Several armed men entered the building, securing each corner with practiced precision as their flashlights sliced through the darkness.
Once the building was confirmed secure, a few of them began rummaging through the wreckage, searching for any sign of a clue.
One of the armed men caught a faint glint on the floor.
"Hmm… what's this?"
He knelt, brushing aside splintered debris, and froze. An odd, jagged piece of metal was embedded deep within the shattered remains of a wooden chair. He lifted it closer to his face for a better look, and his stomach tightened as he noticed a small piece of flesh clinging to the jagged end—evidence that it had once been part of something alive.
The man sprang to his feet and rushed outside, gripping the object tightly.
"Sir, I think I've found something," he called out, raising the jagged piece of metal.
Henderson glanced at the object, his expression unreadable.
"Bring it to headquarters."
"Y–yes, sir!" the man responded, his voice trembling slightly. He hurried toward one of the police vehicles and opened the trunk, where a large, unusual-looking pod rested inside. The evidence was sealed within the pod before the trunk was shut once more.
Henderson's brow tightened as he sighed. "Honestly… do new recruits really need to ask something so obvious?"
The limousine door opened again—this time on the left. A woman in a black suit stepped out, her heels clicking sharply against the pavement as she came to a stop beside him.
Without turning his head, Henderson said, "Natalie. Status report."
Natalie adjusted her glasses and glanced at the tablet in her hand.
"Yes. I've coordinated with the government and the local police department and obtained authorization to acquire yesterday's CCTV footage. A copy will be delivered to headquarters shortly."
Henderson's eyes shifted toward the hidden street cameras, as though he had known of their presence all along.
"Excellent."
"And one more thing," he added, his voice cold. "Why the hell did you use rookies for this operation?"
He pointed toward the men haphazardly clearing debris. "Just look at them. Clueless."
Natalie responded in a measured tone. "My apologies, sir. However, they all recently passed their written exams, and today is their first field assignment."
Henderson's fury surged at her words. His jaw clenched, teeth grinding as he leaned closer.
"I want them all terminated after today," he whispered, his voice tightly controlled yet trembling with restrained rage.
Natalie met his gaze. "I don't mean to be rude, sir. However, please keep in mind that the men before you were all elite members of the military before transferring into The Saviors of Humanity."
She continued, "They need time to adapt. The world of powered individuals is new to them, and it differs greatly from what they were trained for in the military."
"Tsk." Henderson snorted. "Tell them to gather as much evidence as possible in that building—quickly."
"Right away," she replied quietly, already moving toward the building.
The limousine door opened behind her, then shut as Henderson slipped inside, sealing himself off from the scene.
Click—click—click. Natalie's heels echoed as she stepped inside, carefully navigating the scattered debris before coming to a stop.
"Ooh—what's this?" she murmured, glancing toward the far corner of the room.
"How convenient," Natalie said with quiet delight. The camera there was still in perfect condition.
She ventured deeper, through the kitchen and into a cramped room humming with electronics and glowing monitors. Kneeling at the terminal, she withdrew a cable from inside her suit and plugged it into her tablet. Natalie sat in the chair and began accessing the camera footage—
bzzz, bzzz, bzzz.
Her phone vibrated.
Reaching into her breast pocket, she retrieved her cellphone and answered, "Hello?"
A boyish voice came through the phone.
"Hey… Ms. Natalie, can you tell Dad to send someone to pick up Emily and me from the hospital? Emily will be discharged soon."
With one hand, Natalie continued working on her tablet, while the other held the phone.
"Yes, Leon. I'll inform your father shortly. Give me a few minutes, and I'll call you back," she said calmly.
"Alright, thanks a lot, Ms. Natalie," Leon replied before hanging up.
"Okay. Camera footage transfer complete," she said to herself, unplugging the cable and making her way back to the street.
She paused and looked back at the building. The men were still searching for clues.
"Attention!"
Every man froze, dropping what they were doing and turning toward her.
"We have gathered sufficient evidence. You are hereby ordered to return to HQ. That is all. Dismiss!"
"Yes, ma'am!" they shouted in unison, scattering back to their vehicles as Natalie stepped into the waiting limousine.
The car hummed softly as it pulled away from the scene.
Minutes passed as the limousine moved on. Natalie focused on her tablet, replaying the footage from before the incident.
Sitting side by side, she broke the silence. "You might want to see this."
She handed the tablet to Henderson as the gruesome scene replayed.
"Sigh… what a shame. The camera has no audio," he said.
Natalie nodded. "Indeed, that is a shame," she replied before adding, "The creature appeared to talk to itself before it attacked the two workers."
Henderson furrowed his brow as he replayed a particular scene. "Natalie… have you noticed this?"
Natalie leaned closer to the screen. "How odd. The creature attacked the empty chair first."
Henderson rewound the footage a few minutes. "A boy?"
He handed the tablet back to Natalie. "Find this boy. He might be the catalyst for that attack."
"Yes, understood," she said, studying a still frame of the boy leaving the store.
"That reminds me," Natalie added. "Your son requested someone to pick him and his friend up from the hospital."
Henderson frowned as he remembered. "That's right. I forgot he called me yesterday, begging me to pay for his girlfriend's medical bills."
He waved a hand dismissively. "Yeah—yeah. Send someone to pick him up. Use the white limousine." He paused, then asked, "Natalie, remind me again—what hospital are Leon and his friend at right now?"
Natalie tapped her tablet before responding. "Prosperity Hospital. It's not far from here."
"Bring two armed men from the Saviors as additional protection," he said immediately.
"Right away," Natalie said as she typed a message to both the chauffeur and the soldiers at the President's residence.
She raised her phone to her ear.
"Hello, Leon…"