Ed shot awake, clutching at his chest as his eyes darted around. His chest opened up as his fingers dug inside, giving him access to his heart that he had subconsciously turned into threads to protect himself.

Slowly, he adjusted to everything around him and sunk back into his chair. Removing his hand from his threaded chest, he found himself back in the office. Looks like we got caught there. Oh well.

It was still fairly early, around midday by the time Ed got back. Looking at the time, he figured that they had been gone for a couple hours at most. We probably spent at most half an hour trying to escape that place. The rest of the time was probably spent asleep either waiting for the place to be made or while recovering after death.

About a quarter of the office desks were empty, with people constantly filtering in and out. The remaining people were either finishing up their trap designs or waiting for things to start. Ed decided that he would wait here for Zara to return, not wanting to leave and end up missing her.

After taking a few minutes to calm down by checking his body and soul, he concluded that the death didn’t really leave much of an impact on him. I wonder how Belle is doing?

Ed looked at his computer screen, noticing that the file from earlier in the morning was still up. That’s right, I still need to do that. I’ll check on Belle later. She’s probably still recovering. Her soul isn’t as strong as mine.

Returning his focus back to the screen, he read through the file again and started working. Old man. Bus driver. Accidentally injured someone. Injuries were fairly light. Should be able to go easy on him.

Ed went about constructing the room for the trap, which, in this case, was a bit larger than most. He decided to set it back on the bus at that time, which was simple enough to sort out, but it meant that he also had recreate the entire city. Or at least the parts that would be seen on that bus route.

With some assistance from Buddie, he managed to recreate everything to an acceptable level. Now, what do I want to do with him? Thinking things over in his head, he chose to go for a classic eye for an eye approach.

As long as the old man was willing to break his arm to appease his transgression, then everything would be fine. Since there needed to be a chance at death, he chose to make it that if the man refused, he would die in a traffic accident.

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He designed the death to be quick and painless. The man doesn’t need to suffer.

Now onto the main issue, how am I going to have him break his arm? There were countless ways he could do it, but he wasn’t sure what would be the most suitable for this situation.

Mulling over it for a bit, he thought back to what the file had said. It said he had thrown the guy out of the bus in a rage. Hmm... I can’t just have him get thrown out of the bus instead, that wouldn’t really work. Maybe I could rig something up so that if he leaves his seat his arm breaks?

Following that train of thought, Ed spent some time creating a machine that would do just that. It would appear as a metal strap wrapped around his bicep and tied to another part of the bus. It would give him enough freedom to drive, but would trigger if it got pulled on.

If Oli got out of his seat, the strap would squeeze tight, crushing the bone in his arm. Now I just need something that will get him to move.

Ed read through the file once more, and decided to put the rowdy passenger back on the bus, but this time with his arm bandaged up and in a sling. “Make one of the other passengers start a fight with him.”

“How do you want that to happen?” Buddie asked.

“Have it be someone who had seen the previous incident go down, and have him confront, pester, and threaten the injured passenger. Also have it that he’ll only stop once Oli gets in between them to break up the fight. Let the actors figure out why it happens and the exact specifics. Let them have some fun with it,” Ed said, submitting his plans.

“Thank you for your submission, I will let you know when it is ready.”

Looking around, Ed found that Zara still wasn’t back yet. Having finished his work, he decided he would go and check back at their place to see if she was there.

Opening the door, he searched through their apartment, but she was nowhere to be found. Probably out and about right now. There’s no chance I’ll find her.

Hearing his stomach growl, he decided to get himself a bite to eat. Checking the pantry and the fridge, he cooked himself up a bowl of noodles and walked back outside. I should check on Belle now. I’ve got time.

Returning to the office to double check that Zara hadn’t returned, he went back to his private work area. The others should be working or relaxing right now. I’ll check in on them after my trap is done.

Opening the door to Belle’s room, he noticed her slumped over on the chair, fast asleep. Looks like she still needs some time to rest.

She was clutching at her heart, a pained expression on her face. She was still in the midst of recovering from the minor soul damage her death had caused. After that was settled, then the pain from the heart attack would go away.

Ed looked at the invisible healer and nodded. Seeing things from this perspective allowed him to really appreciate what they had done for him back then.