Stephanie, Sooyung, and Jessica were just cleaning up after dinner, but it was almost time for Nova to make her first appearance as the night defender. The sun was setting on the horizon, which meant the Blazers were about to begin their usual shady operations. Stephanie didn’t know what she was expecting to find by going after them, but the Blazers were the only lead she had so she had to start somewhere. Once the sun was truly set, Stephanie leaped off the balcony and straight towards the diner where Taeya worked. The diner wasn’t exactly located in the safest part of town and there would usually be a handful of Blazers just loitering around or making deals. Either way, whoever was on the night shift was extremely unfortunate. Stephanie had made her way to the usual spot where she would watch over Taeya during her weekend shifts. It wasn’t the weekend yet, so thankfully Taeya wasn’t there to see Stephanie just in case an altercation arose between her and the Blazers. Stephanie kept a watchful eye on the street and from a quick survey she could already see some shady characters down in the alleyway. She jumped up and crashed down directly into their deal. The drug addict didn’t bother lingering around, Once Stephanie had barged into their deal, he ran the opposite direction without hesitation, but the Blazer had other plans. He retrieved his holstered gun from his belt and shoved the gun directly into Stephanie’s face. Fortunately, with the cover of night and her trusty hoody, her identity remained secret. “Drop the gun before you piss me off,” Stephanie said in a croaky, rough voice.

“Man, you better back the up before I pull this trigger. Don’t think I won’t! I’ve shot before, and I ain’t afraid to do it.” The Blazer warned. Stephanie took a step closer and seized the gun from the shivering man. Without a single ounce of struggle, she mushed the steel barrel of the pistol in her hand and threw it on to the ground. The man’s knees had given in, he had never been so scared in his entire life and he was on the brink of passing out. But this couldn’t happen, Stephanie couldn’t let her interrogation end before it even began. She had to keep him awake and so she gave him a gentle slap on the face. The strength of the slap was harmless even for a human, but it definitely did the trick. “Yo, man please, just let me go. I won’t tell anyone about you I swear.”
“Shut up and listen carefully. Do you know anything about kidnappers?” She questioned with her intimidating voice.

“What? What the ? No, I’m just a street dealer man. I ain’t no snatcher, I just sell drugs, that’s all I know how to do man.” Man? Why does he keep calling me a man? Stephanie wondered. Is it the voice? It’s probably that, isn’t it… she sighed mentally.

“Look , a group of your friends have been going around in a white van abducting a bunch of random citizens and…”

“Wait, wait, a white van?” The Blazer cut her off.

“Yeah, sound familiar?” Stephanie questioned.

“I don’t know about no abductions, but I do remember seeing a white van at one of the storehouses. The storehouse is actually a couple blocks from here. Can you let me go now??” He questioned. Stephanie smashed the brick wall behind him, sending another round of shivers down his shaky spine. “Damn, man, that’s all I know I swear.”

“Take me to the storehouse and maybe I’ll let you go instead of breaking your legs.” Stephanie threatened. The Blazer cowardly surrendered and ushered her in the direction of the storehouse.

He finally stopped near a typical suburban house. If he hadn’t stopped there, there wouldn’t be any signs to show it was a drug house. But something was definitely missing, there was no sign of a giant white van. Stephanie grabbed the man by his orange shirt and shoved up against the brick wall of the nearby house. “Where’s the van? I thought you said it was here!!” Stephanie questioned.

“Yo! I swear, this is where I last saw it. My friend Reggie can back me up man. Both of us saw a white van right there.” He answered Stephanie so quickly that she couldn’t tell if he was lying. However, she had to keep in mind that his quick answers could have been because of her intimidating façade. She would need to get some confirmation. “Where’s your friend Reggie? Is he in that house?” Stephanie asked.

“What? No, he deals closer to the city area, not around the suburbs.” The Blazer explained.

“Take me to him! I need to clarify you’re not trying to lead me on.”
“How am I supposed to take you there? It’s fifteen minutes away by car, and I don’t exactly have a pair of wheels.”

“Fine, I’ll go on my own. You stay right here until I come back. Write down the address.” Stephanie demanded.

“Wait, what? Nah I got deals to make…” before he could finish his sentence Stephanie smashed her fist through some of the bricks next to his head. The man was becoming relaxed about the whole situation, Stephanie had to maintain the threatening vibe. “If I come back and your isn’t in the exact same spot it is right now, I will find you and crush your legs to make sure you don’t move again.” Stephanie threatened.

“You got it, boss…” The man saluted. He gave her the address and Stephanie leaped off into the distance.

It wasn’t long