Mindy sprinted out of the room, nearly tripping on her feet along the way. She tried to hightail Richard and Greg, but lost them quickly down the halls. She glanced around the corners and crossed paths. Where could they have gone? She had hoped to meet up with them before getting caught by Reginald or the police chief. Mindy picked a path, but after turning a corner, she bumped into two figures.

Mindy got up to brush herself off, then glanced over as Rick and Jim did the same thing.

“Hey, what are you doing here?” Jim questioned.

“Uh, I was visiting a friend?” Mindy replied.

“Visiting hours are closed, you aren’t supposed to be here.”

“Yeah, I’m aware, and I’ll be taking my leave,” Mindy said. She turned a heel in the opposite direction. Those guys probably don’t know about my Usukui Puru form.

“Just a minute,” Rick spoke up. “You sound familiar.”

“Do I now?” She turned to face the officers, trying to keep a straight face. Uh oh, this isn’t good.

“Yeah...” Rick squinted his eyes, thinking about the source of the voice. His face brightened up. “You sound just like Mia, the robotic savior!”

“Oh,” Mindy muttered. I don’t know if I should feel relieved or not, but this works.

“Oh, for the love of—” Jim placed his hand on his face. “Who?”

“I finally found out your identity!” Rick exclaimed, ignoring Jim’s remark. He ran over to Mindy, his eyes sparkling with delight. “It’s an honor to meet you here again! Would you like me to escort you out of here?”

“Sure thing.” Mindy nodded with a smile.

Jim rolled his eyes and shook his head. Oh, brother. Is this what he does in his spare time?

“Hey, what are you doing out of the infirmary?” A familiar voice shouted from a distance.

“What’s going on?” Rick questioned.

“We’re about to find out!” Mindy responded.

The trio looked over, their ears picking up the source of the voice. They wasted no time following it.

.-.-.-.

Rick, Jim, and Mindy entered the room and immediately caught Greg, Richard, and Reginald getting into a heated argument. Mindy, Rick, and Jim waited on the sidelines, hoping the chaos would resolve and die down fast.

“Greg, why didn’t you tell me he was out?” Reginald thundered, pointing at Richard.

“Well, I don’t want you to kill your brother,” Greg replied.

“Say what?”

“You need to hear Richard out.

“And why should I?”

“It’s true he ran from home, but he’s not the one that killed everyone at the Dewberry Mansion.”

“Whose side are you on?”

“The right-side Reginald,” Greg said. He put his foot down, standing his ground. “You may want revenge, but you shouldn’t go through with this!”

Reginald glanced and glared at Richard. “Do you even have proof of this?”

“What? But did Greg tell you—?”

“If you don’t have any clear evidence, then I’m afraid that—”

“As a matter of fact, we do.” A familiar voice protested.

The group turned around as Lily stood near the entrance, her hands on her hips. Lucy walked out from behind and stood beside her, clasping her hands.

“Huh? What are you two doing here?” Richard inquired, tilting his head.

“It’ll make sense later,” Lucy whispered. “We’ll tell you when it becomes pertinent.”

“Hold up, who invited these two?” Jim questioned, looking around the area.

“The chief did,” James replied, stepping into the room.

“James?” Jim shook his head. “Did you do what I think you did?”

“Yeah, you wouldn’t want to dismiss our boss, would you?” He asked with a smirk. His acquaintance turned away and scoffed.

Reginald sighed in defeat. “Might as well hear them out on what they have to say.”

“Nice job,” Rick whispered to James, to which his partner gave him a wink in response.

“So, did you decipher the capsule?” Richard asked.

“It wasn’t easy, but I got a good chunk of it done with a little help,” Lily replied with her head held high. “Our branching network reached out and tracked down someone who’s also an expert on the investigation field, not just reporting either.”

Lucy looked away, her face flushed red. “It was nothing special. I just pointed you to where my field of intel is and...” She shook her head. “Nevermind, it’s not important right now.”

The two women inserted the container into the computer and instigated the others to observe.