Four more days have passed, and with all the anxiety and commotion this case has given the task force, only three more agents, including the chief have remained on the job. The chief looked around the room in disbelief, but satisfaction showed on his face, "Two investigators huh? Still, I'm grateful that you are willing to risk your lives to relinquish evil."

Skylar agreed from the laptop, "The fact that you've chosen to stay means you have a strong sense of justice. I trust all of you."

Confusion spread across Sam's face as he brought up a decent point, "Hold on a second, Skylar just said that she's decided to trust us now. But honestly, what reason do we have to trust her?"

A newer agent named Zak spoke up as well, "Look Skylar, all of us have agreed to put our lives in danger to bring the Kidnapper to justice. But you never have to show your face do you? I don't see how we can work with those conditions," he scoffed.

Josh stated honestly, "Skylar, if we're all going to work together on this investigation, can't we all meet in person?"

"That thought has already crossed my mind. After all, I did say I trusted all of you, didn't I?"

They nodded their heads and proceeded to leave the building, belongings in hand. Gathering at the front, they discussed their options. Zak started on his thoughts, "Why does she just decide to trust us now? She solved all those difficult cases without any help in the past. So what makes this one so different? The way Skylar's been conducting so far our odds are she's not going to show her true self. It's not like we'd ever know," throwing his arms up in frustration.

"I believe Skylar, I think we can trust her. And besides, I don't see how we could solve this case without her," Sam pointed his finger up.

Before the two continued their meaningless disagreements, Josh chimed in to stop it from continuing, "From the very beginning, she's been very redundant to the fact that she might need the help of the police to solve this case. Perhaps, we should think of it like she's been waiting for this to happen all along."

Sam furrowed his brow, "Why would she do something like that?"

"There was a number of people on the task force who distrusted Skylar before this investigation began. Classified information was leaked. So, I'm not surprised she didn't trust us."

"Oh, In other words, she was waiting for the task force to get narrowed down to only these investigators she could trust. And to do that, she needed to wade out anyone who wasn't totally committed."

Agent Zak huffed out a sigh, "Well then if we're working with her like that, I don't care; I'm leaving the task force, sorry chief." Zak walked over to the parking lot, got into his mini cooper, and drove off into the dead of night, never to be seen at the agency again.

Chief Josh and Sam prepared to depart to meet up with Skylar; using the information Marg had called them with. They were staying at a big hotel near the west side of Columbus as their temporary headquarters. Security cameras watched as they entered, got into the elevator to the top floor, and searched for the room they were residing at, room number 4202. Before they reached the room, Skylar had been gazing out the tinted window dwelling on her thoughts, "Kidnapper, it seems we're getting closer to each other in equal steps. It's only a matter of time before we collide. So be it, I'm ready to show my face. I'll make my first public appearance as Skylar. If you ever manage to find out anything about the HQ, I'm sure you will take a chance to do your vanishing act. That's what I'm counting on."

Bob has had no intentions of finding where Skylar's location was at the moment, he was mostly planning his next move and carefully thinking back on his actions to remember if he had missed anything. If he were to create a new world, he'd have to do it flawlessly without leaving any traces for Skylar to pick up on.

Skylar heard a knock on the hotel door and announced, "It's unlocked, please let yourselves in." As they entered, and looked up at her she stated, "I am Skylar."

Josh mumbled to Sam, "This is her?"

"She's nothing like I thought she would be. She's just a kid by the looks of it," he swallowed.

Presenting their badges and stating their names and ranks politely, Skylar just looked at them and snickered out loud. Both giving her a look of confusion, she explained, "If I were the Kidnapper, you'd be gone forever right now. The Kidnapper needs a name and a picture in order to commit crimes. But, I'm sure you have already figured that much out, haven't you? Please do not give out your names so carelessly. Instead, let's value our lives. Follow me to the table if you will," she paused and instructed, "Please turn off your cell phones, handhelds, and any other communication devices and leave on that table right there."

Sam muttered to himself, "I know she's been cautious from the beginning, but I can't tell if she fully trusts us or not."

Although Skylar happened to overhear his words, "No, I just find it distracting, I can't stand it when people's cell phones are ringing during a conversation." As they sat comfortably on the chairs and couch surrounding the main table, she began off by saying, "Let me start off by saying nobody takes notes that is said in any of these meetings. That means when you leave the "headquarters" any information will be committed to memory." Reaching over beside her, Skylar reveals a plastic carton of frozen yogurt, and begins eating it during the meeting.

Agent Sam spoke up, "Excuse me, Skylar? If we know that he needs a name and a picture of some kind, could we not broadcast the criminals on the news?"

"If we do that, we'll only be putting the general public in danger," she answered between bites.

"Why?"

"The Kidnapper is childish and hates to lose."

"Just by what do you mean?"

She swallowed, "Well I'm also childish and hate to lose. That's how I know."

"Skylar, would you mind being more specific?" Josh asked.

"Early on in the investigation, I tried to provoke the Kidnapper with that broadcast. Until then, we thought that he would only go after criminals. But as we all witnessed, he didn't hesitate on making a move. Also, as soon as I said he was in the Columbus region, he made sure his next people came from within Ohio. As to say, "And what are you going to do about it?" He's met each of my challenges head on; he's never missed an opportunity to return the favor. Now, what do you think would happen if we tried to use media restrictions to hide criminals from someone like that?"

Sam started, "Well I guess-"

"If you choose to with hold the names of criminals; He's probably thinking, "I'm holding the whole world hostage, so who's it going to be?" That's exactly how the Kidnapper thinks. Let's look at another way we could use the media to draw him out," she answered diligently.

"But how?"

Skylar sighed, "How about something like this, "Missing of F.B.I agents infiltrate the U.S, latest disappearances are hanging over the IPC. Nations agreed to send 1500 investigators to Ohio." For the Kidnapper, this will be beyond with what he faces with the F.B.I. He'll see everyone as a potential threat. Psychologically, he'll start to feel cornered and that will cause him to take some kind of drastic action."

Chief Josh commented, "That's interesting, it just might work."

"Well, before we all celebrate, I'll fill you in on the rest of my thoughts on this case. The Kidnapper works alone. He had access to all of our classified information."

"What evidence do you have that he's working alone?"

Skylar took another bite, "We know he needs an identity to make a vanishing occur. And to some extent, he can control the time and actions before this happens. We already know that much. Please keep that in mind, and listen carefully to what I'm going to say next."

Setting down her frozen yogurt, she visually draws pictures on a notepad with a pen explaining her thought process to the agents, "Six days before Christmas, twelve agents enter Ohio. The 22nd, he conducts experiments on some inmates. In other words, in only two days the Kidnapper became aware of the F.B.I's presence and obviously felt threatened. He was at a disadvantage. On the 27th, during this period at least twenty-five individuals go missing. But, these were different. Legally speaking, they were innocent."

"Hmm, that's true."

"What this indicates is that he can manipulate them, so we couldn't tell who the decoys were. He waited a week so that the N.P.A could investigate other suspects. I suspect that he has to be one of the people being investigated by the N.P.A in the 20th and the 22nd. In fact, I have no doubt."

Sam chimed in excitedly, "Amazing! With this information, we'll be able to cover a lot of ground!"

Skylar picked up her snack again, "So do any of you guys have any questions?"

"Actually, I have one pertaining to how you hate to lose. Does the fact that you've shown your face to us, are you admitting defeat to the Kidnapper?" Josh asked.

"That's right. I have lost the battle, but I'm not going to lose the war. This is the first I've ever put my life on the line. Justice will prevail no matter what."

Sam smiled, "I like the sound of that."

With his question answered, Josh thought to himself, "Well I had my doubts at first, but this girl is absolutely Skylar."

Lost in her thoughts again Skylar concluded, "Things are going well, just one clue. This scenario could cost me my life."