Richard and Fawn both peeked their heads out from the wall. There, Lucy stood behind the counter again, talking with two individuals. But upon further inspection, the two men appeared to have looked familiar.

“Why, hello, can I help you?” Lucy greeted. “Do you see anything you guys like?”

“No, we’re not here for that, we’re looking for someone.” One of them replied.

“We heard a large man, and a little girl entered this place.” The other one added.

“I don’t keep track of everyone that comes here,” Lucy mentioned. “Why do you ask?”

“We know they’re here, you’re hiding them, aren’t you?” The guy with the cybernetic eye insisted.

“Where are they?” The man with the lightning scar inquired, leaning on the counter.

“Oh no, it’s those same thugs from before,” Richard whispered.

“This is bad. We gotta get out of here!” Fawn exclaimed.

“Why do you care?” Lucy thundered.

“None of your business, now tell us!” Cyborg retorted, slamming his fist on the counter.

“Hey, if you don’t stop, I’ll kick you out,” Lucy warned them, taking a step back.

“Come on now, that’s no reason to kick us out.” Lightning mentioned.

“Hey, leave her alone!” Richard stormed over and exclaimed.

“A-ha, there he is!” Lightning pointed out.

“This is between us. Leave that lady out of this!” Richard insisted.

“You know why we’re here, right?” Cyborg questioned.

Richard raised his arms in disbelief. “What the heck did I ever do to you guys?”

“Plenty, as a matter of fact. We’ve heard about your deeds from—” Lightning stopped when he noticed Lucy reaching for the nearest phone from the corner of his eyes. He pulled out a gun and shot the phone off her hands in retaliation. “Don’t you dare or else.”

“No, don’t you hurt her!” Richard snapped, his blood boiling. “I’m the one you want, so what do you want with me?”

“Revenge.” Lightning stated.

“Revenge? For what?!”

“I don’t need to—”

Richard charged over and punched the guy in the face, causing him to fall over and drop his gun. The gun let out a bullet as it ricocheted and hit the fan in the ceiling, making sparks fall to the ground. While Lightning writhed on the floor, everyone else in the vicinity took cover via tables to avoid the impact.

Lightning slowly got up and rubbed his head, covered in doses of blood. Richard stomped over and grabbed him by the neck as the man tried to break free.

“Can’t...” He tried to wheeze out.

Richard glared at him as he got quiet. “Give me one good reason why I shouldn’t—”

“Help!” A familiar voice cried out.

“Oh no!” Richard snapped out of it and let Lightning go. “I’m coming!” He shouted, running after the voice, only to find Cyborg get in his way, holding a jar in his hand.

“Look who I got.”

Richard looked down at Fawn, who got trapped inside the jar.

“Fawn!” He cried out.

“Let me out of here!” She yelled, banging at the glass to no avail.

“Excellent work.” Lightning said, then coughed. “It’s a good thing you brought that along, which was specifically designed to trap up supernatural beings such as ghosts.” He got up and smirked.

Lucy hid from behind the counter and watched the spectacle from afar. She looked over and noticed the gun in her vicinity. The people looked to be distracted and the weapon was out of their reach. Lucy gulped, a deep pit resonating within her stomach. Going against her better judgment, she decided to crawl over without being seen.

“Wait, so you can see her?” Richard questioned. He clenched his fists. “How much do you know about Fawn? And why are you doing this?”

Lightning scoffed and spat out blood. “I can answer that for you, but you answer me this first...” He pointed at him. “Where’s Ashley?”

Richard’s eyes widened. “What?”

“Don’t act like you don’t know what we’re talking about. We know you have her hostage!”

“Wait, what?” Richard took a step back. “I did nothing of the sort! I was just trying to help her find her parents— oops.” He covered his mouth, not knowing he said too much until it was too late.

“A-ha! So, you do know about her.” Lightning pointed out.

“Oh yeah? Well, what’s it to you?” Richard retorted. “Why do you know her? And why should I tell you?”

“Give us the info and the girl, and we’ll let your ghostly companion go.” Cyborg offered.

Richard ground his teeth as he got stuck in a situation he couldn't get out of.

“Look all around you, nobody can help you now.” Cyborg mocked. “You might as well give up.”