The man in the recording was explaining to Paul that he had to meet a few people from a local group of wizards the next morning to exchange intel regarding drug trafficking in the area.
"When was this recorded?" Hugo asked.
"Today," Paul replied. "Just before noon."
"Odd, isn't it?" Marcus mentioned. "What does a guy like him have to do with drug trafficking?"
"Yuh never know who might be comin' fi yuh," Paul replied.
Thereafter, the squad thanked, said their goodbyes, and left.
"What now?" Neil asked as the group walked away from the cottage.
Vincent looked at Hugo and said, "It's your call from here on out, clown."
Hugo smiled, nodded, and stopped. The others stopped as well.
"I have a question, Vincent," he said looking at the bounty hunter. "How does Paul know you? If there is one thing I know about tongue-men, it's that they don't give away information for free to just anyone…"
With a chuckle, Vincent replied, "It's a long story."
"I think we'll all enjoy a good long story. The night's young, and we have a long way to go."
The White Bolt shook his head, and with a smile said, "The woods are lovely, dark and deep, but I have promises to keep… and miles to go before I sleep… and miles to go before I sleep…"
Hugo smiled and ordered his team to form the teleportation circle again.
The Zeta Squad vanished and reappeared 8 miles outside Nicholls Town, close to the San Andros Airport. The Squad sat in the shadow of trees. They only knew Derek's voice but that was enough.
"Alright, Mystic," said Hugo. "You're up."
"Right," Ella said, then took a deep breath. With closed eyes and outstretched arms, she began to hum. The rest of the group sat in silence. After humming for a few seconds, she whispered, "SHIRTOS-TARMINA-FIR-POL…"
A flicker of Ki left her extended hands. The spell amplified the ripple her hum created and tuned it to the exact frequency of Derek's voice from the phone recording. Like a wave searching for its echo, it would ignore all other disturbances until it struck a perfect match.
An echoing hum was heard a few seconds later. It sounded like the man they had heard in Paul's phone recording.
Nodding, Vincent whispered, "Nice."
"Seems like a match alright," Ella said then brought her hands down. The young Mystic looked at Hugo and asked, "What do you think, Master Baylis?"
He looked at her and asked, "What do you think?"
"I think it's… I think it could very well be him."
The captain smiled and nodded. "Alright, Mr White Bolt," he looked at Vincent. "Let's go and find out."
He nodded back then asked, "What's the plan?"
"Ella will give you the directions," Gina quickly explained. "She will tell you as precisely as she can. Then you'll have to show us your magic from there on out."
"I could… or…"
With raised eyebrows, Hugo asked, "Or?"
"She's a Mystic." Vincent was now looking at Ella. "Mask your Ki and presence and lead the way…"
Ella looked at Hugo who shrugged and said, "He's got a point. Plus, you're a Mystic. No matter how good at hiding he is, if push comes to shove, you'll rip that wizard apart no sweat."
"Nah, that's too risky," Neil said, shaking his head. "Why put her in harm's way unnecessarily?"
"She can handle it." The captain then patted both Vincent and Ella on the shoulder and sent them off.
The duo hitched a ride into town and got off close to a motel adjacent to the beach. They walked to the rear of a building.
"That's the motel," Ella said, pointing. "If I'm not mistaken, and that voice was actually his, then Derek should be in there somewhere."
They sat hiding behind a bush. The White Bolt peeked through and observed. The place seemed rather quiet. He could feel no arcane activity.
The Mystic tapped on his shoulder and, in a near-whispering sound, said, "I could redo the spell to further pinpoint his location."
He shook his head saying, "And risk giving away yours?"
"You've got a better idea?"
"Yes." He pointed. "He's right there…"
Ella looked. He pointed at a middle-aged man standing on the veranda at the back of a room. Tanned brown skin, white French-cut beard, a trilby hat, open Hawaiian shirt, and boxer shorts – they had found Derek.
A voice in Vincent's head said, 'Hide the Ki limiting ropes before approaching him.' It was Hugo, talking via his shadow.
Vincent asked Ella who quickly camouflaged it.
Thereafter, the bounty hunter asked his partner to stay put and walked off.
"You're supposed to be a hard man to find," he said upon approaching.
"You're one of the only few who can surprise me," Derek responded smiling. He turned around to face the approaching White Bolt. "Been a while."
They shook hands and went inside. Ella then sneaked closer and sat just outside the room to listen in on the conversation.
Elsewhere, Hugo asked his teammates to charge their Ki to match his. They did so and placed their hands on his shoulder forming a link with his spirit and its shadow as well. The entire Zeta Squad was now tuned in.
Derek sat Vincent down on a sofa chair then went and sat on the bed. "What brings you to these parts, kid?" he asked.
"I need information, as usual," Vincent replied. "I need to know where the remnants of the Xoitique Diamond went."
"Is he supposed to acquire information or reveal information?" Neil asked.
"He knows what he's doing," Hugo replied. "For some odd reason Vincent wants those remnants as bad as we do. Don't worry. He can handle this. And by the way…" He looked back at his squadmates. "Stay very still. Your movements may cause a visible disturbance in his shadow."