Being able to go back to sleep on the stiff unyielding cushions of the couch that was set up at base proved to be a fruitless endeavor for Mai. Perhaps it had something to do with her previous injury inflicted unconsciousness or maybe it was some kind of side effect from Akane's healing touch, whatever the reason she couldn't manage to slumber for more then twenty to thirty minute intervals at a time. So napping wasn't the problem she just wasn't able to sleep long enough to enter the sort of peacefulness she needed to dream.

Noll was a bit confused by this restriction of her abilities. In the past she had been able to dream within moments of losing consciousness. So, why were her abilities being hampered now? Was it something that had changed over the years after she lost Gene as her guide? Did she require REM to enter the same dream state as she had before? Did that mean in order to enter her first REM cycle of sleep that she would need to be slumbering for at least 90 minutes before a dream would occur? Or was it possible that she simply overexerted herself today?

Noll wasn't one to easily give up but this method was proving ineffective. "Perhaps, we should concede that this isn't working and just abandon this plan for now." To ensure she didn't believe he was blaming her for the situation he tacked on, "you will dream when you are ready to do so. Until then why don't you call Yasuharu and see if you can find any new information about the warehouse."

Mai wasn't surprised by the lack of information that Yasu had for her in regards to the warehouse. Those kind of facts would probably have been something that the police officers would have noted in their case file. But she did consider researching a different path of information. "Yasu, other than the women disappearing from the warehouse and the few that were found murdered do you know if there were any other serial killers in the area in the past? I'm not referring to anything the police officers probably took into account during their investigation. I am more curious to know about previous years in the past. Ten, Twenty, I don't know how many years but they surely didn't look into any previous cases more than eight years ago." Granted the eight years was a stretch on some cases but Mai had a feeling they wouldn't consider looking decades in the past. The police precinct that Captain Kita managed didn't seem the most competent crew nor did they seem to have a stellar work ethic. Regardless, Mai wouldn't judge them on that basis alone. Instead she chose to believe they had at least a marginal capacity of doing a proper job while actually on a specific case.

Yasu considered what she was asking briefly before he opened a word document on his computer to note it down so he wouldn't forget. Only after doing so did he respond. "Hmm, I haven't looked into that possibility. But that's an interesting prospect to consider. I will get on that after hours for you tonight."

Mai sighed after Yasu ended the call. She was very understanding that Yasu's job came first but sometimes she wished the information would just drop into her lap as she needed it. As it stood even though she now knew that somewhere in the northeast quadrant of the warehouse was some kind of hidden passageway, and that there was a manic lunatic inside its depths that had abducted Akane for some nefarious purpose, she still was quite confused at the lack of information. She mentally reviewed the little information she had recently obtained.

Mai knew that this deranged individual had planned on Akane becoming one of his victims. If those victims that had been found were any kind of indicator then he was first planning on killing her then removing some body part.

What was the purpose that was driving him to do this? He had been talking to someone else. Was the kidnapper only a pawn in some grander scheme? And while she didn't want to think about it she still had to question why he would remove a body part. Was there some cryptic rationale similar in kind to the one Urado had used to bathe in the blood of his victims? Was he using the body parts in some similar ritual? Or was this train of thought completely off base?

All she kept doing was asking herself more and more questions and she wasn't sure of any of the answers to those she mentally quizzed herself over. They had been giving Akane a break because after using her abilities she was wiped. But perhaps it had been enough time to see if the girl knew any more than she did herself. Also she could at the very least perhaps point out where the entrance to this hidden tunnel was.

Akane was lying as prone as she could on the uncomfortable couch that the trailer had been equipped with. She should have been out helping the others. She should be showing them the things she found. Heck they should probably have gotten the police involved at this point since she had been abducted. But John wasn't letting her move. He had taken guard position on the somewhat more comfortable cushions of the wing chair. "John, I know you mean well but really I feel fine."

"You, yourself, said that you had never felt so drain in your life. I think we should tread on the side of caution in this instance." The only thing that was probably keeping Akane from screaming at him in annoyance was the soft look in his eyes. He wasn't trying to be stubborn only showing his concern for her well being.

"I did say that. You're right. But I also been living with this regenerative aspect of my biology almost my whole life. The only reason I discount anything before the age of ten is because it's hazy. I can't recall if I even got hurt during that stage of life or not." Perhaps she had over shared her past a bit with that statement. While she felt a closeness with most of the team that she hadn't felt with anyone in the past she felt she should still keep them at arm's length. At least until she was more accustomed to being this comfortable in the presence of someone else.

John didn't feel he should ask about the years before she had unintentionally hinted at. He felt that would be prying and even if he hadn't finished his schooling he had still taken some time in the confessional to hear others troubles and that had taught him to be patient and quiet at certain moments. He watched as she pushed herself in a sitting position and pulled himself from the chair he had been perched upon. "I'm still not sure you should be up and about right now. I think another hour of recuperation is probably necessary."

Akane sighed and flung herself a tad harshly back against the arm of the couch. She watched John's skin pale and his hissing gasp just after. "I really am fine, John. The way I just reacted might have been excessive. But it didn't hurt me either. I promise."

John was about to rebut her claims again except that moment the door flung open. "Mai! You shouldn't be up!"

A small snort escaped Akane as she chortled at his protectiveness shifting from herself to Mai. When he turned back to look at her she arched an eyebrow back at him. "You can't mother hen everybody."

Mai immediately deciphered that Akane too was feeling fine now. "I was on the phone talking to Yasuharu." Mai realized that Akane may not know who he was so she took a moment to briefly explain that to her. "He's our researcher. Well, in his off hours when he isn't researching for the newspaper he works at. Anyways, while I was talking to him it occurred to me that we need to find the entrance to that tunnel, or whatever it was, that brought you back to the warehouse."

Akane's eyes widened briefly. In the gigantic amalgamation of chaos that had happened in the past twenty-four hours she hadn't reflected on how she had gotten back. "It was a blur getting back here. I was running on rampant adrenaline at that point. I am not sure I even took in where the tunnel lead me. But perhaps if we go investigate that area again I will be sure to find it.

John kept wanting to escort both of them back to comfortable places they could each rest, relax, and recuperate but he was greatly outnumbered. It took Ayako stopping the three of them as they were walking by to halt the plan with any type of viable reasoning.

"Uh uh. No, you are not going over there investigating some tunnel or pathway that leads to some to deranged serial killer. You are first going to call the police and at least let them know what we have discovered thus far. Knowing there is an actual physical being responsible has changed the game plan." Ayako escorted them both to base where she explained to the remaining investigators what they had planned.

"I concur. It's time to get the police department back on the case. We will still remain as outside investigators to assist them unless they release us from the job." Noll gave a pointed look at Mai.

Mai's response to this situation was to let a groan of frustration creep from her mouth. "Akane and I are perfectly fine! We aren't so broken that we can't investigate ourselves!"

Monk cut in. "You misunderstand. It's not completely about that. Now because we know for a fact there is a criminal on the loose in those tunnels we have to get the cops involved so they can handle arresting the culprit. I understand that you are worried that they will disregard any information we had already found on the case. In truth, I completely agree with that fear. But, we can't take the law into our own hands in this case. We are merely civilians to the police officers that came in to research something they unfortunately failed at the first time around." He took a deep breath. "Perhaps, you should consider that part also. How often do we fail on a job?"

"We never give up or fail! Even the Urado case when we weren't hired to exorcise a demon we still offered our assistance to encourage the house be burnt to the ground! It would be careless to leave things half finished! Not to mention foolhardy and immoral!"

"And don't you think that some of the officers that previously worked this job feel the same way?" Monk was sure that would tug at her subconscious and pluck at her heartstrings a bit.

"I get that. I do. But, I only recently asked myself some questions about this case that I hadn't weighed over in my mind before today." Mai worried her bottom lip and reflected over all those questions she had come up with her mind before seeking Akane out.

"Then let's go back to the conference room and go over those questions as a group. You can't take on the whole burden of the case on your own. Think about what it has done to you in the past when you have attempted to do so." Monk put a comforting hand on Mai's shoulder.

He was right of course she couldn't and shouldn't take on the research and her hypothesis on her own. But nine times out of ten she would do this for a set time frame before one of her friends would point out she needed to stop for a moment and get assistance. Then the case would go even more smoothly because she had opened herself to others being her sounding boards. But there was still one dilemma she felt needed resolved before they called the police department again.

"I understand you mean well, and we will get to discussing the thoughts rattling around in my brain. But honestly, I think first we should investigate the Northeast quadrant and find the entrance to the tunnels."

Mai had hoped that there would have been a door or opening left over from Akane's return. But everything seemed to be untouched at first glance. It took their discerning eyes to notice a disturbance in the thin layer of dust near the wall for them to investigate that area even closer. "Does any of this seem familiar, Akane?"

"I wish I could say it did. I was in such a rush to get back and running on adrenaline I really didn't pay that close attention to my surroundings on my way back. I know regardless that the pathway seemed to stretch on forever. I realize that doesn't help us find the hidden entrance to said pathway. But..."

"No, it's okay. I understand we will just have to go over this area with a fine tooth comb. I mean there has to be some mechanism that releases this portion of the wall somewhere."

"Are we sure it even opens from this side? I mean it is just as possible that it only opens from the opposite side. It would make sense why no one has found it before" Ayako mentioned aloud. It wasn't something any of them wanted to hear but it still was a pertinent hypothesis, and one that shouldn't be disregarded.

Mai turned as she realized how defeated she was feeling. Her foot caught on a jagged piece of metal on the floor where two pieces of metal didn't line up properly. She tripped and fell beside the seam. While the others were asking if she was okay she was prying at the metal slab with her bare hands. "This piece of metal flooring doesn't seem to fit properly."

It took some doing but together they managed to dislodge the tile. It was difficult to see into the hole they uncovered but after finding it Mai immediately picked up the phone to call the police precinct. "Captain Kita, I think we have some new information on the case. You might want to send a team this way."