Ali Cross

Alex brings home Ali’s new laptop. The police dusted it for prints but don’t have Gabe’s on record.

Damon’s basketball team, the Davidson College Wildcats—where basketball superstar Steph Curry played—will play Wake Forest on ESPN. Ali gets an exemption from the no-TV rule to watch his brother. John and Billie Sampson and their children visit, along with several other friends and relatives. Ali sits in the back, where he will transfer his notes about Gabe to his new laptop during commercials.

The game starts, and the room quickly fills with yelling and screaming. Damon makes the first dunk, and everyone goes wild. Ali doesn’t look down at his laptop until the first commercial. On the computer, he notices a strange screen saver. It’s an image of five letters: “QUBUQ”—Gabe’s Outpost handle “QUB” written backward and forward. Ali wonders if it might be the five-letter combo that opens the door to Gabe’s Outpost bunker. He realizes that Gabe has sent him a signal via the laptop. It’s a huge break in the case.

While the others focus on Damon’s TV appearance, Ali slips downstairs and logs into Outpost. His avatar goes to Gabe’s bunker and enters Q-U-B-U-Q into the keypad. The door opens.