“Did we all really need to come?” Elijah questioned, shifting slightly in the back seat.

“Yeah I thought I was leading the mission” Josh added from beside Elijah. On the jock’s other side was Eve, typing peacefully on a hitech laptop.

“I had a thought after we spoke,” Lance explained from the passenger seat “None of us are over the age of 20. A museum director is not going to believe a group of teenagers are private investigators. We need an adult”

“And I’m the only one we have,” Logan finished from his seat behind the wheel.

“Still” Josh said hesitantly “you don’t exactly look that old”

“Logan is the oldest of the veterans” Lance said “Though he’s only twentyseven”

“We need to get some real adults on the team” Elijah said

“I am a real adult!” Logan defended

“The average age of our team is lower than I would like” Lance admitted “We have to work around the prejudice of youth, seen as troublemakers and liars”

“Hopefully we’ll keep the newbies alive” Josh said “most of them are older than Logan”

“Some are truly ancient” Elijah snarked, earning him a look from Josh

“Bertha is an interesting newbie” Lance said “I wonder how many other teams have received such an elderly newbie”

“Maybe we’re just lucky” Elijah groaned “Speaking of which do we have a plan going in or are we just relying on luck?”

“Logan, Josh, and I will be meeting with Dr. Riley” Lance said “we will try to learn as much about the mask as possible, hopefully finding out where it came from for further investigating”

“What am I doing?” ELijah asked

“You and Eve will be entering the museum separate from us” Lance explained “You two will be for any new exhibits in case they came with the mask”

“I assume I’m to scan the museum as well” Elijah said flatly

“Let us know if you see anything odd” Lance said with a smile.

By this point Logan had parked on an empty sidewalk, tall brick buildings could be seen in every direction.

“The museum is down two blocks” Lance instructed “Then turn right”

“I have to walk?” Elijah asked in indignation

Eve didn’t speak, she handed the laptop to Lance and exited the car without a sound. Elijah, seeing no one was defending him left the car though he was not nearly as silent. The tirade ending with the young man slamming the door shut and walking away with Eve.

“Pleasant as always” Lance said

“At least he’s doing what is asked” Josh pointed out

“Let’s not even talk about him,” Logan said, pulling out of the parking spot “Josh, did Lance tell you the change in story?”

“No he didn’t” Josh said, glaring at his brother

“I was going to” Lance said with a dismissive wave “it’s a small change. Instead of investigating murders we will be posing as investigators of robberies. A series of relics have been stolen by the same person. We believe the mask is one of them”

“Are they going to believe that?” Josh asked “We’re still two teenagers and an adult”

“We’ll be fine” Lance said dismissively “No news has shown the mask, so the director doesn't have any information. If we come and say we are tracking someone who may have the mask they’ll jump at the chance to find out something”

“I hope so” Josh said

With a final turn the museum came into view, a large stone structure with granite pillars lining the building on all sides. Logan pulled into a parking spot in the parking lot across from the museum. Josh could see Eve and Elijah entering the museum as they crossed the parking lot. Lance led the way into the museum, bypassing the directory and immediately climbing the stairs.

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“You know where we’re going?” Josh questioned

“The library had a copy of the directory” Lance explained “I found the director’s office and memorized the path to get there”

“Of course you did” Josh said, rolling his eyes

True to his word, Lance led the trio through the museum without hesitation to a door that had the director’s name on it. A hushed voice could be heard through the door, sounding like someone talking to themselves.

“Dr. Riley” Logan called, knocking a few times on the door.

The talking instantly stopped.

“Who’s there” A deep voice called back.

“My name is Logan” Logan introduced “A teammate of mine messaged earlier today about what we want to talk about”

“I’m not taking any meetings right now” Dr. Riley insisted

“We’ll only take a moment,” Logan said, tired of waiting. The dragonslayer opened the door without warning. Leading Lance and Josh into an organized office with a dark haired man standing behind the desk.

“I didn’t say you could enter” Dr. Riley said angrily

“We’d rather make this as quick as possible” Logan said, crossing to a leather sofa in the corner

“You were the ones asking about the mask right?” Dr. Riley asked skeptically

“Yes we are” Lance chipped in

“Who are you people?” Dr. Riley questioned

“We are group of private investigators” Lance answered “We have been hunting a thief who has been crossing the country stealing unique relics”

“Like my mask?” The director asked

“We believe so” Lance said “That's what we came to find out. Could you tell us more about the mask?

“I don’t have to tell you anything” Dr. Riley said angrily “I am dealing with an actual crime in my museum! I don’t have time to waste entertaining children. Get out of my office”

Dr. Riley crossed from behind his desk, now red with anger. Logan rose from his seat on the couch, for just a moment his eyes flashed green.

“Your mask is made of black and white stones right?” Lance asked suddenly. The director froze at the statement, giving Lance a suspicious glare.

“The mask is set in a long mouth scream right?” Lance asked “This is the description we have for a new mask in our target’s possession”

“Do you actually think you can get the mask back to me?” Dr. Riley asked

“I can guarantee it” Logan said

Dr. Riley let out a defeated sigh “I suppose you can’t make things worse. What do you want to know?”

“Where did the mask come from?” Lance asked “What can you tell us about it?”

“Unfortunately very little” Dr. Riley admitted “I had no part in the expedition that uncovered the mask and other relics. Our museum only got them by a friend’s recommendation”

“The relics were uncovered by an archeologist who was searching through ruins found on land owned by an old girlfriend of mine, Brooke Davenport” Dr. Riley continued “The archeologist wished to donate them to a museum and she recommended ours”

“Were any of the other relics stolen?” Lance asked

“No, everything arrived and has been put on display” Dr. Riley said “Only the mask was taken”

“Did the archeologist mentioned any importance to the mask” Lance asked

“I never spoke to the archeologist directly” Dr. Riley said “I arranged everything with my friend. The archeologist was supposed to arrive on the same day the relics did to explain their history. The relics came without a problem but the archaeologist has yet to show. Not even a week after we readied the relics for the exhibit the mask was stolen.”

“Has Ms. Davenport reached out to him?” Logan questioned

“She has no idea where the archeologist went” Dr. Riley “Apparently it's actually a common event for the man. He’s very secretive and often disappears for long periods of time”

“Could we possibly visit your friend’s property?” Lance questioned “Some of our team are trained in ancient history. We would love to send a small team to look at the ruins in person”

“I could ask but she usually doesn't allow guests” Dr. Riley said “Ever since she inherited the land from her aunt she has become a borderline recluse. A pity, she loved to travel when she was younger. I would have never imagined her to stay in one place the rest of her life”

“If you could reach out and ask her” Lance pleaded “We would be extremely grateful”

“This is the first time a freshly unearthed relic was targeted” Logan said “ Learning what all the relics stolen have in common is our best bet to predict where he’ll go next”

“I’ll give Brooke a call” Dr. Riley said “but I make no promises she’ll let you visit”

“Let her know we can fly out on the next possible flight” Lance added

“Please give me a moment alone for the phone call” Dr. Riley requested

“We’ll wait right outside” Logan said, leading the way out of the room.

As soon as the door shut behind them, Lance spoke “Elijah and Eve have found an exhibit that should be the other relics. Eve is trying to figure out its location on a map now”

“Hopefully we’ll have an actual addreess” Logan said “That guy seemed desperate”

“Would it really be alright to travel that far?” Josh questioned “In Jeepers Creepers the mission changed when Abuya travelled out of the movies setting”

“I think it would be acceptable” Lance said “Everything is pointing towards these ruins. I refuse to believe all this wasn’t something God wanted us to find”

“I agree” Logan added “No way this would be here if God didn’t plan for us to follow”

“Am I leading the group?” Josh asked “The ones going to the ruins”

“Yeah you are” Logan said with a toothy grin

“Don’t worry too much” Lance said “Eve will be joining you”

“I’m not worried” Josh said “I’m ready to earn some more points!”