A/N: Does this longer chapter make up for my previous short one? I hope so! Enjoy!
Disclaimer: I do not own Power Rangers.
The next day, Mia quietly mops the training pad once more after a rather tough training session for the rangers. Carefully dodging the water bucket, Mia completes her task without any spillage this time. Just as she picks up the bucket and mop to bring to the supply closet, she feels a tap on her shoulder. She turns around to see Ji, who takes the mop and bucket and places them on the ground.
"I think we have some things we need to discuss," he begins. Mia nods in agreement. Ji kneels down to eye level with Mia and continues, "A couple of the rangers might have been listening in on you and Emily's conversation yesterday afternoon, and these rangers might have brought it to my attention that your incident in the police precinct might have had more to do with you struggling to cope with your injury than actual defiance. Now, before I continue, I want to make this clear: you are not getting off the hook. Regardless of your motives, you were arrested for something that you of all people know better than to do. I do not care that the charges were droped. You and I both know that had more to do with your mother's intervention than any lack of guilt. However, you will be relieved of the chore duties that are physically impossible for you to complete. I do not need you pulling acrobatic stunts just to wash the dishes. Do you understand?"
"Yes, Ji," she answers.
He sighs, "Mia, I know these past few months have been exceptionally hard for you, and I want you to know that we all care about you."
"I know you do, Ji"
"I know, I just want you to understand that we all get that you have to cope, but we will not let you loose yourself. You are a sweet girl, not a monster truck."
Mia laughs, "I know."
Ji chuckles, "Then stop acting like one." He smiles at her and continues, "In all seriousness, you were right. I did not want you to ever fight a nighlock again, and I am not planning on giving you back your morpher anytime soon. However, if you stay out of trouble and keep training, who knows what the future holds. As for the cold cases, I think that would be a far more fruitful use of your time. Just because the facial recognition search came up blank, that does not mean that you won't find him. As far as I know, you are the only person looking for these kids. You can't give up on them like everyone else has."
"I won't."
"And Mia," he adds, "You are not useless or worthless. You are one of the most valuable members of this team. Whether you realized it or not, you have always been the backbone of this team, providing reassurance and helpful advice to the others when needed. If you need someone to be strong for, be strong for them. They will fall apart if you don't. Do you understand?"
"Yes, Ji."
"Now get back to work. As I remember it, you have five more people's laundry to complete, bokken that need polishing, and exactly six suits of armour that need dusting," he demands as he walks away.
Mia smiles to herself and says, "Yes Ji." She then heads off to complete her work.
Later that day, after all of the laundry sits in its respective drawers, all of the bokken shine, and all of the suits of armour stand dust free, Mia sneaks into the shed with her cello. On the wall she tacks up all of the photos of the children, the sketches of the man with the scarred face, and note cards with any relevant information scrawled on them. Mia then connects all of the information with various colored string: green for fact and red for supposition. She mostly uses the red string. Mia logs into her computer with the file of the missing children in her lap. She searches each child's name, his or her hobbies, family, friends relatives, but aside from their close age, can not find a single similarity. She then pulls out her phone and dials up each police station that investigated each case.
"Hello, Amber Beach Police Department? My name is Mia Watanabe, I am investigating the kidnapping of Samantha Riggins."
"Yes, sir, I know the Sterling Joseph case is closed."
"I was wondering I could talk to Detective Schiffiano. I read that he was the head detective on the Juan Wolter case."
"Sir, if I could just have a moment of your time. I just want to ask you about Ian Spi...Hello? Is anyone there?"
After calling each precinct to no avail, Mia looks at the list of family members, and then down at her watch. It reads 3:39 a.m.
"I won't give up on you guys," Mia mumbles to herself as she reads the first number and begins to dial.
Mia sighs as she pulls a giant trash bag up onto her lap. Breathing only through her mouth and leaning back as far as she can in her chair, Mia pushes as fast as she physically can to complete this chore. As she slams the trash bag into the can, her phone begins to ring. Not recognizing the number, she takes the call anyways.
"Hello?" she asks.
"Uh, hi," the voice answers. "My name is Sam. I heard you were investigating the Sterling Joseph case. I might have some information that could help you."
"Yes!" Mia exclaims. Then, regaining her composure, "Uh, do you want to give me your information now, or do you want to meet somewhere?"
"Well, I would rather discuss this face to face, but I am on a business trip right now in Panorama, so I won't be back down in Reefside for a couple of days," he answers.
"That is great!" she replies, "I live in Panorama. If we could meet when you get a chance."
"I will be free during my lunch break, from 12:30 to 2:00. Do you know any good places to eat?" he asks.
"Let's meet at the coffee shop at the corner of Welsh and Barber. We should be able to speak privately there," she answers.
"It's a date! Wait, not really a date, more like a meeting, or maybe an interview, I don't know!" he rambles.
Mia laughs, "I will see you then!" Mia then zooms inside to tell Ji about her lead. After he permits her to leave for the afternoon, she goes into her shed and picks up the file. She flips through it until she gets to the Joseph case. "Sam is the older step-brother of Sterling," she mutters to herself. She flips the case file shut, shoves it into her bag and heads to the coffee shop.
At exactly 12:30, Mia sips a cup of coffee at the same table her mom had taken her to introduce her to the case. As she looks around the room, a tall, well-built Marine saunters into the coffee shop. He flips out his phone and dials a number. A few seconds later, Mia's phone rings.
"Hello?" Mia asks, "Are you the young Marine that just walked in the shop."
"No, I am not a Young Marine," he replies, "I am a Marine. But yes, I am the dashing lad in uniform that just walked in. Private First Class Samuel Watson."
"Well, aren't you full of yourself," she jokes, "Me, not so much. I'm the cripple in the corner." Shocked, Sam turns to face Mia, who just waves at him from her chair. "Close your mouth Sweetie, or flies will get in," Mia chastises.
Sam stammers, "I...I am sorry, I just did not expect…"
"The chair?" she interrupts, "Yeah, no one does. Go order yourself a coffee and something to eat, then come and sit down." She hangs up the call and pulls out a pen and notepad from her bag. Sam orders his food, and then sits down.
"Ms. Watanabe, I presume," he asks, holding out his hand.
"You can call me Mia," she replies, shaking his hand. "Well, while I would love to know all about what kind of a business the meeting brought a military man to Panorama, a place where the closest thing a person can get to a military base is the movies, we have some work to do, now don't we."
"I couldn't agree more, however, before you ask me any questions, I need to ask you one." Sam begins, "For some reason, when my mother received your call this morning, she was under the impression that you were a cop. Seeing that that is not the case, I want to know why you are so interested in my brother's kidnapping. If you are some reporter looking to get a good story, then you and I have both wasted our time."
"Well, I can assure you that neither of us have wasted our time. I am not a reporter, or a cop for that matter. I am actually a chem major at Panorama Tech." Mia answers.
"Why is a college student investigating a kidnaping case," Sam asks.
"My mother is a detective in Angel Grove, and she was looking into several cold cases in various cities in this region, including your brother's. She thinks that they might be related."
"That doesn't answer my question," Sam snaps.
"You didn't let me finish," Mia counters, "One of these cold cases was an attempted kidnapping. A kidnapping which I stopped, and resulted in me being stuck in this chair. I might not have lost a family member, but I lost a lot."
"What makes you think that it is the same guy?" Sam asks.
Mia slides all of the composite sketches over to Sam and replies, "Because in every case, the descriptions of the kidnapper are all so similar. I looked into this man's eyes. I can tell you that each of these sketches are dead on."
"Okay, I'll bite. Did you run these through facial recognition?"
"FBI, CIA, all local databases, and military," Mia answers.
"Not a single hit?" he asks. Mia shakes her head.
"He's smart," she sighs, "He's been doing this for a while. I think that he is just the muscle. No one reported seeing him before the kidnapping, but there had to be someone scouting these kids. I think there is at least another person involved, one that could blend in better in order to select the victims, learn their schedules, and plan the hit."
"Then, Scarface would come in and execute the plan?"
"Yep. That's why I need your help. Do you know if Sterling had a new teacher in school, if your mom or step-dad had any new coworkers, if Sterling have a nanny or a new babysitter, or really if any new people were around your family?" she asks.
Sam shakes his head and replies, "I was away at military school when it happened. My late father and grandfather both went to this military high school and I wanted to follow in their footsteps. But I will ask my mom."
"Thank you," Mia replies, "I can't promise you that I will find him, but I can promise you that I will not stop looking until I find you closure."
Sam sighs, "Thank you for that little sliver of hope."