Their morning bell was the doorbell for the guest house chiming. One of Lady Mackling's security guards arrived early to make sure they were up to begin escorting and following her. Breakfast was not provided but there was food in the refrigerator. Hanson was charged with making sure that everyone was fed as they were already on the clock. They knew for tomorrow that they had to be up earlier to feed themselves. Hanson quickly prepped what he could but the only person who was fed before they left was Adam. Everything else had to be delivered on their watch. Hunter would take the morning shift of following Lady Mackling around as she went about her day switching with Hanson mid-day to exchange notes, add to the board, and plan if needed. Juliet was on her own as she was charged with watching the ground from up high.
The small group made sure to make their presence known as well. If this was the spirit of her late husband then "intruders" would not be welcomed. It may take a few days for it to acclimate to them but once it knows that they are not leaving, it may try to make them. The morning consisted of Hunter standing three feet behind Lady Mackling. When she went outside Juliet would swoop around to an area where she could see her. As much as Lady Mackling didn't enjoy the extra attention she knew it was necessary. Hunter had to remind her that the succubus was friendly.
Working in the field that she has had for so long, demons and demonic beings are not very welcome to her. They were the bane of her work as a medium. As they sat down for lunch they got to talk more about it. Juliet stayed in a nearby tree within earshot as she kept her eyes open for anything else. Hunter instigated the conversation to try and find out more about the occurrences, "What makes you think this is the ghost of your late husband?" Finding the cause was the best way to find a solution. She sipped her tea that was brought to her by one of her handlers. Hanson took his adding one lump of sugar listening carefully and taking notes on a small notepad. Lady Mackling cleared her throat, "I am unsure why. There have been messages left that only my husband would know of. There have been occurrences that stirred me on a personal level that only he knew. But at the same time, he is being abusive. Very straightforward, he was always a proper gentleman." Hunter began delving a bit deeper and into more personal questions, "How did you and your husband meet?" She leaned back in her chair, closing her eyes with her hands wrapped around the small cup, "It was Spring in 1946. There were a lot of people still suffering the horrors of war as more and more troops were not coming home. Frauds began to pop up to take advantage of people by putting on a show and taking their money. I kept my name out of it but there were still a few people who had heard of me. One of them was Sir Ian Mackling."
Her eyes seemed to light up just by saying his name. A smile began to crawl across her face moving her wrinkles. She still looked rather happy thinking back. "He served with the British Royal Air Force fending off the German Blitzkrieg. Once they were pushed back he was brought to the front with the rest of his flying squadron. They were grounded near the front line and unable to get their planes off the ground before they were overwhelmed. They managed to retreat back to safety but not with everyone. Eventually, as the battle went on, and they were forced into foot soldiers, he became the only one left. He and I met through a mutual contact and he asked me to help him make peace. Together we were able to let him speak with his comrades in arms, make his peace with them, and them with him, allowing everyone to move on. He took me to dinner to thank me and two years later we were married." The glimmer of happiness in her eyes was brought by a deep feeling of love that had spanned almost 80 years. Behind the happiness was a hint of pain as she believed that her husband was out to cause her malice, harm, and stress. "I worry that he harbored some harsh feelings towards me that allowed this to happen. I've seen many times where a loved one has turned into something unholy because of strong feelings of resentment for their significant other." The tears began to form in her eyes. She reached for her napkin to dab them away while sniffling trying to keep her composure. "I'm sorry, this is not how a lady should act in front of guests."
Hunter looked to Hanson who still had his nose in his notebook. He was piecing something together. "Lady Mackling, what do you think would cause these kinds of feelings towards you? I hate to ask but is there anything that you regret? Something you think may have upset your husband?" She clearly took some offense to the question. Hunter kept his face strong. This was a professional question meant to shed light on what may be causing the problem. He saw the quick flash from her. Before she could answer he corrected himself, "That may have come out wrong or harsh but we need details. If this is something that you may have inadvertently done, then he carried with him then you may need to break your promise to not contact him after death to apologize and put this to rest. We want to avoid that but we cannot rule it out yet." The whole situation was delicate. Hunter had to balance her wishes and well-being against her promise to her late husband while trying to resolve the issue. This would require some fine footwork to tiptoe through certain subjects, around and into certain questions, and all of it to make sure that she was in the best spot that she could be.
Lady Mackling still seemed to be a bit bitter, "I tried my damnedest to be the best wife I could!" Hunter quickly interrupted, "I wholeheartedly believe that and without a doubt know that you did but every relationship, every marriage has its rocky portions. As painful as they can be, it may have an answer to why this is happening to you. I want you to be at peace. I want your husband to be at peace. For us to do our job we need all the information that we can collect to look at the big picture." He seemed to get through to her this time. The hurt disappeared for a moment as she tried to think of something that may have caused a rift between the two. Nothing seemed to immediately come to mind. He caught onto her hesitation, "You don't need to think about it right now. I know you have other things you need to get to today. Hanson will be taking over from here. If you think of anything just let him know and it'll get back to me."
"That's very appreciated. I do have one question."
"Sure, you're free to ask us anything."
"Your… Succubus…"
Hunter leaned back looking out at the tree where she was perched. Her ears caught wind of the conversation. Lady Mackling continued, "Does she really have to follow me around? I feel rather uneasy with her here." Juliet's eyes began to squint as she locked on to Lady Mackling. Hunter could almost feel her anger. He acted quickly to defuse the situation, "Uneasy, how?"
"She's… Well, she's one of those things."
"Ah, a demonic being. Yes, she is, but she's also an employee and a valuable one at that. She can see more than we can by being higher up. She can also react quickly should the situation drastically change."
"I still feel uneasy with her around my staff."
"You don't need to worry about that. She can take care of herself."
Juliet had heard enough. She fluttered her wings giving her enough of a lift to fall from the tree and take flight off to another section of the house to sit. Hunter knew there would be a conversation about this later. Until then, he tried his best to reassure Lady Mackling that there was no one better qualified for the job. Her fears were not subsided but she allowed her to stay on the premises. They didn't have a place for Juliet to go if she wasn't allowed to stay. They'd have to hide her away in the guest house until the case was solved. For now, they needed to focus. Hanson took his afternoon shift in a stride. Hunter checked in with Adam at the guard house. He had hooked up his computer to the security cameras and had it recorded for review later if needed. They were all on the clock until Lady Mackling went to bed, from there the night shift security crew and her handlers would take over and alert them if anything happened.
The night was quiet. Nothing out of the ordinary from what everyone else had to say. Hunter interviewed the staff all afternoon to see if they knew anything about the occurrences. A few mentioned that they had seen how it affected Lady Mackling and even fewer were ever witnesses to anything. They always seemed to occur in the few fleeting moments when she was alone. They were quick, sometimes violent, and never seemed to leave a trace of a person being there. As night fell, Lady Mackling prepared herself to go to bed with a shower, her nightly ritual of seeing her day attendants off, and finally heading to bed where two people would be outside her doors at all times.
The group reconvened at the guest house in the recreation room where Hunter had made more notes and plotted points of some of the security cameras that were in plain view. He took his role as a leader by taking a seat on the edge of the pool table with the others leaning against the wall or taking a seat in a chair. He began addressing everyone in order, "Hanson, did you get anything on what may have upset her husband before his death?"
"She recalled one time spending an excess of money on a car she bought for him that he didn't like. But that was in the early '80s. And he sold the car ten years later for an additional $4,000."
"Alright, keep an eye on her during your shift and see if she remembers anything else. Adam, security report."
Adam stood up, "It was boring. I stared at the monitors all day with Chris, the lead security guy, and all we saw that was interesting was you guys walking around and Juliet's shadow as she flew overhead. I'll go over the recordings again for two hours and see if I missed anything but I don't have high hopes for finding anything for today. I've got a recording going overnight that I'll check in the morning as well."
"You're on it. Juliet! Anything in the sky?"
She shrugged, "20% chance of rain and nothing else."
Nobody had anything for today. That was to be expected if it was a ghost. Anything that was happening would back off for a while but that doesn't mean that it wouldn't show itself again. When that happened, that's when they would move. As for tonight, they were pretty sure that their job was done. With a loud "dismissed" Hunter released everyone to hang around the guest house for a while. It was large enough that they could all go somewhere and not run into one another. Hanson went to bed to get ready for the early start they were going to have. Adam went to his computer to look over the recordings in fast forward them for a couple hours. Hunter stayed in the rec room with Juliet. Once the others were gone he closed the door to give them some privacy. He took a seat next to her, "Ok, out with it." She kept her mouth shut with a huff. Hunter kept prying, "Juliet, you need to talk to me." She turned her head away from him. He had to pull out a trump card on this one. He rolled his voice into a sweet tone that had a strong undertone to it, like a father that knows his child is in trouble but is giving them one more chance to fess up. "Hisari, would you mind telling me what's on your mind?"
Her back had a cold chill run down her spine. He invoked her real name, but not in an orderly fashion yet it felt very close to it. She couldn't avoid it any longer. He was leaning in, resting his head on his hand propped up by his knee. He had that smug face when he knew he'd already won. "Wipe that smirk off your face." He laughed as he sat back up, "Only if you tell me what's on your mind."
"It's that old lady."
"What about her?"
"I don't appreciate her attitude towards me."
He knew it hit her deep. "I can understand you're upset about that. She comes from a time when it was very black and white. Where demonic beings were shunned if not killed outright. Times have changed and not everyone has changed with them. Hanson is considered one of the old breed of hunters but he's been on the front line for so long that he knows that the changes were for the best. I didn't get to see the world before all these changes happened so I'm blissfully unaware. I've only heard stories but I know it's still alive." She seemed to calm down a bit, "Then you don't know what it's like."
"That is incorrect!" He pointed at her with a stern look, "I may be human and you may think I'm on the other side of the line looking in but there are plenty of monsters and beings that don't like me. Not just because I am a hunter but because I am a human messing in a world that is considered not mine. This is a two-way street."
"I still don't think it's as bad for humans as it's for monsters."
Hunter stood up rolling up his sleeve to show three parallel lines on his arm, "That's from Minotaur that didn't like that I was sitting in a seat in a bar." He let the sleeve go and undid his belt to show a scar on his hip, "That was a fae that tried to burn me alive because I just happened to be walking home." He lifted his shirt on his left side showing what looked like a spider web-style scar on his hip, "Got gored by a centaur's spear because I entered my old apartment complex and they thought I didn't belong. That was while I was still active in the Army." He straightened himself back out, "There's plenty more but I've made my point."
Her face went pale as he continued to get himself back to normal. She seemed to be in shock, "How did I not see those before?"
"I hid them well, and they healed well. Some are old and starting to fade."
She was fixated on this realization. He continued as he got himself back into his chair, "While I do not agree with how she thinks of you, she is who she is and we still need to help her. So put that aside, ignore it, don't let it bother you, and focus on helping solve this. The sooner we get it done the sooner we are home and you won't have to deal with her." He was rather blunt about it yet none of it wasn't true. He kept looking into her eyes waiting for it to click or for her to respond. She caught on as she nodded, "I think I get it."
"Good, now, go to bed. We need to be up early to make sure we get breakfast before we head out."
Morning broke oddly violently. Hunter was making rounds early, waking everyone up and making sure they were downstairs and fed before Lady Mackling's attendants came knocking. Hanson was in charge of making sure that everything was ready to be eaten while Hunter kept to the meeting room. Everyone was dragging their feet getting whatever they wanted from Hanson in the kitchen. Hunter was oddly bright-eyed and bushy-tailed this morning. He was staring at the board making more notes, leaving little marks on it. He was focused.
Everyone else shuffled in with something in their hand as Hanson slowly made his way over. Hanson took his place by the door while Adam and Juliet took a seat looking at the board. Hunter seemed to still be really focused on his notes. He started the morning meeting rather upbeat for him, "If anything is going to happen then today is the day for it. Adam, I need you to be hypervigilant about the cameras and if anything looks odd, let us know. Juliet, same deal with you except around and within the grounds. Hanson and I will stay by Lady Mackling's side keeping a close eye on her. I'm almost certain something is going to happen today so eyes open and head on a swivel."
As he wrapped up his small speech there was a knock on the front door. Like clockwork, Lady Mackling's attendants were there to escort them to her. Hanson and Hunter were brought over with odd haste. Lady Mackling was sitting at her table in her usual fashion but she seemed to be rather annoyed. Her face seemed sterner. Her entire body looked tense. She was enjoying her coffee until the two took their seats. Before they could open their mouths she addressed them, "I am aware that you two are very good at what you do, however this lack of results that you two are producing is upsetting. I would like this solved." Hanson was the one who could keep a more diplomatic tone when being criticized, "We understand. We have been scouring the grounds daily and we simply have not been able to find anything unusual or out of the ordinary. Nothing has happened to you during our stay so we don't have any first-hand experience with your problem. With nothing more to work on, we are at a dead end."
"I would rather you take care of it before something happens again."
"We understand and…"
"I don't think you do understand. I fear for my life that my late husband means to do me harm and you are not resolving this."
"We will do what we can."
Hunter kept his mouth shut. Lady Mackling may be one of the most prominent people in her field but right now she is beginning to show a very ugly side of herself. The stress of the situation may be getting to her and it's reaching its boiling point or she really expected them to solve the problem with nothing to work on it with. The only thing the team could do was to continue keeping an eye on everything and be ready to pounce. Hunter and Hanson excused themselves for a moment so they could speak in private.
Their consensus was that Hunter would be taking a wider angle today. Keeping his distance and watching the bigger picture while Hanson followed her around with her personal guard. Juliet stuck to the skies keeping low and vigilant. Adam kept his eyes glued to the screens in the security hut watching the nothing going on. The day wasted away while the group just wandered almost aimlessly around.
The sun began to set around the time that the security supervisor that had been sitting with Adam left for the day. The two of them never really talked all day. Adam watched the monitors while the guard switched between the monitors and watched videos on the computer they had in there. He did 12-hours shifts four days a week and this was the beginning of his weekend. He seemed rather excited to be leaving.
It seemed the day was going to be another quiet day wasted. Nothing seemed to be disturbing Lady Mackling. They watched everything for anything suspicious and the only thing that stuck out was that nothing stuck out. No one reported anything unusual the entire time that they were there. Hunter still had a good feeling that they were going to encounter something today but their time to do so was quickly dwindling. Hanson and Hunter met up inside the main house with the current guard watching Lady Mackling. He was positioned outside of the master bathroom door while she bathed.
Hunter and Hanson took the opportunity to ask him if he had seen anything or if Lady Mackling had said anything in passing that may show that something had happened while they were there. He didn't have much to add to the information that they already had. Most of her staff knew something was happening but very few ever noticed it firsthand. The dead end was still before them with nothing to lead them in the correct direction.
Their peace was shattered by a scream coming from inside the master bath. The guard hesitated long enough that Hanson moved him out of the way allowing Hunter to kick the lock off the door. The door flew inward slamming against something that seemed to push the door back. Hunter pushed past to find Lady Mackling covered in a towel looking on in horror as the intruder kicked in her door. Her eyes locked back to the mirror where on the fogged glass was written "I have returned for you, my love". The feeling of a rush of wind passed Hunter heading out the double doors. He looked to try and catch it but there was nothing.
As her scream echoed more and more of her guards showed up at the door only to be blocked by Hanson. They didn't need to be inside the bathroom contaminating it. Hunter helped Lady Mackling out and back to Hanson who took her away where she could sit and calm down. Hanson asked her questions trying to get as much information out of her as he could while Hunter poked his nose around the master bath. The writing on the mirror started to smudge from the water starting to condense. He got the best photo of it that he could before it started to deteriorate anymore. He ran his own finger along a clean section of it to observe how the condensation looked with a live touch.
The door was pretty well busted from his kick. The double door held to the hinges but the lock splintered the wood at the door handle. It would need to be replaced before it could be used again. He may have acted a bit too rashly but it got him inside fast enough. The tile floor was still wet from the humidity. His boots were slick until he stood on the small rug next to the tub's edge. He closed the door further to get a closer look at the mirrors to find a handprint against it. A full handprint as though someone had fallen forward into it. On the floor, the water was moved from a small area as though something, or someone, was pushed. Hunter hadn't stepped there yet so who was behind the door?
Now they were starting to get the questions they needed. The door is solid enough that there was no other damage other than the lock and doorknob. Hunter made sure to look over everything he could before letting others back in. By then the message had faded away as the water evaporated off of the surfaces. Looking at his phone once more, he could see the message but not clearly. It was the best he could do with what he had. Hanson seemed to have his hands full trying to keep her personal guards away long enough that he could get what he needed. One more look back and Hunter noticed one last strange bit. He would have to check it out himself later though.
He beckoned Hanson to follow him, done or not with his questions. He needed him to start looking at a few options. Juliet was waiting outside. The commotion did not take long for it to reach the ears of everyone on the grounds. Everyone was either trying to get to the house or congregating away from it to stay out of their way. With Hanson close behind them Hunter gave him the order to wait by the front door and just keep an eye on anyone going in or coming out but to not stop anyone. Juliet accompanied him as Hunter made his way around the side of the house looking along the side of the building.
His eyes scanned from the ground up the walls looking for anything off-kilter. The closer he got to where he thought there should be something. Juliet stayed close but confused trying to see anything he may be looking for until he came to a stop under a window. Looking up there was the light from the master bathroom. Up to that window were vines that had grown along the side to catch the morning sun. He gave them a hard pull and they refused to move. They were sturdy enough that it was able to easily scale up the side of the wall reaching the window. With a hard shove, it opened. Someone had left it unlocked. "That's all I needed to see."
Dropping down he rolled when he hit the grass. Brushing himself off he started making his way back to Hanson, "Well, this just got a whole lot easier. Juliet, did you see anything strange shortly after everything started to kick off?"
"No, just a few people running to the house but they were all dressed as her security."
"Didn't see anyone leave the house or the grounds?"
"Not that I saw."
Ok, then they may still be on the grounds. Making their way around to the front of the building Lady Mackling was escorted out of the house to a car waiting for her. She was quickly ushered in and away before he could ask any further questions. Hanson, with his sharp ears, did catch that they were going to take her to the hospital just in case she fell or was injured. Then came the all-important question, "When the incident began, did they close the road off the grounds?" No one had an answer meaning it was time to go visit their "security" person, Adam.
He was sitting right up looking over every monitor for anything strange. Before Hunter could open his mouth he already had most of the answers he was looking for. "I looked through, rewound back, and could not find anything that came in or left the master bedroom area. Everyone who was there was posted there hours before except for Lady Mackling. This 'ghost' may really exist at this point."
"Good eye but when all this began did anyone call to have the main entrance closed off to leaving traffic?"
"No."
"Did any cars other than the three that just exited leave during the incident?"
"There were four that did."
"Find who they belong to."
Adam nodded and started looking through the tapes again. Something was going through Hunter's mind. He had already started wrapping this up and all it took was what, 12 minutes and four cars leaving? The group knew not to ask questions until they were back in their base of operations. This would be something that would require all their attention. Juliet was hoping that this would be an easy and quick fix. She's had enough of the old lady constantly on her about being a succubus even when she was trying to help.
Hunter herded the group to their private meeting area to avoid all the hustle and bustle still going on. Hanson was stationed inside the door to keep an eye on what was going on outside to make sure that no one was listening in. The group was on pins and needles as Hunter began working with the board. He started tearing down a lot of names and profiles that they had set up of people to keep watch on. The more that disappeared the more unnerving it got the closer to the last one it became. The last piece of paper was torn down leaving no one left on the board and everyone watching confused.
Hunter took a seat leaning against the table, "And now we wait for Adam to come back." The minutes dragged on as they sat and waited, and waited, and waited, and waited! Juliet started to get uncomfortable breaking the silence, "Do you know who it is?" Without any hesitation, Hunter answered, "Not a clue." The faith that she had in him disappeared. He took a deep breath rolling his shoulders to relax, "That's why we're waiting for Adam. He'll be the one to find out."
This entire ordeal was riding on Adam now. Just a few more minutes and the door opened. Hanson was quick to react to the person entering but stepped down upon Adam's arrival. All eyes were on him as he carried a laptop with him. Hunter leaned forward bringing himself off his resting position, "I trust you have what we are looking for?" Adam nodded as he started setting up the laptop to the TV in the main room. Hunter continued, "Then the show is yours."
He swayed his hands motioning for everyone to move out to the living area. He took his stance behind the couch giving Juliet a seat in front of him. Hanson stayed on the end closest to the door keeping his role as a guard. Adam cleared his throat as he pointed his remote to the computer. The image started to play showing the four cars leaving. "At 6:57pm, the lead car, blocker, Lady Mackling's car, and the following car left through the main gate to get Lady Mackling to the emergency room for treatment with two people in the lead, blocker, and follow cars. Lady Mackling's car contained five people including Lady Mackling. All 10 people were accounted for at their posts at the time of the incident in the bathroom." The camera flips through various cameras showing the men standing at their posts until the call went over the radio forcing them to take action. "Lady Mackling yelled at approximately 6:53pm prompting the emergency response."
The view flips to the camera outside the bathroom where Hanson and Hunter can be seen conversing with the men at the bathroom door before they all look startled with Hunter being the one to break down the door." Lady Mackling was rushed from the master bathroom on the second floor to her vehicle via the main house entryway. Hunter!" Hunter's eyes locked on Adam's as he was addressed. Even Juliet seemed to jump at how he was addressed. "You brought to my attention that when you broke through the door it felt like you hit some resistance and that you had found the bathroom window open. I took a look at the video again and slowed it down."
It begins on a short loop where it shows Hunter slamming the door. "If you pay close attention you can see that when the door opens it bounces back well before it would have hit the counter coming back into you. Something did give that door resistance. Something that pushed back even. I scoured the outside cameras looking for the open window. While I could not find a clear view I was able to find one that showed a portion of the wall. Now, watch along the ivy." Adam pointed to the wall where you could partially see the light from the bathroom window. The wind may have been blowing at the time but not enough to cause a disruption that large to the plants. More so to cause a slight indent in the grass. "What ghosts do you know that can act that physically?"
Hunter shifted as he puffed his chest with his eyes wide. He nodded and motioned for Adam to go on. Adam let out a small smile before coughing to recompose himself. "Ok, so after that moment there I lost whatever it was. The cameras could not pick it up but at 6:55pm another car leaves." With the view back to the front gate it shows an older-looking car speeding through the front gate. "I was reacting to the emergency call so I didn't see the vehicle. Knowing where it was coming from I was able to find the area where it was parked." There's a camera that overlooks an area where a lot of Lady Mackling's employees' park. It shows someone in a hurry getting into their vehicle, starting it, and heading out. "I looked for any identifiers on the vehicle. The plates are dirty but I asked around. A couple of the security guys agreed that it was their manager's car. That struck me as odd as I worked with him all day and his shift was over at 5pm. I even saw him leave. Or so I thought."
The camera flips between multiple views following the security manager as he walks across the grounds. "He goes from the shack, up the main road, to the side road, and as he should walk into the parking area he just disappears. I scoured the surrounding areas around the same timestamp and he just does not show up anywhere until he goes to leave almost two hours later." Hunter pipes up testing Adam's metal on his abilities, "And do you believe that the security manager is the individual behind this?" He takes a deep breath looking at the paused screen, "Well, there's the two hours that you can't see him. I watched the camera where we saw something moving down the ivy away from the bathroom window and saw a similar disturbance yet nothing physically showed up on camera. I can't say for sure and without a doubt that he is the individual who caused this incident but it is rather strange that he didn't leave until after it happened and in a hurry. If anything he would be our next step in finding what caused this and maybe other disturbances."
Adam wrapped up his generic but solid hypothesis with a rigid stance. He was very nervous with all eyes on him critiquing his work, and Hunter who no doubt was looking for any holes or anything he may have missed. He nodded before issuing everyone's orders, "Hanson! Ask around and see if anyone saw the security manager after his shift at 5pm and before 7pm."
"Yes, sir."
"Juliet, I want you to follow me, we're going to look at that spot outside the bathroom and I'll want your eyes in the sky to make up for what the cameras may have missed."
"On it, boss!"
"Adam!"
The moment came for him. He could feel his heart race, and his blood pressure rise. He bit his lip not knowing what to expect. Hunter pointed at him with a stern hand, "Excellent work. You may have saved our asses on this. You earned your pay on this job." All the emotions that welled up exploded. He grinned from ear to ear clenching his fists as he gritted his teeth, "Yes!" Just that little bit of validation sent him over the edge. The adrenaline started pumping, giving him that rush of feel-good energy. "I want you back on cameras watching the front gate for anyone to return and keep tabs on anyone who leaves. Stop them, get their name, and make a note if they seem to be in a hurry. If they were involved they may have waited for everything to quiet down before they attempted to leave."
Without any hesitation, Adam rode that high taking the laptop with him as he darted out the door. "Goddamn, that kid. Hanson, good job teaching him." Hanson took the compliment with stride nodding before making his exit to begin asking around. Juliet stood from the couch looking at Hunter who seemed to have that look in his eye. The one where he could see the end of the contract as everything is beginning to wrap up. She swayed herself around the couch standing before him, "Got a compliment for me too?" He was in a good mood. She might as well try to take advantage of it.
It didn't seem to work. His face kept that null expression as he looked down. With a deep sigh, he smiled a bit, "Thank you for dealing with a racist old lady and helping for the greater good. It can be rough but your support is essential." She could feel her cheeks warm up from his words. It gave her the last push she would need to get through this night. Their task was to scrounge and find anything left behind. This would be the hardest of the assignments as they weren't sure what they were looking for, weren't sure if they could find anything at all, and to top it off the thing that did this is invisible to cameras.
Hunter took to the ground while Juliet worked from the air. He looked for smaller details while she tried to direct him to anything she could see before the sun went down. They came back empty-handed a couple hours later as the group reconvened. Hanson brought back nothing as well. No one had seen the security manager but a few did mention it was weird to still see his car in the lot after a certain time. Adam took the role of anyone who had left. No one looked out of the ordinary to him. It left them with their only choice. To hunt down the security manager.