"We're closed" announced the sign at the entrance to Benny's. The store owner locked the door to attend to an important matter.

"Hurry up, I don't have all day!" The man exclaimed as he walked past the two girls towards the counter.

Flora, surprised by the sudden order, gave a small jump.

"Was that necessary? I'll go even if you ask nicely," she complained before taking the first steps. "I can bring you some tea to relax if you want, Genevieve gave me a few a month ago and I still haven't had any. She told me that they're good for calming the nerves."

"I don't need any tea," grumbled Benny. "And you're coming with us too."

"No, I'm good. I'll just continue shopping," answered Aífe after the owner pointed his finger at her. "You two do your thing without me."

"You're coming too, I don't want to put up with this girl by myself."

"Por favor, I'm not that bad. I can be a professional if you want. You're breaking my heart Benny, I thought we were friends," said Flora, bringing her hand to her chest. "Although I don't mind having the company of a beautiful woman. Come on, petal, I promise I'll behave."

"Are you sure you know how to behave?" Asked Aífe.

Instead of continuing with the discussion, the man took a furtive look at the young woman and went on his way.

A sly smile spread across the blonde's face once the other two turned their backs on her. She missed the silly arguments she used to have with the other members of the Protectors. Except for Clio and Noah, they all seemed to live on the brink of collapse, ready to explode at the slightest provocation. So Flora had to be careful with what she said, her usual playful attitude could incite chaos within the headquarters.

Led by the store owner, they crossed the counter. For the young woman it felt like she was about to enter a secret lair, she had always wondered what was behind the dark curtains. She didn't know exactly what she expected to find, but surely in her mind it was for sure a place more magical than a small room with a cracked wooden table and four chairs with out of place floral upholstery.

Benny dropped his body into one of the chairs and pulled a handkerchief from his pocket which he used to wipe his forehead. Then he motioned for the young women to take their seats. Flora chose the one farthest from the man. Before sitting down, he took a look at the white wall. Was that stain shaped like Buenos Aires? She thought. Perhaps she was beginning to miss home too much.

"Would you like something to drink, Aífe?" Asked Benny.

"No, thanks, I'm good."

"I would like some water," Flora joined the conversation.

"The faucet is over there," answered the man, pointing behind the young woman.

"I better pass. Entonces, the day of Agatha's disappearing?"

"The sooner I talk the better, I suppose. Don't interrupt me." He closed his eyes for a second. "That day I noticed a stain on the store window, it was a big stain and I like to maintain the store in the best conditions, so I decided to clean it. While I was cleaning I saw Agatha pass."

"How do you know it was her?" Asked Flora.

"I thought I told you not to interrupt me. I know it was her because I waved at her when she passed and she waved back."

"Wait a minute, were you cleaning the inside or outside of the window?" The blonde asked once again.

"The inside!" Benny yelled. "Why do you keep bothering me?!"

"Sorry, I'm just trying to clarify the situation as much as I can, sometimes the smallest details are the ones that matter." Flora raised her hands in surrender. "Go on."

"She passed in the direction of the alley. At one point I looked down at the bucket of water and when I looked back out she was gone. It was as if it had disappeared. I thought maybe she went into one of the stores. Some seconds later I heard weird noises coming from the alley."

"What kind of noises?" The journalist asked.

Benny lashed out with his fists on the table, startling the two young women.

"I think you should stop interrupting him," Aífe whispered to Flora.

"It's important to know all the details."

"Interrupt me one more time and I'll kick you out of my store. Weird noises! I don't know, I'm not an expert. They weren't screams or punches, they were almost silent. After that, a man walked out of the alley holding a woman. He was holding her by the waist and with another hand he was holding the girl's arm over his shoulder. It seemed strange to me because the girl was wearing a winter coat and I couldn't even see her head. They crossed the street and got inside a black truck."

Flora opened her mouth to question the man but Aífe kicked his leg under the table.

"I took a picture of the truck's plate. I don't know why I did it, I don't want to be associated with anything dangerous, so when I came to my senses I deleted it."

"Are you out of your mind? I can't believe these," complained Flora. "Can you at least tell me what the man looked like?"

"Black hair, pretty tall, muscular, he had tattoos on both of his arms."

"Did you delete the photo from the recycle bin?" Asked Aífe.

"What's a recycle bin?"

"That means the photo could still be on the phone!" The enthusiasm returned to Flora's body.

"Can I please see your phone?"

Benny nodded and passed the unlocked cell phone to Aífe. The journalist stood from her seat, with careful steps she got closer to the young woman and stopped just behind her so she could see what  the other was doing with the cell phone.

Aífe opened several folders, piles of accumulated files appeared one after another. Flora began to hit her foot against the floor, it was either that or walk around the room like crazy. When the blonde was about to start her walk, a photo of a truck license plate filled the screen.

"Thank you! Thank you! You're a genius!" Exclaimed Flora, as she hugged Aífe from the back. "Can you send me the picture?"

"I could if you would stop obstructing my arms with your hug."

"Sorry, go on." The blonde waited for the message with her phone in her hand, her eyes stuck to the screen. "It's here! Lorcan is going to freak out. Thanks to both of you, as I promise I won't bother you anymore, Benny. If you ever need help you can let me know."

"Yeah, yeah. You know the way back. Go out of my store right now."

"Flower, I didn't forget about your money," added Flora looking at Aífe, after she reached the curtains of the small room. "I'll let you know once I have it. It was a pleasure working with you, we should do it often."

"Don't get your hopes too high," answered the young woman.

The energy accumulated in Flora's body pushed her to speed up her steps on her way to Clio. She ran across the street, oblivious to the curious glances of passersby. Not everyone was surprised by the young woman's attitude, some, like Mrs. Ritter, owner of the bakery, greeted the blonde with enthusiasm.

She slowed down her run the moment she spotted her friend talking with a woman. Judging by the serious expression of the redhead it must be an important conversation, after all it's not easy to get a reaction out of Clio. As she got closer she noticed the tears present on the woman's face.

Flora had no intention of interrupting the delicate scene, so she remained in her place, pretending to observe the clothes from the store next to her.

"You can stop your awful acting, she's gone." Clio's voice came from behind the journalist.

"Was it that obvious?" Asked Flora, turning around.

"You've been staring at the same dress for fifteen minutes." The redhead hid her hands in her short's pockets. "Did you get something useful?"

"I have the license plate of the truck the demon used to kidnap Agatha. Are you alright? You seemed worried over there and I know you're playing with your fingers inside your pockets. No need to hide it."

"We have a problem, a serious one and I had no idea how we didn't see it before. Or maybe Momotaro knows about it and he didn't tell us."

"Is it that bad? I can't see why he would hide something from us, at least he would have told Gellert, then Bertie would find out and he would tell us."

"Right, we can always trust Bertram to tell us," agreed Clio before taking a long pause. "They're stealing children from their homes at night. Three nights have passed and four kids have disappeared. The woman told me that her six-year-old daughter was taken yesterday. She heard a crash and screams, when she ran to her daughter's room she was gone, the window was broken and she could see the shadow of some kind of giant animal. The police still haven't found anything. She talked to the parents of the other kids, they all saw the same thing."