into the driveway, and Kai drew her gun and kicked open the door. She stepped aside to give Ernesto room to follow, raising her gun toward the Flores with the harp.

"You're too late," Harp Flores crowed. "He's already taken off the ring! His doubles are gone."

Kai glanced at Eliot, who hadn't moved except to remove his ring. He stared straight forward, eyes fixed on Harp Flores. The Flores with the fire stick—a cane, really, with an ornately carved head that looked like a bird—visibly relaxed, while the third Flores regained his composure as well. "You're outnumbered, Detective," Harp Flores said. "Now, let us—"

Jake tackled him. Harp Flores screeched as the instrument flew from his hand and clattered across the driveway.

"That's impossible," the Flores with the cane said. "He took off the ring. You cannot exist without the ring!"

"Really?" Alex crossed his arms and moved toward the two standing Floreses. "That's weird. Jake, you still exist?"

"Yeah," Jake forced out, still struggling on the ground with Harp Flores.

"Eliot, you still exist?"

There was no answer. Kai looked to Eliot, a cloud of unease falling over her. He still hadn't moved. "El?" Alex asked.

"He cannot answer you unless I command it," said Cane Flores, grinning. "He is mine to control. You will never—"

"The lyre," Jake gasped. "Alex—agh, son of a—Alex, break the lyre."

Cane Flores yelled and lifted his arm. A flash of fire roared between Kai and Ernesto, throwing her off her feet. Her head cracked against the wall, and pain lanced through her body. A black tide seemed to push and pull against her vision, swallowing the pain and beckoning her to unconsciousness. She wanted to go. Her head ached and she wanted to go, but then Ernesto was calling her name from across the dock and the pain settled back into her skull as if to say, You've missed your chance now.

Kai opened her eyes. The fire had died down, leaving only a faint cloud of smoke that didn't help her swimming vision. "Kai?" Ernesto yelled again, distant but insistent, his concern palpable.

"I'm fine." She touched the back of her head and was relieved to find that she was not bleeding. Get up then. No use lying here and missing all the action.

Groaning, she pushed herself upright grabbed her gun, which had fallen a little ways away. She lowered herself gingerly from the end of the dock, blinking to clear away the last of the darkness. It was easier to see at ground level, though it still took her a moment to process what she saw.

Three identical Floreses were fighting a losing battle with three identical Stones. The harp was smashed to pieces on the driveway, which had apparently freed Eliot to join the scuffle. She didn't know which one was him—she could only tell the difference when they were talking, and then only because Eliot mostly spoke in growls and Jake didn't make her want to punch things.

Another burst of fire drew her attention, but it wasn't aimed at her. One of the Stones fell back, shielding his face as the flames rushed past him, forced to retreat from Cane Flores. Another brother took advantage of the distraction to hit his Flores with a hook to the jaw, knocking him to the ground.

"Don't move!" yelled the third Flores, and Kai turned to find a gun pointed at her. He stood between Cane Flores and the one on the ground, a handgun clenched in his fists. "Everybody stop, or I shoot Detective Mendoza."

"You think you're fast enough, Flores?" Kai asked. Her gun was in her hand, but she didn't have it aimed at him. Could she get it up before he fired?

"Drop your gun," he panted. "I'm leaving. All—all of me."

"That's not happening," Kai said.

"Then I'll burn down this whole hotel," Cane Flores snarled. "Did you get everybody out, Detective? Are you willing to take that chance?"

"Backup is on the way," Kai stalled.

From behind her, Ernesto added, "And you can't shoot all of us before they get here. Put the gun down."

"It's over," Kai added.

"No!" Flores wheezed. "No, it can't be over. With all these items, all that money—all the running from—from her—no, it can't be over! I won't go in!"

"Take it easy," Kai said, chancing a small step toward him. "Just let us—"

"No!" Flores jerked his gun toward her. The Stone closest to them dived forward and grabbed the barrel, twisting it down, putting himself between Flores and Kai. Kai surged forward, and from the corner of her eye she saw Ernesto do the same. She was too far away to reach them, but she ran anyway, desperate to make it before—

The gun went off.

Kai had heard about time slowing down in moments like this. The brain could actually change its own perceptions to give the body a chance to respond to a threat, making time literally seem slower. Kai had listened to stories from people involved in shootings, had wondered at the way they described seeing the bullets go past, the air rippling around them.

Things didn't slow for her now. In real time, she watched Stone clutch his stomach and double over, and she lunged to catch him. She heard the others shout and scramble across the driveway, but she couldn't tear her eyes from the ashen face before her.

"Alex." The name ripped out of her as they went down—she didn't know who it was. His eyes were squeezed shut, his expression drawn, and she couldn't tell if it was him. "Jake? Eliot? Which one are you?"

"Jake," he hissed.

She ran her hand down his torso and recoiled at the hot blood already pooling on his stomach. Someone crashed to his knees beside her—one of the brothers—and tore off his shirt, exposing a black tank top underneath. Jake groaned, throwing his head back against the ground as his brother shoved the balled-up shirt into his wound.

"Flores?" she asked.

"They ran," Stone answered. "I dunno where—"

"Go," she interrupted. "I'll stay with Jake."

He hesitated so long she thought he was going to refuse, but at last he gave his brother's arm a hard squeeze and took off after the others.

"Jake," she said, pressing the bloody shirt tight against his wound. "You're going to be okay. Can you hear me? Can you talk?"

He took a shaky breath, blinked open his eyes, and nodded. "Kai?"

"I'm here."

"Got something to tell you," he rasped.

She leaned close, watching his face pale with effort, bending low to hear the word he forced through bruised lips.

"Avocado."