It turned out that there really was no building standing on the spot where Mr Pepper had sent him. Rowan spun on his axis, but although various buildings towered around him, none bore the number he needed. 

Rowan tried to look inconspicuous, or at least casual, and not like someone trying to find a secret hiding place. He walked up and down the street, looking at his phone as if guided by an app, tapping it occasionally, pretending to communicate with someone. He was simply pretending to be a tourist and lost, which wasn't so far-fetched. 

One thing he did find out, though. Not only was the building with the number 12 missing, but none of the other buildings bore that particular mark. He had seen number 11 and number 13, but number 12 was simply not there. The funny thing was that the map showed it exactly where he was now standing. 

Rowan wasn't exactly trusting, but for some reason, he was sure that Mr Pepper wouldn't send him to the wrong place. So he had to start thinking outside the box. 

If he was a superhero doing evil in secret and needed to hide the evidence, how would he do it? No, not if he was a superhero. If he was a murderer, that was the word. 

His thoughts suddenly darkened. This wasn't the time or place for that, so he had to gather his wits quickly. He had to think of something else. His mind suddenly reminded him of what was waiting for him in Goldby City. Or rather who. Waiting for him was an exaggeration, especially after not seeing him for over a week, but Rowan couldn't help himself, especially after waking up the last time to find his shirt missing. 

A smile involuntarily appeared on Rowan's face at the thought of the blonde in his black shirt. 

Black was definitely his colour, although Rowan had to admit that he looked more than attractive in his tight white suit. Fortunately, Rowan was able to maintain his concentration in serious situations, otherwise, Citadel would have caught him far too easily because he wouldn't have been able to take his eyes off him. 

Thinking of Matteo was dangerous, but in this case, it worked. Rowan's mind was clear, even if his heart made him feel something he didn't want to. And for once, Rowan let it slide. 

Once again he looked at the building in front of him. 

It bore the number 11 and that was the only identifying mark on it. No sign or anything to indicate what it was used for. It was definitely not a shop or a restaurant. If Rowan had to guess, it was probably residential or office space. But there was no bell anywhere to indicate who it belonged to. 

Looking again, though, he noticed something that was exactly what he needed. But that also meant he shouldn't stay here any longer than he had to. 

Rowan made his way to the café across the street. It looked cosy and, more importantly, had tables set up so that he could have at least some privacy. 

He ordered a large coffee at the counter, enough to last him longer and also so that none of the staff would stop by, and then sat down at a table as far back as he could, where he set up his equipment. 

It didn't take long to access the cameras on the building across the street. What took much more time, however, was getting to the database it was linked to in order to access the footage. 

In the end, Rowan drank an entire coffee before the computer told him it had successfully copied all the data from 2005 and 2006. 

He had no idea what date to look for, but fortunately, he had his toys to help him, and he immediately entered Theresa's face, or rather Amanda's as she was known here, into the search. 

Although Rowan was extremely cautious, he eventually got up from the table for that one moment while he ordered another coffee, knowing that whatever he might find would keep him occupied for the rest of the day at the very least. 

And he was right. 

The computer showed him a series of results. One was from the same week, which Rowan remembered well, even though he was only eight years old at the time. He immediately clicked on it, and although he discovered that the camera didn't record sound as well, that didn't put him off, quite the contrary. In fact, the footage showed him exactly what he had missed. Building 12 was right where the map had shown him, only it wasn't above ground. 

It also meant that Rowan would have to come back later when the streets weren't so busy, and no one would see him disappearing underground in the middle of the road. 

…

Later that night, Rowan returned, again dressed in black, but this time with a hood over his head and a neck gaiter pulled up to conceal his identity. And like the man and woman in the tape earlier, he made his way to the sewer hatch. 

He leaned down and looked around, making sure no one could see him. He didn't have much time, as he had copied exactly an hour's worth of footage from the previous day and had it inserted over the footage of the time he would be exploring Building 12. As if he'd never been here. 

He took a knife from his pocket and stuck it in the same gap Nixon had done in the footage, then pulled it sideways. It was surprisingly easy, and Rowan slowly unrolled the whole hatch, revealing an iron ladder leading to who knows where. 

There was no time for doubt, however, and he began to climb down without hesitation. 

It was damp, cold, and dark down there, just as he had expected, and he switched on his dim flashlight so that he could always see a few steps ahead of him without giving away his presence. 

Before taking the first step, however, he took the detector from his pocket and set it off. He had no doubt that there would be cameras positioned here as well as above ground, and he was prepared not to show himself on any of them. 

Rowan didn't hesitate and charged forward. Fortunately, there seemed to be no detours ahead of him, and his detector was still quiet. So Rowan still had no idea what he was looking for, but he also took comfort in the fact that he still had a slight advantage as he was walking on the damp surface. 

His abilities, fortunately, couldn't hurt him because he was immune to them, but the same couldn't be said for anyone who wanted to hurt him. 

Rowan didn't like to show that he had them, though, so he hoped he wouldn't have to use them this time. And it looked like he wouldn't. Because a few minutes later his detector started beeping, alerting him to the presence of the camera. Rowan had set it to alert him before he appeared in its field of view, so he immediately stopped in his tracks. 

He took a step back and leaned against the wall to get his computer out of his bag. As before, it didn't take him long to connect to a nearby camera, and although this one was much better secured, no security was a problem for Rowan. His software was up to any challenge, and although this one took more time, Rowan was prepared to stand in the same place for hours if it meant getting everything he needed. And it was almost an hour before he managed to get the camera footage and copy it onto his computer. Again, he only copied the footage from two specific years. 

His hour was up, though, so he couldn't avoid being recorded by the camera above ground. So he could only hope that he had gotten everything useful, as he was sure he wouldn't be able to come back here. Even though more than a decade had passed, he was sure that Tigress and Mmic were still wary since their crimes were rather severe. 

And as cautious as they were, so was he. He could not alert them to his existence, as all would be lost, and so he was ready to leave San Dence the moment he got back to the hotel.  

Besides, he still hoped that Matteo would get the same information that he had, and if Rowan had accidentally missed something, he hoped that the blond superhero would be more precise in his work.

There was a good chance that there was another camera behind that one, though. Rowan wondered if he should risk it and turn this one off, especially since he would be on the recording anyway, and go look further. While he trusted Matteo, he knew that his priorities were elsewhere. He was willing to sacrifice his life for this case and that's why he eventually decided to take the risk.

The moment the detector informed him that the camera in front of him was switched off, he moved forward again.

He walked for another twenty minutes or so before the detector again alerted him to the presence of another camera. So he repeated the same procedure as before, first downloading the files from this camera, then turning it off to continue his trek.

After a few more steps, however, he came to a dead end.

Rowan looked around in confusion, but at first glance saw nothing that resembled a hidden entrance.

He knew that neither Tigress nor Mimic had the ability to create anything magical, so the answer was based on logic. Rowan pulled a knife from his pocket and searched for a gap in the wall in case they used the same mechanism as the one on the hatch. But luck was not on his side.

Rowan cursed aloud.

Amanda owned a building, not the tunnel network, so there had to be a hidden entrance somewhere. Rowan had no idea what to do. He knew it would be risky to come back later, but he also knew it was only a matter of time before someone closed the hatch, and he couldn't get out if it already wasn't closed.

However, he still had several tapes and a USB key from the safe deposit box. He wasn't going to leave empty-handed. Besides, he still had enough evidence that his parents had managed to put in a safe place.

With that in mind, he finally made up his mind and turned back towards the exit. Turning off the cameras on the way so he wouldn't get caught, he made his way to the ladder and fortunately found that the hatch was still open. Before going through it, however, he switched off the outside camera for a moment too. He was sure they would know he was there, but he didn't care. He just wanted to get out of here as soon as possible. Besides, he still had the advantage that they did not know his identity.

Rowan closed the hatch the same way he had opened it and returned to the hotel as if nothing had happened.

He didn't want to look at the obtained footage until he got home, so he didn't hesitate for a second, grabbed all his things and, despite the fact that it was night, checked out of the hotel, got into his car, and headed for Goldby City.

And for a small moment, he regretted giving the blond superhero a hint, as he longed to see him after this rough day, but knew he would be immersed in work.