The meeting was coming to an end, and as soon as Henry dismissed us, Rex made a subtle gesture for me to follow him. The rest of the team seemed engrossed in their own issues and were oblivious to our departure. Susan, Lia, Crystal, and Summer had all gathered to plan the upcoming charity event, and Tyler left as soon as Henry gave him the go-ahead.

Tom was chatting with Henry, and it seemed like they were discussing some pressing matters. The serious expressions and whispers they exchanged had me worried Tom was involved in Henry's criminal activity. It wouldn't be a surprise that more of the team were corrupt, but I hoped for the best. A sudden chuckle from Tom relieved some of my suspicion. Being overly paranoid wasn't usually like me.

However, my discomfort around Henry only intensified with each passing moment. A prickling sensation ran through my skin, and my chest tightened as if warning me to move away from him before I did something I'd regret.

Whenever I looked at Henry, my thoughts would drift back to last night. It really pissed me off to see the facade he projected. He was sneaking around in the dark while pretending to be a hero. A part of me hated letting him walk around with those drugs, even if it could lead to a bigger bust. I forced my eyes away to follow Rex.

Rex and I made our way down to the basement, where he had his private workspace in the Hub. The elevator ride was silent and awkward, leaving me alone with my thoughts. I barely paid any attention to the dull gray walls of the hallway leading to where we had previously met.

Once we arrived in the same computer room as last time, Rex turned to face me and spoke, breaking the eerie silence between us.

"I'm sorry we didn't get a chance to discuss anything before that meeting. Henry kind of dropped it on us," Rex said, rubbing the back of his head nervously.

Pulling out his desk chair, he sat down. The computers began booting up around him without any sign of action from the kid. Nothing significant showed up on the monitors except what looked like a sketch of a new drone. It had various additional attachments with an unknown purpose.

I breathed a sigh of relief and allowed myself to relax slightly. The severe expression on my face must have intimidated him. In front of me was just a kid trying to be a hero. The interaction with Henry had riled me up, but Rex wasn't to blame for it.

Rubbing my eyes to smooth out my features, I apologized, "Sorry, Rex. I know this must be a lot for you, and my attitude probably isn't helping."

I didn't remember ever being such an angry person, but ever since waking up, I had been behaving strangely. A small internal voice in my mind couldn't help but whisper to me about its resentment for being pulled from the peaceful sleep in my stasis pod.

I wondered whether the changes I was experiencing were normal, or if I was being affected by the extended period spent frozen in barely tested super tech.

"It's alright. Henry seems to be targeting you for some reason." Rex looked worried. "Do you think he knows?"

Our investigation into Henry hadn't even truly started yet. We had only scratched the surface of what was happening. I couldn't imagine he already knew we were on to him.

"We're fine. He's just mad that I'm bucking against his authority. If he knew, it wouldn't end at glares and mean comments." I didn't do a great job of reassuring him, judging from the frown on his face.

Finally getting to his reason for bringing me down here, Rex questioned me. "What happened last night."

His drones had been noticeably scarce during the incident last night, but he must have seen something to make him think there was more to the story. I didn't mind looping him in on what I discovered about Henry.

"Henry is definitely up to something. He stole several samples of that power drug." I thought it was best to just lay it all out on him at once, so I continued. "Someone else showed up to help him smuggle it out of the warehouse. They got enough to power a small army."

During the whole incident, I never got a single good look at his partner in crime. The lack of details would make it impossible to find information on the female super, so I didn't bother looking. Maybe Rex had some ideas.

"I only saw the arms of his accomplice, but I think they were a woman." I conveyed. "Henry seemed to open a passage with some key that she reached through like some kind of portal."

"So he's what? Taking over the Snow Gang's drug trade?" He said.

I wasn't sure what to say since I had no idea what Henry had planned. We were both silent for a few seconds before Rex spun away from me. He faced his computer monitor and began opening up applications.

"Without the source, I doubt he plans to join the drug trade. He'd never be able to keep up with demand." I reassured him.

My attempt wasn't as comforting as I had hoped. Rex frowned as he tried his hardest to focus on the computer. Ignoring the facts wouldn't solve this issue, but I could give the kid a break.

"We should focus on identifying the woman, then we can find out what they're doing with those power drugs," I told him.

"I've never seen Henry with a magical key before, so I'm betting it has something to do with this mystery partner." He took the chance I offered and changed the subject.

His suggestion made sense, but there was one possibility he was avoiding. Sometimes, the simplest answer was the truth.

"It could be another member of Pawn." I dropped the comment to prevent him from avoiding the topic.

He finally looked back at me.

"I don't want to believe that." His voice was almost pleading. "Henry and Tyler are the only ones I can see flipping sides, but there's no way they would work together after going rogue. Tyler hates Henry for cheating on his sister."

He glanced back at his monitor.

"But I have been following everyone." He hesitated before continuing. "Diana was the only one I lost track of last night."

On his screen, a video began playing of Diana exiting a building dressed in gym clothes. Her green headband held back the lightly damp, short blonde hair.

"She went to a local gym to work out, then vanished from my surveillance network." He explained.

The video showed her disappear around a corner, still dressed in workout clothes with a gym bag on her shoulder.

"For the record, I don't think she's involved." Rex vouched for her innocence.

I stared at the paused video for a moment longer before turning back to him. Rex was looking concerned but resolute.

"Just in case, up the number of drones around her," I told him.

He focused on his typing, hopefully following my suggestion. My phone beeped in my pocket, causing me to think about Jeanie. I pulled it out to check and frowned. There was a downloadable file sent from Rex. Looking up at him, I showed my screen.

"That's all the info I was able to get about the Snow Gang. You asked for it during our last talk." He elaborated without me having to ask.

"Thanks, I'll pour over it tonight." I nodded and clicked the download link.

My thoughts on Jeanie had me considering something else after pocketing my phone.

"You remember that video you showed me? Of Henry secretly making a trip to the Science Council's headquarters? I have an inside at the Science Council. Maybe she can tell us why he visited them." I disclosed my contact to Rex.

I still wasn't sure about how to feel. Jeanie stole someone's life, but she may have been a major player in this conspiracy Rex was looking into. She was another person pretending to help others while secretly exploiting them. This city seemed to be lousy with their type.

"That's dangerous." Rex looked divided. Hope and fear traded places, flashing across his face. "Leaking information without being caught would require a face-to-face meeting. No tech-based forms of communication would be safe when dealing with the Council."

I would have agreed with him if it was anyone other than Jeanie.

"I've got that handled. You don't need to worry." I waved off his concern.

Rex appeared to have questions in mind but eventually decided to remain silent.

"I'll let you know what I find out." I stepped toward the exit to make it clear to Rex that I was leaving.

Opening the door, I placed one foot into the hallway before stopping and glancing back.

"Keep a closer eye on all of the team. Henry didn't steal those drugs just to let them sit around. They'll make an appearance, and we still don't know who's involved." With that final statement, I closed the door.

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