Same time period

Valeria was quick to notice the weird atmosphere. Hellen knew she had shared with the former about the ghost at home, so she quickly explained what they thought of.

With a shocked expression, Valeria recounted.

"So… you mean at the same time that murders were taking place, the specter in your house seems to be suddenly not able to use its phaseless ability? This… is weird."

"Very" Hellen stressed. She had never come across a case like this. 

What's going on? 

Even Aiden felt confused when faced with such a problem.

Finally, Valeria looked at Hellen and said, "You can notify the Bureau."

Hellen narrowed her eyes at Valeria, a hint of suspicion in her tone. "You know about the specters and the Bureau. Who are you?"

"A crime investigator who reached high enough ranks I guess. I am not yet at a level enough to be in their field teams but I am often called to the scene when there are confirmed no specters around."

Valeria simply answered without getting defensive about it. 

"Can't you notify the Bureau yourself then?" Aiden interjected.

"I can, but Hellen's words, who was a collaborative field agent in the past would be taken more seriously. So why go through me when she can pass on the message with better results?"

Aiden tilted his head. "True."

Hands folded under her chest, Hellen informed them, "No need to worry, the Bureau has already dispatched a team here. We can simply ask them. I'd rather not contact the Bureau if I can. It's their policy plus I am not in the mood to contact them right now." The voice of the recent operator flashed through her as she spoke the last line.

"They have sent a team here?!"

Valeria exclaimed. While Aiden was clueless on the side, Valeria had a clear picture of the situation. And it was one she did not want to be in. 

"You understand the implications of it. I am surprised you are still staying."

Valeria stated pointedly to Hellen, who replied quickly.

"The Bureau has given orders that I must stay behind to assist the team which is to come. Of course, not like I must definitely follow it, the Bureau can't order me around. But there's also the specter which has targeted Aiden. If possible I don't want to leave a hidden danger behind for him. If everything goes as intended, I'll leave the town with Aiden and his sister, after we are done dealing with the specter."

They heard the sound of footsteps, glancing around to realize it was Lucas. He walked over to sit beside Aiden and took in the atmosphere. Getting a slight hint that his entrance might've caused the silence, he slowly spoke,

"You can continue… I won't disturb."

Hellen cast her eyes on each person in the room before she began, "Actually, what happened was —" She explained what took place after she got her phone, and even put some questions in the end.

As soon as she finished speaking, Lucas remarked, his mouth working to chew a bar of chocolate. 

"I might know why they sent a team consisting of supers here. I heard it from an operator who called me —"

"You are?" Valeria cut him off in the middle. She had assumed he was just another of Aiden's friends, like Elias. Coupled with how he had come with Hellen, she figured he knew the basics. But from his sentence earlier, it was clear he knew more than just basics.

After getting a subtle nod from Aiden, Lucas introduced himself to her. "Lucas Nolan. A super under Bureau, and a childhood friend of Aiden."

Valeria's eyes shot up in surprise as she first examined Hellen and Aiden's faces. Realizing it wasn't a joke, she exclaimed while approaching Lucas for a handshake.

"I can't believe I can finally work with a super."

He awkwardly got up and shook her hand, not too experienced in dealing with straightforward females with looks of her caliber. He instead brought forward the previous topic.

"About the reason why the Bureau sent a team here, I heard from an operator that a team was nearly wiped out near the town. With only one escaping. It was the reason they classified it as a danger zone and sent another team here."

A heavy pin drop silence hung in the air as soon as Lucas completed his sentence.

Hellen was the first to inhale heavily as she muttered with wide eyes directed at Lucas. "What the fuck?"

Valeria's expression was aghast. "Holy shit!"

Aiden's expression didn't change much. He had never known much about Bureau after all. But judging from their reactions, it might be a very serious thing. Suddenly, the gears in his brain rotated as he turned to find Hellen was looking his way too.

Both of them exclaimed at the same time. "Evander?"

"I am assuming Evander is another one of your friends?" Valeria asked Aiden. "Yea, one of my childhood friends, same as Lucas."

"It would make sense this way." Hellen continued, ignoring the gazes of others as she looked at Aiden. "The team must have dealt with the ghost, with Evander being the only survivor. It would explain why he knows about one of the conditions of the specter."

"The condition… is it what you told me to have the men ask the townsfolk?" Valeria asked Hellen. But before even getting a reply, Lucas interrupted suddenly, "Wait wait wait. You said Evander knows about one of the conditions. Is that what was in the letter?"

"Yes." It was Aiden who answered. Confusion was etched onto Lucas' face as he replied, "But the operator told me that the Bureau doesn't know any of the conditions of the specter."

"What?" Hellen snapped unknowingly with a deep frown on his face. Valeria mirrored her expression while Aiden was worried instead for his friend. He hesitated as he spoke, "Did Evander never reach the Bureau? Or contacted them?"

"No. He must have reached the Bureau or at least had contact with them. How could they have known otherwise that he was the sole survivor? And if they knew he was the sole survivor, they would immediately try to get the information."

"Things aren't adding up." Valeria concluded, her lips pressed thin. Even if things were confusing, some concrete facts like a Bureau's time falling here still remained, and it was enough to plant seeds of hesitation in her mind. Should she continue staying in the town to deal with the problem?

As silence reigned across the room, Valeria happened to glance at the notes in her hand and remembered what she was here for. She had so thoroughly been swept away by their flow that it escaped her mind what she was here for. After taking a rough glance at her notes, she coughed and announced with a serious voice.

"There is a bit of a silver lining, thankfully. I believe my men have found a pattern in the specter's killing."