Nicole and Jared had arrived at the Riddle Corporation.


    Zane was already there when they entered the office, and Lulu, upon noticing Nicole''s arrival, promptly


    excused herself.


    "You came in person!" Nicole expressed her surprise.


    "Don''t worry, I just happened to be passing through San Joto, so I stopped by," Zane replied with a


    gentle tone in his eyes.


    Guessing that Zane was on another mission, Nicole didn''t press further and directly inquired, "Any


    news about Charlie?" "They''ve checked already. There''s nothing unusual around the parking lot, but


    they found a night security guard knocked out in the control room," Zane exined.


    Nicole nodded, already suspecting that the absence of securityst night was due to an assault.


    "Can we confirm if Aqu was involved?" Nicole continued her questioning.


    Their primary concern was whether Aqu had appeared, as his presence could imply that Everett


    might have escaped rather than being captured.


    "It''s still unclear, but it seems likely someone helped Everett," Zane stated, his expression turning


    grave.


    "What did you find?" Nicole prodded, sensing they must have stumbled upon a clue for Zane to make


    such a remark.


    Zane sighed and replied, "ording to the investigation, there''s a portion of the surveince footage


    missing from the route leading from Er''spany. It appears to have been deliberately erased."


    Regrettably, they were toote to recover that particr segment of the footage.


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    Nicole''s eyes narrowed slightly as she slowly uttered a name, "Jerry."


    Jerry, a master hacker, was always at Everett''s side and certainly had the skills to aplish this.


    "Have Preston try to restore it," Jared''s deep voice interjected.


    "He alone might not be able to find much significance in it anymore," Zane said softly.


    Nicole insisted, ‘No, he’s not alone, maybe they can give it a try."


    She dialed Preston''s number and got straight to the point, "I need your guys '' help with something." "Go


    ahead." Even though Nicole hadn''t specified, Preston knew whom she had referred to.


    After Nicole exined the situation, she said, "I''ll have the surveince data sent to you shortly. See if


    you can restore it, and the sooner, the better.


    "Got it," Preston agreed promptly.


    "I''ll wait for your response," Nicole concluded before hanging up.


    Zane, choosing not to probe further, suggested, "Since that''s the case, I''ll go check on them too, to see


    if there are any other clues." "Alright," Nicole nodded. "Let’s keep each other updated."


    Zane stood up, hesitated, and then cautiously broached, ‘In case something happened to Charlie..."


    "No, we can''t think about ''in case'' scenarios," Nicole firmly interjected.


    Zane paused, taken aback, then silently left. He understood Nicole''s feelings; after all, they had both


    experienced the loss of important allies before.


    Jared, holding Nicole tenderly, whispered soothing words, "Rx, we need to stay calm at this time."


    Despite the worry, they couldn''t afford to show any weakness.


    Leaning into Jared''s embrace, Nicole clenched her teeth inwardly, experiencing a sense of


    helplessness for the first time, hoping fervently that Charlie was indeed safe.


    As evening fell, the lights in the office buildings dimmed one by one, but one office in the Riddle


    Corporation remained lit.


    Theputer was on, disying the restored video. Around the desk, several people huddled,


    watching the screen with intense focus, their expressions serious.