Gather The Ashes || Stilinski || Book Three

Fifteen

"Well, it was a little dry," Stiles thought aloud with a shrug. "You could've said something like, 'Target has been neutralized.' You know? Oh, or, 'The crow flies at midnight.' That's always cool."

Sierra rolled her eyes, her arms crossed over her chest. "Stiles, this isn't an action movie about a spy," she pointed out. "People don't actually talk like that."

"Well, how do you know?" he asked, tilting his head. "You're not a spy."

Sierra stopped herself from replying too quickly, choosing to bite down on her bottom lip and shake her head instead. After all, she knew what he was trying to do. He wanted her to talk to him, no matter the topic of conversation. But she wasn't going to fall for it.

His face fell right as the computer beeped, signaling a response.

VISUAL CONFIRMATION IS REQUIRED, it read. Just like the tapes and the assassins stated multiple times before.

"Type this," Argent instructed Stiles, since he was the closest one to the keyboard. "Visual confirmation isn't possible. Police coming to claim body in forty minutes."

Stiles did as told, and hit the enter button.

But the reply came quickly, plainly restating that in order to get payment, visual confirmation was required. Chris huffed in slight aggravation, his tone getting sharper as he directed Stiles to start typing again.

"Tell him number two on the list is dead. I killed him," Chris enunciated. "And if the wire transfer isn't complete in forty minutes..." He moved Stiles out of the way, taking over the computer to finish his message to the Benefactor. Sierra glanced over his shoulder, her eyes widening at the threat Chris admitted.

I'M COMING AFTER YOU.

Chris peered at Stiles to his right, raising his eyebrow. "Was that still too dry for you?"

Stiles pursed his lips, keeping himself from responding sarcastically, while Sierra chuckled under her breath in amusement.

Now that the Benefactor had been contacted, Argent sent the teenagers up to an empty hospital room while he traveled to the roof. Sierra and Stiles met up with Kira and Liam, who luckily had already gotten the laptops out and spread them across the bed as if it was a desk.

Sierra held her phone to her ear, on the phone with the former hunter as he fiddled with the wires connected to the security cameras. His goal was to sync their laptops with the feed so they could have eyes all over the building in case the Benefactor revealed themselves. Outside, Melissa and Noshiko teamed up to wait in a car to warn them of anyone suspicious.

"Try it now," Sierra caught Liam's attention, relaying Argent's instructions.

Liam nodded and hit the enter button on the center laptop, the screens suddenly brightening to display all twelve cameras. Stiles and Liam high-fived with relief while Sierra let out a sigh. "It's working," she told Chris with a smile on her face. "The cameras are up."

"Good," he replied, his voice slightly muffled since his mouth wasn't near his smart watch. "I'm going to take my post at the end of the hallway on the main level. Your watches synced?"

Sierra nodded, forgetting for a moment he couldn't see her as she glanced down at her wrist.

Thirty minutes to go...

"Yeah," she finally answered. "And we have an extra timer on one of the computers."

"Keep me posted."

"Will do."

After Sierra put her phone back in her pocket, the hospital room fell silent. All four teenagers kept their eyes on the screens, too afraid to even blink.