After a few minutes of searching in each section of the studio, Leila said to Rosa:
—We've searched this place, but almost all the producers look like the news chief, Ernesto. It seems today is the day to dress and look like him —said Leila, exhausted and in a sarcastic tone from so much searching.
—Apparently, yes —replied Rosa, laughing—. What are we going to do? The time the boss gave us was almost up, only five minutes left —responded Leila, anguished.
—Relax, there are many things you can do in five minutes, especially in an anime —said Rosa, to have a smile and cheering up the desperate girl.
—I know —replied Leila—. The good thing is that no one else has found him either, so we have a chance to do it ourselves. Calm down, Leila, and focus. Those two sections over there are still left —she added, pointing in one direction.
—But it can't be just any studio. We need that man for real —said Rosa, picturing Ernesto in her mind—. We probably need him because he owns the news channel. Plus, when we influence everything with our psychic power, we'll be vulnerable. We can ask him to close the place for us in case of any mishap. Well, that's what I think.
—I know your mental control ability is a bit... you know —added Rosa.
—I don't know what you're implying —asked Leila.
Rosa took a breath and told her she was very unstable.
—I know your ability is very strong; even the leader says you are very powerful —Rosa was saying when Leila interrupted, saying:
—Do you really believe that about me? —asked the leader, excited and drawing a smile on her face.
—Yes, but you can't control yourself. There's a lot of power you have inside, —Rosa continued.
—I know —said Leila, a little downcast—. Sometimes I feel that my emotions take over and I lose control. I can only concentrate for a short period of time, that is, if I'm not being stressed and flustered.
Rosa didn't want to continue the conversation because she knew it would depress Leila, so she said:
—Well, let's stop talking and go for the guy. Then we'll have plenty of time to talk, and I can even train you a little if you want.
Leila raised her gaze and told her:
—I'd love that.
—Then let's go to the last places we haven't checked —they said in unison and continued their search.
The team of three identical girls was searching the area assigned to them, but every time they entered a place, people thought they were models and used them for a commercial. Whether for good or bad luck, every door they opened was used for a brief commercial or a photo session. The three girls didn't speak much, they just followed the people they encountered. Margaret asked them telepathically if they had found anything, and the three indicated they hadn't, but they had been given work as models.
Martha and Sheila, on the other hand, scared the workers out of each place they entered. When they asked for Mr. Ernesto and no one paid attention, they shouted so loudly that everyone heard them and got scared. They even called security to take them out. They were two very temperamental women and always wanted an immediate answer; when they didn't get one, they got upset. Before security could take them out, they used their mental powers to make everyone think they were just being escorted out.
—How did we end up in this situation? Well, Sheila, if you weren't a little overbearing and waited for them to answer, they wouldn't kick us out like that —Martha indicated, a bit fearful, though she was determined and had a slight fear of her own friend Sheila.
—Silence, Martha. That's not why. I get straight to the point. Besides, we're very pretty for starring in one of those commercials. We're better than those three —Sheila said with conviction.
But Martha just looked at her, for Sheila wasn't that attractive and ate so much that her weight gain from anxiety was noticeable.
—Come on, relax —Martha indicated as Sheila pulled out some snacks from her bag—. If you keep this up, that new dress I bought for you for the party next week at one of those celebrity conventions won't fit.
Sheila indicated:
—You're right, I need to get in shape. Besides, that girl hasn't found the guy, so let's get to work.
Martha asked:
—Why so much trouble with the girl? And well, you pulled me along because I'm your friend.
—Don't you remember that time she used her powers and she, she, went wild and emptied a whole can of paint on my expensive dress? You were there —said Sheila, annoyed.
—Yes, it's true, but you should let it go —Martha replied.
—Never —Sheila indicated—. She's done the same thing other times, like that time with the food or the documents, and she's always with the leader as if nothing happened. I won't stop until she's out of our unit —she raised her voice in annoyance and then added—. Now, let's go. I don't want to talk about it anymore. Besides, we need to find that guy before everyone else.
And they both continued their search.
On the path that Rachel and Ada were taking, they ran into Margaret, who seemed to have separated from Azulema and Mark.
—Hi, Margaret —Rachel asked her—. What are you doing here alone? Weren't you with the boss?
—Yes, that's right. How strange. Or did the boss play you dirty and go off alone with Mark? Also, why didn't you tell us through the mental chat? —indicated Ada, giving her a detective's look.
—No, no, it wasn't like that. I was with them, and then a bunch of carts with scenery passed by, and I lost the boss. I tried to contact them, but nothing, and then I mysteriously appeared with you two —indicated Margaret.
—That's strange —indicated Ada—. And on top of that, you can't contact the boss. Isn't she in some kind of danger? We should notify the others.
—No, no, I'll take care of it. You two continue your search while I go after the boss. Surely there's something blocking our signal, indicated Margaret, a bit withdrawn, and she left.
As she walked away from the other two girls, she thought: "What if the boss did it on purpose to be alone with the guy? Those scenery carts didn't just appear like that, it's something strange and very convenient. Uh! She'll see when I find her. I didn't know she was the type to play dirty. Or maybe I'm thinking wrong, and she's in danger." Margaret was in a dilemma while trying to contact Azulema telepathically.
—That's strange —indicated Ada.
—Yes, but the boss can take care of herself. Besides, she's with the kid —said Rachel—. She always does what she wants. She doesn't let us hang out with Mark, she's so jealous, like his mother —Ada pointed out.
—Yes, it's true. The boss is very overprotective of him and spoils him a lot, even though he's already a teenager, almost a young man —Rachel commented—. Well, let's stop fooling around and continue the search.
And both continued on their way.
Azulema and Mark were walking around the place. She was holding Mark's hand, looking like a mother taking her child through the park. Azulema was almost two meters tall, and with heels, she looked enormous. Along the way, there was an environment like a fair with a cart selling cotton candy. Azulema bought one and fed it to Mark, who just opened his mouth, but his face was all red. Then they saw colorful lollipops, and she bought one for Mark. Mark thought she wanted to fatten him up on purpose with so much candy, but luckily, his genetics made him immune to gaining weight. However, it also worked against him when he wanted to exercise and build muscles.
Then they passed by a section with mirrors, and she continued holding the boy's hand when someone pulled Mark from behind, making him let go of his boss's hand. Mark got scared and nervous with the lollipop in his mouth.
—But what happened? —asked Azulema as she turned around and saw Margaret with an angry face and the boy being held by his backpack—. Leader, what are you doing? We need to find that guy.
She looked at Mark with the lollipop and said:
—You two are strolling around the studio. This isn't a fair day, we're on a quest, boss. And why haven't you answered the psychic link? What were you two up to? —she added.
—No, well, I don't know the reason, and I hadn't noticed —said Mark with a nervous little laugh, once he realized it was Margaret and not a kidnapper or something like that.
—No, nothing, we went to look for you. I don't know what happened with the link, it was like static for a moment. So, along the way, we found all these things, and we thought we'd take a break to eat and such. Here, take this lollipop for yourself —the boss said with a fake laugh.
—Oh! You were worried about me, boss. Thank you —he said happily, almost crying.
The boss thought: "Thank goodness I got away with it, and she didn't realize I wanted to spend quality time with Marky. She didn't notice I put an interference between Mark's link and mine. How clever I am," and she drew a smile on her face.
—Is there something wrong, boss? —asked Margaret.
—No, nothing. It's a joke Mark told me, very funny.
—I told you? —said Mark, confused.
—Yes, don't you remember? —said Azulema.
—I want to hear it too if it's so funny —expressed Margaret.
But Azulema stepped on Mark's foot, and when he opened his mouth to scream, she used her psychic power to make him put the lollipop back in his mouth and not say a word.
—He'll tell you later, let him finish his candy first, so it doesn't fall —said the boss, trying to save the situation.
"I know I shouldn't use mental powers for personal benefit, but this is worth it," she told herself.
After the scene, the three were going to continue their search. However, before they could, Ada contacted them, indicating:
—I think we found him.
—Yes, it's... —interrupted Rachel.
And Ada saw the image of the guy again and indicated:
—I'm not a hundred percent sure we found him.
All the girls were happy, especially Sheila, because at least Leila wasn't the one who found the target.
—Alright, girls, now that Azulema and Mark have activated their link, send your location so we can meet you there. The rest, have the equipment ready in your backpacks —indicated Margaret—. Rachel, hold him with everything you've got until we arrive.
Immediately, all the girls headed to the point Rosa had indicated. As the girls were about to meet Ernesto, a voice was heard in the secret agency's base:
—Sir, what should we do with Marie? —one of the people in the room asked, worried.
—We can't do anything for the moment, communications are down —he added.
Then, the chief looked at the man and instructed:
—But you can still monitor her location. Send a surveillance robot to the area.
—Yes, sir —said the worker while the chief returned to his chair, took a cigar from a box in one of the drawers, lit it, and thought: "Oh, Marie, I hope you're okay and get out of there safely while team C fixes the other little problem," he added.
We go back to the girls, arriving at the point with Ernesto. Rachel approached Ernesto, and he greeted her very gallantly, kissing her hand.
—Who are you, gorgeous? —he asked Rachel.
Rachel, very professional, replied:
—Well, we came to...
But before she could continue talking, he interrupted her:
—Are you sure you want a job in television? Maybe in a news program like mine —he said with bulging eyes—. You are a very beautiful woman —he continued, showering her with compliments—. And you brought your little friend —he said, pointing to Ada, but she ignored him—. Great, double prize! —Ernesto thought—. I'll have to make some modifications, but these beauties will raise the ratings, although this last one is very dry —he thought as he saw more girls entering.
Ernesto was fascinated with the other girls in the group, especially the three similar-looking girls. He approached them, saying:
—Girls, here's my card for anything you need. My name is Ernesto Banks.
—Hey, Ernesto! —interrupted Rachel—. They are with me.
—Well, well, many beautiful girls have shown up here today. I see there's even one who brought her kids to work —he said, referring to Azulema, who was with Leila and Mark—. Couldn't you afford a nanny, gorgeous? —he said, looking at her with lovesick eyes.
—Hey, hey! —interrupted Margaret, seeing the boss both annoyed but pleased at the same time. Immediately, she used her mental power to make Ernesto stop and not keep talking—. I told you to hold him, not become his girlfriend —indicated Margaret.
Ada replied:
—Rachel just talked to him, and he went up to his elbow, like that cartoon character chasing a nut. He's quite the charmer and a "Don Juan" —added Ada.
—Okay, enough, girls —interrupted Azulema—. It's time to start. Mark, use your mental power and make the man give us this environment, which is perfect, and have him get everyone else out, but come back quickly.
Mark agreed and entered Ernesto's mind, telling him to get the collaborators out of the studio and take a long break.
—Oh, and don't let anyone in until I tell you with a snap of my fingers —he added.
Ernesto, in a trance, indicated that it wasn't a problem and began to get everyone out. Some were wondering why such sudden action, who was the boy accompanying him, and who were those girls over there, referring to team C.
Inside Ernesto's mind, Mark began to tell him to say things to avoid suspicion. For example:
—They are going to conduct some security tests in the environment, referring to their agent suits. Then, this boy is the son of one of the investors and will be checking on the young women, so we have to take a short break. You can take the rest of the day off —indicated Ernesto.
Everyone left, including Ernesto, who was still under Mark's control. As he exited, Mark snapped his fingers, and Ernesto came out of the trance, but with the urge to go home, he took his car and left, thanks to Mark implanting that action.
—Excellent job! —the others indicated, especially Azulema, whose eyes were shining. The only one who didn't praise him was Leila, who mumbled:
—Show-off.
—Okay, girls, let's get to work —indicated Azulema firmly—. Open the backpacks.
The twelve opened their backpacks, and each contained parts of a machine that was assembled if put together. So the leader asked Margaret to assemble everything, projecting the plan through their mental chat. Immediately, the number one in the group used her telekinesis to start assembling. Little by little, the pieces started coming out of the backpacks and joining together, forming a giant recorder-like machine, the size of a wall and as thick as a wardrobe. Everyone was surprised at how big and heavy it was to bring it.
—Wow, no wonder that thing was so heavy —indicated Ada and Rachel.
—Alright, it's time to start. Connect the machine to that main power source over there —Azulema instructed Rachel. The machine had a compartment at the back where the plug came out.
Rachel used her telekinesis to pull the cable until it reached the source, which was one hundred meters away.
—Wow, what a cable! —said Leila, amazed.
—Ada, activate the machine —Azulema instructed.
Immediately, Ada pressed some buttons as if it were a computer and then pressed a red button, just as her boss specified mentally. The machine turned on, and they realized that a big green light appeared with a message that said: "Active Mode."
—Everything is going well —the boss said to herself.
It's time to start step two. The machine opened and revealed four compartments in total, two on each side. From them came a sort of wireless helmets, like virtual reality visors.
—Since Brea isn't here this time, I'll rely on my next four: Margaret, Rachel, Martha, and Sheila. You will use those helmets. With them, everything will connect to the global network to enter the transmission. It will even send a message to everyone not watching to tune in. Additionally, it will recreate the scene by projecting the environment. But, as you know, everything has a cost. If you see that your power is running low, you must rotate with another team member since this machine is experimental and will drain a lot of energy —explained Azulema.
—And what are you going to do? —asked Margaret to her boss.
—I'm going to be the news anchor.
From the top of the machine, another helmet appeared.
—Everyone ready on my mark —indicated Azulema, who positioned herself behind a news desk as the cameras in the place began to turn on.
—Aren't we going to test it? —asked Ada.
—There's no time to lose —responded the boss—. Put on the helmets in three, two, one... now! —said Azulema as the transmission began.
Suddenly, all the cell phones, tablets, computers, and televisions started sending notifications.