Dante walked in first, followed by Jes. Both of them looked tired but uninjured, their suits deactivated. They made their way down the tiered steps toward the front.
"Sorry we're late," Dante said, running a hand through his hair. "Just finished up."
"The bank situation?" Jade asked.
"Handled," Jes confirmed, taking a seat in the second row. She was smaller than the others, compact, with sharp eyes that took in the whole room at once. "Four robbers. Standard crew. Thought they could hit First National during the chaos at The Stack."
"They were wrong," Dante added, dropping into a seat beside her. He was lean, athletic, with an easy confidence that suggested he was used to being in control. "We intercepted them two blocks from the bank. Whole thing was over in six minutes."
Jade nodded. "Casualties?"
"None," Jes said. "Robbers are all in custody. Local PD thinks they got caught by their own incompetence. No mention of us."
"Good." Jade pulled up another holographic display—this one showing a map of the city with various incident markers. "So while half the team was dealing with The Stack situation, you two were running cleanup on opportunistic criminals."
"Pretty much," Dante confirmed. He looked around at the others, noticing the bandages on Kínitos and Monti. "Damn. You two look like shit."
"Two hundred push-ups will do that," Monti muttered.
Jes raised an eyebrow. "Two hundred? What did you do?"
"Blew up a building," Vex called from her seat, grinning.
"Seriously?" Said Dante with shock
"Seriously," Jade confirmed. He gestured for Dante and Jes to get comfortable. "You're just in time for the debrief. We're covering everything that happened tonight."
Dante and Jes exchanged a glance.
"Everything?" Dante asked.
"Vampires, aliens, spaceship, the works," Vex said cheerfully.
Jes blinked. "I'm sorry. Did you just say—"
"Aliens," Jade interrupted. "Or more accurately, a paradox user's ability that manifests as alien technology. We're still working out the details."
Dante leaned back in his seat. "Well. Our bank robbery suddenly seems a lot less interesting."
"It was a successful operation with zero complications," Jade said. "Which is more than I can say for everyone else tonight." He looked pointedly at Kínitos and Monti.
"To be fair," Jes said, looking at the holographic display of the burning Stack, "we didn't have to deal with the man in white."
"No," Jade agreed. "You had a clearly defined objective. You executed it perfectly. You reported back with zero casualties and zero exposure." He turned back to the rest of the room. "That's what a successful mission looks like."
Kínitos shifted uncomfortably in his seat.
"But," Jade continued, his tone softening slightly, "given the circumstances Kínitos and Monti faced, I understand why things escalated. Which is why we're having this debrief. To understand what went wrong, what went right, and how we adapt going forward."
Dante glanced at the others. "So… vampires?"
"Vampires," Axe confirmed. "The man in white can raise the dead and control them. He's upgraded from zombies to something faster, stronger, and smarter."
"Great," Dante said. "That's not terrifying at all."
"It gets worse," Vex said. "There's also Widow. Floating creepy lady with invisible arms. Tried to kill me like 2 times."
Jes looked at Jade. "And the alien ship?"
"Showed up during my confrontation with the man in white," Jade said. "Extracted him before we could capture him. The entity controlling it was afraid of someone—referred to only as 'he.'"
"I remember seeing an alien space that night at the hospital but it was small the size of my arm maybe" said Jes
"So there's a bigger threat out there," Dante said slowly. "Someone even the man in white answers to."
"Exactly," Jade confirmed.
The room fell quiet again as everyone processed this information.
Then Jes spoke up. "What about the Saint Patro heir? Marco?"
"Paradox user," Jade said. "Parrondo's paradox. Probability manipulation. Currently unstable and in isolation until we can help him control it. Oh he is also resting up"
"And his father is going to want him back, right?" Dante added.
"Yes," Jade agreed. "Which is our next problem to solve." He pulled up another holographic display—this one showing a warehouse, labeled with a date from three months ago. "Speaking of the Saint Patro, remember this?"
Several people in the room nodded.
"The warehouse raid," Kínitos said, recognizing it. "We shut down their weapons pipeline."
"Or so we thought," Jade said. "Turns out that warehouse was connected to a much larger operation. The Saint Patro was just the distribution network." He tapped the display, bringing up a new image—schematics of high-tech weapons, military-grade equipment, technology that shouldn't exist on the black market.
"We've been trying to track down the source for months. And tonight, we finally got confirmation." Jade looked around the room. "The supplier is someone called the Toy Maker."
Jes sat up straighter. "The Toy Maker? I've heard that name."
"So have I," Dante said, frowning.
"Underground network. Whispers. But nobody knows who he actually is."
"He's an arms manufacturer," Jade said. "Very smart. Very intelligent. And very, very rich. He doesn't just make conventional weapons—he creates technology that shouldn't exist. High-end gear that's decades ahead of anything on the market."
Violet looked up from her tablet. "How does he do it? R&D takes years. Billions in funding. He can't just be making this stuff in a basement."
"He has connections," Jade said. "Deep ones. Military. Corporate. Political. And based on what we've seen…" He gestured to the weapons schematics. "Possibly paradox-related."
"You think he's a paradox user?" Axe asked.
"I think he's either a paradox user himself, or he's working with them," Jade said. "The technology he produces—some of it defies conventional physics. Energy weapons that shouldn't be possible with current materials science. Armor that's lighter than aluminum but stronger than titanium. Propulsion systems that violate thermodynamics."
"Like the man in white's vampires," Monti said quietly. "They move faster than they should. Hit harder than dead flesh and bone should allow."
"Exactly," Jade confirmed. "And the soldiers with the flamethrowers—their equipment was too advanced. Too coordinated. That wasn't standard military surplus."
"It was Toy Maker tech," Kínitos realized.
"Most likely," Jade said. "Which means the Saint Patro, the man in white, and the Toy Maker are all connected somehow. A network of interests that converges around advanced weaponry and paradox users."
Sarah spoke up from the back row. "So what's the play? We can't just ignore this."
"We're not ignoring it," Jade said. "But we need more information before we move. The Toy Maker operates in the shadows. No public face. No verified identity. Just rumors and transactions." He looked at Dante and Jes. "What have you heard through the underground network?"
Dante leaned forward. "Not much. Like I said, whispers. The name comes up when high-end buyers are looking for custom work. Weapons that can't be traced. Tech that doesn't officially exist." He paused. "But there's a pattern. Everyone who deals with the Toy Maker says the same thing—he's always one step ahead. Like he knows what you need before you ask."
"Precognition?" Violet suggested.
"Or really good intelligence gathering," Jes countered. "If he's got connections like Jade says, he could have eyes everywhere."
"Or both," Vex said. "Paradox ability plus a massive spy network. Best of both worlds."
Jade nodded. "Whatever his methods, he's good at staying hidden. But now we have leverage." He gestured toward the hallway where Marco was sleeping. "The Saint Patro heir. Marco Delgado's father will want him back. And when he comes looking…"
"We negotiate," Kínitos finished.
"Exactly," Jade said. "We return Marco in exchange for information. Who supplied the weapons. How deep the Toy Maker's involvement goes. What they know about the man in white."
"You think Marco's father will actually give us that?" Sarah asked skeptically.
"He will if he wants his son back alive," Jade said coldly. Then his expression softened slightly. "And if we can help Marco control his paradox ability, we'll have something valuable to offer. Training. Protection. Resources that the Saint Patro can't provide."
Axe rumbled thoughtfully. "You're trying to turn an enemy into an ally. They're not good people"
"I know im trying to prevent a war," Jade corrected.
"The Saint Patro has resources. Manpower. Territory. If they decide we're a threat that needs to be eliminated, we'll have a problem. But if we can show them we're not their enemy—that we have common enemies, like the man in white—then maybe we can avoid that."
"It's risky," Jes said.
"Everything we do is risky," Jade replied. "But right now, we need allies. The man in white is escalating. The Toy Maker is supplying unknown parties with advanced weapons. And somewhere out there, there's someone powerful enough to make alien spacecraft fear them." He looked around the room. "We can't fight all of that alone."
Kínitos spoke up from the front row. "They tried to kill a woman. The Saint Patro. They tortured her because she helped us. I'm not sure we can trust people like that."
"I'm not asking you to trust them," Jade said. "I'm asking you to be strategic. Yes, they're criminals. Yes, they do terrible things. But right now, they're also targets of the same forces we're fighting. That makes them useful."
"Useful," Kínitos repeated, his tone skeptical.
"Yes." Jade's voice was firm. "But you're right to be cautious. Which is why we'll be watching Marco very carefully. For a while. Making sure his father's intentions are genuine before we commit to anything."
He paused, then added: "And while we're at it, we need to watch you too."
Kínitos blinked, confused. "Me?"