The hallway leading away from the chaos in the main church was dark but lit heavily with flaming candles. The air hung around with the distant, fading sounds of the chaos from the main hall, a fusion of strong frankincense and myrrh.

Jessica looked tired, and Bryan looked nothing less. His eyes were bloodshot from the scene he had just witnessed. He felt the earth close in on him as his mind urged him to find the killer and shred him to pieces. He was this close! I could have saved that poor life! He knew that he wasn't at fault, but his guilt pricked him hard to the core.

Behind him, the priest seemed to resonate with his thoughts too. Years of working as a top-notch scientist under the US government were like a dream come true. Beautiful peers, an enriching workplace, and most of all, the Vanguard Lab was like a haven. But everything came crashing down until the devil took the form of a lethal elixir: HydraHepA.

They reached the end of the hallway, where they found themselves in a warm, cozy room. The room was large but had a rustic touch to it. The Last Supper mural by Leonardo Da Vinci hung high above the wall. Paulo motioned for them to sit at a small coffee table beside the window.

Bryan knew that each and every moment was precious and that there was no time to waste. Clearing his throat out, he tried to find the words out of thin air as if they were hanging around him. "Paulo, we need to know everything about HydraHepA...now!"

For the first time since the chaos, Jessica looked up. She gave him a bloodshot look and whispered in a monotone voice. "It's a priest! Address him as a father and not by his name!"

Bryan, who had spent much of his teenage life fending for himself, found himself in an awkward predicament. The unfamiliar territory of religious customs and reverence felt like a foreign language to him. Shifting uneasily, he managed to find the words to cover up the so-called mistake that he had just made. "I mean father Paulo."

Paulo chuckled and heaved a huge sigh, as if this wasn't new to him. "My boy, remember that I was a former scientist? Science and religion are like two sides of the same coin. You flip and watch a single side; you lose faith in the other." He paused for a moment and looked at the large mural above their heads. "Without knowing that, if not for the two sides, a coin wouldn't have been in place."

Jessica seemed to take in the intensity of the room. "Father, I know that you were a former scientist on the team, but we do not have much time. A maniac is out there, waiting to destroy the entire nation."

Paulo gave out a small chuckle, and his eyes bore into hers. "Entire nation? That thing can wipe out the entire earth!" He took a step near the window and opened its doors. Fresh air flowed into the room, which seemed to lighten their shoulders a bit. "It was sixteen years ago when we found HydraHepA. I was 24 at the time, gushing with the vigorous energy of youth. Vanguard Medical Division was my home, and, oh wait! You guys know about Vanguard, right?"

The duo gave a curt nod. Paulo gave a feeble smile and continued without taking his gaze from the window. "AquaPlague was a catastrophic, waterborne pandemic that emerged back in 2066. It spread rapidly through contaminated water sources, causing a wide range of severe and mysterious symptoms. Victims experienced high fever, intense dehydration, organ failure, and ultimately death within a matter of days. We tried to formulate an advanced version to combat the issue, and thus HydraHepA was formed, and it was a huge success."

Bryan couldn't believe his ears. He was indeed aware of the widespread pandemic, but the medicine being a success was something he couldn't believe. "If it was a success, why is it causing havoc? Shouldn't it be publicized?"

Paulo shot him a fiery look, one that carried anger and spite. If looks could kill, Bryan thought he would be dead by now. "The entire medicine was tampered with, its original purpose twisted into a deadly weapon," Paulo continued, his voice quivering with suppressed anger. "Someone infiltrated my lab, manipulating the very foundation of HydraHepA's creation, and the consequences is going to be catastrophic. And poor Jayden..." He heaved a huge sigh and murmured something, which seemed to be a prayer.

Jayden? Jessica stood up and faced the man before her. "Jayden who?" The man gave her a skeptical look and was a bit surprised. "Arnold haven't told you?" The look in her eyes answered his question. He stood up and placed a warm hand on her shoulder. "Jessica, I... yeah, your brother."

Jessica rushed out toward the window and started gasping for air. Hot tears started flowing through her cheeks, which gleemed bright in the Barcelonian sun. I thought he ran away from home and was dead long ago! She turned back and looked desperately into the eyes of the man before her for an explanation.

Bryan seemed to be the only person in the room missing out on something. Brother? I never knew she had siblings! Ever since their first encounter, they haven't had the time to sit down and talk about personal matters to get to know each other. He found it hard to believe that, despite carrying a lot of secrets, she always had that angelic smile around her that could light up anything dark in the world.

Paulo strode towards her and handed her a napkin. "It's true that Jayden ran away from your home, but I wouldn't blame the boy. It's very hard to fit into a staunch Catholic family if you aren't one at heart. When your dad threw him out of the house when he was caught smoking, he came to me. Being a scientist and an atheist myself, I adopted him and taught him science. He was a smart lad and picked up everything quick."

Jessica felt happy to hear about her brother. If there was someone she loved in this world, then that was her brother. It's true that he wasn't a Catholic boy and was more of the bad boy type with the smoking, drugs, and girls type, but he was her brother after all.

Paulo's expression stiffened with pain. "For a person who had no time to create a family, he became my son. He assisted me in devising the medicine, and when it was found, he was happier than ever. But that bastard burned my boy inside my lab after destroying the proof of manipulation from the computers!"

Jessica didn't know what to say anymore. She sat back hard on her seat and wanted to spend the entire time crying. Bryan huddled around her and gave her an assuring hug. Something about his presence made her forget the worries at hand and just want to hold onto him forever.

Bryan stood up and walked towards Paulo. "Now where do we find him? It's like we hit a dead end." The word dead seemed to bring about a sense of hope in the old man before him. "I do not know if this would be of any help, but I was mailed a letter from an unknown sender a day or two back."

He strode towards an antic cupboard and pulled out a letter from within. He laid out the letter in front of the awaiting duo beside him. Jessica read the letter out loud and gave it an incredulous look. "Amidst the brushstrokes of science and the devotion of charity, beneath the ancient arches of Sant Climent de Taüll, a riddle unravels, where light and shadows merge into secrets untold. Seek the canvas's hidden equation, and in the apse's solemn silence, decipher the cipher of enigma, for therein lies the path to the heart of the puzzle, where truth and treachery entwine."

Paulo shared an exasperated look too. "The letter didn't make sense to me either. I brushed it off, thinking that it might be another prank by one of the atheist teenagers who just wants to mess around."

Jessica looked towards Bryan for help, but he was deep in thought. Something about the letter seemed to strike a chord within him. "He is giving us a clue! Look carefully at the letter." He picked up a highlighter from the table and started highlighting some words in the letter.

Jessica and Paulo looked lost. Jessica peered out at the highlighted words and read them back and forth, yet it didn't make any sense. "Science, charity, Sant Climent de Taüll, Apse... Bryan, it doesn't make any sense! It's pure gibberish."

Bryan chuckled and turned to Paulo. "Barcelona is home to many famous paintings, right?" Paulo gave a dutiful nod, as Spain is home to one of the rarest and most precious artifacts of all time. "Read the words carefully; they are paintings! Science and charity by Pablo Picasso and The Apse of Sant Climent de Taüll by Master of Taüll!"

Jessica felt flustered, as this was her second time missing out on important histories. Paulo too seemed shocked, as being a Barcelonian himself, he couldn't make out the simple clue in the letter. Bryan folded the letter and looked at the flustered group before him.

"Both of these paintings are located in two different museums. One in the Museu Picasso and another in the Museu Nacional d'Art de Catalunya. Jessica, we will have to split as that makes the search quicker."

Jessica didn't like the idea of splitting up one bit, but she knew that this was necessary at the moment. "Father, we need a discrete vehicle out of here, something that merges in with the crowd and avoids less suspicion."

Paulo pulled up a car key and handed it over to Jessica. "My tucson's parked just outside the church. Be safe." She gave a reassuring smile and took the keys. She gave one last look to Bryan and exited the room.

"Now do I reach the museum by flying?" Paulo turned back and chuckled. "Well, when I was in my early days, I used to have a bike. You can take that."

On the porch outside the church, a rustic yet daring bike stood like a knight waiting to be used in battle. Bryan got on the bike and started it off. It gave a strong, low growl. Paulo shot him an awed look. "You got a license, don't you?" Bryan gave a sheepish smile and winked. "I love playing against the rules."

Paulo gave out a huge laugh and turned his way back to the church. "Good luck, hero!" Bryan smiled and shouted out after him. "Amen!"

As he sped through the bustling traffic of Barcelona, he whispered to himself, "The game has been set, the pieces are in place, and soon our adversary will emerge from the shadows. I'll be waiting, with every sinew of my being on high alert, to plunge you into the abyss of the dungeon."