As the night winds down, Amber returns back to her motel room to sleep, but is unaware that she was being watched the entire time. Elsewhere, a vehicle transporting some cargo arrives at The Nelson Manor, owned now by Mark Nelson, one of the richest, if not the richest man in all of Oceancreek City. He has access to not only all the money as well as running Nelson Enterprises, but heads of human trafficking, drug trades and possesses a secret yet deadly energy force that allows him to suck the life force out of his victims and transfer it into his own, thus making his true age hard to determine. He is able to control the minds of those weaker than him and uses that to his advantage to have a 24/7 security team surrounding the mansion to prevent outsiders from breaking in and rescuing his captives that he keeps imprisoned underground. Day after day, Nelson receives kidnapped victims and takes them to be imprisoned and, on this night, he is waiting outside as one of the henchmen opens the trunk to reveal a bound and gagged young woman, struggling against the ropes she's tied up with. He scans her and nods as the two men grab her and drag her downstairs. Once she's chained up, they bring another woman out and into another room, where she is restrained to a table and Mark steps inside, closing and sealing the doors. He removes his shirt and takes out a device that resembles a syringe, making the woman struggle.
Mark Nelson: What's the worst pain you have ever felt?
Woman: You're a monster.
Mark chuckles at her attempted insult and injects her with the syringe and as she howls in pain, Mark inhales her life force, sucking her dry until she is nothing more but a decomposing corpse. Mark goes into a coughing fit as he collapses to the ground but is able to recover quickly. The guards dispose of the woman's corpse as Mark pours him a drink and looks out at the city as a man looks at him through a zoomed scope on a rifle and prepares to pull the trigger but stops himself. The sniper is Lloyd Price, whom has a vendetta against Mark and holds him responsible for the disappearance of his sister two years ago. He always thought it would be easy to pull the trigger, but the emotions he feels, the guilt he knows would come to him if he killed a man that may not have anything to do with her disappearance.
The following day, Amber decides to take time away from her work and do some sight-seeing around the city as she fascinated by the sheer beauty of it. Stopping at one of the diners for lunch, Amber takes a seat and places her order as she notices a framed newspaper article about The Outlaw and his rise in Crystal City. The article explains how crime has dramatically decreased since his appearance and street gangs are practically ceasing to exist. "Amazing, isn't he?" a male voice says and she turns to see Mark Nelson there as he joins her and orders a coffee.
Mark Nelson: He's umm... he's my inspiration to keep this city safe, although, it's not just here that needs protecting but the world itself. It's true evil needs to be destroyed.
Amber Strong: The world will always be an evil place, Mister?
Mark Nelson: Right, how rude of me. Nelson. Mark Nelson.
Amber Strong: Amber Strong.
The two shake hands as the waiter brings Mark his coffee and Amber's food.
Mark Nelson: Are you from around here, Ms. Strong?
Amber Strong: No. Here for work. Well, kind of. My boss told me not to, but I came anyway.
Mark Nelson: Independent woman. I respect that.
Amber Strong: Reporter. For Oceancreek Times.
Mark Nelson: I've heard of them. A reliable news site. More reliable than the one here. Well, at least until he showed up.
Amber Strong: What do you do, Mr. Nelson?
Mark Nelson: Please, call me Mark. Mr. Nelson is my father. And I took over for my father. I guess you could say I run my own medical business. I take care of those who need it when hospitals and health insurance turn them away. I make them better and heal them.
Amber Strong: Heal them, how exactly?
Mark Nelson: Let's just say my late father developed a drug that no other hospital even knows about. You've seen the decline in cancer? Covid? AIDS? HIV? All of it. It's a cure. It cures people.
Amber Strong: Wait, so your dad made a drug, like a pill that can cure sick people?
Mark Nelson: Exactly. Worked on it his entire life from the moment he left high school up until his timely death. Fifty years of his life dedicated to creating a simple pill to help others.
Amber Strong: What happened to him, if I may ask?
Mark Nelson: It's ironic. Spent fifty years of his life to help others and could not help himself. He died from the one thing he fought so hard to cure. Lung cancer. He refused treatments of any kind because he believed that the ones younger than him should live longer. The man lived a long life. 95 when he died.
Amber Strong: I'm sorry for your loss.
Mark Nelson: Do you have parents, Ms. Strong?
Amber Strong: Yes, I do. Both still happily married. I visit as often as I can when work is not piled up.
Mark Nelson: Family is always number 1.
Their conversation is cut short when Mark's phone rings and he answers it then hangs up with the caller.
Mark Nelson: Ms. Nelson, it's been an honor to meet you. Unfortunately, I have a client that has been waiting to see me, so I have to get moving. Perhaps you would have the honor of joining me for dinner tomorrow evening?
Amber smiles as she writes down her phone number and gives it to him. He winks at her and leaves a fifty-dollar tip as he leaves the diner. Amber pays for her meal and leaves, but when she steps out Mark is already gone, but notices Lloyd watching close by as he walks away. Arriving back to his mansion, Mark goes into the basement to find the woman he had drained being given the pill he spoke about, which resurrects her, but as a more powerful, enhanced being. Brainwashed to do his bidding. Mark begins to perform tests on her, tests that most of the experiments have not passed due to the drug failing. But, this woman appears to pass all protocols and proves the drug was a success. Mark orders more to be made and more human subjects and has her prepped for the field.