"After the incident at the park with the Tauria, we planned on talking with one of the top Essencima researchers," Ringa said as she slid through a few screens brought up by her Implant. After sifting through some pages, she brough up a large portrait of the person in question and showed it to the others. Despite his face looking like that of a young man, his short and somewhat unkempt facial hair made him look older than the twenty-three years his profile stated. Much like his facial hair, the strands on his head were long and black, cascading down the side of his head, hiding some of his pearly-white face. Like every other portrait, he maintained a long, almost expressionless stare straight ahead.

"That's Donva L. Mastermundt," Ringa said, using one hand to point to the picture while showing it to the Exterminators. "He's a top researcher of Essencima. He lives just outside of Labrisson, over in Scholburn. Due to his proximity and expertise in the field, we wanted to discuss why a Tauria would abduct someone. Or if that has even happened before in the first place."

"What did he say on the matter?" Janus asked. He and Itzel sat next to each other on the sofa while Gurk stood to the side of the armchair, leaning in for a moment to get a visual on the person of interest.

"We never got to talk to him," Ringa replied. "He 'vanished' too. We went in to request permission to pinpoint his location via Implant, but just like the Exterminators there was nothing to trace."

"So the Essencima got him too, huh?" Itzel inquired.

"That's what we thought at first. But we have video capture from a security panel of him returning to his lab. Long after he had been reported missing." With a few taps, Ringa brought up the recording. The other three squinted at Ringa’s projection to watch the footage. Despite the recording’s blurry quality, they could tell that it was the same man that they had been shown a few moments prior walking into a room. Although the camera had been zoomed out, some features of his body could be identified. He wore a vest with nothing else underneath and a light-colored pair of pants. But what stood out most were his arms. They looked bare from the limited detail that the recording provided but it was clear that they were a pitch-black color. Donva reached into a storage closet, rummaged through its contents before leaving the room. As he left the door, it was evident that he had something in his hand.

"Do you know what he took with him?" Janus asked.

Brielle nodded. "It's a compound that neutralizes the decay of Essencima. If injected into one, it'll prevent it from deteriorating after existing past its typical life span. It's useful for studying rare kinds of Essencima, but considering what we know now, I know he must have something to do with the missing Exterminators!" the officer replied, vitriol consuming her tone the more she thought about the suspect.

"This is a good start," Itzel said. "We've got a possible perpetrator. Or at least someone who is somewhat connected to what's going on. But if we can't track him because his Implant isn't working, then we're at square one all over again!"

"Not quite." Ringa turned off her screen and placed a hand on her hip as she looked down at Itzel. "We know of someone that has a close connection with Donva."

"Who?" Itzel asked, looking up at the detective with an expression of intrigue.

"A good friend of yours."

"Oh no,” Itzel replied.

"Yeah," Ringa nodded up and down slowly. "Her."

Itzel shot up from her seat. She punched the palm of her hand and looked towards the side with resentment. "This is disgusting. Even for Enidri."

"Don't get too far ahead now," Ringa raised one hand in front of her, implying that she wanted Itzel to calm down. "We don't know the full extent of Enidri and Donva's relationship. A bit of research shows that they share the same father and that he was killed by an Essencima when they were both young. And that's about it."

"Glad you told us that, Ringa. Gives us plenty to work with," Itzel said.

"We figured that if there was anyone in this city that could try to get to Enidri, it's you," Brielle said. "Unfortunately, Ringa discovered this information after we were removed from the case, so we can't request a pinpoint on Enidri's location."

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"Don't worry. I think I have an idea of where to find her."

"Where?" Brielle asked, excited by the prospect of finding their lead quickly.

"Refinery Sector. Now that I think about it, it all makes sense." Itzel put her finger to her chin as she connected a series of dots in her mind. "That part of Labrisson. The fact that it's almost exclusively Exterminators that have gone missing. And now her half-brother is involved? Sounds like Enidri has been thinning the competition!" she said as she snapped her fingers.

"Do you really think she'd do something like that?" Ringa asked cautiously. " I know that she's not the nicest person around, but this doesn't quite seem like her style."

"You've got a better idea?"

"She's right, Ringa," Brielle said. "We don't have any more time to waste. We've got to find Enidri if we want any hope of finding the missing people."

The detective let out a long sigh, scratching her head before letting out a long groan. "It's not usually my style to jump to big conclusions like this, but I suppose we have no other choice. We can take you three to the Refinery Sector in our Hauler Carrier. Are you sure Enidri will be there?"

"Almost positive. She spends all her time slicing up Essencima. And now that most of her competition is gone, it's free Tokens for her, especially at this hour."

"Alright," the detective said as she took in a deep breath. "Seems like we've got a lead to follow. How long will take you three to get ready?"

"Minutes," Gurk said.

"Brielle and I will wait for you."

"Understood," Janus replied.

Ringa and Brielle stood by the front door. The detective began skimming through her files while her partner paced around the front of the room, visibly distressed by the way she kept her head down. Gurk and Janus both reached for their jackets while Itzel ran towards her room. Before she could enter the hallway, her father's door opened. He hobbled out of his room, looking towards Itzel. "What are you three doing up at this hour? And I could have sworn that I heard two voices... lady voices... that I'm not familiar with. What's going on?" he declared with a groggy voice.

Itzel remained still, staring at her father as he remained hunched over in the hallway, even more tired than how he usually was. She tried to find the proper words to say but got hung up on the first syllable. She walked over to her father and placed a hand on his shoulder, slowly turning him around to guide him into his room.

"It's nothing, dad," she said in a low voice as she started to walk with him. She kept her head turned away as she tried to direct him back towards his room but putting her hand on his shoulder. "Just uh... something to do with Gurk's offer. I know you need your rest. Don't worry about us, we'll keep you updated."

"Itzel!" Galo stopped in his tracks. He looked Itzel in her eyes. She leaned back, startled by his dour gaze. "You're my daughter! You still think I don't know when you're lying to me?" The old man trembled, balancing on his crutch and single leg as Itzel let go of her father's arm. He continued down the hallway and into the main living area and saw Ringa and Brielle standing in the middle of it.

"Good evening, sir," the detective said.

"Who are you two?" Galo asked, eyeing the two guests from the top downwards.

"I'm Detective Ringa. And this is my partner, Enforcer Jallen. We've come here off duty to discuss some important matters with your roommates."

"So you two have gotten into trouble again?" Galo looked at his daughter and then at Gurk. "Did you bring this nice fellow into your nonsense?" he said, pointing at Janus.

"No one is trouble," Ringa stated. "Not these three at least. The reason we've come here is to ask for their help. It's a long and complicated story."

"And they need us out there as soon as possible, dad!" Itzel said. "The more time we waste in here chatting it up, the more danger all those missing people could be in!"

"What? You're going to search for all those missing Exterminators?" Galo cried. "You can't be serious!"

"They got Ven," Itzel said quietly.

Galo lowered his head. He hobbled over to the sofa and took a seat, running his hand through thin, gray hair. "No way. I know that kid was a little troublemaker... but..."

"That's why we've got to get moving. Now." Itzel ran down the hallway and towards her room. Galo turned his head around to try and say something to her to get her to stop.

"But...!" Galo raised one hand, as if to reach out and stop his daughter from getting ready.

"Sir," Brielle said to the old man. He turned around to face the officer. "We'll do everything in our power to make sure these three are safe."

"Shouldn't you and the city of Labrisson be handling this? Why'd you have to come here in the middle of the night and drag my family into this?"

"Explained," Gurk said as he adjusted the fuzzy collar on his jacket.

"They think Essencima are involved, along with a certain somebody that Itzel and Gurk are very familiar with," Janus began. "Since there aren't many exterminators left in town, Itzel and Gurk are the best at getting a good lead on the whereabouts of the victims."

Itzel then came walking through the main room, fully dressed. "Wish we had time to tell you more. But time isn't on our side," Itzel said as she made her way to the front door. She turned to face her father. He had a long, sorrowed look. It was clear that he wanted to say something by the way his mouth opened slightly, but nothing was said. "We'll be back dad. I promise," Itzel said calmly.

Galo let out a long sigh and sank back into the cushions of the sofa. "I believe you. Just... be careful. All of you."