The crowd became sparse once the blaring lights of the Rescue Crew carriers grew brighter. Some ended their conversation with their rescuers to leave the safety of the Transporter and to rush to the oncoming emergency vehicles. Janus, Itzel and Gurk were the last to leave. Among the crowd clamoring to get a seat in one of the emergency carriers, a familiar face with a unique pair of ears stuck out from the crowd.

"Hey! Ringa!" Itzel shouted. She stood on the balls of her feet, waving one hand high above the others. The detective turned her head and slowly moved her way through the masses. As she closed in and left the sea of people, Brielle emerged as well, looking as disgruntled as ever. 

"You three can't stop getting in trouble, can you?" Ringa asked with her arms crossed. She smiled and laughed, her eyes scanning across each one of the trio."

"Sorry," Gurk said embarrassedly. 

"You really didn't do anything wrong. Not your fault you got attacked by a presumed-extinct Essencima. At least I hope it's not."

"I can promise you it wasn't our fault," Janus said. "I think these creatures just have a thing for us."

"Well, the good news is that no one was seriously hurt outside of a few sprains. You must be a good luck charm, Jay," Ringa said as she raised an eyebrow at Janus. "Not too often do we see cases with such dangerous variants of Essencima that come out with zero casualties."

"It's that quick thinking of his," Itzel said as she gave the physicist a friendly jab in the arm.

"Too bad you couldn't have thought of a way to take out that Sand Carver before it crashed the Transporter," Brielle replied with a hint of annoyance in her tone. She stared at the wreckage with her hands on her hips as she shook her head. "Now we've got to drive hours back to Labrisson with civilians."

"Sorry," Gurk mumbled.

"Do you three want to ride back with us?" Ringa said. "We can even get one of the Haulers to bring Gurk back."

Itzel shook her head. "Thanks for the offer, but we're still heading over to Sano Mosado. We're getting a ride from a fellow passenger."

"How are they getting back?" 

"They've made special arrangements with a private carrier company. They're already heading back to their estate on the outskirts of Sano Mosado, so they offered to let us hitch a ride."

"Estate, eh?" Ringa said with a raised eyebrow.

"The guy's family is really wealthy," Janus said. "Surprised he was such a good shot. Never would have guessed an investor would know his way around a gun like that."

"He was using one of those RB95 Anti-Essencima Launchers, right?" Brielle said.

"Uh... I guess," Itzel said as she shrugged her shoulders. 

"Hitting a Sand Carver with one of those is like hitting the ground with a rock."

"Jealous," the detective said to her partner.

"Not jealousy. Just facts."

"Uh-huh," Ringa replied while rolling her eyes.

"Before you two start arguing again, I got another favor to ask of you," Itzel said after stepping forward to get the attention of officers' attention.

"Name it," the detective said.

"Can you keep this between us? I don't want Galo getting worried. He already didn't like the idea of us heading all the way out to Sano Mosado. And if he finds out that we got attacked by a Sand Carver, he wouldn't be able to sleep."

"Don't stress it, Itzel," Ringa said with a wink. "This will stay between just the two of us. Just hope your father doesn't watch late night News Broadcasts. I've got a feeling this will be all over the Network for at least one day before the next major Essencima attack takes place the following morning."

"All he does is watch reruns."

"Yeah," Gurk added.

"Then you'll have nothing to worry about," Ringa said with a smile. "If you're going to head to Sano Mosado, then we'll go ahead and start finding some people who need a lift back to Labrisson. We're here to help those in need, not to make chat so we can't talk for too long."

"And I want to get back home as soon as possible," Brielle said. She scratched back of her ear and then tugged at the plated armor on her chest. "Enforcer uniforms weren't meant to be worn in this kind of heat."

"Thanks again you two," Itzel said. "I appreciate you making sure to check on my father for me."

"Yeah, yeah," Brielle said before turning back to the crowd and slowly walking towards them. "If you have any other requests, just send us a message or call. This heat is already starting to get to me, so I'm going to try to find some civilians." Brielle vanished into the crowd of passengers again, leaving only the detective with the trio.

"I'm going to get going too," Ringa said. "It is a long trip back. I think Brielle's got the right idea in trying to leave as soon as possible," the detective said as she waved her hand in front of her face like a make-shift fan. She followed her partner into the sea of survivors. 

"Aren't you hot, big guy?" Itzel said as she turned to Gurk. Sweat dripped from bottom of his snout in a small cascade. His breathing overcame the crackling heat of the desert air. 

"Yeah," Gurk replied.

"Let's find Mag and Sheila then," Itzel said. "Before you fall over and fry. Hopefully the carrier they requested is here." Janus and Itzel scanned the crowd, moving in closer to see if they could find Mag towering over everyone else. Gurk lingered behind, his arms dangling limply to his sides. As they continued to scour, an object in the sky grew in size, coming towards the wreckage at a rapid rate. Everyone looked up, staring at the encroaching vehicle. 

In seconds, the details of the carrier were visible. It was shaped differently from the Rescue Squad vehicles that the passengers were herding themselves into. The shape of the vehicle was sleek, with intricate curves and shiny black finish. It was long, almost the length of two sections of the Transporter. It lowered itself away from the rest of the passengers, kicking up sand in all directions as it hovered over the desert.

"Ah, I see they sent the Deluxe model," a familiar voice stuck out from the rest of the murmuring of everyone else. Mag stood beside Janus and Itzel, staring at the vehicle. 

"You really do have connections," Itzel said with awe, not breaking her gaze from the luxury carrier. 

"A lot of people in a lot of different areas owe me favors. Thought now would be better than ever to claim one," Mag replied. 

The side of the of the vehicle swung open. The inside of the carrier was dimly lit, only showing off the leather upholstery of the seating and the automated pilot placed in the pilot's seat. Mag stuck out his hand, looking at Janus, Itzel and Gurk with a long grin. 

"Guests first!" he said. 

"Thanks," Gurk said, walking towards the open door. He ducked his head underneath the frame of the door, squirming to fit through the vertically opening door. Once inside, he plopped himself down in the back corner and let out a long and deep sigh of relief. 

"Air conditioned?" Itzel asked.

"Of course," Mag replied. "I asked for the biggest luxury carrier they had, but it looks like it's still a bit too tight to fit your friend."

"He'll be fine," Itzel said. "You should see the way he sleeps. Gurk doesn't mind confined spaces."

"Is alright if I sit next to him?" Sheila said as she stepped between Mag and the others. "Maybe I could get a head start on my project since this Sand Carver nonsense set me back a few hours."

"I'm sure Gurk will be more than happy to sit with you," Itzel said. 

"Excellent!" Sheila climbed into the carrier and sat down next to the crocodile. Janus and Itzel followed behind her, sitting in the seats towards the back. Mag was right behind them, sitting opposite of Itzel. Once inside the, the door lowered to a close. The mechanisms inside wound and grinded, locking it tight. The window to the pilot's seat was behind Mag's head. He tapped the back of the glass with the back of his knuckle and looked at the automated pilot.

"Head straight to the estate," Mag said.  The robot in the front seat silently obeyed, lifting the vehicle upwards with the press of a button on one of the numerous floating panels that surrounded it. 

As the vehicle's elevation rose, Janus looked out the tinted window. The scene became smaller, giving him a better scope of the destruction. Metal shards and plates scattered across the area where Transporter had been hit. Amidst the rubble, the motionless Sand Carver remained upright in the sand. The long trail of black liquid had dried up, staining the ground beneath it. 

"Nice to be out of the heat, eh Gurk?" Mag asked, snapping Janus' attention back inside the carrier. 

"Yeah," Gurk said, keeping his eyes closed as he rested his head on the soft seat. "Real nice."