Mr. Clean and his motley crew of weird freaky gremlins arrived before a few minutes before the Boss did. Jacob guessed that Mr. Clean doubled back to form a convoy with the Boss's personal escort. Renian was with them, apparently someone told him the news. Jacob knew that he and Daeni were close, but he wasn't sure why anyone thought that letting him come to the scene was a good idea. It's not like Renian would be any help. If anything he'd just get in the way. 

"Mr. Gheller," The Boss said as he strolled into the room, arms folded behind his back. He was looking at the carnage that Jacob left behind at the scene, at the bodies that lay in lazy piles of wet gore and viscera. He looked at Jacob's hands, then gave his body a once over and frowned, "Let's hope this wasn't one of your extra curricular Vaporizations."

Jacob swallowed hard, "Well, sir, uh, you see, it didn't start that way but then..."

The Boss's smile felt cold, like he was some sort of alien who was only mimicking what a human smile looked like from A.I. generated pictures. Jacob felt the chills run down his spine as he struggled to maintain eye contact with the Boss. He failed, his eyes darting to the floor. He rubbed the back of his head sheepishly and gave a guilty half-chuckle. 

"I heard your report, Mr. Gheller. I will be conducting an investigation into this, don't you worry. I'm sure I'll arrive at a conclusion before long."

With that, the Boss walked passed him and up the stairs, following the loose trail of bodies. Renian was already up there, and Jacob could hear him trying to talk to Daeni or one of Mr. Clean's gremlins. He heard Renian yell, heard him cry and mourn. It was almost too loud to ignore, but Jacob was distracted. He knew he'd have to answer to the Boss sooner or later, and the only one that could have vouched for him was laying cold in one of the upstairs bedrooms of the Cooper household.

It struck Jacob again, the pain of loss. The Vaporizers were supposed to be efficient at their jobs. In the years he'd spent working with them, Jacob had never seen one of his co-workers die. The childish part of his brain thought that they were virtually indestructible just like he was. That same part of his brain was so sure that no one on his team would ever bite the bullet that the rest of his brain didn't bother worrying about them. It wasn't like he was a heartless monster or anything like that. If everyone was strong enough to be on par with him, then everyone was safe. Why worry if that was the case?

It was that same part of Jacob's brain that was alight with fear now. The magic that shielded him from their mortality was gone now, the protective barrier that served as their aegis against death all these years was shattered. Daeni was gone, and there was nothing he could do to bring her back.

Maxine walked in next, pulling Jacob out of his trance. She was out of her formal wear, back in her black tank top and grey sweatpants. She didn't have time to take her makeup off though, either that or she left it on intentionally. Regardless, it was obvious to Jacob that she'd been crying, a lot. Her mascara was running down the sides of her face, all smudged and blurry and a mess. He thought about hugging her, but decided against it.

"Gheller," Maxine said, her voice barely above a whisper, "Where is she?"

Jacob swallowed before speaking. He pointed towards the stairs and said, "It's not pretty, Max."

Maxine sniffled, "Tell me what happened again. From the beginning."

Jacob told her the events that just transpired, from him ripping Chris Cooper apart to them getting attacked by the mystery men. He told her about little Claire, and how Daeni protected her from the leader of the guys that attacked them. When he was finished, all Maxine had the strength to do was nod silently. 

Maxine's voice was shaky when she finally spoke, "When I find out who did this, you need to rip them limb from fucking limb. Promise me, Gheller."

"I don't know, Max. What if the Boss... you know?" He said, dragging his thumb across his throat.

"Jacob," Maxine took a step closer to him. She was a hair's distance away from him. She wrapped both of her arms around his torso and hugged him tight. He could hear her haggard, heavy breathing from here, could feel her heart thumping in her chest. She leaned her head in close to him, covering the side of her face with blood. She continued, "Jacob please promise you'll do this for me."

"Okay, Max," Jacob wrapped his arms around her too, squeezing gently, "I'll do it."

She let go of Jacob and sniffled again. Maxine didn't meet Jacob's eyes, staring at the floor as she walked passed him. Jacob turned to follow her, but he stopped in his tracks and watched her go up the stairs to Daeni. He couldn't see her, not so soon.

So instead, he turned and sat on the couch. In all honesty, at least to him, the couch looked a million times better now that most of the junk was covered with meat and blood. It was still dirty, but at least it was now dirty with something Jacob was intricately familiar with. As he sat, he stared at Mr. Clean's gremlins working on cleaning up the scene. He still didn't know any of their names, or if they were even human, but it beat watching paint dry. Jacob thought about playing on his phone while he waited but decided against it. There wasn't anything there to distract him.

One of the gremlins approached Jacob and motioned for him to stand. He did and held his arms out. The gremlin sprayed him down and vacuumed up the residue off him and the immediate area around him. He was clean once again.

Jacob sat back down in one of the cleaner parts of the couch. He watched the gremlins work their magic on the Cooper household for a while longer before Renian came down from upstairs. He stormed to Jacob and grabbed him by the shirt collar, pulling him up off the couch. He held Jacob close and Jacob could see the fury in Renian's eyes.

Renian's breathing was fast and hard, "You should have protected her."

"They had guns, Renian," Jacob said, not meeting his furious gaze, "They had guns and there were four of them."

Renian struck him across the face, "If you didn't have so much fun dismembering people, maybe Daeni would still be alive!"

There was blood trickling from Jacob's nose, "I didn't have fun. I was trying to protect them."

"Then why is she...!" Renian didn't finish his sentence. The words got caught in his throat and his eyes flooded with water, "Then why...?"

"I'm sorry, Renian," Jacob offered, "I really am."

"She's gone, Jacob," Renian said. He released his grip on Jacob. The fury in his eyes was replaced by something else now; sorrow. "An apology isn't going to bring her back."

Jacob nodded, "I know. Did Max or the Boss say anything yet?"

Renian shook his head, "Maxine's doing her thing before the cleaning boys get upstairs, but she's only human, man. She hasn't gotten anything yet."

Jacob frowned, "We'll find these people. I'll make sure of it."

"You better," Renian said, his voice low and heavy, "Or you'll be next."

Jacob swallowed and Renian walked out of the Cooper home. He wondered how much of Renian's threat was genuine and how much of it stemmed from a place of grief. He could have rewritten Jacob's entire history to make him a much different person, or perhaps made it so that he forgot how to use his Exploit. He shuddered at the thought. 

It's not like he was intending to lie to Renian, but if Maxine and the Boss didn't figure out who sent those men then there was no way in hell Jacob was going to. He knew his strengths, and detective work was not one of them. He thought that the Company might have sent them. Perhaps Donovan Carter or Rick Marshall was the leader of some secretive pedophile cult. Michael Dark, on the other hand, was almost out of the question. He was the face of the Company, after all. But the thing about predators, as Jacob learned from his hunts, is that they are everywhere and could be anyone. As unlikely as it was, Jacob couldn't rule out Michael Dark entirely. 

If it wasn't the Company, then it had to have been—

Jacob felt a tug at his pant leg. He looked down and saw Claire standing behind him, clean of blood. Her eyes were wide and wary. She glanced behind herself as Mr. Clean's gremlins passed her. She clutched Jacob's pant leg tighter. He could feel her tiny hands gripping for something, anything, to protect her. He sighed and sniffled before he put a hand on her head, tussling her precious blonde hair. Jacob forced a smile, and when Claire looked back up at him, she smiled too. His heart thumped in his chest as one thought crossed his mind.

What the hell am I supposed to do with you?

"The lady said you're safe," She said, "Before the bad men..."

Jacob turned and knelt down on one knee. He held Claire by her shoulders for a moment, just staring at her. How could he possibly take care of a child? Where would he keep her while he was on the job? What about school? Her parents? Her friends? Jacob's mind was running a million miles per second as he stared at this little girl, who just stared back almost expectantly. She watched him carefully, her eyes never leaving his. When he didn't say anything, she cocked her head to one side and blinked purposefully a few dozen times. 

"Right, uh, Daeni," Jacob said, letting her name hang in the air while he shook himself from his trance, "Daeni's right about a lot of things, kiddo. She told you that I'd protect you."

Claire nodded fervently. Jacob half-chuckled lightly.

"Well alright then. That's what I'm gonna do okay?"

He pulled her into a hug. She wrapped her tiny arms around him and squeezed his shirt. Jacob hugged her tighter, placing his head on her shoulder, nuzzling her slightly, "I'll never let anything bad happen to you."

Jacob tried to back out of the hug but Claire held on as tight as she could. She spoke into his hears, her voice shaky and uncertain, "You promise?"

Jacob gently removed Claire's hands from his back and held them in his own. He looked at them, his heart skipping a beat as he noticed dozens of tiny cuts that had healed over. Her nails were bitten down to the bed, a few of them still bleeding. Her arms were shaking as he held her, a byproduct of uncertain safety for certain. Jacob did not let his smile drop, though his heart grew heavy.

"I promise." He said, standing up, "Stay here for a while, okay? I've gotta go check on something."

Claire shook her head.

"Alright," Jacob said, tussling her hair again, "Then you come with me, but stick close, alright?"

Claire nodded and followed Jacob as he went up the stairs of the Cooper home. He rounded the corner, narrowly avoiding a collision with one of Mr. Clean's gremlins, and entered the master bedroom. He paused for a moment as he saw Daeni's body being photographed by one of the gremlins, then looked back at Claire, who waited for him in the door frame. He extended his hand to her and she took it gingerly. Jacob guided her slowly through the bedroom until they were on the other side of the bed, where Claire couldn't see the body anymore. He knelt down to her level and gently closed her eyes and moved her hands so that they were covering them. Then he gave her a little pat on her head and walked to the other side with Maxine and the Boss.

The Boss was standing with his arms folded in front of him, his back straight and his posture pristine. He spared one look at Jacob before returning his gaze to Daeni's body. Maxine was on the floor, her legs folded outward so that her knees were pointing forward and her feet were facing the door. She had her face in her hands, her shoulders slacked but moving up and down rhythmically. Jacob heard her soft sobs and felt a pang of guilt strike his heart. 

"Gheller," The Boss said, his voice cold and calculating, "Those men had no identifying markings on them."

Jacob shook his head, "No, sir."

"Hm." Was all the Boss said.

Jacob took another step closer to Maxine. He put a hand on her shoulder. She stopped sobbing and stared at him, her eyes blank and unfocused. She was using her Exploit, that he was certain of. Her eyes always did that when she was using it. He waited until her eyes dialed back in to this reality, to this moment. 

She blinked a couple of times and squinted at him, focusing on nothing in particular. Then, after another moment passed, she said, "Gheller?"

"Hey, Max." Jacob said, offering a sheepish smile.

"Are you done, Maxine?" The Boss asked.

Maxine swallowed and nodded. She rose to her feet and shook her head, hard. It was another thing she'd always done when she was using her Exploit, but now it was starting to worry Jacob. What if she'd hurt herself? It was something he hadn't really considered before... before Daeni died. 

The rest of them were so fragile compared to him, so easily broken, just like the predators he liked to hunt. It was a hard pill to swallow.

"It was the Harvest." She said to the Boss, "And the Company."

The Boss scoffed, "You're sure about that?"

Maxine nodded.

"And you, Jacob," The Boss said, finally turning from Daeni's body to look at him.

All of the sudden Jacob felt the weight of planets upon him. The pressure was so much worse than Mr. Clean's gravitational Exploit he used on him, only he was still standing and forced to endure it. The Boss's stare was sharp enough to cut through steel. Somehow, Jacob thought that the Boss was bereft of the fragility the others had.

"That child, there," The Boss said, inclining his head toward Claire, "She is your responsibility now."

Jacob swallowed, "But, uh, Boss? I have zero clue how to um, you know, raise a child."

The Boss clapped a hand on Jacob's shoulder and he almost crumbled under the pressure. The Boss said, "Is she going to be a problem?"

Jacob looked at Claire, who was still sitting still with her hands over her eyes. He cleared his throat, "No, sir."

The Boss's smile widened slightly, and Jacob felt uneasy. The Boss continued, "Good. Take care of her, or I will."

Then he left the room and snapped his fingers. Immediately, two of Mr. Clean's gremlins entered the room with a body bag and placed Daeni inside of it. They hauled her over their shoulders and carried her out of the room and down the stairs. Jacob moved out of the way as they passed him and Maxine. He heard Claire squeal a little when they entered and his heart leapt into his throat. He silently hoped that she was okay. 

Maxine spoke, breaking the silence with, "This is really bad, Jacob."

"Since when do you call me by my first name?" He asked, trying to lighten the mood.

Maxine shook her head, "The Harvest. The fucking Harvest. You might love fighting, killing people, hunting predators, but you know what I love, Gheller? I love living. I love being alive."

"I mean, shit—shoot, if it's the Harvest then that makes my job easier, right? Just put a few Vaporizations in and I'll take care of—"

"No!" Maxine yelled, "Jacob Gheller. You fucked up, and you fucked up bad. There's seven Exploiters on that team, hundreds if not thousands of people in their employ, and they have the Company backing them. The Company, Gheller. You just started a war with one of the most powerful factions in New Glasford and you don't even care."

"I'll handle this, Maxine." Jacob said, placing a hand on her shoulder.

She shrugged his hand off and pointed at him sternly, "You and what army? The girl? Good fucking luck getting her to fight, she's six years old! You think I'm a fighter? Renian's a great Exploiter but with the size of both of those groups, he's not gonna be much help. You think the Supervisor is going to want to be involved in a mess you created? Try again, pal. Lismaera's not good in a fight and she's got combat trauma, and Martin... Well who knows what's going on with him. And on top of it all, Daeni is dead, Gheller, dead! And you're a damn fool if you think the Boss is going to fight your battles or let any of our other crew go to war with you."

"I get it, Maxine." He said, lowering her finger, "But I will handle this."

"I'd love to see you try." She said, storming off.

Jacob let out a breath he didn't know he was holding and walked over to Claire's side of the bed. Her eyes were still closed but now she was covering her ears with her hands instead. He sat down beside her and put one arm around her entire body, pulling her in close. She opened her eyes and looked at him, curiosity and fear written on her face.

"Are you okay?" She asked, "That lady was mean."

"Mean?" Jacob chuckled, "Sure, she's a lot, but I kinda deserved it."

"Are you in trouble?" Claire asked, her lip quivering.

Jacob shook his head, "Nah, not yet anyway, but it looks like you and me are sticking together a little while longer."

"What was that lady's name?"

"Oh, that was Maxine."

Claire shook her head, "No, not her. The other one."

"Daeni?"

Claire nodded, understanding. She hugged Jacob tight, placing her head on his stomach, "I miss her. She was nice."

"She was, yeah."

They sat there in silence for a while, the only noise coming from downstairs. It seemed that Mr. Clean was done in here. Everything was back in its place, exactly as it was before Jacob and Daeni arrived. Even the bullet holes were patched up and the wall was restored to its former, shitty glory. 

"Are you gonna stop the bad guys?" Claire asked, looking up at Jacob.

Jacob shrugged, "That's the plan. It's a lot of people to ki—um, take care of. Why are you asking? You wanna help me?"

Claire nodded, determined. She formed a fist and said, "I'm gonna punch them."

Jacob couldn't stop himself from laughing. He could almost feel his heart opening up to her as he watched her little fists swing triumphantly in the air, attacking the imaginary Harvest. A part of him admired her determination, but a larger part of him was worried about her well-being. He couldn't even tell if she was as traumatized as Daeni said. She seemed alright, at least as far as Jacob was concerned. But what did he know about children? He wasn't a psychologist, he was probably the furthest thing from that, actually. 

Still, who was he to dispel Claire's wants. She probably wanted revenge, she just lacked the words to articulate that. Jacob hoped that one day Claire might grow to live with her trauma, to move on from it. He didn't want whatever she went through before his intervention to corrupt her, but he was worried the damage might have already been done. 

He cupped Claire's fist in his hands and asked, "You ready to go?"

Claire got up and pulled on Jacob's arm with all her strength, which didn't amount to much, but Jacob pretended she helped a great deal anyway. He made exaggerated noises and movements to help sell the illusion. When he was about halfway up, Jacob used his core muscles to allow himself to sit on his knees, then he put one knee forward to serve as a base, and brought himself the rest of the way to a stand. He looked at Claire, who was standing with her hands on her hips, proud smile drawn across an unwavering face. 

He took Claire's hand in his, then they made their way toward the van Maxine was leaning against. The others had already taken off apparently, the Boss off on his own private car no doubt, and Mr. Clean scuttling off in his van. That left Jacob with Maxine, who was smoking a cigarette, and Renian, who was doing the same from the driver's side of the van.

As Jacob approached, Maxine offered him one, but then she retracted her offer once she saw Claire. She flicked her cigarette away entirely, actually, somewhere down a sewer drain where the water put it out with a sizzle.

"I'm sorry for yelling at you, Gheller," Maxine said, rubbing the back of her head, "It's just a lot, you know? Imagine if one of your best friends died."

"The thought never crossed my mind until recently. The fact that you're all so fragile. It's scaring me. I mean, Max, what if you died? I loved Daeni so much, but I love you even more. Shit, that even applies to Mr. Clean. You guys..." He started sobbing, "You're all I've got."

"Jacob, I..."

"What am I supposed to do with her, Max?" Jacob whispered, half to himself and half to Maxine. 

Claire was already looking at him when he glanced in her direction. She titled her head to one side and frowned, equal parts confused and sad, almost mirroring him. He swallowed the lump in his throat and pat her gently on the head, trying to assure her that he was okay.

"Can I go with you?" She asked, her voice uncertain.

Jacob looked at Maxine, who then looked at Claire and shrugged, "It's your call, Jacob." She said, entering the van. 

Renian started the van and looked at Jacob expectedly. Jacob sighed, his shoulders slumped. 

"Come on, kiddo," He said, "Let's get you somewhere safe."

"What about the bad men?" She asked, "What if they come back?"

Jacob formed a fist and punched his open palm, smiling. Claire mirrored him, her tiny fists making a little smack as she did so.

"We're gonna punch them."