Ryan is waiting for us at the transport depot when we step off the bus. He's got his arms crossed and his eyebrows pulled low over his eyes. "Classy," he snarls.

The girls glance between us and decide I can handle him alone. They disappear off into the distance.

"What happened to us being civil?" Ryan asks.

"I could've knocked you out."

He's not impressed. His eyebrows sink even lower, casting shadows over his eyes. "Where did you go?"

I step closer to him, holding his gaze steady. "No offense, Ryan, but I already told you we're not friends. First night off base in weeks and you invited yourself along. We don't owe you anything."

"How about some common decency? You could've at least told me you didn't want me along rather than ditching me when I was in the bathroom. Makes me wonder if you were up to something you shouldn't have been."

"How much trouble could we have gotten into in a few hours?"

"I imagine you could get up to a lot," he challenges, narrowing his eyes.

A clock is chiming somewhere in the distance and the buses are hissing out steam as they sink closer to the ground. Amari and Sasha will be coming to urge us back to the base soon so we don't miss curfew.

"We didn't break any laws, if that's what you're worried about."

"It's not."

"Then, what are you so worried about, Protector? We didn't do anything wrong. If you're butthurt about us leaving you, fine. But that doesn't mean you get to grill me about where we went. Maybe we'd be more open to inviting you if you weren't acting like a clingy child."

"You've got some nerve-."

In the distance, a strange noise echoes through the depot.

I grow still as Ryan turns on his heel to face the direction the noise came from. "That was a gunshot," I say. When a second gunshot rings out, I put a hand to Ryan's chest and push him back. "Go find the local Hunter and Protector. I'll find Amari and we'll figure out what's going on."

Ryan looks ready to argue, but he nods and runs off.

I almost can't get through the crowds to the place the gunshot originated from. People are streaming towards the doors in droves, shoving aside anyone they get close to. I find Amari knelt next to a doorway with two knives in her hands.

She nods at me when I drop on the other side of the doorway. "Two unarmed hostages, neither injured," she reports, her ear to the door. "Someone's demanding information." Her expression darkens and her eyes find mine. "Looking for a missing person."

"Where's Sasha?"

"Helping people get out. She'll return as soon as she can. Ryan?"

"He'll be here soon with the Hunter and Protector in charge here."

Amari lifts her eyes over the crowd and tries to spot him. When she doesn't, she shakes her head. "We can't wait that long. You can hear how agitated he's getting in there."

She's right, I can.

Even over the crowds, I can hear the man inside the room, shouting at the people inside. There's skin on skin as he continuously smacks his head. It's only a matter of time before our uninjured hostages become our dead hostages.

Protocol states that Amari and I are too inexperienced to handle this kind of situation on our own. We're meant to sit here and wait for our higher ups to come take the reins.

But Ryan left to find them ages ago. They should've already been here as soon as they heard the gunshots, like Amari and I.

"I'm going in," I tell her.

Amari shakes her head. "Mason, you don't have a weapon."

"That'll make it easier to talk him down."

"Take a knife," she orders, flipping one in her hand.

"He won't trust me with that. I know what I'm doing. Just be ready to give me backup."

Amari doesn't look pleased, but she nods. "Always."

I nod back, then set up in front of the door. On my signal, Amari swings it open, then shuts it behind me once I'm inside.

The man with the gun swivels around to face me, pointing the weapon at my chest.

The room we're in is small. The only things of note are the wall of monitors, the desk, and the two chairs with my hostages, who have their hands up.

"Who-who are you?" The gun man has his eyes and gun fully trained on me.

"A concerned citizen," I answer. Technically, it's not a lie, considering I'm off duty.

One of his hands goes to his head and presses into his skull. The way he moves and the soft whimpering noises remind me of the woman I met in the water treatment plant.

I urge Augustus out of the back of my mind. "You're sure you're the only one like you?"

They're silent for a long moment as they take in the situation through my eyes. "I'm certain."

I assess the guy with fresh eyes, taking him in as a man struggling with a mental break or drugs. Instead of a man possibly taken over by a strange disembodied voice. It makes my job easier, since humans are usually more forthcoming with their desires. "People are scared," I say, indicating the monitors that show people sprinting from the center. "I wanted to make sure everything was okay in here."

"We're fine," he snarls. "Now go!"

I put my hands out to him, slowly. "Maybe I can help you. People are usually more willing to help when they're not being threatened with a gun."

He glances back at the security guards at the wall of monitors. "I've tried," he rasps. He jerks his head back to face me again and tightens his grip on his gun. "I've tried! But no one listens! No one! They won't even show me the footage! But I know she was-." He shouts and hits himself on the head.

"Can you do anything to help him?"

"Not without leaving you and I... can't."

That's fine. It's not like I've ever relied on a voice in my head to solve my problems before this. I'm a trained Hunter. If it comes down to it, I could subdue this guy easily. But if I can get us all through this without anyone getting hurt, that would be great.

"She," I repeat. "Who are you looking for? Your wife? Your sister? You daughter?"

The man flinches and ducks his head. "She left for her first semester at college a few months ago. But... but she stopped answering her phone very often. For a while, I tried to write it off as her being busy with classes. But she was supposed to come home a few weeks ago and it's not like her to avoid me like this. I waited and waited and she never showed."

"And like we told you before," a security guard cuts in, "you need to file a police report. You should've done it the second you suspected something happened to her! How do you expect to get help if you don't-!?"

I hold my hand up to the guard when the man's eyes start to tighten.

He hits himself in the head again and lets out a shout.

"If she didn't come home, what makes you think she came to this station?" I ask, as gentle as I can.

The man's eyes water when he looks at me. "I just know," he insists. "Her friends at the college said she got on the bus to come home. That was the last time anyone saw her! She had to have made it back to the city. All I need is the footage from that day and you aren't going to stop me! I'll kill the three of you if I have to!"

"That won't be necessary," I assure. I nod to the guards. "They'll let you see the footage."

The guards stiffen. One shakes their head at me. "It's absolutely forbidden to show this footage to any civilian, sir. He could be a stalker trying to find some girl! We won't risk that."

"Then, you can show the footage to me."

"What makes you think we'll show you?"

I glance at the man's gun, then lock eyes with the guard. "I'm a Hunter. This is my job."

The man's eyes flare wide. "You lied to me! You're the same as everyone else! A liar! You just want to hurt me and take away my only change to find my Daisy! I won't let you-!" He doesn't shoot, but swings his gun directly at my face.

I dash backwards, then course correct, slamming back towards him. I grapple his wrist and slam his hand into the wall until he cries out and releases the gun. I let it drop into my open hand, then release him and slink away, shoving the gun into my waistband. "I wasn't lying when I said I could help, sir. You want to know if your daughter was here? This is how we do that. So, I need you to trust me for two seconds. If you have a photo of her, I need to see it so I can review the footage for you."

The guards stare at me. Just from the way they both are looking at me like they want to stab me, I can tell they're Hunters too. They must've just barely passed their exams if they got placed in a job like this.

Honestly, I'd consider myself lucky to get such a job. Cushy paychecks, heart of the city, little to no danger except for things like this. If I hadn't started my career at the Academy with too much pride and ambition, I might've been smart enough to flunk my tests for a job like this.

The man grabs his head in both hands as he considers his options. He must be there enough to realize he has no other option if he wants any hope of seeing his daughter again. He pulls an old brick of a phone from his pocket and pulls up a grainy photo of a girl with dark skin and dark curls. "She always has something yellow on," he tells me.

"Stand near the door. Don't look at the screens."

"But-."

"Please. The guards are right. These people have a right to privacy. How would you feel if some other man was in here and was watching your Daisy up on these screens?"

His face twists in discomfort and he nods, shuffling to the door. He ducks his head into the corner, muttering to himself.

Both guards are stiff when I step towards them. "The footage," I order.

One sneers. "You haven't even proven you're a Hunter. We have no reason to-."

I grab the back of their chair and yank them towards my face as I lean down towards them. "I left my ID on base like I'm supposed to. Considering I just subdued a man willing to shoot you in the head, I'd think twice before you argue with me. My commander will compensate you for helping a Hunter given the situation... unless you continue to argue."

"The man no longer has his gun," the guard snarls. "He should've gone to the police at the start. Just let the police take him to jail where he belongs."

A soft sob comes from the corner, but the man doesn't speak or turn around.

"No," I say, firm. "It's my job as a Hunter to protect these people. If his daughter is missing, then he has a right to know what happened to her."

"Then, he should go to the police!"

"Not everyone has the luxury of being able to do that," I snarl. "And-."

"Sir," the other guard says, easing back in their chair. "This is the day he told us to look for."

I look up at the screens.

Their fellow guard is gaping at them, face burning red. "What are you doing?" they hiss.

"He's technically our boss," the guard argues. "And he's right."

"Stop," I order, pointing at the screen.

The guard does as I say, then finds the screen I'm looking at.

The girl has a yellow bag strung over her shoulder and she's looking down at her phone.

"I was supposed to pick her up," the man laments from the corner. "But I was late. Always. Always late."

I stare at her, but I don't recognize her from the sewers. That almost gives me hope that she's okay. It's not great that she's missing, but missing is better than infected. Missing is better than her blood on my hands. "Play it," I say now, scanning the crowds around her. I keep expecting to find someone lurking in the shadows, watching her.

What I'm not expecting is to watch two men walk up to her in broad daylight, flash Hunter badges, and drag her . No other cameras catch them leaving.

"That's... new," the guard says.

"Were you working that day?" I ask.

They shake their head. "I just started recently." Their eyes shift to their argumentative partner. "You would've been here, right?"

The guard's eyes are practically daggers when they glare. "As if I'd remember something that specific. It's not like it's the first time. Hunters bring people in for questioning all the time. It's normal."

Ignoring the guards arguing with each other, I go to the man and offer his phone back. "I've added my number," I tell him. "I'm going to continue to help you until we know what's going on."

"You saw her?" he asks, so hopeful it makes my chest ache.

"Sir, did Daisy have any connection to the Hunters?"

He shakes his head. "She's human. And she's a good girl." He says it forcefully, with a strength and clarity in his voice I haven't heard from him yet.

I glance back at the screen, listening outside the door as Ryan arrives with the Hunter and Protector in charge. Amari holds them off, but I know it won't be long before they come barging in. "Why didn't you go to the police when you realized she was missing?" I ask, as soft as I can.

His eyes start to flare and his jaw clenches, but he seems to realize I'm not accusing him. All the tension fades and he sinks against the wall behind him. "I've had some trouble in the past. I am troubled. I tried to get someone to go for me, but this isn't the first time Daisy's run off. No one believed me when I said something was wrong." He steps towards me and grabs my arms. "You have to understand, Daisy is a good girl. She's not like me. She's smart and capable and she never would've done something to get herself into trouble she couldn't get out of. If she's in trouble with the Hunters, it's because of me and I will take the fall. All I want is to know she's safe."

I open my mouth to respond, but before I can, the door slams open and there's a gun pointed at me.

The man yelps and his grip tightens on my arms.

The Hunter looks me over and his gun shifts to the man.

My nostrils flare and I force the man's hands off my arms, stepping in front of him.

"What are you doing?" he hisses in my ear, gripping my shoulders.

The Hunter's gun doesn't waver as her eyes meet mine. "What's going on here?"

"I've got the situation under control," I say, firmly.

Her eyes dance past me to the man. "We were told he had a gun."

The man's hand slides to the grip poking out of my waistband.

I snap my arm behind me, catching him. I look over my shoulder at him and shake my head. "If you want my help, you'll cooperate."

He studies my eyes for a long moment, then nods, and releases the grip.

"Like I said," I repeat to the Hunter, "I've got it under control. He needs help, not arrested."

Finally, the Hunter lowers her weapon and holsters it. She looks the man over again and sighs, "he's not infected?"

"No. Scared and alone, but not infected. Let me take him home."

"You're not authorized," she says. "In fact, it's past curfew for the base. Shouldn't you be getting home yourself?"

"I can handle the consequences. I'm sure you've got a lot on your plate. Isn't this what cadets are for? Grunt work?"

The Hunter tries to look like she doesn't agree, but the quirk of her eyebrows and quick tilt of her head says she doesn't want to take the man home herself. "I'll give your base a call and let them know the situation. But be sure to get him straight home. No detours."

I salute her. "No detours," I promise.

She sighs and lets me leave with the man in tow.