(24 hours later, Captain Kid)
Captain Kid's quarters were unusually quiet, but his mind was anything but.
The silence felt oppressive, amplifying every frantic thought racing through his head.
He paced back and forth, running a hand through his hair as his breath quickened. The looming deadline of 48 hours weighed heavily on him, and with every passing second, his fear of Leo's wrath only grew stronger.
"Think, damn it," he muttered to himself, his voice echoing off the walls. "There has to be a way out of this."
The obvious solution—to return the meditation manual—was not an option.
Handing it back would only expose him as the thief, and Leo's fury would know no bounds.
But doing nothing wasn't an option either.
If Leo didn't get his manual back within 48 hours, he would come after Kid with the shoeprint, and Kid didn't need to imagine what that would entail.
