CHAPTER II

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DECEMBER 25, 2019

Xirxine Northwest.

"Did you see him?"

Chairman Abidan Derschwitz turned toward the entrance of the monitor room as his wife, Chairwoman Renee Derschwitz, stepped inside. "Yes," the chairman answered after a moment, his disturbed expression eerily similar to the one on the chairwoman's face. "I contacted the director. He's asked his father to look into it."

"Beat me to it." The chairwoman tapped her exes, projecting a holographic rendering of Safe Haven's newest entrepreneur. "Everyone," she snapped, drawing the monitors' attention, "listen up. We've got a developing situation on our hands."

The monitors faced the chairwoman for a moment before their gazes landed upon the hologram, at which point a commotion began to stir.

The hologram in question displayed what appeared to be a male Celestial, much like Mr. Barakoa—only smaller and dark red in colouration. His mask resembled a hyena's head, and appeared to be his actual face rather than just a mask.

"This... thing... entered Safe Haven three days ago," the chairwoman announced. "He calls himself 'Fisi' and has obtained an LLC in order to open multiple businesses haven-wide. However, despite his appearance, he has brushed off any and all questions in reference to the Mask of Xirxine or the Celestion City. He also prefers not to speak about where he came from, claiming that he only wants to, quote, 'boost the economy' and 'live his dream'."

"Well, that isn't suspicious at all," one of the monitors, a techie named Delvis Billiard, muttered under his breath.

"I want you all to keep a careful eye on this one," the chairwoman concluded, casting a sharp look in Billiard's direction. "He seems harmless for now, but I've got a feeling that things'll heat up soon enough—especially since we've gotten several tips about illegal firearms being moved into a warehouse last night, conveniently after this guy walks through our borders." The chairwoman narrowed her eyes. "Stay alert. Don't let anything slip past you. We'll make sure this 'Fisi' knows we're watching him—very, very closely."

       "What do you think? Isn't it just perfect?"

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"What do you think? Isn't it just perfect?"

Fisi dropped his briefcase.

The Dark Celestial stood outside a relatively small office building, accompanied by a large company of Masked. It looked new, thankfully, but was completely bare, inside and out.

"It's a bit of a fixer-upper, obviously," Eve went on, chatting through the phone Fisi held to his ear with his other hand, "but with your dedicated, uh... workforce... you'll have it up and running in no time!"

Fisi glanced at his Masked, who stared back at him with hollow gazes. Then he sighed and picked his briefcase back up, heading into the building. "Where are you at the moment, Eve?" he inquired in an irritated tone. "I'd assume your accommodations are significantly better than mine."

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