Page 20 of Hide and Seek

“Then stick it in and let me work my magic.” He snickers. “That’s what he said.”

Being careful not to disturb anything on Myles’s desk, I fit the USB into the port on his computer tower. The rest of the room is immaculately clean, but his desk looks like a disorganized mess. I’d bet money that, like my brother, Myles knows exactly where everything is and there’s order to the chaos.

“All good?” I ask as the screen flashes to life. That should give Jace remote access to the system.

“Yuppers.” He snaps his gum loudly. “Shouldn’t take long to get what I need.”

“Just don’t get caught,” I tell him. “It’s not your ass on the line if you do.”

“Technically, it is,” he says with a soft laugh. “Your ass is genetically identical to mine, so we have the exact same ass.”

“Then hurry the fuck up and protect our ass so I don’t have to fight my way out of here.”

“Patience, dear brother.” He clucks his tongue disapprovingly. “Did anyone tell Michelangelo to hurry the fuck up when he was painting the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel?”

“I imagine they did, considering it took him four years to do it.” I turn away from the computer and look around the room again.

“Whatever,” he says dismissively. “My point still stands. You can’t rush genius.”

“Is genius in the room with us?” I ask as I walk over to Myles’s dresser.

“Nope, genius is in our room doing all the hard work while you sass him.”

I let out a soft laugh. “If you’re a genius, then so am I, thanks to those identical genes we have.”

“Touché.”

“Are you finding what you’re looking for?” I ask distractedly as I study the items on his dresser.

Myles’s room is almost completely devoid of any personalization outside of the little nook his computer is tucked into. There are no photos around or anything on the walls, and the only things he has on display are puzzles and an ornate glass chessboard.

On his dresser and next to the chess set are an intricate wooden cluebox and a disassembled wood conundrum puzzle. There’s also an elaborate 3D metal puzzle of a dragon withmassive wings on his tallboy dresser, along with a model of a grandfather clock, and there’s a cryptex puzzle on his bedside table. He also has several Rubik's Cubes scattered on his desk.

I knew about the cubes and the cryptex puzzle from my observations, but I didn’t see the others since they were out of my line of sight.

I figured he was into puzzles after watching him scramble and solve Rubik's Cubes at his desk like they’re fidget spinners, but seeing the variety in his collection tells me he’s an enthusiast.

That makes two of us.

“Why did you go quiet?” Jace asks. “Are you just so overwhelmed with my brilliance that you were rendered speechless?”

“More like I’m giving you silence so you don’t fuck up and finish before we start collecting social security.”

“So sassy.” He makes a lowtsksound. “Careful with that mouth, or I’ll set off the fire alarms just to give you a challenge.”

“Like that would even slow me down.” I carefully pick up the puzzle box and turn it around in my hands. It’s handmade, and one of the most complicated I’ve ever seen. Based on the weight and how unbalanced it is, there’s something inside it.

I want to solve it and see what he’s hiding, but instead of giving in to the urge, I place it on the dresser, making sure to put it back the same way as I found it. I have no doubt I could solve the thing, but it would take a lot longer than however long Jace needs to finish.

“I could always put the building in lockdown at the same time if you want a bit of a challenge,” he offers.

“How about we stick to getting what we need and save the escape room challenge for next time?”

“Fine,” he agrees. “Have you planted the cameras?”

“Not yet.”

“Slacker. Do you need me to come down there and do your job for you too?”