6:00 am the next day
Gus stretched, yawned, rubbed his eyes, and walked out into his living room. He started the slow process of waking up when a knock on the front door startled him.
Gus’s parents continued to sleep peacefully. They’d earned that, so Gus opened the door so whoever was knocking wouldn’t disturb them.
When he opened the door, no one was there. Instead, a package sat on the front mat.
The box had no forwarding address or identifying information on it. It had a handwritten note taped to the top.
The outside of the note read:
For Gus and Luke,
Blake
Gus opened the box and took out two black domino masks with slate-blue trim and two Key-Comms*.
Gus opened the note. Inside, Blake left identical instructions to the ones he gave Morris and Darryl.
However, the last few lines stood out to Gus:
“You and Luke need code names for yourself to protect your identities. Since we’re short on time, I have a couple of suggestions for you…”
Gus read the last part of the note and grinned. “Nice,” he said.
He pulled out his phone, and typed out a message to Luke:
Gus: Hey, Luke, come to my house as soon as I can. We’ve got a special delivery from Blake.
Gus yawned, blinked at the early morning sunlight, and rubbed his eyes. When he put his hand back down, Luke stood in front of him.
“Jeez!” Gus yelped. “You’ve got to stop doing that!”
“Crap, I’m sorry,” Luke said. “It’s so fun to do! I keep doing it without thinking about it.”
“It’s all good, bro.” He handed Luke the note, a mask, and one of the comms.
As Luke read the note, Gus watched his eyes get bigger and bigger. Luke smiled when he got to the code name Blake chose for him. “I like it,” Luke said.
“Showtime, little brother,” Gus said. “Keep your eyes and ears open today, alright? Whatever’s going to happen, it’s happening today.”
Luke nodded. They gave each other a fist bump, and then Luke disappeared.
*Described in the previous chapter.