The physical location of the N.E.T Security station was familiar to the group, but their previous visit seemed like it was a lifetime ago. Scott struggled to focus on the task at hand with his family being so close. The last leg of their trip was a relatively calm drive in the RV, but everyone felt drained, emotionally and physically. Entering the home stretch for this phase of the mission, they all knew it began another stage that was make or break, and the stakes were very high.

The group checked in with building security and was lead back to the lineup room where they first met with the Overseer. However, this time they were on the opposite of the two-way glass. This room was where people would identify people in the lineup room without fear of being identified. Most of the group assumed this was the room the Overseer had spoken from during their first meeting. The lineup room on the other side was pitch black. Two armed guards remained inside the room with them, one posted at the only exit and one on the opposite side of the room, both held assault rifles at the ready.

"Welcome back." The familiar voice of the Overseer bellowed out of the speakers located in the corner of the room. "I'm going to assume it was an eventful trip since you returned into N.E.T territory with one less RV than we had provided for you." Upon close inspection, there were small cameras mounted on top of the corner speakers.

"Yeah, it turns out Siren's head of security is not a fan of mine," Scott replied

"Ewan? That guy is a real pain. Loyal to a fault." Overseer remarked

"Well, apparently, his loyalty ends when he disagrees with his boss."

"You are telling me that he went rogue and attacked your group?"

"That is what I am telling you, Mr. Overseer. Is it Mr. Overseer? Or Sir Overseer? Or you like to keep it casual and go by OV?" Scott wanted to keep the mood as light as possible.

"You can call me what you like because you are going to be calling me some much worse names very soon. I warned all of you about the cost of failure. My RV’s destruction is a sure sign of failure to me. But now you want to tell me that Ewan, the head of Siren's security, went rogue, and therefore, all the information you gathered is still good? That is the story you brought back? You sure that is what you want to feed me? I can give you a few minutes. I am sure you can come up with something much better than that." The Overseer's voice was laced with frustration that grew with each word. The mood in the room grew serious, and a feeling of danger filled the room like fog in a bayou.

"The truth is the truth, sir." Scott took a serious tone. This situation was spiraling far from what he expected. He thought of many scenarios for this meeting, but this ranked pretty low on his likelihood meter. Things could get ugly fast, and his mind raced for ways to reel it back in.

"Maybe I have this all wrong, Scott, and this is a big misunderstanding. Let's go step by step. Please indulge me with a breakdown. So, that we can clear up my apparent misconceptions.” The Overseer's voice took an eerily calm tone that was anything but reassuring.

“We met Ewan, he never liked us, but we were able to set up a meeting with Siren. I met with her one-on-one, and I told her that we were there to provide her information about your infrastructure and territory in exchange for compensation. We also agreed that we would tell you that we had infiltrated her origination and gained valuable information, and this would keep us in your good graces. She was on board, and so, she gave me some false information to come and feed you. We struck the deal and left on good terms. Ewan was not a fan of being cut out of the talks, or that Siren was working with us against his advice, so he attacked us. We survived the attack, and I spoke with Siren and confirmed Ewan acted on his own, and our deal still stood.” Scott thought the best bet would be to get the story out quickly and plainly as possible. He wanted to avoid pointless details that could be picked apart or misconstrued.

“So, my years and years of intelligence that tell me that Siren and her top security advisor are always on the same page. The intelligence and experience that makes it clear that Ewan would never betray Siren, and believe me when I say that we have tried to flip him on many occasions, is all wrong? Should I just throw that out the window and believe you? That is what you're telling me, Mr. Carr, isn’t it?” The Overseer’s tone carried a smugness that suggested he thought he had caught them in a lie. “Yumi. Is what Mr. Carr says true, or is he trying to pull a fast one over on me?”

“Uh, no, sir. He is telling you exactly what happened. I heard it all over the communication channel” Yumi’s hunched posture betrayed the confidence that she was trying to display.

“I want you to think long and hard about that, Yumi. Take a minute, please. Really think about what’s at stake.” Suddenly the lights came on the other side of the glass, and a collective gasp sounded. The lineup room was filled with their families. Yumi’s mother and little sister, Brick's mother, Vanessa’s parents, Alexia’s father, and brother, and Jeanie with their son Walker pressed tightly against her shoulder. The group had two guards sandwiching it with assault weapons at the ready. A third guard stood in front of the lineup carrying a large handgun. The guard with the pistol walked over to Yumi’s mother and pointed it directly at her head. Her mother began to cower and beg for her life, while Yumi’s sister started crying and pleading for her mother’s life.

“ENOUGH! SILENCE!” Overseer’s voice carried a terrifying rage. A rage that scared everyone that heard it, and silence quickly fell over both rooms.

“Yumi just tells me the truth, and we can forget all about this. Your family can return to their home like nothing ever happened.”

“I..” Her voice trembled with fear. Scott was sure that she would crack in the face of this much pressure, but to his surprise, she didn’t. “I… am telling you the truth. I swear. Please don’t hurt them.”

“I expected so much better from you, Yumi. Kill her mother last. Start with Mrs. Carr.” The Overseer’s words hit Scott like a ton of bricks. The Guard with the gun walked over to Jeanie and held the gun up to her head. Scott ran to the two-way glass and pressed his body up against trying to will himself through it.

“This is your last chance to tell me the truth, Scott.”

“Don't you dare hurt them! I told you to what happened, you demented prick!”

“Them? There is no them, Scott. I will leave your son alive so that he can always know you are the reason why his mother is dead. He can grow up knowing what failure his dad was and how it cost him his family. Last warning, tell me that you sold me out to Siren! Tell me!”

The rooms stood in silence for what seemed like an entirety. No one moved or spoke, and all eyes fixed on Jeanie and the gun that was a mere few inches from her head.

“Well, you really tied my hands here, Scott. It starts with your wife, but it won't end until all your little crew is without families, and then they can thank you and your lies for their families’ deaths. Then your crew can all slowly die. Some leader they chose. Kill the..”

Before Overseer could finish his words, Jeanie lowered Walker to the ground, setting him gently between her legs. She made a sudden punching motion before a flash of light and an electrical pop came from her right hand that hit the guard closest to her and sent him flying back into the two-way glass. Everyone seemed frozen by the shock and fear. Jeanie threw her hand in a punching motion again, and a bolt of light shot directly into an electrical outlet. The lights in the entire building flickered before going completely dark. Clattering and movement were heard in both rooms, but the darkness allowed no sight.

After a couple of minutes, the sound of a generator coming to life was heard, and the lights slowly blinked on. In the lineup room, the guard that had held the handgun at Jeanie Carr laid in a heap on the ground motionless. Jeanie held his pistol and held it directly at one of the two reaming guards. The other remaining guard began to raise his gun towards Jeanie but was interrupted.

The crash of glass breaking drew everyone's attention as a colossal stone hand flew violently through the two-way glass, sending shards flying into the air like a sparkler on the Fourth of July. The stone hand appeared on the other side and wrapped itself around the guard’s neck. The next thing the guard knew, his feet were no longer on the ground. He quickly found himself hurling into the other room and smashing into what was left of the two-way glass, and shards sliced his skin. He let out a shriek of pain before his trajectory suddenly took a downward arc, and his face slammed into the floor with such force that a thunderous clank filled the room. Members in both rooms let out a simultaneous cringe followed by several oooh's. Bricks grabbed the gun off the now motionless guard and did a quick visual sweep of his room, and found the one guard laying on the ground with his weapon in Alexia’s hand. The other guard was also sprawled on the floor, but no one was near him, and his gun was missing. Bricks continued his visual and sweep found everyone accounted for except Scott.

“What the HELL is going on!” The Overseer shouted over the speaker

“We just want to leave, unharmed.” Jeanie Carr called with her gun still firmly pointed at the guard in front of her. “We don’t want to hurt anyone, and we just want to leave peacefully.”

“You think you are walking out of her alive!? Don’t’ be stupid. You are about to have my full force come down on top of you. My security force is surrounding the room's exits as we speak. No one is getting out of there, NO ONE!"