This paper is tea stained so it looks aged but maybe that's probably just a part of the 'bond' this mystery person and I share. The black ink is gathered in small clumps at the end of each letter but it still has that carefree feel to it.

My eyes scan the words, a little more than the other clues but poetic and confusing as fuck nonetheless.

Family is something to never take for granted.

It's not blood, it's a bond, it's trust and loyalty.

Family can build you up and break you down, so cherish that one moment in time.

Maybe save that flash of a second in your pocket or wallet so you have something to look

forward to when you wake up everyday.

Hmm... ok well what do people keep in their pockets that they could also stash in their wallets? My wallet's empty, moths fly out when I try to look for quarters for the shopping carts at Walmart. In other words I'm broke so there really isn't anything that I keep in my wallet or pockets aside from tattered receipts and a few stray pennies.

I guess I could always just wander and see what I find like last time.

I stuff the clue in the space between my leggings and hip for safe keeping then proceed to explore the grounds.

The clue keeps poking at my brain. I keep getting caught up in the thought of what it could mean. I'm oblivious to the sound of my boots slamming into the broken up ground, my body ignores the feeling of strangers around me, and my head completely disregards the faces and voices of said strangers.

Lance says that when I get this way and the answer's got something to do with him, he leaves the room as quick as possible because he knows I usually figure it out.

Especially when someone hides my gloves.

They won't survive if... when I find out.

My train of thought continues to trek it's way towards it's destination. I think my body is just going with the flow of traffic. I don't know if this is going to get me somewhere. So far all of my treasures were found with pure luck.

I need to reread the clue.

My eyes scan the area I've walked to, now fully aware that I'm not even close to the medical tents.

This space is a little more like a courtyard. There's a Maypole in the center of the circular patch of land, plus numerous booths and vendors on the outskirts of the area. The circle is outlined in Tumblr lightbulb stringed fairy lights and floral lanterns. Rainbow homemade wind chimes covered in leaves, flowers, moss... basically anything you could find in nature. There's even a bird on that one!

I gradually pull to the side of the walkway and observe the people dancing around the maypole with their own uniquely colored ribbons. Some are really good and others are trying there best but the onlookers all along the sidelines clap in sync to encourage the dancers.

I've always loved Pagan traditions. When someone asked me what I would do if I ever got married my answer would always be a handfasting ceremony. It's not like a boring wedding where people would gather in a church for hours listening to vows, Pagan weddings are so much more festive and lively.

I mean it's not a question I get often, people don't usually go up to me and ask what I want in a wedding... especially considering I'm not in a relationship let alone one serious enough to consider marriage for. I don't have time to meet new people and I don't have time to find someone willing to put up with how much I work.

Maybe one day though.

I lean on one of the poles connected to the lights and pull out the clue. As I absentmindedly reach for it, however, a small breeze knocks it to the ground. I go to pick it up and bump heads with someone, who looks like they're also trying to reach for my paper.

"Sorry," a feminine voice calls out as they reach out for my paper and stand up straight. They have a heavy British accent but not so much so it's hard to understand, her voice is pretty light otherwise.

"It's fine, soo... why are you trying to steal my paper?" I try to keep my tone neutral. I don't know who this woman is or what she wants so I might as well play nice.

The woman was a little taller than me with long stark white hair cascading down and outlining her body down to the back of her knees. Her eyes were like a watercolor painting filled with vibrant blues, greens, and maybe even a little purple. She seemed fairly skinny and her skin was a little darker than Hunk's.

She keeps looking at me weird so I just assume she zoned out or something and I wave my hand in front of her face to get her attention.

"Ah. Right. I saw you dropped it so I figured why not help out," she sent me a huge smile that didn't even seem possible to make. It seemed like she was after something but I have no idea what.

"Uh huh." I grab the paper from her hands and look it over to make sure it's the right one.

"OH! The names Allura by the way but you can call me yours," I look up from the clue, not really paying attention till I saw her finger guns. I grunted and rolled my eyes.

"Oh my god your pick up lines are worse then Lance's. How is that even possible?" It was more a question to myself but she answered anyways.

"Lance? Is that your... boyfriend?" If I was drinking something I would have spit-sprayed it everywhere. Lance as my boyfriend? Sure I've thought about it but I highly doubt he'd go for someone like me. I mean I know he's Bisexual but do I really have a chance? Why am I even thinking this right now... the answer is no.

"Uhh... N... no. Were just friends." I rub the back of my neck while looking for something to get out of this conversation but she just speaks up again.

"Then I guess I don't have to share," She links her arm with mine but I carefully pull out. Oops... I had no idea that's where this was going.

"Sorry to break it to you but I don't swing that way Allura." I laughed to try and break the awkward atmosphere that was soon to follow but it never arrived. She just laughed and waved it off.

"Oh! That's fine. We can be friends then. So were ya headed umm...?" at this point I realized I didn't even introduce myself but hey if she wants to be friends there's no harm in that right?

"Keith. And if I knew I'd be there," On that note I start examining the contents of the clue. If I had a magnifying glass I'd be the poster child for Sherlock Holmes. Allura leaned over my shoulder and started reading my clue. This girl has no boundaries apparently...

"That's mighty poetic Keith," uhhh... no it's not. It's confusing is what it is.

"Not really. Why are you here? You with anyone in particular?" This was kind of half-minded. I wasn't really paying attention to what was going on so I was just throwing out those default questions. You know when you're on the phone with someone who doesn't shut up and you have better things to do but don't want to be rude... yeah that.

"Ugh... my cousin Rolo should be here but he keeps running off talking to people. I kinda just gave up." She shaded her eyes and looked over the crowd to emphasis her point, then I realized she said Rolo.

"Wait... your cousin is Rolo?" She looked at me like it was obvious but soon gained a confused look on her face.

"Yeah? Why, you friends with him?" I could laugh at that. Friends with Rolo? Don't get me wrong he helped me out today but I don't think I'd go that far.

"Sure... I actually saw him earlier on. He was headed towards the talent show area I think," I pointed in the direction with my thumb and she looked behind her to see if she could spot the tent and pinpoint the location.

"The one by the photo booths?" She was on her toes again trying to see over the sea of people.

"Wait... Photo booths?" I had no idea there would be a photo booth at the festival. But then again it's kind of like a carnival, festival, circus thing... but without the abuse of animals. That's probably why I'll never go to a circus, poor babies.

"Yeah, this is a cultural festival. So it's a mix of a bunch of different things. They have celebrations ranging from different religions to different places in the world. As you can see they even have Pagan festivities as well as Pride. It's a bunch of organized madness but people enjoy it so why not celebrate with them am I right?" Wow. Allura is not shy about her opinions.

It's kind of weird that I've never heard of an event like this before if it's so big and important to the city. I would think there'd be posters and signs hanging up everywhere... Pidge probably could have done something about that. I wouldn't put it past them. They are definitely capable enough to pull it off.

"Yeah... give me a second."I unfold the clue and reread it a few times tying to see if anything on there relates to a photo booth.

That would make sense with the flash because of the camera and people keep pictures in their pockets and wallets. The family thing is probably what the treasure is about, but I don't have any blood family. Then again it says that true family doesn't have to be blood related so I guess I'll see when I get there.

I put the clue back in my leggings and turn to Allura since I might as well kill two birds with one stone.

"I guess were both going in the same direction if you still want to look for Rolo," I start to walk and I can hear Allura's footsteps quickly scramble to catch up with me. Despite the fact that she didn't run that far, she's still out of breath when she catches up to me.

"Sure why not. Lead the way Samurai," I roll my eyes but we continue to make our way there.

~Time Skip brought to you by my lazy ass~

My footsteps are heavy on the dusty walkway as we approach the tent. It's pretty large considering the rest of the booths we've seen were small and nothing nearly as grand as the circus-esque structure. I let my eyes wander, just taking in the view of something that seemed so small and far only a few moments ago.

As I continue my evaluation while sorting things out in my head, Allura's screaming pulls me away from my thoughts.

"ROLO!" I look up at her and she has her hands cupped around her mouth and repeatedly yells Rolo's name. He had earbuds in so he wasn't looking at us and I wouldn't doubt that he's completely numb to the world around him at the moment.

She begins to suck in a breathe in an attempt to begin yelling louder but I pull her hand away from her mouth and drag her over to him instead. Seriously he's like three steps away...

"Allura! There you are! And Keith? Can't get enough of me huh," he smirked and I just let my eyes roll the other direction, a small smirk creeping it's way across my mouth.

"Not even close. Allura was just headed in the same direction as me and we happened to bump into you," not a complete lie. Rolo puts a hand on my shoulder and thanks me then whispers something from behind his hand even though she could 100% still hear him.

Rolo is a loud whisperer.

"Well thanks for bringing my cousin to me. She can get a little sidetracked," he laughed a little and Allura elbowed him in the ribs.

"Me? Speak for yourself Twilight Sparkle," she gestured to his whole face with the palm of her hand and I had to hold back a snort.

"Hey! You said my face paint looked good!" He whined and then looked at me like I was gonna save him. Long story short...

I'm not.

"Sorry man but you look like Frank when he posted that video of him celebrating the FallOutBoy Mania Album," after I said that he looked dumbfounded and I had to hold back my 'Uncultured Swine' comments... he was trying to be nice after all and I don't want to be yelled at so yea...

"Who?"

"And that sounds like my cue to leave." I turn on one heel but Rolo puts his hand on my shoulder again and I flip back around.

"Awww... you have to leave already?" Ok he sounds a little too much like Lance right now and the two of them are freaking me out. Why do I keep thinking of Lance anyways? He hates me. We were High School 'rivals' and were on better terms now but this is weird... he wouldn't be thinking about me so I shouldn't be thinking of him...

Right?

"Yeah... I don't have all day. You guys have fun I guess," I waved off the hand on my shoulder the 'nicest' way I possibly could and tried to leave again.

"You too Samurai..." Allura winks in my direction and I hold back a grunt of frustration before walking off towards the photo booths. Before I reach it, however, Rolo calls out to me and I perk my head up a bit to hear what he says better.

"And Happy Birthday again!" I keep walking but laugh to myself at how much he's changed. Rolo would have been a really cool friend back in High School if he wasn't such a bully.

I continue my walk across the path and I can here Rolo laughing at Allura while she yells at him for saying it's not her fault she didn't know it was my birthday. I roll my eyes for the hundredth time and slight chuckles escape my mouth as I shake my head.

When I'm out of hearing range from their bickering, I round a corner in search of the Photo booths.

Four of them, standing neatly in a horizontal row. Which one am I supposed to choose?

This is where I think back. Pidge said it would get harder as the day went on... the closer I got. So Last time I needed to know a number for something was when I entered the festival. I went to entrance 2 so what could that have to do with the numbers here?

It's my 23rd birthday... THAT'S IT!

I jog up to booth 3 and take a look inside. The area over here is pretty much deserted. There are a few people but I doubt they'd use this booth considering it looks out of service. The booth is a walk in and it's a green blue color, kinda reminds me of the ombre of warm ocean waters.

I draw back the pearlish-white curtain and begin inspecting the inside. It's your standard steel looking interior with the grips and a black plastic bench to sit on for your photos. Sunlight shines through the curtains, outlining little specks of dust floating in the air.

I examine the area carefully, trying my best to spot anything that shouldn't belong on a Photo booth (aside from the years worth or gum creating Rainbows on the ceiling of the booth). As I walk in and sit down my eyes wander up to the screen that's supposedly supposed to give you instructions, but in place of the lit screen is a note taped to a black lifeless panel.

I pull down and a picture falls into my lap. My fingers carefully trace the folds of the paper then smooth it out so I can recite it in my mind,

Howdy y'all!

Pidge again,

So Welcome to Coran's treasure. In this note you've found a picture of us all and hopefully that gives you some background but that's not the point. This place is a special stop that everyone thought you'd enjoy. You're going to press the button on the left of the screen to start it and then pose in this order.

1) Happy (and yes u have to smile)

2) Silly

3) Cool

4) and then Random... I don't know just go with it.

When your pictures are taken they will print and you'll grab them outside on the booth wall. The back of that strip has your next treasure clue. Surprised you made it this far! Keep it up were waiting!

~And Jk This was Lance the whole time... hope ur having fun Samurai!

My lips perk up as I read the last line. Who knew one silly conversation could lead to the nicknames Sharpshooter and Samurai?

I think I only like it when Lance says it...

Other people just ruin the meaning to it I guess. Maybe that's why I was a little annoyed at Allura for calling me that twice. How did she even know about that nickname? Or it could have possibly been a joke about my Japanese ethnicity. Samurai's did originate from 12th Century Japan because of the Shogunate dictatorship.

Besides it wouldn't be the first time someone's commented on me because of my background (past and ethnicity, bullies don't really distinguish a line between the two).

I put the note to the side of me and stare down at my lap to see what this photo is about. I can make out the same clumpy writing written in Sharpie on the back and the photo paper seems worn and loved. The writing includes the date but that's about it.

I flip it over and it reveals a picture of everyone at a BBQ. Coran wielding his spatula like a sword and Lance standing really close to the bottom of the picture dabbing. Hunk and Pidge are sitting on the picnic table laughing and throwing popcorn at each other... and I'm sitting in a tree upside down looking around and making funny poses.

It's better than being chained to a tree like Lance was that one time in band camp... (long story).

Scattered around the picture are people that I hold so close, everyone in this picture is someone I can trust and people who I wouldn't give anything up for. While taking in all the happiness and recalling the laughter and shouting from that day I almost forgot why we had this party...

Coran's daughter.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Im running.

My feet are barely touching the ground.

I still can't believe people in this world are cruel enough to do these things. I mean I believe it, I've witnessed a few of these things first hand but it's still shocking.

I scale up a few more pathways, run a few more roads... jump out in front of a few more red lights and eventually I stand at my crime scene.

Yellow police tape has been wrapped around the entrance of the convenience store. The sun is setting so the warmth of the sky bounces off the windows along with the reds and blues of police lights.

People lay outside, leaning up against the benches in front of smashed glass entryways that once resembled windows. Civilians that were around are being interrogated and questioned. I walk towards one of the people I work with and ask about the status.

"Hello Mr. Kogane. This ones not pretty. We have 3 casualties, a robbery of half the money in the register as well as several store items, and 2 missing civilians." I mean none of the cases I've worked on have ever been pretty but yeah he's right about this being a little more brutal. The killings were apparently violent in some cases but not as much as the criminally insane cases we get sometimes.

"Have you checked the security cameras?" I look over to Sanchez as I absentmindedly continue examining the crime scene.

"Yes, the perpetrators were wearing ski masks and carried knives and guns. We haven't identified what kinds yet. Except one of the butterfly knives were left in one of our victims." So basic criminals that probably committed this because they saw it worked in a movie.

"Death was instant?"

"Yes. Punctured lung and repeated stab wounds all along the chest. All victims were males above the age of 20." Huh, that's interesting. Only interested in killing adult males.

"And were any injured? Who called us in?"

"Umm... none injured as far as we can tell... a man called the police when his daughter didn't come home last night and this is where he told us she was working. We have identification on the victims..." I watch as Sanchez moves his hand around to emphasis his points, he always does that when talking and it's really distracting but no matter how many times I tell him not to do it he does it anyways... I basically just gave up and deal with it.

"Take me in Sanchez, run me through identity and background to your knowledge." He nods his head and begins to lead me in.

The convenience store is like any decent store you'd find in this kind of area. The lights are a fluorescent white that wash everything out, miscellaneous items are sprawled across the chipped tiles and numbered markers are placed on every little piece of evidence.

Sanchez leads me over to the first body lying face down on the floor. I look around at all the victims and these dudes look like greek gods! Jeez they were probably killed because of jealousy. But it's kinda creepy that I'm fangirling over dead bodies so... moving on.

This man has short brown hair and can't be too old. His skin is pale but a little more so now than it would have been if he were still alive.

"Jeremy Shada, age 21. He was shot in the shoulder then we believe he turned to run and was shot again in the leg." my eyes follow the wounds as Sanchez describes the events. So far it makes sense. We've already been over the security tapes and apparently this is what we've been able to determine.

"Following that, we believe his assailant walked up and shot him again in the back, considering black powder residue has been found on Mr. Shada's shirt. As you know that usually occurs at close range gunfire." Again Sanchez is getting off track... I answer him with clenched teeth but trying not to seem to rude. More like I'm urging him to get on with it.

"Yes I'm aware."

"Well... anyways Josh Keaton is our next victim, age 39. He is our punctured lung and aggravated stabbing victim." He directs my attention over to another man slumped over against one of the aisle racks. He looks similar to Shada but his eyes are wide open indicating light blue eyes. He's also sporting a beard so he's like an older version of Shada although I doubt they're related.

"Ok. So revenge could be motivation as well as a robbery gone wrong." There are a handful of possible motives and at the moment I just need to organize them in my head. Sanchez snaps me out of my thoughts by putting a hand on my shoulder. Apparently I was staring at Mr. Keaton, but I immediately glared daggers at Sanchez.

He realized his mistake right away and removed his hand as well as took a step back. I don't like when people I don't trust touch me. It's not like I don't trust Sanchez but I don't think I'd trust him if my life were on the line. He's just a colleague and I don't appreciate strangers making physical contact with me.

"Sir there's something else you should know. This man had a little girl with him when he walked in. She is one of our missing people." A child? Those criminals took a child, killed her father, and brought her someplace that we can't find her right now.

This little girl... she probably has a mother right? I mean I hope she does. I wouldn't wish the foster care system on anyone... it's not fun and it's actually pretty dangerous. But that's a matter for a later time.

First we have to focus on actually finding her alive.

Sanchez leads me across the store to the last victim. On our way over, however, I spot a bottle on the floor. I pull oit a handkerchief and carefully pick up the molasses colored bottle.

Chloroform.

I pull out a Ziploc bag and pocket the bottle for further examination later.

"And the last one?" Sanchez walks us over to the small flip-top counter to help us get behind the register.

There lay Mr. Yeun. He seems Korean or from Asian decent and he has a mustache and goatee. His hair is black like mine and he's on his side up against the glass case, crimson pooled beneath him, outlining his figure.

"Steven Yeun, age 34. He was our cashier and he died from blunt force trauma to the head and blood loss from a gun shot wound to the neck." I turned to Sanchez to get a little more information before I begin questioning onlookers.

"So three victims. 2 missing. Where's the father of the second missing person and what is her significance to this person?" Sanchez brings me to the back room while explaining. The monitors are set up and the doors to the storage and frozen room are beside it.

"Well she was an employee of Mr. Yeun. On the camera's it shows that she was in the back when the first gunshot when off and she came out when she heard yelling. In the video it shows her protecting Mr. Keaton's daughter before the woman was knocked out and dragged out of the store along with the child." He points these things out while replaying the video for me.

"Knocked out in what way?"

"We assume Chloroform." I look again and a rag is placed over her face. Yep... Chloroform.

"Can I speak to the father of this woman?" As I ask we walk out of the backroom and begin making our way out of the store, only to be greeted by yelling.

I power walk to the door and begin making my way towards the chaos, leaving Sanchez inside to help the crew prepare the bodies to be shipped to the morgue.

"But she's my daughter! Where is she!" A New Zealand accent booms through the air... I kinda sounds like...

"Sir you need to calm down. We can't let civilians past the tape." I continue walking forward but Rodriguez is standing between this myserteous person and I. I push my way past and try to yell over them.

"What is going on here?" They both stop and look at me and that's when I realize the man in front of me is none other than Coran... Which means his daughter... oh no.

"Sir this man is demanding to speak to someone regarding his daughter." I completely disregard Johnson and direct all my attention towards Coran.

"Coran?" Our eyes meet and he physically sighs in relief. I would too if I had a friend regarding a situation like this... especially one that could help.

"Keith! Is Faye-" I already know what he's going to say and I stop him before he even goes there.

"No! She isn't dead. Only male casualties. I'll take it from here Rodriguez." I put my hand gently on Coran's upper arm and lead him over to the side of the crime scene so we can sit on a bench.

"Keith, what happened to Faye. Where is she? Was she hurt. Sent to the hospital?" I try to calm him down because what I'm about to say might seem better than death but in reality both outcomes say that's she's gone for the time being and Coran might not be happy about that.

Why do I have to be the barer of bad news?

"Coran... she was abducted. Along with a little girl. We... we don't know where they are," I let Coran give me a hug because he really needs one and he begins to tear up. I can feel his mustache tickling my neck and his tears soaking my jacket but I let him cry anyways... he doesn't deserve to go through something like this silently.

I pull away slowly eventually and hold him by both shoulders trying to send him a reassuring smile.

"But there is not reason to believe that she is dead. If they wanted to kill her they would have, don't worry Coran I promise you we'll find her." He just stands up out of my grasp and shakes his head.

"I know you'll try... but cops don't really care about these kinds of things around here. I know you're different but you can't promise that you'll find her..." with that Coran begins to walk away.

"Coran! Wait!" He's leaving a completely different person. I don't know this Coran and I don't want to live with this Coran... I will find her.

"Mr. Kogane we need you over here!" I turn my head towards Johnson and sigh before standing and looking in Coran's direction one last time.

He's dragging his steps... he's crumbling... and there is only one thing I can do to help him.

"Right... what did you find?"

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

What am I going to do? I have no idea where Faye could be. Coran doesn't deserve this. No one deserves this... that little girl doesn't deserve to lose the last of her family.

How could something like this happen to a family like this.

Coran is one of the nicest and homey people I've ever met. He loves his family and he is loyal beyond recognition. He would do anything to make us feel like were part of his family and we would do anything for him.

I hope he's holding up ok.

How do I fix this? How do I put them back together again? It's been 11 days and that means she's been missing for roughly 264 hours and I'm just sitting at my desk with my head in my hands trying to think within the confines of my dark office.

I've made a link analysis chart to help find some sort of clue or pattern to give me the location. The basis is a map of the whole area and then a little bit of the outskirts. I've got one of the murder weapons, our three victims and information on them, our two hostages and information on them, possible locations, possible links.

I could scream. Cases like these are time sensitive and here I am having a breakdown in my office while everyone is outside actually working on other cases.

Yep. Coran was right. Everyone moved on from this case until more evidence was brought to light. Unfortunately we couldn't get a license plate because the outside security camera had been broken for sometime.

I've been able to figure out more about the little girl. She's 5 years old and he name's Ofelia Keaton, then of course we know about Faye Smythe. But other than that I can't find anything else legally.

I wrack my fingers through my untamable hair. The hair I put in a ponytail before leaving but now strands are falling in my face.

A few harsh knocks interrupt my thoughts and before I can say some much as a 'not now' the door practically swings of it's hinges.

My head flies up towards the opening and a gremlin walks in.

"Oh it's you," I throw my head back on my desk and it slams hard against the wood... my head immediately jerks back and I rub my forehead with the palm of my hand, all the while Pidge tries not to laugh.

"Nice to see you to Keithy boy, by the way you look like shit," I roll my eyes and Pidge jumps up to sit on my desk.

"Have you talked to Coran?" I look up at her (for the first time ever).

"He doesn't want to see anyone. He's living off Ramon noodles and frozen fish sticks. He's been sitting in his living room surrounded by photo albums for the past week and a half." That makes me feel guilty. Coran should be spending his time making his family laugh and teaching the weird words.

"Fuck... I'm really screwing this up." I groan and stuff my face into my folded arms.

"Yeah, shut up. It's not your fault. But I want to show off so scootch." Pidge comes around the table and tries pushing me off my chair. Keyword tries.

"I'm busy," I shoo them away with my hand and grab a pen to make it look like I actually have something to do.

"You look like your drowning in paperwork," I then realize my desk is completely empty and silently curse myself for that terrible lie.

"So what brings you and your motivational compliments to my office?" I smirk at them and stand up, reluctantly giving up my seat.

"Well I decided to get off my ass and actually look for Faye but since you're 'too busy'," I shove them as they put their backpack on their lap and begin unzipping it.

"Stop being sarcastic and tell me what you got," they roll their eyes and pull out the computer then plop it on my desk. I take their previous spot, sitting on the corner of my desk.

"That's what I thought." they smirk over to me and I roll my hand to emphasis that they need to move quicker.

PIdge opens their computer and begins typing like a madman to open up tabs and files. I look over from my spot and watch in awe... not that I would tell them I'm impressed.

"So I hacked into government satellites and-" I cut them off with my screech of my voice! You can't just say that in a literal government related building!

"PIDGE!"

"Hey don't yell at me! It worked didn't it?" Now that peaked my interests. Now I know that they were able to get a hold of something useful.

"Anyways, before I was so rudely interrupted... I was able to pinpoint the location of the car the criminals were driving using their cell phone signals. Pretty basic stuff. Once I did that I was able to track them and no we know where the car stopped," Yeah... basic for you! I couldn't do that even if I wanted to. I'm not trained to do that.

"Wait really?" I look at them unbelievingly.

"No... I'm lying." A part of me just stares... pained that they would trick me but then they crumple a sticky note and throw it at my face.

"OF COURSE YOU IDIOT! I swear Keith you're so oblivious to sarcasm sometimes." I just roll my eyes and jump off of my table so I can walk around and look at their computer.

"So do you think you could tell me where they are now?" I say, like a smartass.

"Well they stopped the car around 2 hours after they left the crime scene-" Something else didn't add up so I jump in again... mostly to annoy Pidge but that's not important.

"Wait how do you know that?" I dramatically squint my eyes skeptically and they push my face back with their hand while simultaneously typing with the other and taking a sip of my coffee. Basically Pidge doesn't pay any mind to my existence and just stares at the computer screen.

"BOI! Ugh... I also might have possibly hacked into your databases and retrieved the case files... but that's not the point," I just sigh and lean on the chair to try and figure out what their doing.

"What am I going to do with you?"

"I don't know if you'd be able to survive without me. But aside from that they haven't left much. They are still within a two hour radius of the convenience store. Now I can't exactly pinpoint the location but I know that the signal is coming from the East." my head perks up and I quickly walk over to my Link Analysis chart.

"Let me just do the math real quick" I begin working on complex equations to help me figure out distance and time it would take around the city from the store and figure out how to mark a circle for that distance depending on the speed they would be driving. As I write it out I begin to get confused at what I've found.

"Wait that makes no sense."

"Keith you're map is sideways so East would be up," I keep my emo mind from saying anything and just continue with the topic.

"I know that but there's nothing out there."

"Actually that used to be the site of a nuclear power plant that the government kept hidden from the public. It's pretty hard to find unless you know where you're going but it shut down because of containment issues." I use my marker to circle a space between the red thread then look back over to Pidge.

"So it would be around here?" I circle the area a few times and Pidge sakes their hand side to side.

"Probably. I could do a scan of the area to give you rough coordinates if you want." The begin to type on the computer again and I walk back over and cock my hip to the side while leaning on the desk.

"Pidge have I ever told you how incredible you are?" They roll their eyes for the hundredth time and continue to ignore my presence.

"Yeah Yeah, tell me when I do something impressive," I ruffle their hair and back away quickly before they can swat at me.

Pidge makes goes through a few more pages before typing out everything and pulling it up. As they work they hold out a hand and make a grabbing motion.

"Hey! Make yourself useful and grab a piece of paper so I can write these down for you." I salute Pidge sarcastically and begin making my way to the filing cabinet where I keep plain paper.

"How about the 'magic word' every once in a while," I huff under my breath but apparently Pidge hears me and retorts with her own salty answer.

"Abra-fucking-cadabra. Now get me the paper,"I walk over and slam it on the desk.

"Your such a ray of sunshine," they make a noise that kinda sounds like a growl and begin writing on the paper aggressively... this paper didn't deserve this kind of abuse. As my train of thought stops at the station Pidge shoves the paper into my stomach with the back of their hand.

"Thanks. Now I'm going to get them back," I reach for my gun and secure it in my holster.

"You sound like you're from a movie," I ignore their comment and stuff the paper in my pocket then make my way to the door.

"You're calling for backup right? I hate human interaction as much as the next person but I don't think it would be such a good idea to-" I cut them off again. Pidge really cares when they want to.

"It'll be fine. It's only three people and a rescue mission. It's all good," I reassure them with a smile before running out of the office. I've left them in there before, people know to just let them do their thing and not to bother them so it's fine.

Pidge POV:

"Ugh, thinks he's fucking invincible. That's going to backfire," I begin typing on my computer. You never really get through to people like Keith when he want's to play hero do you?

"There. That'll show him," I press send and kick my feet up on Keith's desk while sipping his coffee like a boss.

Yep... this is the life.

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I book it down the Interstate. Continuously checking my holster to make sure I'm prepared for the upcoming events.

At this rate I could probably get there before sundown.

Siri keeps yelling at me so I turned it off and just continue following the directions on the GPS. I'll be there soon.

Just an exit away and a few turns down country roads.

Now the sun is burning the black trees in the horizon. I can see the remnants of golden light from the treetops where I've hidden my car.

As I exit I begin making my way further down the road, trying my best to blend in with the neighboring brush and bark. Creeping slowly forward, gun in hand, fully loaded.

I peer my head around the edge of the fence of trees and proceed to run swiftly towards the concrete wall surrounding the now dilapidated nuclear plant.

Again I repeat the same steps till Im crouched beside a rusted barrel drum. I look around for any sign of the criminals and a way to get in.

Lucky for me there's an old air vent a few feet behind me, also lucky for me I'm small enough to crawl through it. (Then again it's a pretty big vent)

I remove the metal barbed cover and lean it to the side as I begin to crawl through the opening. I've got to be careful. Pidge told me that the plant closed because of containment issues so that could possibly mean harmful waste is still present.

While navigating through the vents using blueprints Pidge sent to me during the drive over, I begin to make my way towards the medical wards.

I crawl a few more feet in silence until I hear yelling coming from the direction of the wards. I inch my way towards the noise till I can make out what the people are saying. The voices are male and I as examine the contents and difference to each one to determine how many people are in the room, I arrive at the vent opening.

It's in the ceiling of the ward so I watch and listen.

"You done yet Jack? You've had your fun with the girl... give me a turn," The man talking to the other man, who i'm assuming is Jack, gets up and in Jack's face while they enter the med bay.

Jack's face was kinda like a heart shape and he was pretty lanky for someone who commits crimes. He has a dark brown handlebar mustache with light brown whiskers scattered across his hair. He wears a hat so I can't see his hair exactly.

"Fuck off Al! You have been busy with her since we got here." Jack pushes Al back with both hands and goes to sit on a wooden stool by a makeshift barrel table.

Al is a little on the rounder side. His skin is pasty and his face is a sphere-like shape. His hair line is receding with short black hair dotting the parts of his head that refuse the balding process. His eyebrows are bushy and his mouth is like the donut shape you see on anime characters. (Insert picture of King from SDS in his human form).

"And can you blame me? She's a feisty little bitch but we'll crack her soon." Al points at Jack in emphasis of his words. Just then a door slams open and both 'men' stand up at attention.

"Just shut up both of you. All your bickering is giving me a migraine." Another man walks into the room. I can't see his face but he seems to be the more authoritative figure here... the mastermind.

"Sir. She's still fighting us, what are we supposed to do about that? It's been 11 days and she's still refusing to cooperate." Al straightens out and starts talking to this unidentified boss. He lifts his head and walks closer to Al, who visibly gulps.

"Don't overstimulate yourselves. You tend to do that when you think to much. Do what you want with her but come to me if she continues to misbehave... we can't afford to deal with anymore bodies because of your incompetence." Mystery man says this with his fingers lifting Al's chin to look him in the eye. Al lets out a stuttered reply all the while Jack is trying not to snicker from his spot.

"Y...Yes sir."

"And the child? Back in her cell like she's supposed to be I hope. You know she's to little to take either of you," The boss pushes Al's face away and begins walking around the room.

"Of course sir. She's in the next room over. We've done as you asked." He lets a laugh pass his lips, intentionally making it loud enough to echo in the room and strike fear in Al and Jack.

"That would be a first. Maybe this little girl can be a good asset to our team. She seems smarter as her 5 year old self than the two of you idiots combined." My eyes flicker between the two parties. Apparently this 'boss' shoots Al and Jack down a lot because they don't seem phased by the insult.

Eventually Jack jumps in, completely disregarding everything that's been said since Mr. Mysterious walked into the room.

"Soo... who gets to go in?" Malice flickers in his eyes and I have to physically hold myself back from jumping through the ceiling and throwing Jack into the wall.

"Neither of you! I need you two to check on the child and make sure she's fed." He dismisses both of them with the wave of his hand but as Jack goes to leave Al speaks up.

"But what about you boss?" I can tell that Jack is contemplating physically face palming at the moment. I'm assuming Jack is the smarter of the two, either that or Al just doesn't know when to shut his mouth.

The one presumably in charge turns his head to the side slightly, not looking at them directly but his ear faces them as if to show he didn't just hear that question.

"Well that's none of your business, now is it? Just a chat and nothing more. Believe it or not knowledge is more important to me than... sexual urges," he grunted the last part out with frustration.

What kind of knowledge? Just random stuff about herself or about the Galaxy Garrison since that's where Coran works?

"Ummm... right. Well we'll go do that now. Come on Al." Jack walks back over to Al and pulls him toward a door on the North side of the room. The mastermind makes his way to the other door on the East side. I can't see the door on the South and the West wall is covered in foggy window panes.

I look back at the blueprints and decide to get Ofelia first. I still have the bottle of Chloroform I was supposed to put in evidence and I can just use the bandana over my mouth as a cloth.

My limbs start the crawling process till I'm almost next to the hall to Ofelia's cell (which didn't take that long in hindsight).

This exit is on the wall behind some crates. I carefully lace my fingers around the grooves and push out slowly, all the while taking in the voices of the other two men and nonchalantly voice recording all of this rescue on my phone for evidence.

I crouch-step towards the crates to see if I can look from any holes and luckily I find one.

I can see their faces a little better now (not that its a good thing) and I can see Ofelia curled up in her cell, arms wrapped around her knees and head in her shirt. She's sitting in the corner farthest away from the door.

I ready my knife and gun,

"Jack... were supposed to feed her right?" Jack turns his head like he's been in a daze and immediately his face is plastered with frustration.

"He just told us not even 5 minutes ago and you can't remember?" Al threw his arms up in emphasis and Jack just shrugged.

"I know we are but what exactly do kids eat?" My eyes darted between the two and Al looked like he was about to face palm again.

"Oh my god... did you learn nothing from that David Dobrik vlog? Feed da kids the apple juice." I had to hold back a laugh but at the same time these guys are working with an underground operation and Im recording them talking about apple juice?

"But apple juice isn't a food..." aaannnnddd... I'm done.

I just tuned them out after that. Seriously talk about stupid conversations. I kinda feel bad for the boss now.

I scan the area looking to see if there are any other people because so far I've only counted three. Once I analyzed the situation better I got in position waiting for one of them to leave so I could knock the other out without alarming anyone.

Maybe 20 minutes later Al gets up to got to the bathroom and I take my chance. Rag in my hand, I jump up silently from the crates while Jack's back is turned and I come up from behind and jump him. His head between my arms and I just quietly whisper for him to sleep.

Not only two seconds later Al starts to jiggle to doorknob and I hide behind the door waiting for him to open it. Once he stepped in and I bombed him with 'naptime' I stole the keys from his belt and went to unlock Ofelia's cage.

Everything was happening so fast, blood rushing, heart pounding, knife ready.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Ha... I can't believe they showed up to 'rescue me'. Pidge sent out a text for backup so I wasn't going in alone even though I told her not to. Coran ended up showing to the scene as well because Pidge sent him the message too.

Faye wasn't hurt too bad, only a few scraps... me however? That's a different story. I'm kinda glad Pidge called dispatch to be honest. I might have died if it wasn't for her and that's not exaggerating. When I went to confront the 'boss' he ended up surprising me with a stab wound to the shoulder and a scrap across my cheek.

I'm fine now though... and as for Ofelia we found out she had no other family and after being held captive for so long she ended up bonding with Faye and Coran adopted her... yep she's an honorary Smythe now. Coran was so happy when we found them and happy is definitely an understatement. He ended up throwing a BBQ after I healed up and in the summer we all got together. It was such a carefree day...

The last flash goes off and I stuff the picture into my bag, racing to grab my stuff so I can see the pictures and the next clue.

The curtain sways open and wraps itself around my legs like a child clinging to their parents for dear life in the mornings... although I wouldn't know anything about that. I lean over to the chute and clutch the freshly printed photographs.

It's perfect! I love it so much...

After a few more seconds of admiration I decide to flip it over and find my next clue.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

BONUS!

"Hunk! Pidge! Hurry up he's already here!" Pidge stops hanging the decorations and jumps down the tall latter, basically giving Hunk a heart attack as he rushed to catch them.

"Damn. He's doing better than I thought!" Pidge smirked as they walked past me pulling me over to the camera setup and green screen by my shirt.

"That means he has six people left, he's almost halfway there..." Shiro exclaims and I have to do an olympic sprint just to rush over to Shiro and try to cover his mouth but Adam somehow teleports into the middle of our chaos and screams at the top of his lungs.

"OH OHHHHH! SQUIDWARD ON A CHAIRRRRR!" We all just internally facepalm and drag Adam over to the mini studio.

"Ok... no more pixie sticks for you babe," Shiro pulls out the armfuls of pixie sticks packages and sets them on the table before joining us all.

"I still can't believe that you three rigged the machine..." I threw my arms up in the air and I was quickly dismissed, not in a bad way though.

"It wasn't that hard. Reminds me of when I was a child and built my own-" I cut him off not in the mood for another one of his stories. I usually like listening to them but I have... other things on my mind.

"We get it Lotion! You're smart. But seriously good job dude." I send him a thumbs up as we all made our way over, however, Pidge was in the process of turning the live feed on so we could get in our posses for the pictures so we all just waited for the signal.

So basically it's kind of like a Skype call where we can see and hear him but he can't seen or hear us... so it's borderline stalking but light stalking never hurt anyone. Plus he doesn't know about this part so it's like a cool behind the scenes.

Basically Pidge was able to give us the feed and Hunk was able to rewire the camera in the booth. Princy boi over there was the one who was able to do the photographical side of it and make sure proportions and everything were right so it would look like we were actually in the booth with Keith.

I sat on one of the blankets by the green screen just waiting until he was up there. Sure enough not even a minute later the video patched through and we were greeted with a face full of mullet.

He was probably trying to read the letter and look at Coran's treasure. When he was done his bright eyes looked right at the camera.

Big, bold, and the brightest unnatural looking violet that seemed almost alien considering it was such a rare color. His makeup looks adorable too... I am actually impressed with how good he is at makeup.

However... no one can beat Shiro's wings.

Another thing that caught my eye immediately was the lily behind his ear. I don't remember that being part of Pidge's box but... it definitely suits him. I hop up from my spot on the ground and call everyone over.

"GUyS!!! Come on!! The feed is up! You can't miss the pictures!" Everyone comes over, toppling over one another to be a part of the photograph.

We get in our poses and look into the second monitor to make sure we leave the space for Keith and Pidge clicks a button to take the pictures.

Just as quickly as the chaos erupted it suddenly died down when Keith had finished using the booth. Everyone seemed to dissipate and continue hanging decorations. I walked over to the screen just admiring...

With everyone else busy I use this opportunity to put my hand on the screen and smile a little at Keith scrambling out of the booth to see his pictures.

Hurry up Samurai, we have so much more to offer today...

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OK! THIS WAS AN EXTRA LONG CHAPTER!! So sorry for the wait guys. I know it's been about a month since the last chapter but this one had so many pieces and then I forgot I used a character and had to change them...

But anyways! I hope u guys liked it!! (And got all my references XD) I could have probably done a lot more with this like finishing the flashback or adding more detail but for now it seems good to me!

See you in the next chapter guys! Who do you think it's gonna be? (I doubt you'll get it but I'm excited to get these chapters out for you all!)

Bi!

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Btw the inspiration for the criminals Al and Jack are from Al Capone who was an American Gangster and Jack the Ripper, a serial killer from Europe.