WHO AM I

THE FIRST MOVE

The tension in Noah's apartment was palpable, everyone sitting on edge as if expecting Renzo to burst through the door at any moment. Lila's heart raced, her fingers tapping anxiously on her phone screen. The message from Renzo lingered in her mind like a dark cloud, the words playing over and over.

“Do we even know what we’re bluffing about?” Cathy asked, breaking the silence. She was draped over the couch, her usual carefree attitude momentarily replaced by uncertainty.

“Not a clue,” Jasper replied from the kitchen, where he was rifling through the cabinets. “But bluffing is all about confidence, right? As long as we act like we know something, we’re golden.”

Cathy sighed. “Right. Because Renzo’s going to fall for... whatever this is.”

Noah was staring out the window, his jaw clenched tight. “He doesn’t need to fall for it completely. He just needs to believe that we’re a threat.”

“And if he doesn’t?” Lila asked softly, voicing the question that had been eating away at her.

Noah turned to face her, his eyes serious but calm. “Then we make him believe.”

Cathy groaned. “I’m still stuck on the whole 'acting like we know something' part. What exactly are we supposed to act like we know?”

Jasper shrugged. “I don’t know, maybe we pretend we’ve hacked into his super-secret files or something. Every villain has those, right?”

Lila chuckled despite the situation. “Yeah, and maybe we’ll just accidentally stumble upon his hidden lair while we’re at it.”

Jasper snapped his fingers. “Exactly! You get it. We act like we’re onto something huge. Renzo doesn’t need to know we’re flying blind.”

Cathy rolled her eyes. “You two are ridiculous.”

But Noah’s expression remained serious. “They might be onto something. If Renzo thinks we have something that could expose him, he’ll act. He’ll make a mistake.”

“Okay, but how do we make him believe that?” Cathy asked, her brow furrowed.

“We leak something,” Noah said simply, a sly grin creeping onto his face. “Something vague but threatening.”

Jasper raised an eyebrow. “Like what? ‘We know your secret’? That seems a bit... underwhelming.”

Lila’s mind raced, piecing together a plan. “No, we can do better than that. What if we leave him a breadcrumb trail? Something that makes him think we’ve got our hands on sensitive information?”

Cathy perked up, catching on. “Like a fake email or document? Something he can’t ignore?”

Noah nodded. “Exactly.”

Jasper’s eyes lit up with mischief. “I like it. And the best part is, it doesn’t even have to be real.”

Lila grinned, feeling a flicker of hope. “It just has to be convincing.”

The group quickly dove into planning, their anxiety slowly melting away as the details of their bluff came together. They crafted a fake document, carefully worded to sound like they had uncovered part of Renzo’s operation. It wasn’t much, but it was enough to make Renzo think twice.

Jasper’s fingers flew over the keyboard as he worked, a grin plastered on his face. “I’m not gonna lie, I’ve always wanted to be a hacker.”

“You’re not a hacker,” Cathy deadpanned. “You’re a guy pretending to be a hacker.”

Jasper shrugged. “Same difference.”

Once the document was ready, Noah sent it off using an anonymous email. Now, all they had to do was wait.

Lila’s stomach churned as she leaned back on the couch. The waiting was always the worst part. What if Renzo didn’t take the bait? What if he called their bluff and turned the tables?

But there was no turning back now. They were already in too deep.

Suddenly, Lila’s phone buzzed. Her heart leapt into her throat as she glanced at the screen. It was Renzo.

“Nice try. But I’m always ahead of you. Watch your back.”

Lila swallowed hard, her hands trembling as she passed the phone to Noah. He read the message, his jaw tightening.

“Well,” Jasper said with a forced smile, “that’s not ominous at all.”

Cathy groaned. “Great. So now what?”

“We keep going,” Noah said firmly, his eyes burning with determination. “We make the first move before he does.”

Lila’s heart pounded. The first move? What did that even mean?

“We need to push him further,” Noah continued. “Renzo thrives on control. If we make him feel like he’s losing it, he’ll start to panic.”

“And how exactly do we do that?” Cathy asked.

Noah’s gaze flicked to Lila, a plan forming in his eyes. “By getting personal.”