Mirabe thought she could track the location using a phone number, but to her surprise, she couldn''t trace anything at all. As her fingers tapped across the screen, she found it strange. People don''t just disappear with their phones, do they? After a few more tries, she got the same result each time.


    Moving away from theputer, Mirabe thought for a moment before opening Messenger. She sent a quick message to As, asking him to dig into Morgan''s recent movements. By the time she did, As had already driven up to the neighborhood and was soon inside the house.


    As walked in holding a box, and with a respectful nod, he greeted her, "Miss Mira," before handing it over.


    Mirabe paused and then took the box, curiosity written all over her face. "What''s this?" she asked.


    As just gave a sly smile and said, "Open it and see for yourself, Miss Mira."


    Feeling the heat of curiosity, Mirabe eyed him suspiciously. "It''s not another one of those extravagant gifts, is it?"


    The box wasn''t particrlyrge or heavy, but the fancy packaging did catch her attention. "Nope," As replied with a shake of his head.


    With that assurance, she ced the box on herp, unhurriedly unwrapped it, and lifted the lid. Her eyes widened in surprise-it was apact handgun.


    As cleared his throat and exined, "Grady thought it''d be good for your self- defense."


    Considering the recent issues with Ben, As thought it was a smart idea for Mirabe to have something to protect herself, just in case things went south.


    Mirabe stared at the gun for a bit, then closed the box again. It was so Grady- always unexpected with his gifts. "Pass my thanks on to Grady," she said, knowing there was no point in refusing.


    "Will do," As nodded, not lingering any longer. "I''ll get on that Messenger task and update you ASAP."


    "Thanks a lot, As," Mirabe said as she stood, nodding slightly.


    As left with a chuckle, shaking his head as he went.


    Once he was gone, Mirabe turned back to the box, pulling out the sleek, ck gun. She ran her fingers over the trigger lightly. It was a low-power model, just right for self-defense.


    Just then, her phone buzzed on the coffee table. ncing at the screen, she set the gun aside and picked up the phone-it was James.


    "Incense? What do you need incense for?" she asked, puzzled.


    James was slumped on his living room couch, rubbing the bridge of his nose, looking worse than he had thest few days. "Probably just a bit restless," he admitted.


    Mirabe couldn''t glean much from his voice alone. She moved to the side room, rummaged through a cab, and found a few sticks of Incense of Calm. "Okay, are you at home? I''ll bring them over


    Once she heard him confirm he was home, she hung up. She tidied away the box


    As had brought and headed out.


    Before long, Mirabe found herself at James''s vi. Seeing him, she frowned as she ced the Incense of Calm on the coffee table and sat beside him, holding his wrist gently. "You look pale. What''s going on?"


    Seeing such a rare serious look from Mirabe, James just coughed and kept


    quiet, not wanting to say much more.