"So you think the spirit is imitating the Boss?"
"Well, what else can explain it?" Mai replied. Yasuhara frowned, deep in thought. "It's that or I'm seeing things."
"Well, have you thought that… Well, maybe it could, you know… His brother?"
"Gene?" Mai shook her head. "I don't think so. He wouldn't mess around like this, not to actually scare us."
"Unless he's turned sour," Yasuhara countered. "He's been hanging around a while now."
"No, he couldn't have…" But Mai looked horrified. "Oh no, what if he has?"
Yasuhara grimaced.
"We should call someone else," he said quietly after checking the cameras. Noll had gone to the bathroom and they were taking this opportunity to discuss the case without his evasive answers.
"Call Lin," Mai said. "He'd know what to do and if he doesn't, Madoka is with him. Between them, they could-"
The door opened.
Mai sat up, suddenly realising how she and Yasuhara must look. They had huddled together conspiratorily.
"Anything?" Noll asked, indicating the feeds.
"No," Mai replied. "Nothing at all."
"I want you to go and take temperature readings to verify those we see on the thermal imaging cameras," Noll said. "I'll watch the feeds while you two do that, take the walkie-talkie."
Yasuhara jumped up and grabbed the device while Mai fished the thermometer out of one of the bags. Once he'd checked the walkie-talkie had enough battery to last, he led Mai out of the base.
Once out of earshot of Noll, they started speaking again, though quietly.
"Maybe I'll get one of those dreams," Mai said hopefully. "That might clear some things up."
"Yeah," Yasuhara agreed. "That'd be good."
Mai scribbled down the temperature on the roughly drawn chart and they moved to the next room.
"I still think we should call someone," Mai said. "Have you got your mobile on you?"
Yasuhara fished it out of his pocket.
"Boss is watching us, though," he muttered. "Boss could be listening if he's turned the mics up."
"Text them then."
Yasuhara typed as Mai continued to take measurements. He then showed her his screen, with his back to the camera to shield it from Noll's view.
Mai read the text and nodded. Yasuhara sent it to Lin before slipping his phone back in his pocket.
"It'll be alright."
"I just hope you're right."
Mai led the way up the stairs and down the corridor. Yasuhara held the door to the furthest bedroom open and Mai entered. This was the room that the fake Noll had been seen in.
"It doesn't feel any different in here," Mai said. "It's not like the Urado mansion, you could feel when things were wrong there. It feels like a normal home." She screwed up her face as if trying to find the right words. "I think it's messing with me, or at the very least, my abilities."
Yasuhara frowned, obviously concerned.
"We'll get some more people here, that'll help," he said. "They might notice something we haven't."
"Yeah," Mai said, she tried to smile but couldn't help like it fell a little short.
When the arrived back at the base, Noll was frowning deeply.
"Here are the readings," Mai said as she handed him the piece of paper. "They look to be consistent."
Noll glanced them over before slotting the sheet of paper in his notebook.
"Mai, tea," he mumbled. His focus still on the screens. "Yasuhara, stay here."
"Boss, are you sure?"
Noll did not dignify the question with a response. Mai sighed and headed to the kitchen with the walkie-talkie. She gave the camera a sarcastic little wave while waiting for the kettle to boil.
Ten minutes later, she made her way back with several cups of tea and the flask with the remaining liquid to save for later.
Noll took his tea without thanks and began scribbling in his notebook.
"Care to share?"
"Not really," he replied. "Care to explain why you contacted Lin?"
"Don't know what you're talking about," Mai said quickly. Perhaps a little too quickly.
"Of course, you don't," Noll muttered. "I don't suspect we'll get any more activity during the day."
"You said that last night about activity on the first night."
Noll looked around at these words.
"So I did," he said. "I'm going to walk around. Stay here." He downed his tea and stood up with a walkie-talkie in one hand and his notebook in the other.
"I suppose there is no point telling you that you shouldn't go alone?" Mai asked his retreating figure.
He walked out without a word.
"Guess not," Yasuhara said. "This must be important to him."
"Yeah," Mai agreed. She watched Noll walk around the house. He routinely checked all of the cameras as he entered each room. "Can you watch the feeds? I'm gonna try and contact Gene."
"You think you'll be able to?"
"No, but I want to try," Mai said with a determined air. She was definitely tired enough to need a nap. "Wake me if anything happens."
She did not bother to climb into her sleeping bag and chose to lay on top of it instead. Closing her eyes, she willed herself not only to sleep but also for Gene to make an appearance.
Noll strode around the house from room to room. He checked the cameras to reassure Mai and Yasuhara that his walk was not entirely unnecessary. The cameras were all fine. He knew they would be. The being here did not care about the cameras. It did not affect it, for now.
Mai had seen it. Yet Yasuhara had not.
Was it due to Mai's abilities? Or pure luck? Noll did not know. His one attempt to split this two employees up had not resulted in any activity. He would leave them together for now. It was safer that way.
But what to do about their contacting Lin. He knew it would be inevitable that they would. He'd known as soon as he'd taken the case. Yet he'd hoped to get more than one night under his belt before they'd done so.
Perhaps Lin and Madoka would be too busy to come. It was an idle hope and Noll knew not to put any weight into it.
However, if Madoka came too… Madoka would potentially appreciate the opportunity. She might argue his side. If he could get some solid evidence before they arrived, which realistically could be a matter of hours, then he might have a chance at persuading Madoka. She, in turn, could persuade Lin not to force an abandon of this rare chance.
Oliver collected his thoughts.
He needed more activity to get evidence. But how could he provoke it… So far, he had not needed to provoke anything. The being seemed happy to oblige. Yet he'd been alone when it had occurred. Perhaps that was the key?
He had only one concern. Earlier, he'd tried to use one of Mai's belongings to access her memory of what she'd seen. True, a psychometric would not hold up as evidence, but it would provide him with an idea of what the being was doing.
But it had not worked.
Oliver had never had an issue like that before. Not if he'd wanted it. Usually, the visions came so willingly that he had to stop them. They were the water in a weak dam that was held up by the sheer force of his free will.
The scientific part of his brain reasoned that if one of his abilities was on the blink, the other might also be. He wanted to test it.
The sensible part of his brain pointed out that if his PK was still fully functioning, then he could end up in a hospital and lose his chance at collecting any more evidence at all.
Oliver noted his thoughts down and continued his walk.
The astral plane was empty. Mai stood alone in a ray of light that didn't really have a source. There were occasional glowing orbs floating peacefully around.
"Gene?" Mai called out. There was no immediate reply.
She stepped forward into the nothingness with a vague plan to go looking for the twin.
"Gene?" she called again.
Tears of frustration rose in her eyes and she wiped them away angrily. She ran into the abyss, yet no matter how far or how fast, nothing seemed to change. For all she knew, she hadn't moved at all.
"Gene!" she yelled.
But he wasn't coming. She was alone in the astral plane with the little white orbs of light. With no sight of her friend or the spirit that was plaguing them.
Mai fell to her knees and screwed up her eyes in an attempt to stop the tears. The overwhelming sense that her abilities were utterly useless plagued her thoughts.
But that was a lie. She knew that was a lie. She knew she'd helped on several occasions. She could help now too. Somehow.
"What would Gene do?" she asked herself. "If he was here… He'd show me something useful. But he's not." Taking deep breaths, she willed for something to happen. For a vision to appear.
Alas, nothing happened.
When she looked up, the astral plane seemed darker than before. Darker and lonelier.
"Gene?" Mai whimpered one last time. "Please be okay…"
Author's note: Well, I am loving all of your guesses! Some people are really close and then they veer off into other ideas! But I'm glad, it means I am giving away enough for you to be able to get it! Other people... Are really off the mark, but maybe this chapter will have cleared things up a little?
Please review :)