Chapter 236: 236 | My Squad Full of Idiots
My phone lit up with another message. This time from Aurora.
Did you do it?
I typed back. Maybe.
That’s not a no. You’re insane. I love it. Don’t get caught.
Working on it.
Good. Because I have plans for you tomorrow that require you NOT being in federal prison.
I pocketed my phone and turned back to the problem at hand. The crystal sat in my backpack on Belle’s floor, glowing like a miniature sun and definitely visible to anyone who walked in.
"Private Sanctum," Naomi said.
We all looked at her.
"What?"
"You have a pocket dimension. Put the crystal in there until we can sell it."
I blinked. That was actually brilliant. "The Sanctum only lasts forty-five minutes per day."
"But time flows normally inside, right? So you could store it there overnight, pull it out in the morning, and keep rotating it."
Belle’s eyes lit up. "That works. No one can search a dimension that doesn’t technically exist in our reality."
"Except I’d have to activate it daily. That costs fifty mana per use."
"Do you have fifty mana to spare?"
I checked my reserves. Two hundred sixty total. "Yeah. Barely."
"Then it’s settled." Belle grabbed the backpack and shoved it toward me. "Sanctum it. Now. Before Misato kicks down my door."
I touched the backpack and activated Private Sanctum.
The luxury suite materialized around us for exactly three seconds before I dismissed it, leaving the backpack and crystal safely stored in the pocket dimension. My mana dropped to two hundred ten.
The room felt lighter without the crystal’s presence. Like a weight had lifted from the air itself.
Someone knocked on the door.
We all froze.
Belle mouthed who?
I shrugged.
Another knock. Harder. "Belle. Open the door."
Misato.
Belle’s face cycled through about six different emotions before settling on resigned acceptance. She walked to the door, unlocked it, and pulled it open.
Misato stood in the hallway wearing black tactical pants and a grey tank top, her lime green ponytail perfect despite the late hour. Her eyes swept across the room, taking in Jordan sprawled on the bed, Naomi in the desk chair, me standing near the window, and all four of us wearing black clothes and face masks pushed down around our necks.
Her expression didn’t change. "Belle’s room. Eleven fifty-eight at night. All four of you. Dressed like you’re about to rob a bank."
"We were training," Belle said.
"In the dark. Wearing masks."
"Night training. It’s a thing."
"Show me your hands."
Belle held them out. Her palms were covered in black residue from the disruptors.
Misato’s jaw tightened. "What did you do."
"Nothing."
"Belle."
"We went for a walk."
"With disruptor residue on your hands and Jordan’s shadows still active enough that I can see them twitching."
Jordan’s shadows immediately went still. The traitor.
Misato stepped into the room and closed the door behind her. Locked it. "I’m going to ask one more time. What. Did. You. Do."
The silence stretched.
Finally, Naomi spoke. "We borrowed something from the restricted section."
"Borrowed."
"Temporarily acquired."
"You stole from the academy."
"Borrowed sounds less illegal."
Misato looked at the ceiling like she was praying for patience. "How much?"
Belle’s voice went small. "Approximately one hundred thousand credits."
"You stole a Platinum crystal."
"Borrowed."
"Belle I swear to god—"
"It was my idea!" Naomi stood up, her pink eyes wide and scared but determined. "Don’t blame Belle. I pushed for this because my family needs the money."
Jordan raised his hand. "I also participated willingly under no duress whatsoever."
I crossed my arms. "Same. This was a group decision."
Misato looked at each of us in turn. Her expression remained completely neutral, which was somehow worse than anger. "Do you have any idea what happens if you get caught?"
"Expulsion," Belle said. "Possible criminal charges. Loss of hunter license eligibility. We know the risks."
"And you did it anyway."
"My mom’s getting evicted next month. Twenty thousand covers six months of back rent and gives her breathing room to find a second job."
"Naomi?"
Naomi’s voice shook. "My dad’s boat engine died. The repair costs eight thousand. Without the boat, he can’t work. Without work, my brothers don’t eat."
"Jordan?"
Jordan sat up. "I’m broke. Student loans are crushing me. My scholarship barely covers tuition. I eat ramen for dinner four nights a week."
Misato turned to me. "Jace?"
I met her eyes. "I need the money for ability upgrades. My build is expensive and I’m running on borrowed time."
She studied my face for a long moment. "Where’s the crystal?"
"Safe. Hidden where no one can find it."
"That’s not an answer."
"It’s the best answer you’re getting."
Her mouth twitched. Almost like she wanted to smile but refused to let herself. "You’re all idiots."
"Profitable idiots," Belle corrected.
"If you get caught, I can’t protect you. Not from this. The academy doesn’t tolerate theft. Neither does the IHC."
"Then we won’t get caught."
Misato walked to Belle’s window and looked out at the campus below. Security lights swept across the quad in regular patterns. In the distance, more sirens wailed.
"They know something’s missing. They’ll start investigating tomorrow. Checking logs. Reviewing camera footage. Running mana traces."
"Our tracks are clean," Belle said. "I made sure."
"Your tracks are never as clean as you think."
Belle’s confidence flickered. "What are you saying?"
Misato turned from the window. The soft yellow glow from the security lights outside painted half her face in shadow.
"You’re all idiots."
The words came out flat. Factual. Like she was reading off a grocery list instead of calling out the four people who’d just committed grand theft for her.
Belle opened her mouth. Closed it. Opened it again. "Misato—"
"I work for Blair." Misato’s voice stayed level, but something underneath it carried weight. "I’ve been managing her finances, her schedule, and her bullshit since we were twelve. You think I’m broke like you?"
The room went quiet.
"I’ve got forty thousand credits sitting in my account right now. Forty. Thousand. From five years of birthday money, holiday bonuses, and Blair’s family throwing cash at problems to make them disappear."
Belle’s face did something complicated. "You never said—"
"Because it’s none of your business. But you know what is my business? My squad. The four idiots I’ve been training for three weeks who just risked everything for money I could’ve loaned you."
The guilt hit me like a physical thing. Hot and uncomfortable in my chest.
Naomi’s voice came out small. "We didn’t know."
"You didn’t ask." Misato crossed her arms. The tank top pulled tight across her chest, and I deliberately looked at the wall instead because now was absolutely not the time. "You just assumed I was broke because I’m not from old money like Blair. That I wouldn’t help because I’m her assistant."
Jordan sat up on the bed. "To be fair, you’re pretty scary."
"I’m scary because I keep you alive. That’s my job. And you just made it exponentially harder."
Belle tried again. "We can still sell it. Split the money. You’d get twenty thousand too—"
"I don’t want stolen money." Misato’s eyes flashed. "I want my squad to not be federal criminals."
