The Other Detective - Book 3 (Riverdale Season 3)

American Dreams - Part 2

Jughead and Aminity sat on the couch, Jughead drafting the writing for the cards while Aminity created counterfeit cards.

"You're good at that," Jughead said in surprise as he looked at them. "Not sure if that's a good or bad thing."

"Well, I guess if we ever need false documentation," she mumbled as she concentrated on the card.

"I was thinking, maybe we could do something like this for you," he continued. "Maybe tie yours into Archie's and-"

"No," she looked up at him.

"Aminity-"

"I said no, Jug. We don't even know what mine really is. There's been no cards. There's been no threats other than Kurtz. We don't know anything about the mark on my shoulder."'

"We know it's the same one as Archie's who is having people try to kill him. Joaquin is dead and he had the mark," he tried to convince her.

"It's my mark, it's my choice. Until we know more, it stays a secret. We both know Kurtz is insane. It may not mean anything. Let's just leave it at that."

He huffed, but decided to drop the topic, the silence being broken by his phone ringing. "Arch, any luck?"

"I found a place for the mountaintop, Jug. An old boxing gym by the docks."

"Okay. I'll add it to the new, improved quest and have the guys distribute it the same way Hiram did."

"Awesome. I'll see you at dusk?"

"See you at dusk."

***

"Sweet Pea, Fangs, you're going to the old comic shop. Old Deuteronomy and Weasel, you're gonna hit Innuendo, and Termite and Jinx, you're going to cover All About the Glaze. And we need to canvas all of Hiram's hot spots if we're going to get the word out fast."

"What about these masks?" Sweet Pea held up one of the gargoyle masks.

"You wear them. They're expecting these cards to come from the Gargoyle King through his messengers. Serpents aren't his messengers," Aminity addressed them. "Which also means no Serpent jackets."

"Remember, the goal is to try and convince them that this quest came directly from the Gargoyle King."

"We're on it," Fangs told him.

"Last thing, you travel in pairs or more. No going alone. Some of these players are... not in their right minds. Your first priority is to make sure you're safe. I don't care if you think you're macho enough to stand alone," she glanced between Fangs and Sweet Pea, "you will not. Am I understood?" They all nodded. "Good. Make sure you stagger leaving. We don't want to pull any attention to ourselves. Good luck," she told them before leaving first, Jughead watching and waiting until he was sure she was gone.

"And there's one more thing," he turned back to them. "It's kind of personal. These aren't just gaming hot spots. They were hubs for Hiram's Fizzle Rock trade. I've heard rumors that a new player is moving in to restart it. I want you guys to suss any information that you can discreetly and if you find anything, I want you to come to me and only me. Okay?"

"What about Aminity?" Sweet Pea asked.

"I want to leave her out of this one. I already said it was personal and I'm not getting any father into it. You do not breathe a word of this to her. Okay?"

"Yeah," he nodded and so did the others. "Let's go."

***

"Maybe we didn't allow enough time for word to get around?" Betty said as they waited in the gym inside of the ring. "Maybe they didn't believe that it was actually coming from the-" She was cut off as the door opened.