Chapter 6

Reaching her office door, Zariyah pulled out the key from her pocket and slid it into the lock. With a quiet click, she pushed the door open and stepped inside, Mason following close behind.

"Can you do something for me?" she asked as she made her way to her desk.

"Yeah, of course. What is it?" Mason replied, glancing at her from the other side of the room.

"Place these files on that shelf," Zariyah said, pointing toward a half-empty spot on the office wall. "I'll grab the materials we need for planning." Without waiting for a response, she walked over to a chest of drawers, pulling open the third one on the left. She began gathering papers, pens, and everything else they might need.

"Got it," Mason said simply, getting to work.

Before he could finish, the door suddenly burst open.

"You two left me alone!" Tyler’s voice practically echoed through the room, making both Zariyah and Mason look up in surprise.

"Why? I thought you were having fun with your crush?" Zariyah teased, a smirk playing on her lips as she emphasized the last word.

"You know that’s not true!" Tyler shot back, his face practically burning with embarrassment.

"Yeah, yeah. Sure, sure," she said dismissively, turning back to her desk.

THUMP.

The sound made them all freeze.

They turned to see Mason standing there, wide-eyed, staring at the floor.

One of the mission files from the higher-ups had slipped from his hands, but that wasn’t what caught their attention. Something else had fallen from inside it.

A single piece of paper.

But what was it?

"Now, what is that?" Tyler muttered as he reached down and picked up the paper, carefully unfolding it.

He placed it on the desk, and the three of them leaned in, their eyes scanning over the mysterious document.

"It’s… a map?" Mason whispered, more to himself than to the others. His eyes widened before he suddenly gasped dramatically. "Do you think this is the map of El Dorado?! The City of Gold?! We could get rich! I could get rich! And then—I’ll buy ice cream!!!" he practically screeched, his excitement bubbling over.

Zariyah stared at him, deadpan. "Mason, I don’t know what’s more concerning—the fact that you actually think this is a map to El Dorado, or the fact that the first thing you want to buy after getting rich is ice cream."

She was trying to keep a straight face, but a hint of amusement seeped into her voice despite her best efforts.

"Hey! Don’t crush my dreams! They might be unreal, but they’re mine!" Mason pouted like a child, folding his arms dramatically.

"Alright, you two, cut it out. We have bigger things to focus on," Tyler said, trying to sound authoritative.

But in perfect synchronization, Mason and Zariyah both turned to him and yelled, "SHUT UP, TYLER!"

Tyler just blinked at them, caught between frustration and resignation, as they went back to their playful bickering.

Then, the door swung open.

Alicia walked in, looking like she had absolutely no patience for whatever nonsense was happening in the room. Her arms were full, carrying an overwhelming amount of supplies.

"Can one of you please be nice enough to take these off my hands?!" she huffed. "They’re practically numb!"

The three turned to look at her, and before anyone else could react, Tyler immediately stood up and walked over, taking some of the items from her arms.

Zariyah and Mason exchanged a glance. Then, simultaneously, they both went—

"Oooohhh~"

And then they giggled.

This time, both Tyler and Alicia turned red. Red as hell. Like fully ripened tomatoes.

"Not funny, guys!" Alicia scowled, setting the rest of the supplies down on Zariyah’s desk—until her eyes landed on it.

The map.

"Alright… now what is this?" she asked, picking it up.

"Mason will tell you what it is. Right, Mason?" Zariyah said, her voice carrying a particular kind of amusement. She gave him a little push forward—right in Alicia’s direction.

"Oh, he will? That’s nice," Alicia said, completely oblivious to what had just happened. She turned to Mason expectantly. "So, what’s this map about? Is it related to our mission?"

Mason gulped. "Uhm… well… I don’t really know. El Dorado, perhaps?" He tried to sound confident, but his voice definitely wavered. His nervousness was practically screaming at this point.

Alicia narrowed her eyes. "El… Dorado?" she echoed, blinking at him like he’d just said the dumbest thing imaginable.

Then, with a sigh, she shook her head, closing her eyes briefly as if processing the sheer absurdity of the moment.

"I knew some of us were a little dumb around here," she muttered. "But not this much."

With that, she exhaled and turned her attention back to the map, trying to make some sense of it.

T. B. C.

What could this map be about?

Happy Reading!