Jesper had collected Wylan per Kaz's instructions, and filled him in on their mission. Wylan had complied easily, but was tight lipped as to why Kaz was sending them out to Kinker's mansion. Wylan had explained that Kaz had instructed him to not tell anyone, and that he would not cross Kaz's orders.

Jesper suspected it was both out of respect and fear for Kaz. Wylan didn't know Kaz as well as Inej and himself did, and still harboured a healthy dose of fear for Kaz. Jesper knew Kaz may ruffle their feathers, even slice them with his words or glares, but Kaz wouldn't hurt them, at least not seriously. Sure, he would yell at them, use them as bait or send them on dangerous missions, but he always had their back with 101 plans if needed. Now if only Kaz would share some of those plans with him, like the plan for the mission they were on today, that would have been nice Jesper grumbled to himself.

On the ride to Helsinger Street, Jesper relayed the story of what had happening at the house of horrors, including the enormously boring wait he had to endure on the second floor. Wylan had been pleased that their friends were safe once more, but he was eager to get to the mansion, feeling the haste of whatever task Kaz had given him.

Kaz's secrecy was frustrating to Jesper, but he was used to it. Wylan's secrecy was new, but rather useless. Whenever Wylan tried to lie to him a small blush would show on his face. Wylan may be an expert at bombs and science stuff, but he would never be a great spy. Jesper found it adorable, and it was one of the million little things that had made him fall for Wylan. Now he was keeping himself entertained by making Wylan blush as he tried to guess the secret.

Wylan had responded light-heartedly at first, but eventually grown silent and introverted, something weighing heavily on his mind. No matter how much Jesper prodded, Wylan remained silent, his mind turned inwards, working on some secret equation. That left Jesper to sulk and worry in silence for the last bit of the carriage trip.

As they arrived at the house, Jesper pulled his guns, sneaking forward, hoping for some action. Wylan followed a few steps behind, his hand in his satchel, surely clutching a bomb of some kind.

After at quick check of the ground it was clear that the house was abandoned. Jesper couldn't help but pout a bit at not having an opportunity to use his guns and feel his adrenaline rise. He knew Wylan wanted him to kick his adrenaline habit, but even though he had gotten better, he still needed to feel the rush every now and again, and usually doing jobs with Kaz offered him that. It kept him in balance, but so far this job had been a real bore.

At the door, Jesper lifted the gun to shoot, but Wylan put a hand on his wrist, stopping him. With an apologetic smile, Wylan held up a small vial of liquid. Jesper haphazardly stuck his gun back in its holster, a bit annoyed that Wylan had a better and quieter way of breaking and entering, although also proud of how clever his boy was. In just a few short moments the acid in the vial had melted away the lock, and they could stealthily enter the mansion.

It didn't take long before they located the lab they were sent to find. King had established it in the original owner's kitchen. There was no green book, but several pages with notes that looked to have been torn from books. Wylan started gathering up the notes that lay spread around, handing them to Jesper, before starting to examine and tinker with the different apparatuses and vials that were in the kitchen.

Jesper now understood why Kaz had sent him along with Wylan. Kaz had wanted Wylan to check out notes and books for some vital information, and that required a person who could read. For Wylan to ask for help, the person needed to be someone who already knew Wylans weakness, and whom he trusted, and that would be him. Kaz was always planning ahead.

Jesper took a deep breath, and started reading the notes out loud.

Wylan listened while working with his hands, telling Jesper to skip notes that wasn't interesting. It was clear to Jesper that Wylan knew what he was looking for, and it might have helped if Jesper knew it too, but as long as neither Wylan nor Kaz would tell him he would have to play along with the guessing game. "That's all of them." Jesper said as he finished the last note.

"Are you sure you didn't miss one?" Wylan asked worriedly.

"No, we went through them all."

"But it must be here somewhere," Wylan said as he started searching the room again.

"Maybe it is in a different room in the house?" Jesper suggested.

Wylan looked at him then, a hint of fear showing on his face. "We'll need to split up to cover the house quickly. Gather all the notes and notepads you can find and meet me back here as soon as possible," Wylan said as he was about to storm off.

"Wait!" Jesper called after Wylan. "If you tell me what I'm looking for it might go faster!"

Wylan paused, considered the question. "It is supposedly a recipe in a green book, but it might also be on a page torn from the book. I can't explain what it should say exactly as I won't know until I hear it, but it should be in King's handwriting, and it's going to have a list of ingredients, and one of them will most likely be Gaernitus Detroximos."

Jesper sighed. "Of course, it couldn't be something that was easy to remember, like blueberry or a tulip, but I guess it's a start. Let's go," Jesper said.

Wylan took the upper floor. Jesper started on the first floor.

It was clear that the house had belonged to a family with wealth, and that they kept a strict and tidy regime in the rooms that would be open to guests. Everything was neat and tidy, and every item looked to have its own spot it belonged in. Jesper searched the first floor quickly, easily spotting the few notes that were out of place. He discarded most of them as they either weren't written by King, or didn't contain a description like Wylan had asked for, but he kept a few to read to Wylan just in case.

During his inspection of the hallway, he had spotted a door. It most likely led down to a small cellar. He didn't relish the thought of going down there alone, especially after seeing Kinker's other cellar, but he would rather go himself than sending Wylan down there. Wylan may not be the strongest or fastest, but he was brave, and would do anything to save his friends, including diving into a creepy cellar. Jesper unlocked the cellar door, grabbed a light and started down the stairs, his gun in hand.

There were no sounds coming from the room. That was a good thing. The first thing that hit him was the smell. It was a sickly, sweet smell, making him feel nauseas. He stepped further into the room, letting his light illuminate more of the room. He saw a table that was stacked with four small notebooks, all of which looked green – jackpot! He quickly picked them up, and turned his light to see the rest of the room. He screamed at the sight that met him, almost letting his bullets fly.

Before him was the family that had lived here. They were strung up like marionettes with chains and ropes, and all looked to have been experimented on. They had been cut open, organs and brains showing, partially hanging out of some of them, even the kids. But their eyes and mouth were open, almost as if they've been alive when the evil deeds had been done to them. They were in various state of decomposing, meaning some must have been hanging longer than others, and that they had to have seen the others being tortured and killed in front of them. Jesper shuddered at the thought, his mind starting to picture Kaz and Inej in their spots.

Jesper couldn't stay in the room, and rushed back up the stairs, slamming the door shut behind him, puking into the nearest vase.

Wylan stood in the entrance to the hall, and rushed to his side. "Jesper, are you okay? What happened?" he said as he hovered near Jesper.

Jesper coughed, spitting out the awful taste in his mouth. "I'm fine. But that door is strictly off limits," he said while pointing at the cellar door.

"Why?"

"Let's just say that the original family was never allowed to leave, and that Kinker and King really deserved their deaths."

"Oh…." Wylan said softly.

"But I did find some notes and books!" Jesper said, showing of his find, needing to focus on something else.

"Me too," Wylan said as he handed over what he had found to Jesper.

Jesper quickly thumbed through Wylan's notes, discarded most of his findings as most of the notes and notebooks weren't in King's handwriting. He noticed Wylan's anxiety seemed to increase for every piece of paper he discarded. Once the pile was narrowed down to King's documents, Jesper started reading.

They hit jackpot on the third try - one of the notebooks from the cellar.

Wylan listened intently as Jesper read and reread the correct pages before quickly disappearing into the kitchen.

Jesper followed, and watched as Wylan worked the weird contraptions and different vials with ease. It barely took a minute before Wylan had blended whatever he needed.

"We need to get back to Kaz, fast," Wylan said, stuffing the concoction in his satchel.

"Ay, Ay, sir, the sooner we leave this horrid place the better" Jesper said while heading towards the door, Wylan following close behind.