After flying back to Washington DC, in the DOE headquarters located near the UN building. Benjamin sat down in the breakroom, examining the piece of shrapnel he had found near the partial ruins of the ProTech research facility. Rubbing his thumb over the locust etched on the cold black metal, Ben wondered about the purpose of the heist and why a distraction was necessary. Why go all the way robbing a bank only to take what was in some science building? It wasn’t even a weapons research facility; those were always located in highly secured areas in the rural parts of the world.

  In the end, gently putting the metal plate down, he couldn’t make sense of the whole situation. Perhaps it was a coincidence that two robberies happened at the same time. Though Ben couldn’t convince himself that being possible, with how convenient the whole thing was and how obvious the distraction was in hindsight.

  Knocking on the door, a man with golden-blond hair and green eyes entered the room with a wide smile. ‘Good to see you are more fixated on the heist than most people.’ He sarcastically said before sitting down in front of Ben with his feet resting on the table. ‘Puts my mind at ease.’

  Ben couldn’t help but chuckle at himself. ‘Hey Henry, it’s good to see you again.’

  Henry Banks had been one of the DOE’s major donors ever since its inception. While being the CEO of ProTech’s newly founded Metahuman Research Department. Henry’s heart was always in helping and trying to understand the people affected by The Cascade. Either to assist them in maintaining their powers, or figure out ways to power them down permanently. So far, ProTech has only managed to figure out how to have metahumans power down temporarily and only when they are wearing an inhibitor collar. Bulky devices which worked similarly to a Silenced Sphere in practice, though the people of ProTech didn’t realise or understand that what they were doing was actually deactivating an individual’s access to magic. Instead, using theories of energy transformations and transfers to help the wider scientific community understand the function of powers. Primitive, but effective with what little they understand of the Realm of the Dead and magic.

  Yet before Henry took on a leadership role for ProTech, he and Ben had a tight history. Going to the same prestigious school in California and being friends until they went their separate ways. Henry headed off to Harvard to learn business, while Ben signed up for the army. It took a world crisis to bring them back together, but it was worth it in the end. Because of their close bond and established history, having Henry represent ProTech and help the DOE was a wise choice.

  ‘So, is there anything about the heist?’ Ben asked. ‘Clues about their motivations, what they were after, anything?’

  In response, Henry pulled a small folder from his suitcase and placed it on the table. ‘Three pages so far. Three pages of absolutely nothing. I think one of you guys is talking to them nonstop, but I doubt we will get anything out of it.’

  ‘Nothing?’

  ‘Nothing. The people you brought in are refusing to talk, and the forensics team doesn’t have anything concrete as of now. We do know what is missing, but really, I am not convinced that they are looking for that one thing, and I honestly believe the document that is suspected “stolen” is just a clerical error.’

  ‘What is missing?’ Ben acquired, leaning back in his chair, trying to see if there was some sort of connection. Believing that Henry’s team might have missed something during the investigation.

  Yet, he just played with his fingernails nonchalantly. ‘Just documents on the Ra Engine. But only during its development stage, when we were trying to figure out the math behind it all on how to transfer dark matter into raw energy. I’m not entirely sure what is in that file; I’m not a physicist. All that I know and understand is that thing is just 50 pages of the most boring thing imaginable about numbers and energy. It doesn’t have any schismatics or anything about developing the Ra Engine in a practical sense, only theoretical. So, to anyone but the most die-hard of mathematicians, it is as useful as toilet paper.’

  ‘But could someone use those documents to make the Ra Engine?’

  ‘Tell me, o’ Benjamin. Our beautiful and magnificent Iron Star,’ Henry said sarcastically in a low, sultry tone. ‘Can you theoretically make a nuclear bomb with Einstein’s energy equation? E equals MC something or whatever. If you can, do you also make pigs fly with your wit and mind?’

  Ben frowned, not appreciating the joke by any means. ‘For someone whose company was robbed. I suspect someone will take this seriously.’

  ‘Do I need to? It was a Tuesday, so no one was working that day, so no one was hurt. What was taken is basically nothing but junk data that is useless to everyone, and the damage done to that building doesn’t concern my department. If they were, say, trying to figure out how to build the Ra Engine. They hit the wrong facility. The documents would be sealed away in a military base in the Arizona desert or one of the international tech vaults to prevent people from researching certain technologies. If you want my honest opinion, I believe those guys are utter morons and wasted their time trying to take what isn’t there besides theoretical math.’

  Unauthorized duplication: this narrative has been taken without consent. Report sightings.

  ‘What about the people involved in the project? Maybe that document has the names of the scientists who made the Ra Engine?’

  Henry smirked. ‘Maybe, but most of them died during The Cascade during the engine’s opening, and there is only one person who had a hand in the project who is still around and taking part in the math side of things. Fortunately, they are very safe in their current position.’

  ‘How can you be so sure?’

  Not needing to say anything, Henry pointed at a woman walking into the room with a few files in hand. She had long, brunette hair tied in a bun, tanned skin, and large, round glasses. Seeing that she was being pointed at, the woman stammered in confusion. ‘Sorry, sir, you called. Is there something wrong?’

  ‘Not at all. Benjamin Earl, standing before you, is Doctor Doris Zimmerman. The former team lead in the Ra Engine project, and the woman who designed the inhibitor collars.’

  Doris flushed, surprised to be standing in front of one of the most powerful people in the world. Meanwhile, wanting to show respect to someone who developed some of the most advanced technologies in human history. Ben tried to stand up, though in the meantime, he accidentally crushed the corner of the table by pressing down on it and almost tripped over. With all the worries of being taken by surprise in standing with someone that important, Doris’ worries went away, seeing how clumsy the most powerful person really was. In her mind, he looked like a dork.

  ‘Oh, I…’ Ben fumbled before he could find the right words to apologise. ‘Sorry, I broke the table.’

  She giggled, ‘no, it’s fine. It is a pleasure to meet you.’ Doris offered her hand; however, Ben refused to shake it. Fearing that his strength would accidentally cause him to shatter her hand.

  ‘Sorry, I…’ Ben shook his head. ‘My apologies. Allow me to get my focus back. Henry and I were discussing the recent heist in New York. We realised they stole some files relating to the Ra Engine, and I believe they might be after something serious.’

  Raising a brow after handing the files to Henry. Doris pondered about the recent theft and tried to figure out what could have been stolen. In the end, she shook her head and dismissed the whole thing. ‘I highly doubt it. The only file there I know that would be in New York would be me and my team’s math on how we can transfer power from the Ra Engine into the main power grid without overloading it or accidentally causing a meltdown. It won’t have anything important if I recall.’

  ‘But what about you? I don’t want to sound the alarm, but you were involved in the project.’

  ‘Only on the energy side of things. I didn’t build the thing.’ Doris wanted to make a joke, but as she tried, her tone became sombre. ‘Sorry, I lost friends who were part of my team. Everyone who would’ve built the thing has sadly passed away. If they were looking for anything, it wouldn’t be in those files. Besides, somewhere in there is what caused this whole mess. All they will find is something wrong and nothing more.’ Before she could continue, a pager went off, which caused Doris to jump. ‘Sorry, I have to get going. Work called.’

  ‘How about we move this conversation to a later date?’ Ben called out. ‘This is still a developing case, and it might lead to something.’

  ‘I mean, sure.’ Doris grabbed a piece of ripped paper from her pocket and wrote something down before handing it over. ‘I’ll talk to you tonight. After work, I’ll gather my notes, if I still have them or still have access to them, and see if I can find a connection and answer any questions you might have. Again, it is good meeting you and I hope to see you again.’

  Ben wanted to get a word out, but the scientist left the room in a rush before he could utter a word. Reading the piece of paper she gave him, all it gave was an address to a restaurant and the time to get there.

  ‘Dating already? My my, you are a charmer,’ Henry charmed in while reading the documents Doris gave him.

  ‘Shut up!’ Ben snapped before getting ready to head off himself. ‘This is work-related. Nothing serious.’

  ‘Sure, big guy,’ Henry mumbled to himself. Being able to tell that Ben was infatuated with Doris. ‘Keep saying that to yourself.’