Page 79 of No Escape

That left Slash. He reached into the bag and pulled out a red rock. That meant Slash and I would be on the same team for the first time. While happy about that, I worried that some others might be concerned and undervalue their own capabilities. If there was one thing I’d learned since arriving at the castle, it was that Slash and I had seriously talented families. They could solve the escape room without us, I was sure of that. The only problem was that they might not be as motivated as Slash and me to win. Unfortunately, there was little I could do about it at this point.

I could see some members of Team A shuffling around nervously, glancing at Slash and me. Apparently, I wasn’t the only one thinking this, which meant I needed to nip that anxiety in the bud.

“We’ve got two great teams,” I said with two thumbs up. “No worries.” My mom gave me a grin and blew me a kiss. At least she was on board.

“The teams are formed, so if Team B would please wait here in the dining room while I set up Team A, it would be greatly appreciated,” Brando said. “As always, please empty your pockets and leave any extra items in the basket on the side table.”

He swept his arms out wide, a smile crossing his face. “Now, let the final games begin.”

Chapter Thirty-Six

Gio

Good. I was done with all the talking and ready to get to the action.

We could do this. An important part of the rigorous and difficult training for the Italian special operations unit involved the mental game. Each soldier had to be confident,trulyconfident, in his or her own capabilities and the abilities of all team members to perform in order to succeed.

The tougher the challenge, the better.

Although my team didn’t have Romeo or his brilliant wife, there was no way I was going to be the weak link and give him the pleasure of needling me for the rest of my life if I lost my luxury honeymoon. He’d do it, too—Iknewit. Plus, my buddies back at the unit would invariably find out, probably from my brothers, if I didn’t relieve a billionaire of some of his money when I had the chance.

Nope. No way was I going to fail.

Vittoria must have known what I was thinking, because she sidled up to me, slipping her hand in mine. “You don’t want to be ‘little Gio’ for the rest of your life, right?” she murmured softly. “You’re just as capable as them, so prove it.”

I set my jaw and squeezed her hand. “I will.”

We followed the gamemaster down a corridor to a large room with huge double doors inset with stained glass windows. Peering through the glass, I could see the room was a large library. The gamemaster unlocked the room with an old-fashioned key and ushered us in.

“Wow,” Alessa uttered as we looked around. “What a gorgeous library.”

The room was two stories high, but windowless. Dark wooden bookshelves stretched to the ceiling along the wall to the left of the door, on the left and back walls, and along the right wall, running about a third of the way from the back. Several tall, wheeled ladders mounted on rails provided access to the upper-level books on each wall.

A book lover’s dream.

An interesting glass-front display case containing two dozen World War II-era model airplanes stood along the right wall where the bookcases ended. Next to that was a small library card catalog cabinet. A gigantic map of the Mediterranean region set into a thick wooden frame hung to the right of the cabinet. A smattering of sofas, armchairs, end tables, and lamps filled out the room.

A waist-high bookcase, holding a magnificent antique scale and flanked by two taller bookshelves, took up much of the center of the room. The scale was clearly meant to be the focal point of the room, so I walked closer to get a better look. Upon closer inspection, I discovered it was made of bronze and had a balance point in the center. A metal arm extended approximately two feet to each side, and, as of this moment, the right arm was raised and ended in a single metal post pointing upward. The left side had an identical post, but four round weights of different sizes and colors were sitting on the post. The scale was clearly unbalanced, so the left bar touched the top of the bookcase.

The gamemaster gathered the rest of our group around the scale. “I want you to know that it’s quite impressive you’ve successfully completed the first four challenges,” he said. “I warn you, this one will be more difficult than the previous ones, as will the escape room your companions will attempt concurrently. I’ve been authorized to tell you that no group haseverbeen as successful as you have been to date. Given your success, I doubt you need further motivation. Nevertheless, it will be interesting to see how you adapt to the increased difficulty and random team assignments. If you can continue your success, it might force us to reconsider our approach. Good luck. I am eagerly awaiting your performance.”

“Now, a few words of advice,” Brando continued. “This challenge appears simple on the surface. All you must do is use round weights to balance the scale. Once you do so, you must push the red button by the door, and I’ll come verify you’ve completed the challenge. There are few rules. You may not leave the library once the challenge has begun, and you will have only two hours to complete the task.”

He started to leave and then stopped. “Oh, and one more thing. When you balance the weights, you must have at least four weights on the left post. No fewer. Are there any questions?”

Oh sure, I had a million questions. I just didn’t know what they were yet.

“Well, good luck,” Brando said when no one spoke up. “The clock will start as soon as I close the door.”

As soon as he left, we gave each other an uneasy glance and continued to study the scale. The weights on the post were colored—from bottom to top—red, orange, yellow, and green.

Stefan took the top one off the post and held it. “It’s metal.” He tapped the other weights, confirming that they, too, were metal.

I ran my finger over the green weight. Embossed in it was the number two. The yellow weight had a five on it, the orange one a seven, and the red one a nine.

“Could the number equal the weight?” I asked.

Alessa took the weight from Stefan and held it in her palm. Then she removed the green weight. “Well, it feels like the five weight is at least twice the weight of the green one, so I think that’s a good assessment, Gio.”

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