The ranger station is a rugged wooden structure surrounded by tall trees. One lantern illuminates the large bulletin board near the entrance and another lights up the porch. A dirt path leads up to the building, sheathed by mosses and fallen leaves.

A car is parked out front, something familiar about it, but Red and Jin are in no mood to judge. They follow the two rangers to the porch. A squirrel in front of the door scurries to the side as they step up.

The ranger, addressed as ‘Max’ by Colonel Wright earlier, opens the door with a creaky sound. “Welcome to the station,” he says, motioning them inside.

At the foyer, there's a doormat with a picture of a deer holding a welcome sign. On the left, a table is surrounded by scattered chairs and benches, and a corkboard mounted on the wall. Hat hooks and a small rack decorate the right side.

“Where'd that dunce go?”

“Cool it, Carl,” says Max. “No one's coming to rob us.”

“What’s wrong?” asks Red.

“A sloppy teammate,” says Max. “It's his turn to keep watch but as you can see, no one's here. He's probably off smoking somewhere.”

“Oh.”

Max opens the door to the chief's office and everyone walks in single file.

“You did it boys!” booms a short old man with snow-white hair. All the badges and rank insignia scream he's the chief ranger. Striding around his desk, he pats Max and Carl's backs, then moves to the duo. “How was your hike, kids? Full of adventures I assume—especially when you got lost,” he chuckles in his words. But Red and Jin don't share the moment of humor. Instead, they're focused on the other man sitting in the room.

“Commissioner Benzer!” Red exclaims.

“Figured,” Jin mutters.

Benzer stands up. “That's how you greet a respected senior ranger? Or the wilderness swept away your manners?”

The chief laughs. “They're just surprised to see you, Ben. No harm done.”

“We're sorry,” Red says and gets an immediate back slap from the chief.

“Leave it, boys,” the chief says. “You're back safe and that's what matters.” He makes a gesture to Max and Carl. “Bring them some food. Drinks too.”

Max and Carl leave with a ‘yes sir’ nod.

“Have a seat, boys. I'm sure you're tired,” the chief motions toward the chairs before his desk. “Ah, did I give you my name?”

The old man talks too fast and it takes the duo a few seconds to catch up.

Red almost chuckles. “No, sir. But we know you're the turbo boss here.”

“Turbo boss?” the chief frowns, and when Red begins to regret his wording, he cracks a grin. “I like that. But I'm also known as Mark Will around here.” He winks and drops into his chair.

Benzer sighs and settles into the chair next to the chief's desk.

Red and Jin drag their chairs forward, the wooden legs scraping loudly against the floor.

A minute of silence passes before Max and Carl appear with two bottles of electrolyte drinks and a small tray of granola bars.

“Thank you, Max and Carl,” the chief says. “Have a break now. Oh, yeah! Where's Sebastian?”

“He stayed back to put out the campfires,” says Max.

Carl glances at his watch. “He'll be back any moment now.”

“Alright. Get some shut-eye.”

Another minute of silence follows their dismissal. “Why aren't you eating?” the chief breaks it. “I can bet my life you are starving.”

Red flashes a smile and reaches for the drink. “Thanks a lot, sir.”

“Mr. Will will do,” the chief says and leans in. “But ‘turbo boss’ is better.”

Red grins. “Okay, turbo boss. Why don't you two join us?” he says, eying Mark Will and Benzer. “Eating is fun when eaten together.”

The chief laughs. “Indeed. But I can't go against my routine. High on blood sugar.”

Benzer simply waves dismissively.

“Oh. That's a problem,” Red says, then sips from his drink.

“If you are diabetic, you have sweet problems. Excuse the pun.” The chief winks.

Red chokes and begins coughing. His eyes tear up and his breath catches in agony. The other three look at him in concern but it passes quickly.

“My heart choked on your coughing, child,” the chief says. “Warn me next time.”

“Sure,” Red says. “I'll give you a one-liner sweet-heartedly.”

Another laughter from the chief.

Benzer snorts.

Jin smiles.

“Anything wrong, son?” the chief asks, looking at Jin. “You are too quiet.”

“I'd like to ask you something, chief,” Jin says. “About Officer John Foster's murder.”

The mood in the room shifts to tense. Red puts his drink on the table and prepares to join Jin.

Mr. Will shares a glance with Benzer. “Your prediction…was correct.”

Benzer sighs.

“Prediction?” Red asks.

“When your signal disappeared from the trailhead, a wrong trail, Ben presumed, you were to come here, in the ranger station, to inquire about Officer John’s case.”

Red narrows his eyes at Benzer. So does Jin. “Signal?”

Benzer’s frown deepens despite his effort to keep a straight face.

The chief's voice rattles like an old machine. “Oops! Ben, I might have tipped them off!”

“Yup,” says Red.

“So you've been tracking us?” asks Jin.

“Be grateful for that,” Benzer says.

“Alright, then,” says Jin. “Since you knew, I hope you have the answers ready.”

A pause before the chief says, “We helped search for clues when it happened, but investigating a murder isn’t what we do. That’s for the Darkwood police, and in John's case, the Azimuth police, too. We've had no involvement since. After all these years, there’s nothing more we can offer you. I wish I had a better answer, but sorry, that's the truth.”

Benzer fiddles with his watch and the chief shifts in his seat, waiting patiently for the kids’ response.

Jin's jaw tightens, fists clench under the table, but he nods. The chief's right. If the police don't have a clue, then there’s no chance that the rangers would. “We should leave.” He stands up, eyes darting from the desk to the floor.

If there's the slightest trembling in his voice, Red detects it. “Yeah,” he assists. “Everyone home must be worried sick by now.” He almost frets over thinking they yet have an excuse to make up. Now that they've made it alive, James and Kate are sure to kill them.

“I'd suggest you should rest a while,” says the chief. “They can leave in the morning, ay, Ben? You're not on the night shift I suppose?”

“You know how my shifts work, Mr. Will,” Benzer says, standing up and reaching out for a handshake. “We should be on our way.”

Mr. Will gets up, and so does Red as the two elders exchange formal thank-yous and goodbyes.

The chief laughs when Red and Jin do their part and hands them the drinks. “Make sure to stay on the trail next time,” he says, walking the party out of his office.

Just as they near the front door, it swings open and Colonel Wright enters.

“Sebastian!” cries the chief. “You're in time for the goodbye party!”

The colonel frowns. “Leaving already?”

“Yeah,” Benzer says as he shakes hands with the colonel. “I’m deeply thankful for your help, colonel.”

“My duty, Ben. Don't mention it.”

When they exchange formal wordings, the duo stands beside silently, observing the ranger's athletic build and salt and pepper classic taper hair, and wondering why everyone calls him a colonel.

In a moment, they're inside Benzer's car, heading home through the forest trail. The headlights illuminate the path full of twists and turns but it's clean enough to drive through—completely different from the one Red and Jin took earlier.

“Uncle Ben,” Red calls from the backseat when the car enters the roadway.

Benzer's eyes flick on the rearview mirror.

“Aren't you and Inspector Ivan the only ones to be on Uncle John's case? Since Darkwood police are no longer part of the investigation?”

Benzer hits the brakes and the car skids to a sudden stop. Red bumps his head on the shotgun backrest, while Jin's saved by his seatbelt with a slight jolt forward.

“Wear your seatbelt,” Jin says.

“I thought I had,” Red says, rubbing his head. “Man, what a cliché!”

“Yes, we are the only ones,” Benzer answers, oblivious to the groaning Red. “But that doesn't mean the case is being neglected, though it might seem that way.”

“The reason they withdrew?” Jin asks. “The case falls under their jurisdiction.”

“Lack of manpower,” Benzer says, tapping on the steering wheel and adjusting the side view mirrors absentmindedly. “They pulled out after Mr. Green passed away.”

“Mr. Green!” Red cries out, remembering how the day's adventure began. “Did you happen to…”

“I'm aware you went looking for him,” Benzer cuts in. “To set the record straight, Mr. Green didn't have a clue either. He felt guilty for that, just how we…" He trails off as he shifts the gear—emotions in check as always.

Red sinks into his seat, fastening his seat belt this time. Jin leans and stares blankly out of the window, his eyes fixed on the darkness outside. Benzer remains silent, navigating through the night.

It takes less time to reach the city at night than it would during the day. Yet, even the night birds have gone to sleep by now. The duo gets off and thanks Benzer for escorting them home.

“Don’t expect me to always bail you out,” Benzer huffs, then drives away.

When the car's tail lights disappear down a turn, Red and Jin step toward the door.

“Guess what I’m thinking,” Red says, rubbing his eyes.

“Feels like it's been a decade?”

“No. A century.”