Symbiotic Agent

"This is the information I've gathered and sorted over the past few days," Daisy said, handing Holm a stack of papers. "Here's also a new report I put together—a list of missing persons over the past year."

Holm leafed through the documents as she continued. "I don't think that mystery man would just go out in public to recruit volunteers who want to turn into lizard people," she remarked. "The lizard man we dealt with last time was probably someone he picked out himself."

She paused to take a sip of water, her throat dry from talking so much. "The lan has already started doing genetic comparisons. Even though that guy looks nothing like a human now and is basically just a lizard monster, there are still traces of his original DNA in there."

She leaned back slightly, a tired smile crossing her face. "But they told me the comparisons are pretty complex and could take a while, so we should just keep going with the original plan."

Holm glanced up from the report and noticed the faint traces of dark circles under Daisy's eyes, partially covered but still visible. "Are you sure you don't want a coffee? Might help wake you up."

Daisy straightened up, her eyes wide with determination. "Really, I'm fine! I just had some not too long ago—I'm super energized."

Holm held back a smile and returned his focus to the report, recognizing the extra energy as more the effect of caffeine than rest. Though her eyes were bright and lively, he could still see a bit of tiredness hidden behind them. He guessed that she hadn't been sleeping well, spending her nights piecing together the information with meticulous care.

She'd organized everything so clearly: a timeline and geographic list of the missing persons, marking out patterns in the disappearances with each entry organized to make any abnormalities obvious.

Holm felt a twinge of guilt, realizing that the work she'd taken on was more than she should've had to. Just the previous night, he'd been out at a bar, unwinding from the recent stress.

Looking at her exhausted face again, Holm felt a stronger pang of remorse, as if he were taking advantage of her dedication. "You're doing outstanding work," he finally said, setting the report down and looking at her with genuine appreciation.

"If you keep this up, you're bound to be recognized. Promotions and rewards are just around the corner, and when that happens, I'll definitely put in a good word for you."

Daisy's face lit up at his praise, a bright smile spreading across her face. It wasn't so much the prospect of a reward that thrilled her but Holm's recognition and genuine encouragement.

Seeing her happiness, Holm's guilt eased. In that moment, he understood why bosses liked to paint an optimistic picture for their employees—it wasn't just to encourage the team, but perhaps to reassure themselves as well. And, he thought wryly, maybe after enough optimistic talk, even bosses start to believe in the promises they make.

Deciding to shift his focus back to the task, Holm put a stack of files in the middle of the table. Together, they started examining the data for any further patterns or details they might have missed. Soon, their analysis yielded a few more peculiarities in the disappearance reports.

By comparing the missing persons records from the past year to previous years, they noticed that the figures for the first three months were fairly standard—no noticeable uptick. But after that period, the disappearances began to spike, with most of the cases centered around Manhattan. They also realized that the cases were spaced apart in an unsettling pattern: every two months, a wave of disappearances occurred, then two months of silence, and the cycle repeated. So far, two rounds have taken place.

"We're at the start of a new month," Holm said, furrowing his brow. "If this pattern continues, we might be looking at another round of cases popping up soon."

He glanced through a report that outlined profiles of the missing individuals. "Men, women, old, young—he's snatching people across all demographics," he said, sounding disturbed. "He must be using them as test subjects, experimenting on people of different genders and ages to observe the effects of his serum."

Daisy's expression darkened as she shook her head. "It's sick. He's treating people like lab rats. There's no humanity in him at all!"

"No, there really isn't," Holm agreed grimly. "Based on the times noted in the families' reports, most of these abductions seem to happen at night or in the early morning hours."

He leaned forward, pointing at the data in the files. "So here's what I'm thinking—we follow through with our original plan. We'll check the underground locations we identified during the day, then patrol the streets at night. Maybe we'll get lucky and catch him in the act."

Daisy's expression grew determined. "I'll be the bait. Let him try and take me."

Holm shook his head, both surprised and exasperated. "Have you been watching too many crime shows? We're agents. Agents who have access to tech that can help us track him. We don't need to serve ourselves up as bait."

"But if he targets me, that's one less innocent person he'll take, right?" she countered. "I can protect myself a lot better than an ordinary person. And if things go south, I can adapt and find a way out."

Holm's face grew serious, and his voice took on a sharper tone. "Listen," he said firmly. "I'm going to assume that was just a joke. Don't ever suggest something like that again."

Daisy bristled slightly at his rebuke, feeling that her idea hadn't been that far off-base. She looked back at him with a mix of defiance and frustration.

"We're agents, Daisy, not superheroes from some comic book. You think you have a better chance at surviving? How? What makes you think you're better prepared than everyone else?"

Though she was slightly rattled by his change in tone, she didn't back down, and her gaze stayed locked on his. "I'm stronger than most of the people he's taken, and I'm trained to fight. I know how to handle firearms, and I have combat experience," she replied, a bit of fire in her voice.

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