Sophie and I watch as the door closes behind the male and female Altruistics. Luckily, Benen and Laurel had promised us that they wouldn't come after us when we go to see Jacob. They had originally asked how we'd ever manage to convince Mr. Wallace, and I just said, "We have to go."

They didn't ask any more questions.

After the door locks itself again, Sophie turns to me. "When are we leaving?" she asks.

I press my lips together, silently. If I could choose what Sophie would be doing, I'd have her stay here, without a worry of her own. And I don't want her to relive the moments of being kidnapped and tortured by... him... "I'll try to look into it," I say after at least a minute of silence. "I honestly have no idea until I talk to Steven and Mr. Wallace."

"When will you talk to them?" Sophie asks, raising an eyebrow. My eyes widen when the female Percipient stares at me silently. I feel like she's reading my mind, but at the same time, I feel like she's trying and failing to read my mind.

"I'll... try to talk to both of them tomorrow," I say vaguely, which I know will come back to me later. Shaking my head, I add, "Now, we should probably try to get some sleep."

"Try?" the female Percipient asks incredulously. She raises an eyebrow. "But-"

"I said to try," I retort, looking down at her. "Besides- they most likely will be asleep already, so we won't be able to get anything from them. Go to sleep, alright?"

"Fine," Sophie agrees reluctantly as I make my way over to the connecting door. "Goodnight, Fitz."

"Goodnight, Sophie," I say before closing the door behind me. Now that I was alone, I sit and my desk and read over the article again. Seeing that I don't need to have any other reason to convince Steven to take us to Jacob, I try to find his thoughts again.

Steven, I transmit after finding the faintest trace of his thoughts. You're still awake for me, correct?

Yes, I am. There's a moment of silence before Steven says, Are you sure you don't want to do this tomorrow? You know, with Sophie?

Although he isn't in front of me, I shake my head. We'll have to deal with Mr. Wallace, and I don't really want to waste more time with that.

I can practically hear Steven sighing. You really want to go, don't you?

I need to, Steven, I transmit.

And why is that?

...I'll be down there in a few minutes.

...

Apparently, it didn't too much to convince the forensic pathologist. All I need to do was show Steven the poster and then have him read the article. He doesn't even look up to say, "We'll be leaving at eight."

"Wait- really?" The words of surprise escape my lips before I can stop myself.

Steven nods. "This is a really good lead to go on," the forensic pathologist explains. "And you're right about the fact that we have to do this now, or we'll never get to do it."

I step back, shocked even more. "Did- did you just-" I pause, shaking my head. "Did you just read my thoughts?!"

The pathologist nods, smirking slightly. "How do you think that I've been keeping track whether you're gone or not?" he asks, his smirk faltering into a serious expression. "After what he did to you and Donovan, I've been keeping track of you, Donovan, and Benen."

I frown. "But what about Sophie, Laurel, and Audrey?" I counter. "They need tracking, too."

"Caroline's keeping track of them," Steven says, pointing to the secondary bedroom. "And besides, you and Sophie are the only two that we need to keep track of the most."

My frown immediately turns into a prominent scowl. "And why is that?" I ask, not caring that my irritation is more noticeable.

"Fitton, Jacob, and now Aeron, all want you two the most," the blond explains. "You two not only have telepathic abilities, but you have such abilities that can surpass theirs by a long shot."

At this, my scowl softens, but I'm still scowling. "Yet somehow, Aeron still remembers that I can turn into a dragon," I grumble under my breath, still annoyed at that part of the fight.

Steven looks at me, his face full of sympathy. I can't help but sigh- he must've guessed that I've been trying to find out just how Aeron deflected my ability. "I still don't know how he did that," the forensic pathologist admits, looking down. "since that's not an ability usually associated with us."

"Then again, turning into a dragon isn't a usual ability either," I quickly retort, forcing myself to not look at my scar. I suppress another sigh, changing the topic to Jacob yet again. "Anyways, should we talk to Mr. Wallace about this?"

Steven frowns. "Why did you ask me if you haven't talked to Mr. Wallace yet?" he asks.

"I know that he'll decline our request as soon as he can," I tell him. "And I didn't want to deal with us trying to talk to him and him being too close-minded to actually listen."

Slightly taken aback by how blunt I am about Mr. Wallace, Steven nods in comprehension. "Does Sophie know?" he asks softly after a moment of silence.

Silence falls over the two of us until her voice rings out, "I do now."

I can't help but jump when Sophie walks over to us, her eyes showing that she didn't sleep at all. Trying to lower my rapid heartbeat, I transmit it quickly to her, I thought that I told you to go to sleep.

I did, she smoothly lies, looking to stare at me. Well, I dazed off. But then I woke up, and you weren't there. So I came down here when I realized that no one else was gone by tracking their thoughts.

I shake my head. Really? I was going to come get you before the three of us left.

Three?

You, me, and Steven.

Sophie nods. Alright... but were you really going to leave with me?

I step closer to her. Looking down at the female Percipient, I transmit, Yes, yes I was. I was, and am, going to wait for you. Although she doesn't say anything, I can hear her breathing hitch slightly. I use this silence to ask Steven, "When's the earliest we can leave?"

"You don't want to talk to Mr. Wallace?" Steven asks, raising a confused eyebrow.

"Not anymore," I say, shaking my head. "I think that we should leave as soon as possible."

"Well, it's 12:54 now," Steven says, looking at a clock. "So..." We can leave now, he finishes with a transmission.

I nod. "I think that's better," I admit.

"What's better?" Sophie asks, furrowing her eyebrows at me.

Leaving now, I transmit.

Her eyes widening in realization, she turns to Steven. "Let's do it."

...

Surprisingly, the prison where Jacob is being held was only a half hour away. Whether it is a good coincidence or bad, the security officers allowed the three of us to actually go inside. In the main office, a middle aged woman with jet black hair, who I had assumed to be the secretary, glances up boredly and asks with a monotonous tone, "Who are you here for today?"

"Jacob Grahams," Steven says before a word can escape my mouth. Wouldn't it be suspicious that a teenager's asking to see one of the most media-popular criminals in the middle of the night? he transmits to me. Silently cursing his good argument, I stay silent and look at the secretary instead.

After typing for a few minutes, she looks up at us again. "Cell 283," she says, but with a tinge of surprise and disbelief in her voice this time. We nod curtly and begin to leave when she shouts behind us, "Be careful! He's violent and silent, so don't expect civility!"

Steven looks back and her, nodding in appreciation. Meanwhile, Sophie and I exchange glances. Of course, we already knew what to expect.

Luckily, cell 283 was on the second floor, but it was the farthest cell from the stairs. Once we make our way over to the small, confined room, the three of us witness two guards and a furious Jacob in a cell. The murderer's hair is stringy and greasy, and his face has sunken noticeably- most likely from the conditions of a penitentiary. He had multiple bruises and healing cuts covering his dry skin.

But what's really surprising is how one guard is tending to a bleeding gash on his cheek while the second guard is painfully twisting Jacob's left arm while rendering Jacob useless.

The first guard, who's still bleeding, says gruffly, "Follow me." We're then led to an empty interrogation room, in which the silence is filled with Jacob's groans and growls towards the guards. Inside, they toss Jacob in like a rag doll before stepping aside for the three of us. "Knock when you're done," the first guard says before closing the door.

Steven closes his eyes momentarily before saying, "I've made this room soundproof. Basically, all they'll hear is Jacob being silent and us asking random and meaningless questions. So..." He turns to us. "Fire away."

The first few seconds of silence is spent by watching a bruised Jacob make his way over to the nearest chair. Then, after another few seconds of staring at each other, Jacob smirks darkly and asks, "How can I trouble you all even more?"