"So that's what happened, huh? The Tauria... absorbed the Exterminator?" Ringa asked as squinted, trying to comprehend what she had just been told. The detective typed in notes on her screen while Janus and Itzel stood in front of her as they retold their version of the event.

"Yes, that's exactly what happened. I had never seen it before, either," Itzel said. "The Tauria just... plopped itself on top of him and when it got back up it was like he was embedded in his body."

Ringa shook her head as she continued to make note of what Itzel had said. "That might give us some insight on all of those missing Exterminators. Maybe the Essencima they've been hunting have just started taking them."

"Can you track the man's Implant?" Janus asked.

"Nope. Already put in a request for the City of Labrisson. They've been trying to tap into his Implant but it's not showing up. We don't know if he's alive or dead."

"Any idea what could cause that?"

"Yeah. There's more than a few rare substances and materials that can block an Implant's signal. Don't know what it could be in these cases though."

"We watched the Tauria head off in the direction of the Refinery Sector," Itzel remarked.

Ringa tapped her chin. "We did get reports of a Tauria heading in that direction. But that's the last place Labrisson's Justice Department wants to look."

"Why would that be?" Janus asked.

The detective looked at Janus with one eyebrow raised. "This explanation is 'off the record.' Understand?" Janus nodded. "Alright, good. The Refinery Sector is a mess. For one, it's massive. The Justice Department just doesn't have the resources and manpower to do a proper investigation of that scale. Between all the abandoned and destroyed buildings, there's no way for us to do an exhaustive search of the area. Whoever, or whatever, is taking all those Exterminators could easily hop from one building to the other by the time we finish scouring just one. But the real reason why the Refinery Sector is a last resort is because they don't want anything to hamper the production and distribution of Concentrate. "

"Of course," Itzel said with a roll of her eyes. "Can't let something like missing people get in the way of trillionaires becoming even wealthier."

"Hey, I'm not the one calling the shots. I do the best I can with I'm given," Ringa said with a shrug of her shoulders.

"I know, Ringa. You and Bri do the best you can do. The system is what we should be blaming."

"I'd agree with you, but I'm on the clock at the moment. I'm here to get a summary of what happened, not discuss the state of Labrisson."

"Right. I get it," Itzel said.

"Anything else of note happen? Anyone acting weird or maybe something else out of the ordinary?"

"You mean besides rookies getting in the way and making everything more difficult than it needed to be?" Itzel asked, her mouth curling as she recounted the battle.

"Sure. That's what I meant."

"Then no. It was really just me, Gurk and Janus that tried to handle the Tauria. All the other 'Exterminators,' Itzel made sure to make a pair of quotation marks with her fingers, "ended up getting hurt or running away. It spawned right in front of us, caused a bit of mayhem, and then ran off with that guy."

Ringa finished typing up her the last of her notes before closing her screen. "Well, what you said corroborates with the rest of the witnesses we interviewed. Honestly, don't know what to make of this. Never heard of a case of Essencima abducting people. But if the victim has vanished without a way to track his Implant, then it most likely has something to do with the rest of the missing Exterminators."

"I hate to think what's happening to them right now," Janus replied with a somber voice.

"I do too," Ringa said with a frown. "Bri and I have been on these cases for over a month and it feels like we haven't made any progress. Might be time to push the idea of investigating the Refinery Sector to the higher-ups." Ringa then shrugged her shoulders. "They won't like the idea, but it's our best bet in finding the victims."

"Let's just hope it's not too late by the time they make a decision," Itzel said. Brielle barged towards her partner, carrying Ven in her arms and grabbing everyone’s attention. The child leaned his head against her shoulder, staring straight ahead, still having a look of shock written across his face. Brielle didn't look too happy either, giving Itzel and Janus a mean, scolding glare as she walked closer.

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"What was he doing here?" Brielle said sharply with her eyes cutting towards Itzel. She was taken back by her tone.

"You're blaming us for what happened today?" Her pointer finger shifted between herself and Janus.

"He was supposed to be at home! Not hanging out in the park, especially not around a Tauria!"

"Ven snuck out of his home. Again," Itzel snapped back. "Maybe you should be getting on his parents instead of us, huh? If we wasn't with me and the others he'd probably be out trying to hunt Lurkers on his own. That's what we caught him doing last night once we got off the public carrier!"

"So you thought it was a good idea to take him Exterminating with you?" Brielle maintained her irate demeanor as she gave her nephew a pat on the back. He continued to sob into her chest as she tried to comfort him. "Ven's been traumatized by what happened!"

"I'm sorry about that part. I am. But you're blaming the wrong people, Bri."

"Maybe I should charge all three of you with abduction and—" Before Brielle could finish her tirade, her partner stepped in between the two.

"Calm down, Enforcer Jallen," Ringa said, facing her partner. "You're on duty, remember? Stay professional."

"But Ven could have been hurt!" Brielle shot back. "It was gross irresponsibility on their part!"

"How were they supposed to know that a Tauria was going to spawn in the middle of the park? You know as well as I do that type of Essencima doesn't typically form this far away from the Refinery Sector."

"But of all the things they could've done, they decide to—" The officer's words were cut off again, but this time by a sudden tug on her collar. She looked down and was greeted by Ven's tear-soaked eyes.

"I wanna go home, Auntie Bri," the child muttered in between sobs. The officer looked her nephew sorrowfully and embraced him with another hug as she began walking back to her carrier. Once she was back at the vehicle, Ringa turned around to address the other two.

"Sorry about that. She's real close to Ven."

"It's understandable," Janus replied. "Maybe we should've brought him back home instead of letting him tag along with us."

"Like how I suggested!" Itzel added.

"What's most important is that he's fine. Give Brielle some time and she'll come to understand that. But for now, I think it'd be best if I wrapped up our investigation here. I've got a few more witnesses to interview, but I've got a feeling they'll say the same thing as everyone else that I've talked to."

"Best of luck, detective," Janus said.

Ringa gave the pair a salute as she headed off to discuss the incident with some of the other bystanders. Janus and Itzel both turned towards the enforcer's carrier, watching Brielle talking to Ven. The back door was wide open and Ven sat sideways in the backseat, his hand pressed against his eye as he tried to rub away both his tears and drowsiness. Brielle was nodding as she talked to him, keeping one hand on his shoulder. She then leaned in and gave him another hug. Gurk was there as well, watching from behind as the two embraced each other.

"I feel terrible, Itzel," Janus said.

"Oh yeah?"

"Yeah. Poor Ven has probably been traumatized for life because of what happened. And not to mention that guy we couldn't save. I just feel like... a failure." Janus sat himself on the ground crisscross, lowering his head as he pressed his hands against the back of his neck. "I've never felt so... useless before in my life. Useless and helpless. Two words that describe me perfectly." Janus' breath deepened as he rubbed his fingers up and down the course of his neck.

"Come on, Janus. Don't beat yourself up too hard. For someone who has been in Labrisson for less than a whole day, you're not doing too bad," Itzel said with a calm voice.

"Sure, but I'm still doing bad. Now I'll have to live my entire life like this! Trapped in a city that I don't belong in. Victim to whatever this wretched world wants to throw at me as I watch others around me suffer. It's... it's... all bleak. So bleak!" Janus let out a long groan as he lowered his head even further. He felt a hand lift him upright, making him rise to his feet with a swift hoist.

"Look at me, Janus," Itzel said, giving a long stare. He was still saddened by his thoughts but managed to make eye contact with her. "You remember that guy back at the diner in the carrier?"

"Of course."

"So you remember how you kept him alive by making sure that the vehicle didn't crush him?"

"Yes."

"Good. And not too long ago you managed to kick a rampaging Tauria in the face with your Special Technique. You remember that too, don't you?"

Janus nodded.

"Alright then. Stop being so dramatic. I know what you're going through is stressful but crying about it isn't going to get you anywhere."

"But you and Enidri said that I won't last long in Labrisson. If this is the kind of stuff that I'll have to go through on a daily basis, I'm inclined to believe that you two were right all along!"

"I was wrong, Janus." Itzel crossed her arms, making a small pout with her face. "Savor that, because you won't hear me say it ever again. And Enidri is always wrong by the virtue of her being Enidri. I didn't want to deal with you when we first met because as you can clearly see, I've got plenty issues to deal with myself. I didn't need some weirdo from Oregon getting tacked on to that ever-growing list. But you've more than proven yourself to be competent. There's still a lot to work on, but if you stick with me and Gurk, you'll get there. Who knows. Maybe even together we could find a way to leave this city for good."

"Are there nicer cities in this world?" Janus asked with widened eyes.

Itzel nodded. "Oh yeah. Labrisson is probably the bottom of the bottom. Any city other than this one is a step up."

Janus adjusted his glasses. "Well, it is nice to have a goal to work towards. Gives a purpose."

"Exactly!" Itzel gave Janus a wink. "I know I complain a lot about this city, but you don't see me giving up, do you? I know I've got what it takes to make it big on Rumble Circuit. That's why I keep Exterminating. I need to in order to get where I want to be."

"A goal to work towards could help me out," Janus looked towards the ground until Itzel placed her hands on his arms to make him look directly at her.

"It will. Come on now. I'm sure back in Oregon you had some kind of dream you wanted to achieve, right?"

"Yes. I did."

"So you know where I'm coming from then."

"Yes. I just got caught up in all of the commotion is all. I think I'm better now."

"That's what I want to hear. Gurk and I are going to need to you be fully focused."

"You can count on me,” Janus said, mustering a meager grin. “Hopefully.”