Richard, Mindy, and Lily headed back upstairs after the long talk to discuss what to do with the corrupted container. Lily suggested going to her workplace to try and fix the object there. She told them they were more than welcome to come back to B.E.E.S. for this critical endeavor.

“I don’t mean to brag, but our computers are vastly superior to the ones in this drab work building,” Lily commented as she played with her hair. “I’m positive it’ll do a better job at decoding your little item.”

Mindy rolled her eyes, but Richard still tried to stay optimistic about the situation.

“Thanks for taking the time out of your busy schedule to help us out.” He chirped.

“It’s my pleasure.” Lily bowed.

Mindy shook her head. “But why are you helping us?”

Lily crossed her arms. “Don’t get the wrong idea, ok? I have my reasons, and I don’t have to tell you.”

“That doesn’t answer my question, but whatever.”

Richard sighed in disbelief, seeing them argue once more. It wasn’t his business, but it seemed like for every step they took, they would take two more back. It hurt, not being able to help, but he didn’t want to force them to hug it out either. He didn’t want either of them to suppress their emotions or make the same mistakes he did. Not after everything they’ve been through. Maybe there was another way to move them towards the right path?

Once they reached the lobby, Richard asked Mindy for a conversation in private.

“Hey Mindy, can we talk?”

“Something on your mind? Wait, don’t tell me. Does it have to do with Lily?”

“Um, never mind.”

“Again?” Mindy groaned. “What’s there to discuss?”

“Listen, having a grudge for this long won’t help either of you in the long run.”

“You don’t know about our past.”

“But I do know you two should see eye-to-eye, look at it from their point of view. Lily’s right there, it wouldn’t hurt to try to talk it out with her. It looks like she wants to make amends as well, don’t you think?” Mindy stayed silent and looked at the floor. “Look, it’s up to you, but if you want to speak your mind and tell her how you feel, now might be a good time to do so.”

He waited for Mindy to answer, but she struggled to respond. She should say no and be done with it. But a part of her brain was unsure what to say in that matter. Had she overlooked it all this time? Had it never occurred to her until now? What would Lily say in response?

Man, you’re annoying, it’s none of your business, but I’ll think about it. Part of her wanted to say it, another part didn’t think it was a good idea.

She thought about it for a while and turned to Lily to see how she’s doing. Lily ran over and pushed her and Richard down to the ground with a panicked look on her face.

“Look out!” She cried.

As they fell, a bullet shot through the windows, causing the shattered glass to spread all over the floor. Smoke then formed around the shell as it exploded, and a net came out. It entrapped Lily, and pushed her across the room, hitting the walls before falling to the ground.

“Lily!” Richard and Mindy cried.

They ran over to try to untie the bound and gagged Lily, but found the rope to be sturdy and rough. Richard didn’t have time to question the bullet’s sudden appearance when more fired off into the building. Mindy and Richard dodged each of them as they hit objects in the lobby, including the door.

The duo headed out the doors and spotted a shadowy figure lurking at the top of a building. They rushed over to catch the perpetrator when the figure leaped from another building. The two ran over to the building next to it until discovering the shadow continuously going back and forth to throw the pair off.

“What do we do now?” Richard asked. “Split up and knock him out with force?”

Mindy shook her head. “No, that’s just what they want.” She tried calculating their plans. There had to be a way to counteract them. “We don’t know what he or she could be capable of, so going head-on might not be the best idea.”

They both agreed to hurry back inside the office building to re-strategize. The two rushed to the highest floor and ran toward the edge of the rooftops to take cover. Mindy pulled out binoculars, found a pot to avoid contact, and peeked through to see what she could find.

Richard asked if she noticed anything unusual, to which she gave him the binoculars to see for himself. He peeked through and gazed upon the shadowy figure from the other side. Upon closer inspection, the person wore a mask to conceal their identity. They also wielded a harpoon gun with one hand, and a glowing jar with the other.

Richard squinted his eyes, feeling like he’d seen that jar somewhere before, but wasn’t sure why. That was when he heard a faint voice in his head. His brain processed the familiar ghostly figure inside the jar, banging on the glass.

Fawn? Richard blinked. He didn’t know she had left and got herself captured again. Shoot. How am I supposed to get her free without hurting her in the process? I’m not sure if I can get her out, unless...

He thought about the last time this happened. How’d Fawn break free again? Once Richard recollected that memory, an idea sparked in his noggin.

“You look like you got something on your mind.” Mindy pointed out. “Do you have any ideas?”

“Yes, I do.” Richard snapped his fingers as he glanced at her. “Do you still have your gun?”

“Of course.” Mindy placed a hand on her chest. “So, you want me to shoot the guy?”

“Not quite. I want you to shoot at their hand, holding the jar.” He corrected her.

Mindy gave him a perplexed stare. “Are you serious?”

“Yeah, you’re going to have to trust me on this. I’ll go untie Lily in the meantime.”

“Alright, I’ll do it.”

“Thanks.” Richard waved as he ran back downstairs.

Mindy took cover, and she pulled out her gun and visors. She peeked her head out as the shadowy figure continued to fire out net-shots over her head. Mindy put on some viewfinders, as she found a sweet spot and extended her gun to a long-range sniper. She placed it on top of the rooftop, took aim, and fired off a shot.

The bullet made the figure let go of the jar, causing it to fall and shatter into pieces. Fawn flew out, free at last. The shadowy figure snapped around as their eyes widened.

“Oh no!” They cried out.

Fawn glared at the figure. “Now to deal with you.”

Fawn controlled their body, lifting them in the air, leaving them petrified, and tossed them inside the entrance of the W.A.S.P. building

Richard, Mindy, and the now untied Lily ran down the stairs to find the figure. Upon closer inspection, appeared to be a man, as he twitched on the floor. The three stormed over and stood over him. After taking in the information Fawn told him prior, Richard had a hunch the person standing before them was… No, it couldn’t be. But it made the most sense. Question is, what do they do with him now

Mindy suggested contacting the police and turning the man in. Richard shook his head. If Fawn was correct, the police hired this assassin in the first place, so that wouldn’t be a viable option. He stormed over to face this assassin head-on. Richard needed to know the man’s identity. He reached over and forcefully ripped the mask off his face.

After doing that, he inspected the figure, then took a step back. It occurred to him that the assassin looked familiar, someone he might’ve seen before.

“No, it can’t be.” He shook his head. So many questions rushed through his head at once.

“What’s the matter?” Lily and Mindy asked.

“The one trying to kill me is you?!”