Somewhere hundreds of thousands of kilometers away from Park, a distance no one should have been able to travel in a single night, Higler was sitting on the ground, looking at someone in front of him.

"So, what do you think of him?"

"He has potential, and he also has the heart for it. But why go through so much trouble just to find one person?"

"Hahaha..."

-------------------------

Three Yscalents walked through the forest, following two yellow Iferes. The Zaplins were leading them directly to the place where Black Bird was hiding.

Here, the forest was thinner, with a wider area between each of the tall trees. Since they were hoping to catch Black Bird by surprise, they were advancing through the forest, instead of the road. Because of that, sometimes there would be Iferes running, and, each time, their hands would fly to their weapons, thinking they were walking into an ambush.

It was understandable they were nervous. Scarred Jack wasn't a kind person, and they expected anything from him. Besides, they didn't know if someone had seen them leave Park, although they had been careful.

The sun was just rising now. Drake, Anna, and Alex had left the city while it was still dawn, so they could reach Black Bird's hideout with the sun at their back, giving them one more advantage over him.

After a few more minutes of silent walk, Drake gestured for them to stop, and dismount. Maybe it was because of Higler's influence over him, but he had somehow become the leader of the group. The two Nulls didn't seem to have any problems with it, so he wasn't going to be the one to say something.

"According to Zaplin, the cabin is two or three kilometers away."

Drake nodded to Anna, and gestured for them to keep walking. On foot they were slower, but quieter.

Going through the lively forest was a different experience. Drake's lips were dry from the tension, and he discovered that he preferred to face an opponent in a fair duel than go through a forest where behind every tree could be an enemy.

Another twenty minutes of eerily silent walking later, they found the house they were looking for. It was a small wooden cabin, deep in the woods. The road to get to it was just a small path of cut grass, almost unnoticeable. A perfect hiding spot, that they wouldn't have found if they didn't have Ifere companions.

About thirty meters of ground around the cabin were devoid of trees, to prevent attackers - like the three of them - from being able to use the trees as cover.

"Look. Three Yscalents. Black Bird is not alone."

Alex pointed towards the three Iferes tied to a fence around the house, happily munching on a tree. Yscalents might be herbivores, but they had a powerful bite.

"How do we go from here?"

"Uhmm... Frainer, see if you can find somewhere to enter the house. When the fight starts, use Dreamscape on one of them."

"Tutu!"

Anna raised an eyebrow, impressed. For someone who had spent so little time in the wilderness, that was a pretty solid plan.

"Should we wake them up from here, or try to approach the cabin first?"

"There is smoke rising from the chimney. They are already awake."

Looking at the house again, Drake saw that Alex was right. He hadn't paid enough attention. Of course a place like that wouldn't have electricity, so they had to light a fire.

"I guess we start from here, then. Drake, would you do the honors? I know you are a good shot with a pistol, but what about a rifle?"

He could understand why Higler liked Anna. She had a way of saying and doing things that was quite provocative. He grinned slightly, and grabbed the rifle she gave him.

It was black and brown, with a slim body and wooden handle. The trigger was soft, easy to press. Surprisingly, it had iron sights instead of a scope. When he looked at the Null with a questioning look, she shrugged.

"If the target is far enough so I need a scope, I have the time to put it on. Otherwise, it just bothers me."

"Fair enough."

Taking a deep breath, Drake rested the weapon against his shoulder, to control the recoil. He had a certain affinity for firearms, and he had trained with a rifle more than a few times the last days, wasting hundreds of bullets on a big variety of bean cans.

Aiming at one of the windows, but high enough so he wouldn't hit anyone, he squeezed the trigger. He didn't have any problems with killing anymore, but if he was going to do so, he liked them to be able to defend themselves. Useless and dangerous chivalry, he knew, but that's how he was.

With a loud sound, the window broke into a thousand pieces, and they could also hear several curses and surprised yelps from those inside.

A few moments of silence followed, during which Black Bird and his two companions were more likely than not trying to discover who was attacking them, and why.

"You inside! Throw your weapons away, and come out! You are under arrest!"

"Who the f*ck are you? A f*cking pig? Or a bounty hunter?"

A deep voice answered, which Drake presumed to be the Barbarian, Black Bird.

"Does it matter?"

"Yeah, it does! If you are a bounty hunter, you will shoot me as soon as I walk out the door."

"He is trying to buy time. We should attack at once."

Alex wasn't at all wrong. Black Bird was probably brainstorming with his friends, trying to find a way out. No one in a sane state of mind would surrender without being sure of who their adversaries were. However, if they tried to attack, they would be easy targets.

"I'm Anna Holliday, Secret Service agent! You have my word that as long as you surrender, you won't be harmed in any way!"

Drake wasn't sure a Secret Service agent should be announcing that, but there was no way to take back her words. They received an unexpected answer, however.

"I won't ever surrender to a damn woman! Come get us if you want! Huh!"

The three of them were left speechless by Black Bird. Of all the reasons to resist, that's the one he was going with?

"I forgot he is a braindead Barbarian. Motherf*cker!"

Having said that, she fired a few shots at the broken window, partially to quell her anger, but mostly to make sure the criminals kept their heads down.

Drake had long heard of how Barbarian society was structured, but he hadn't thought one who had been exiled and was leaving with normal people would still carry those prejudices.

Black Bird fired back, the bullets sending splinters flying off the trees they were hiding behind. Drake gestured for the other two to spread out.

"Anna, go to the left side of the house, and make sure they don't try to leave from there. Alex, you do the same on the back. I can see the front and right from here."

The Nulls nodded, and went to their positions. After a while, they stopped shooting, to conserve ammo, and were mimicked by those inside the house. Suddenly, Drake saw one of the Zaplins flying into the house through the broken window.

Looking to the side, he saw it was Alex's Zaplin, and cursed. It was too early, and Frainer wasn't in position yet.

"What are you doing?!"

"I don't know! Zaplin just flew in by itself!"

Somewhat dumbfounded by the answer, Drake looked at Anna. Her Zaplin was shaking and zooming around anxiously, clearly wanting to follow the other. Only the discipline imposed after years of working with a Null held it back.

"Argh!"

Suddenly, a bright flash followed by screams caught their attention. It was coming from inside the house, and, with a single glance, Drake recognized the skill Lightning Rod. Zaplins could shoot their spikes, and then direct a powerful blast of electricity at it. It was extremely painful, although not deadly for an adult.

"Zaplin! No!"

Alex held his chest as if he was in pain, confusing Drake. However, after a few seconds, he realized what happened. Alex's Ifere had been hurt, or worse, and he felt it through the Spirit Contract.

Throwing caution to the wind, he yelled for Anna to cover him, and ran towards the house. Two bullets passed flying by him, mere centimeters away, but the shooter was rewarded with Anna's attention, and Drake saw a figure in the window scream and fell.

Getting to the side of the house, he told Frainer to enter and use Dreamscape in anyone inside. After waiting a few seconds, he shot the lock, and kicked the door open.

As soon as his silhouette appeared in the doorframe, a person inside turned to shoot at him. His instincts took over, and he threw himself on the ground before returning fire. Two bullets from a rifle at close range caused quite the damage, and the person was sent stumbling back, two holes in her chest.

"Stand down! Let go of the guns!"

Seeing a rifle pointed at his face, the second person - a fat man - dropped his pistol. There was blood oozing from his left shoulder, showing that Anna had hit something. The third person had Frainer wrapped around his head, and was looking at nothing, his eyes blank. Dreamscape worked a lot better on humans than on Moontrits.

After making sure the woman he had shot was really dead, Drake turned to his partner, and told the Ifere to cancel the skill. Light slowly returned to the eyes of the man who could only be Black Bird.