The team of three legends moved through the city with the silent efficiency of a specialized military unit, heading toward the central zoo. Even at sixty-six, their movements were fluid and purposeful, a testament to the training they had received during the Great War. They bypassed the high-tech security sensors of 2070 with ease, entering the zoo grounds long after the gates had closed to the public. The animals paced in their enclosures, sensing the arrival of beings that possessed a power older than the zoo itself.
They made their way to the security office, where Martin used his knowledge of systems to override the digital locks and gain access to the CCTV archives. They began to scrub through the footage from the previous day, focusing on the time when Lucas's grandchild was reported missing. The screen flickered with images of happy families and tourists, a sharp contrast to the grim mission the three men were currently on. Finally, they found the footage they were looking for near the primate exhibit.
The video showed the boy standing near a thicket of bushes, his camera raised to his eye as he focused on a rare bird in the trees. From the shadows behind him, a man emerged, moving with a calculated, predatory grace that suggested he was a professional kidnapper. The man wore a dark coat and carried a white handkerchief, his face partially obscured by the brim of a hat. The three gods watched in silent rage as the scene of the abduction played out on the grainy monitor.
The stranger moved quickly, pressing the handkerchief firmly against the boy's nose and mouth before the child could even turn around. They watched as the boy struggled for a few seconds, his small hands clawing at the man's arm before his body went limp and he fainted. The man caught him before he hit the ground, looking around to ensure no one was watching before disappearing back into the shadows. It was a cold, efficient kidnapping that left no room for error or intervention.
Lucas watched the footage with a pained expression, his eyes fixed on the limp form of his grandchild being carried away. But then, he noticed something in the frame that the police investigators would have surely missed in their initial sweep. As the boy fell, his camera had slipped from his hand, snagging on a branch of the bush where he had been standing. The stranger, in his haste to escape the area, had not noticed the device remaining behind in the foliage.
"The camera is still there," Lucas whispered, pointing to the dark shape nestled in the bushes on the screen. He knew that the boy's camera was a high-end digital model, capable of taking rapid-fire photos even in a struggle. If the boy had been taking pictures when the man approached, the evidence they needed was sitting in the dirt at the zoo. The three legends immediately left the security office and headed toward the physical site of the kidnapping to retrieve the device.