"Are you happy now?" Itzel exclaimed, her eyes filled with tears. "Can't you end this game now? You've got a winner! There's no need to cause any more bloodshed!"

"Oh dear. Mag won't be happy about this. He was really hoping to claim victory with both targets this Hunt. It seems that he'll have to settle with just defeating Gurk."

Itzel kept her head low, trembling. "Gurk... please..." she muttered to herself. 

An abrupt buzzing sound caught Janus' attention. Evelyn picked up a traditional-looking radio and held it to her face. "Mag?" she said quietly. She looked at Janus before turning her head away and stepping to the side. "Everything all right?" she asked in a whisper.

"No! Everything's not all right!" Despite Evelyn's attempt at being discreet, Mag's angry, booming voice was loud enough over the radio for Janus and Itzel to hear his words clearly. "Sheila is not up for this! I don't know if it's the pressure is getting to her, or maybe she's been too dependent on the simulations, but the fact of the matter is she is not doing well."

"Is she hurt?"

"No! Are you watching us on the Broadcast right now?"

"At the moment, we're watching Lars comb through the Fallen Canopy. He's already come across both targets. He managed to take out Suze and injure Gurk."

"What?" Mag called out. "That cretin managed to get the targets already?"

"Yes," Evelyn said with a slight tremble.

"And he's already got a kill on us!" A pause ensued. Evelyn stared at the radio with fear. "Turn the Broadcast towards us! I want to show you what I'm dealing with now!"

Evelyn flicked away from the picture of Gurk and back to a live feed of the swamp. Mag had his back to the camera while Sheila was on her knees, fiddling with her gun. By the way she handled her weapon and the sour expression on her face, it was evident that she was frustrated with struggling to fix her gun. 

"Is Sheila all right?" Evelyn whispered into her radio.

"Yes, she's fine. She let out a random burst of fire at a shadow that scared her. A damn shadow, Evelyn! Gunned down a tree and got her gun stuck! She's been trying to fix it for the past fifteen minutes."

"That's not good."

"Of course it's not good! That's why I'm talking to you right now!"

"What do you want from me? I'm up here in the entertainment room. I can't do anything to help you."

"There's one thing you can do."

"Oh?"

"Coordinates. Just give us the coordinates to wherever Gurk is so we can be done with this thing."

"But... that's cheating! You always go on about how you're able to track down Neo-Sapia all your own. I thought your pride would have been too much for you to resort to something like this."

"Desperate times call for desperate measures, Eve. If you want both Sheila and I out of here safe and sound, then it's best that you tell us exactly where Gurk is so we can call it a game."

Evelyn looked over her shoulder towards the projector. She waved her hand and flipped through some feeds, flashing through various sections of the Fallen Canopy, including the area where Suze's body lay. After a few more changes she caught a glimpse of the crocodile roving through a dense overgrowth of leaves and vines. 

"Looks like he's passing through section C37, heading towards D16."

Mag let out a long groan over the radio. "Great. That's at least a twenty-minute walk from here. If I went by myself. Who knows how long that will be if I have to drag Sheila with me."

"I'm surprised that you resorted to this, honey. You’ve never done anything like this before."

"It's for the best. And make sure you don't tell anyone else! Is that clear?"

Evelyn remained silent. She slowly turned her head and saw Janus looking back at her. Realizing that she noticed him, Janus quickly shifted his eyes back to the giant projection. "Yes, of course. No one will hear about this."

"Good. If we head there now, we'll might be able to intercept him before the hour is done. Keep me updated on his location. I'll message you if I need any more info on his location. Over and out."

The radio cut out. Evelyn looked over her shoulder towards the two captives. Janus stared at the projection, pretending that he didn't hear the conservation. Itzel however, grinned with smug delight as Evelyn walked towards her spot in front of the screen. 

"I suppose you heard everything," the woman said disappointment. 

"Not like you made any attempt to try and hide the conversation."

"Because there was no need to. Not like you two will be leaving those seats alive."

"Sounds like your family's getting desperate. Getting rid of witnesses. Resorting to cheating. Everything went south not even an hour into the Hunt!"

"Oh hush. I have a feeling that you won't even be able to make it to the end of the event. Do you really want to leave your good friend Janus all alone for the rest of the day?"

"You've been saying that ever since you caught us! If you wanted us executed, you would have done it by now! There's got to be some reason you want to keep us here. Seeing as how your daughter can't even make her way through some mud and you're giving your husband the location of the targets, you probably need us to drop some information on how to take out Gurk!"

Evelyn turned around, staring at Itzel with pure anger. She activated a projection and pressed her finger towards the center of the screen. As soon as the button was pressed, an electric shock coursed through Itzel's body. She let out a loud grunt as her muscles twitched. Sparks flew from the points where her body was restrained. They lit up, making the area glow. 

"Itzel!" Janus cried as he watched her shake. "Stop it! Please!"

Evelyn released her hand from the button, stopping the electricity immediately. Itzel's head hung low as she groaned quietly. "There. Now you know how serious I am. All I need to do is turn up the dial a few notches and I ill be able to send a lethal jolt through both of you."

Itzel raised her head, her hair frayed as she looked at the captor with one eye. Her lips quivered as she struggled to let one word out. Instead of speaking she coughed and grunted before returning to her slumped posture. 

"Now, you were correct about one thing. The reason why you're still alive is because we might need some information on Gurk later down the line. It all depends on how the Hunt goes. But we don't need both of you. Janus alone will suit our needs just fine. So I'd suggest you watch your mouth! The next shock will be lethal!"

"You won't get away with this, Evelyn," Janus said. "We've got friends in Labrisson Enforcement. They'll send people out to find us if we go missing. Not to mention that we're expected to be in Sano Mosado for a Rumble Circuit exhibition. I'm telling you, it would be best for everyone involved if you just called this whole thing off!"

Evelyn turned around, rolling her eyes as she walked closer towards Janus. She activated her projection once more, going to the same screen that had the button that sent electricity throughout Itzel's body. "I'm tired of discussing this, Janus. If you bring up cancelling the Hunt one more time, I won't hesitate to activate the torture feature. Is that understood?"

Janus leaned back in his chair, gritting his teeth. Evelyn's face didn't carry her usual friendly smile. Through her sagging eyes and tight lips, it was clear that she had become fed up with both her captives as well as the Hunt itself. A word hung on his open lips, but his mouth remained silent. The woman then looked towards Itzel who had gathered enough strength to set her head upright. 

"And you? Do you have any more comments?"

"Not now..."

"Excellent. One more peep that I don't authorize, and both of you will get the shock!" One of Evelyn's fingers lingered over the activation button while her other hand pressed a pointer finger on her shut lips. She let out a hush before turning around to watch the rest of the Grani family. Mag tugged on Sheila’s arm, forcing her up from her kneeling position with her gun in pieces, still unfixed.

"We're going to need a miracle," Janus thought to himself as he watched Mag storm through the swamp, pulling Sheila with one hand while his other pointed his gun in front of him.