Lucia waited in between the corners of the wall towards the strategies room. She prayed one person was inside of it, but she could never be sure with how quietly the PSEUDO members liked to loom in the shadows like the villains they potentially were.

They left for Australia tomorrow, and Lucia would've been excited by the sun and exoticness, but it was to find Paradox and kick his glitchy ass once and for all. But Lucia couldn't let this pass her by. It was time for her to find out what happened to Howie and where she went. It was time for the truth.

Lucia pressed herself further down the hallways before she turned around to peer at the door. She reached into her pocket and clutched at the card. The last person who went in there was Hyejin.

Then the whoosh of a door opened and Lucia turned around. Hyejin walked out. Lucia bent down and sighed before she took out the ID card Bee had given her and clutched it tightly. Then she pressed it on the floor at an angle and slid it down the hallway as the door closed again.

It stopped at the bottom of the opening and the door and created a brief gap. Lucia sighed in relief before she stood up and walked to the door. Lucia grunted, and she separated the doors and revealed the room. She quickly entered and made a beeline for a holo-screen wedged into the corner and turned it on.

Lucia navigated the database she'd taken an eye to during yesterday's session. She made sure that she stayed next to their hackers so that she could get a feel for what they were doing. Now, she opened up the database program. She quickly typed Howie Huata.

Of course, the PSEUDO had something on Howie. Kain kept receipts for everyone, like Lucia. They had every piece of data about Lucia, including her parent's depuration. For Howie, it just showed her basic facts, but on another page, it showed stuff like more detailed, well, details, like news articles, interviews, but stuff like credit card history, travel history, and internet history. Lucia zeroed on them.

The credit card history was regular adult stuff like bills and the occasional panic purchase. But as Lucia scrolled, the purchases all stopped 9 months ago on November 4th. It was a bill and not a plane ticket. It was Lucia who raised an eyebrow. You couldn't just travel around being all broke and stuff.

She closed it and opened the internet history. It was just a log of all the posts she'd made, and Lucia tirelessly stalked. All it talked about was the time it was posted and what it said and where she was. Lucia squinted at the times. They were all posted at 11:04 pm. What a weird time!

Lucia once again closed it and sighed at her kind of progress. It was all just a weird expression. She opened travel history and this time, it was all diverse.

The last time she was in Los Angeles was on November 4th. It started with Los Angeles, but then it went to Portland, then Seoul, and then Beijing. Lucia's eyes widened. Howie was in Beijing right now. She had to get a hold of her and tell her.

Something was still weird. Howie being in Beijing was weird. Howie, somehow being in the same place Paradox was, was also weird. Was Howie trying to find him, too?

Things were still weird. So since November 4th, Howie had been on the down low. Then a realization came to Lucia, and she turned back to the internet page. Howie posted at 11:04 pm. Howie stopped being active on November 4th. November was the 11th month of the year. So maybe Howie was trying to say something. But what?

Lucia stood back and ran her hands through her hair. This was going to be harder than she thought.

"Stressed?" someone said in a muffled voice.

Lucia swiftly turned back to see Josanne standing by the open door. Lucia put her hands up. "I was just checking something! I didn't mean-

Josanne then cracked into a smile and slightly laughed. Lucia slightly tensed and gained control of her bladder again. It was the first time saw Josanne expressing an emotion that wasn't a "badass gang member".

"But what are you doing here?" Josanne signed. "I won't tell anyone."

"I'm looking for someone who might've gone missing," Lucia stuttered. "I was going to leave, anyway."

"Who is this person?" Josanne asked.

"It's just a friend," Lucia said. "I haven't seen her since November, so I wanted to look for her. I'm not trying to do anything."

"If you don't want me to think you're suspicious, then don't act like it," Josanne said, the cracked a plastered smile.

"Right," Lucia said. "So usually this friend travels at a certain period, but she hasn't been back and has been weird with communications."

Josanne cut in front of her and immediately scanned through the computer. "This is hard to work with."

"I know," Lucia agreed. "Do you think you could help?"

"I'll try," Josanne said. "These are all basic facts, but it's nothing like the real research."

"Oh," Lucia said.

Josanne squinted. "When was the last time you saw this friend?"

"Uh," Lucia stuttered. "November 4th. She travelled that day."

"I cross-checked her name in flight databases in California," Josanne said. "Her name comes up nowhere."

Lucia squinted at the screen. It was void of results. "Then how did she leave if she wasn't on a plane? Could she have driven? Portland isn't far."

"For that, we'd have to go deeper," Josanne said. "And I can go deeper, so don't worry."

"Okay," Lucia said. "Thank you."

Josanne didn't reply to her, and Lucia raised an eyebrow. "Thank you."

Josanne only turned over to her and gave a small smile. Maybe she wasn't used to hearing stuff like that. It was jarring to realize that they were essentially the same age. But Josanne was a trained killer, part of a gang of criminals, and Lucia was a semi-regular teenager from southern California.

"Where does she live?"

"In Los Angeles," Lucia said.

"Narrow it down," Josanne said. Lucia tried to think back to what she saw on the website she got from her parents. It was some upscale neighbour in LA, but there were millions of those as long as celebrities roamed the planet.

"Mystic Heights," Lucia recalled. "I think that's where she lived. I don't remember the exact house number."

"I already know where she lives," Josanne said. "I just like hearing you talk. It's calming."

"Oh," Lucia said, raising an eyebrow. She didn't know if she'd describe her voice as calm. Instead, it was loud and bold according to people like Eniola. "Thanks?"

"Is this girl everyone's friend?" Josanne asked

Lucia peered over at her. Howie was everyone's favourite celebrity. So that counted. Right? "I don't know. We just hang out."

"Oh," Josanne said. "Friends are such a funny concept."

Lucia raised an eyebrow. Then it occurred to Lucia that her friends were all older crime lords. "Yeah."

"Don't tell anyone, but I like that you guys are here," Josanne signed with a smile. "I've never really talked to people my age. Except for Hyejin." Kind of."

"Has everyone hated that we're here?" Lucia asked, ignoring everything else.

Josanne's eyes widened, then they closed. "No."

Lucia felt it wasn't true, but she didn't want to prod at a girl with guns. Instead, Lucia analyzed her other words. "Do you have friends at all?"

Josanne stopped for a moment and her thick brows furrowed. "I did back home. But I haven't been there in almost 10 years."

"Why did you leave?" Lucia asked.

Josanne averted eye contact again. "I didn't leave."

"Then how did you join the PSEUDO?" Lucia asked. "How did you even meet Kain, anyway?"

Josanne sighed and turned away.

"You don't have to tell me," Lucia stammered. "I mean, I'm like, perfectly fine, not knowing."

Josanne looked up again and smiled fondly. "It's okay."

"Really?"

"Yeah," Josanne gestured. "I was kidnapped when I was 9. I was home alone with my little brother and these big men came into my house and took me and my brother. They separated us and forced me to work in a sweatshop for 2 years."

"Jesus," Lucia whispered. "How did you meet Kain?"

"He came and rescued me with Sasha and some friends from this gang two years later," Josanne explained. "They found out some businessmen in Britain were using our labour. He came to Trinidad, set all the kids free, and they took them to Britain. But I didn't go with the kids. I followed Kain because I believed God had sent him to rescue me."

"He took care of me and clothed me and fed me," she explained, then she frowned. "And then he taught me how to kill and how to shoot guns so that I could do more than just sit around all day. Then he formed the PSEUDO."

Lucia couldn't imagine being told to kill someone at the tender age of 11. How come she was Kain's first choice? Josanne told the story with a blank face like she'd trained herself not to react.

"Kain told me that if I joined the organization, he'd take me home," Josanne said.

Josanne was still here. Lucia asked, "Do you still want to go back to Trinidad?"

"Always," Josanne said eagerly. "I want to see my parents and my brother again."

"I hope you do," Lucia consoled. "Wait, can't the PSEUDO track down your brother?"

Josanne sighed. "I already have. He got adopted by a different family and lives in London."

"Why don't you want to find him?" Lucia asked.

"I don't want him to know that I'm with Kain," Josanne sighed. "And don't want him to think that what we do is criminal. I want him to see me as Josanne."

Lucia reached over and grabbed her hand and gave her a warm smile Josanne gave back. "You deserve to be happy."

Josanne nodded. "Thank you, friend."

Lucia saw Josanne as nothing but pure badassery when she first walked around them, holding a gun to her head. But Lucia found Josanne was still a girl. A very homesick girl. Someone who needed a friend.

"You know everyone here is like me," Josanne said.

"What do you mean?"

She cracked open a laugh. "No one's here because they want to be here. Everyone's here because no one believed in them or nurtured them as a child. Now we want to see the world set right with revenge."

That sounded badass. Lucia just said one word. "Wow."

"Sasha joined the PSEUDO because it gave him immunity. People wanted to kill him. He used to be a drug dealer down in Manchester until he snitched on someone and they came looking for him," Josanne revealed. "Hyejin was abandoned by her parents because she was born without some of her limbs. They put her out in the streets when she was 13. Kain found her and made her a cyborg and put her in the organization."

"Wow," Lucia said again. What was she supposed to say?

"Most members have a gruesome origin story," Josanne said. "And I don't even know some of them. But let's try to find Howie again."

Josanne turned back to the screens in a strange, orderly fashion. She acted like she didn't just reveal a traumatic backstory to Lucia. Josanne toggled with the screens until a video popped up.

"Here's footage from her house on November 4th," Josanne explained. "Do you want to see it?"

"Of course," Lucia replied. It was time to see what happened.

Then Josanne stopped when her phone buzzed. She looked quickly and then put it away. "It's Kain. He wants me for something."

Josanne toggled some more until Lucia's phone buzzed. "I've sent you the video."

"Thank you," Lucia said again, but this time Josanne just got up and left the room. Then she turned back.

"You should probably leave here," Josanne said. "I will not be as lenient as other members when they catch you for being in here."