After lunch, Justin and Erica reported to Eric and Mia. Justin pulled out his notes and sat at his desk, while Erica sat next to Mia. Eric finished the document he was working on and looked up at Justin. "So, what did Hisha say to your proposal?"

"He agrees. He said he would do anything to ensure his family's safety. I think that he concluded that the Empire views him as a pawn, and something he taught me himself came to light during my sit-down with him. He had once explicitly told me that there are to be no loose ends in a mission. He realized that in this case, his family is a loose end."

Eric looked at Justin's notes in silence before turning to Michael. "Hey Mike, did you ever hear back from Ricky?"

Michael shook his head. "No. The last transmission I received was that they were keeping close watch on a dwarven facility. They do not know yet whether it is the facility where they are building the Ark's or not."

"I see."

Eric looked at Mia and nodded. "On our end, we found a few instances where refugees' stories either do not make sense or their stories do not add up after vetting. We have alerted all gates to the presence of these individuals, and a bolo has been put out. Before that, Justin, do you know these two?"

Eric slid Justin a picture of two people. Both were women in their early twenties. One woman had brown hair and green eyes, with a pale complexion. She was wearing an Earth-style outfit: Converse, blue jeans, and a cut-off anime shirt. The other woman had blonde hair and blue eyes. She was dressed in a more traditional Brishan-style dress and high heels.

Justin shook his head. "No. I have never met either of them."

Eric sighed. "I see. These two were apprehended earlier. They have been running a shop in Freedom Town for a few months. We kept an eye on them, but they never caused any issues. Today, after General Milano's orders regarding vetting, they were taken into custody. They claimed they were exiled heroes."

Erica walked over. "Let me see." She murmured before grabbing the picture.

Eric ignored the rudeness of the gesture and noticed the younger woman trembling. "You good?"

She nodded, tears running down her face. "These two were among the first heroes to defect. After the heroes had been given orders to go out and kill civilians in Austin, they ran off. I always thought they had been killed. It is a relief to know they are alive."

Eric sighed and leaned back in his chair. "Alright, Justin, you will go and finish up with Hisha. I will be in the backroom watching. Erica, you go and talk to your friends. Mia will go with you. Since you said they are heroes, I assume they are from Earth, right?"

Erica nodded.

"Okay. I understand these heroes are your friends, but keep it professional. If Mia decides they are not a threat, we can let them go back to living freely. They never harmed Riemskin civilians or did missions against us, right?"

"Correct. They were heroes that we deemed unfit for combat at the time. They needed more training than the others."

Eric looked at Mia. "What do you think?"

She looked at the file, then nodded. "I think it would be okay to let them be. If they truly have no ties to the Empire anymore, then they are simply two young women trying to make a living here in Freedom Town. You remember how Jessica was at first. The poor girl nearly jumped out of her skin when she saw jeans. I have a feeling these ladies might have come over here for the same reasons."

"Alright. We have the tech specialists going through their phones right now, and MPs are searching their residences. If there is no sign of them being bad actors, we will let them go free."

At 1700, everyone met back up at the office. Eric looked around. Erica's eyes were red, with fresh streaks from her tears smearing her makeup. Justin looked somber, Eric thought back to the grueling interrogation. It had taken its toll on both Eric and Justin.

"Before we begin, Erica, do you need to take some time to collect yourself?" Eric asked gently. "It looks like your interrogation wasn't the most pleasant."

She nodded. "Yes, thank you. I'll be right back."

She shared a look with Justin, and they hugged tightly before she left the room.

Eric looked over at Michael. "Any word, Mike?"

Michael tapped the radio against his desk. "I got word, Eric, and it isn't good. It looks like they are nearly finished with one of the Arks."

The room went still. Eric looked at Mia, his hand tapping against the desk. "Have you informed General Milano yet?"

"I have. He said that we may have to organize a strike team."

Eric closed his eyes. The scene from his first night back played in his mind.

"No more hero shit." He murmured.

Erica came back into the room, her makeup now cleaned off her face, but her eyes were still red. She sat on Justin's lap, and Eric ignored it. Instead, he looked around the room. "Alright, to fill you in, Erica, Michael just told us that the Empire is nearing completion of one of the Arks. Ricky and the team were able to relay the information back through the radio."

Erica covered her mouth and gasped. "We get no breaks, do we?" She whispered, her eyes closing in sorrow.

The room went quiet as each person digested the information. Eric looked at the notes the dwarves had given him about the Ark. "Alright, we will handle that after we compile all the information. Mike, continue."

Michael stared down at the radio as if it were a cursed thing he didn't want to carry anymore. "Alright, from what Ricky told me, they were able to infiltrate the compound last night. They were able to work a 12-hour shift without being caught by the other guards. They overheard some of the guards talking about the Ark being completed in a week. The last thing the Ark needs before it is operational is the cores."

Eric narrowed his eyes. "Get online with the dwarves. Confirm how long it takes to put the mana cores in place. A week seems like it is too little time."