It was their final day of sifting through their short supply of clues. Stephanie, Taeya and Dean had been rummaging through the same computer files and physical folders trying to highlight any sign of significant information that would finally lead them to the mysterious mastermind. Being the final day, they assumed that the clue would reveal itself to them like the light at the end of a tunnel, but they found nothing, there was nothing. For Stephanie it felt as if she was running around and around and around but never reaching her intended destination. She felt no closer than she did the day before and the frustration had past and ultimately become anxiety. The man claimed he wouldn’t harm Jessica, but how could they trust him at all? And what about Sooyoung? Would she be… Stephanie shook her head, she didn’t want to believe in the worst possibilities, but with the time ticking down, what would happen if they failed to meet with the masked man tomorrow? Stephanie pushed the folders away, disgusted at the sight of the scattered papers. The three of them decided to study the files in separate rooms to avoid distractions, but Stephanie had lost all hope on her own. She wandered through Dean’s house/ diner, searching for the other two investigators. She slowly peeked around Dean’s door and observed as he carefully sifted through the piles of physical data. He seemed deep in thought, maybe he was finally on to something, but with a heavy sigh he flicked the wad of paper in his grasp to the corner of the room. Dean was having just as much trouble finding the key to the case even with his enhanced intellect and super computer mind. Stephanie thought it was best not to disturb him. She continued down the house until she found Taeya sitting quietly with her legs crossed on the living room floor. The files were all organized and arranged with great precision, but something seemed too perfect. Stephanie could have sworn those files were exactly as they were twelve hours ago when they had initiated day two of their investigation review. The files were indeed in the same spot, Taeya hadn’t touched any of the files besides one titled” Phrase”. “Please tell me you haven’t been staring at that sentence for twelve hours.” Stephanie sighed. Taeya glanced up from the paper in her hand, her blue eyes stared intensely at Stephanie’s dark brown eyes that had a tint of red. “This is the sentence, ‘key Minds oddly reJect or Halt’ is the clue that will get our friends back. Stephie, why can’t you get that through your thick skull?” Taeya snapped. Taeya rarely had a snarky comeback, but twelve hours of reading the same string of words over and over would make anyone cranky. Stephanie knew the shorter girl didn’t mean to be so rude, so Stephanie didn’t take it to heart. “Sorry Taeya, but I’m just worried about them. He said tomorrow would be the day, and we’re no closer to him than before. Are you sure there isn’t anything else we could have missed?” Stephanie asked.

“No, Stephie please if you’re not going to help then can you just be quiet and let me think.” Taeya shrugged.

“Come on Taeya, that phrase means nothing, it’s completely random. The words and how they’re arranged is nonsensical, it’s just a string of words that makes no sense the way they are…”
“Wait!!!! Holy shi… that might just be it… Say that again!” Taeya demanded.

“What?” Stephanie questioned.

“Say what you just said again.” Taeya repeated.

“Umm, it’s nonsensical?” Stephanie asked.

“No, after that.”

“Umm, it’s just a string of random words?”

“Keep going.”
“…that makes no sense the way they are…” Stephanie repeated. She had no idea what she did, but Taeya’s blue eyes grew brighter as if she had finally found the answer. The stern look of twelve hours of endless focus had been wiped form Taeya’s face and replaced with an adorable chin dimple as her perfect pearly whites were exposed. As if she had been searching for water in a barren desert, her eyes were filled with excitement and accomplishment. “That’s it, that’s it!! And who said you weren’t any help, Stephie.” Taeya laughed.

“You said that…” Stephanie replied.

“I guess your mind is only brilliant when it needs to be.” Taeya laughed. “You said the phrase makes no sense the way it is now and you’re absolutely right, but what if this isn’t its intended arrangement. What if you were to rearrange the positioning of the letters to create a different meaning for the phrase or a to simply have meaning in the first place.” Taeya explained. “For example, you know what an olive is right?” Taeya started.

“Yeah? What does that have to do anything?” Stephanie asked.

“If I handed an olive to you, would you feel any sort of affection?” Taeya asked.

“Umm… I guess because you’re a thoughtful person and it would have a deeper…” Stephanie started.

“No, stop, don’t think of a deeper meaning yet. If I were a stranger and I handed you an olive, would you feel any sort of love connection?” Taeya asked.

“No.” Stephanie answered.

“Exactly, an olive doesn’t have that sentiment attached to it, neither does the word olive, but if you rearrange the letters of olive, you can get the phrase “I love.” Now that you know that and I gave you an olive, has it completely changed the meaning?” Taeya asked.

“Hmmm… I guess… So, what you’re saying is, this phrase is an anagram.” Stephanie concluded.

“Yes, exactly right. We need to rearrange it somehow, to make a phrase that makes sense. Without Hyori though…” Taeya went quiet. “Oh wait, we have a super computer!” Taeya runs out of the living room and drags Dean behind her. She proceeds to shove the phrase into his face to force his super computer brain to rearrange the letters in every possibility he could create that makes sense. Surprisingly and luckily, there was only one arrangement that made sense, but the surprise didn’t end there. Dean projected the letters with his eyes, each one jumping back and forth from its original position. Eventually the letters settle to one coherent phrase and the result left a sour taste in Stephanie’s mouth. There was no level of satisfaction in uncovering the name behind their misfortunes. She didn’t know what angered her more, was it that she knew this man already? Or was it because she sensed no danger in his presence. Taeya slowly turned towards Stephanie and her confused expression explained she was perplexed by this outcome. Taeya had never met this man before, his involvement was frankly unexpected, but the name that precedes his was eerily familiar. It wasn’t a direct call to the woman she despised, but the reference was obvious. Stephanie and Taeya both had disgusted opinions on the revealed phrase, but if Stephanie was truly honest, she would have never expected him. Stephanie turned back to the blue holographic text once more and read the phrase out loud. “Doctor Jekyll and Mister Hyde…” Stephanie concluded.

“That’s our mother’s name… at least it’s a reference to her… but Mister Hyde? You don’t think its…” Taeya started.

“Yeah… it is. Mayor Hyde is behind all of this.” Stephanie replied harshly. Her fist clenched and her rage was fuming. She was ready to punch straight through the first object she saw, but she quickly relaxed her grip and took a breath before her wrath had punished the sofa. “He was a rich and powerful tycoon before he became Mayor of L.A.” Dean pointed out.

“And ever since he was appointed mayor, the Blazer’s activities have grown significantly. Because of his position, it all flies below the radar of the press.” Taeya added.

“It makes sense… it explains why he said he wouldn’t harm Jessica… but how couldn’t I have seen this? How was my first impression of him so wrong? He seemed like a genuine, down to earth uncle…” Stephanie sighed. “Was it because of his stupid good looks? Am I blinded by physical appearance like the average human being?” Stephanie questioned.

“There’s no way you could have known Stephanie. If Hyde really was the same tycoon that Dean met thirty years ago, then he’s fooled not only Dean, but Jessica too.” Taeya pointed out.

“Now that we know who he is, where is his hiding?” Stephanie demanded. Dean quickly scanned the internet for properties under his name and revealed two properties within Los Angeles, but one further out in Big Bear Lake. “He has two properties in the city, but it’s most likely his property in Big Bear Lake that is housing this operation.” Dean stated.

“What makes you say that?” Taeya questioned.

“From the information we gathered, the van Hyde used to kidnap his victims would disappear for a few days before returning to the storehouse that Stephanie destroyed. If this is the case, his furthest property would make the most sense. If this operation’s headquarters was located within the city, the van would have no need to delay its return to the storehouse.” Dean explained. “On top of that, according to the land his property is built on, he owns fifteen acres of that land. His house doesn’t even make a quarter of that and according to the plans there have been constant renovations to the property for the past decade.” Dean added.

“The house must be a front, his operation is happening underground.” Stephanie concluded. “Alright, everyone pack your , we’re going to get our friends back.” Stephanie hyped.

*Meanwhile at Hyde’s secret base*

Jessica was slowly inching back to consciousness. Her mind was ringing and shaking from the massive bruise that Kyuhyun had left her before she was delivered to Hyde. Her eyes slowly twitched open, her vision was heavily blurred as she had been knocked out for days. The light that hovered above her was intense and she winced in pain at the blinding sight. “Ahhh, what the hell, get that light away from me!!” she screamed angrily. Her initial reaction was to swat the blinding lamp as far away as possible, but to her surprise she was restrained firmly with leather straps. A woman could be seen leaning over her, dimming the light so Jessica’s sensitive eyes could finally adjust to her surroundings. She had never seen this lady before, but she didn’t seem threatening. Honestly, she didn’t feel like much of anything, she was a beautiful woman, but there was no life in her expression, no happiness, no sadness, not a single ounce of expression could be seized from her black face. “She’s awake.” The woman said bluntly as her glanced moved to the other side of the room where a familiar suited figure was leaning against the steel plated walls. Even through the neat dress shirt, suit jacket and ironed tie, his muscular figure couldn’t be ignored. His hair still as golden as ever and his perfect blue eyes shone straight into Jessica’s. She had known this pair of eyes all her younger life, she had never sensed danger from them, even now she still saw his charming smile and saw no sinister intentions hiding behind his face. “Ahh, Jess, you’re finally awake.” Hyde smiled.

“Uncle Hyde?? What the is going on? Where am I? who’s this lady??” Jessica huffed with anxiousness.

“I see you have a lot of questions,” Hyde paused and stared at his beautiful golden watch. “But I can’t start explaining until your friend has successfully infiltrated this base. You see, everything I tell you, I need her to hear too.” He smiled.

“What the hell are you talking about?? Don’t tell me… you’re the sick who’s been kidnapping people??