Nine

Tom had no idea what was going on.

So, naturally, he did what he was best at. He seized the moment of confusion and hid below a low table.

Once there, he started hearing his own voice echoing in the restaurant. At first, he thought he was getting delusional. But then he saw himself being pinned to the ground by one of the gang members. Not him. Maybe a ploy, like everything else had been so far. At least that had worked in his favour.

Maybe the other guy on the floor was actually trying to help him. If he had to save him, he had to think of something quickly. Time was almost up.

Tom was not wrong. Within the next few minutes a lot happened. The state police department poured on top of the gang. Before they even had the time to say 'Projector', the police drones had sprayed a radioactive fluid on everyone. In the next few moments, smoke bombs were deployed and tasers used on everyone present. The last that Tom heard of Leeper was a low groan that quickly faded in the commotion.

It was in no time that everyone, including Dale and Tom, were bound and shipped to some prison in a fancy floating container.

A safe distance away, the real Tom smiled for the first time at the real Dale as they watched the procession fade away in the sky.