For no particular reason, Jake decided to give Catalina a video call. Just before doing so, he decided to deactivate his human disguise. He knew this ability could only last for a limited amount of time before he needed to remorph, which consumed a certain amount of mana. So there was no point in keeping the disguise up all the way to the Los Demonios main base. Instead, he would assume the pilot's identity as he got closer to his destination. Besides, since humans were currently unaware of his ability to disguise himself, he preferred to keep that secret for a little longer, even from his allies.

After deactivating the disguise, he called Catalina. After a couple of rings, a holographic display popped up above the dashboard, showing Catalina sitting in a chair in her security control room.

"Jake?" she said from the screen, obviously surprised to receive a call from him. "It's nice to see you again."

However, Jake couldn't help but notice her wince slightly at the sight of his terrifying appearance.

She frowned as she realized where he was.

"Are you in a helicopter?" she asked.

Despite the steady hum of the rotor blades, Jake could hear her clearly, thanks to the futuristic helicopter's noise-muffling tech.

Jake retrieved the electrolarynx from his inventory and pressed it to his mandible.

"Yeah," he replied. "I'm on my way to the Los Demonios main base. That bandit organization will cease to exist very soon now."

Catalina took a deep breath.

"So it's almost over, huh?" she said. "You know, Los Demonios have been terrorizing the city for so long that it's hard to believe they will soon be gone. Since you started taking down their bases, the streets have gradually become safer. Sure, there are still mutants roaming the streets, but the real threat was Los Demonios. With you dismantling their bases, people started to feel safer and eventually even began confronting the remaining groups of bandits themselves."

Jake didn't say anything, sensing she wasn't done yet.

"However, even though the level of bandit presence in the streets was decreasing, I always knew that while Skullface was still alive and his main base was still standing, there was always a chance he could rebuild his organization. But I guess that's not happening now that you're about to pay Skullface a visit. It looks like Los Demonios won't be making a comeback anytime soon, huh?"

"No, they will not," Jake replied. "There will be nobody left to rebuild the organization. Nothing will be left of their main base but rubble. I'll make sure of that. The era of their terror is over."

"Good," she said, then added, "The only thing I regret is that I won't be able to see Skullface die. What I wouldn't give to watch him pay for his crimes! But I suppose I can settle for you taking care of him. Just knowing you're about to end his life is good enough for me."

Jake didn't know what to say, so he simply nodded.

"In my dreams, I still see the faces of all my friends that Skullface killed," Catalina said softly. "Both the ones I had before joining the organization and the ones I made after I was captured. Knowing their deaths will be avenged gives me some comfort."

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Jake nodded again.

"Where did you get the helicopter, by the way?" she asked.

"It was parked at Base Rex," Jake explained. "The main base is a few hours away by helicopter, so I made sure the helicopter remained undamaged during my attack. Without it, navigating the Scarlands to reach the main base would've taken me much longer."

"I haven't heard the news yet," Catalina said. "Does that mean you destroyed Base Rex? The very last base in the city?"

"Yes. There are no more bandit bases left in the city."

"That's great news!" Catalina exclaimed, a wide smile spreading across her lips. "I can't express how grateful I am to you for that. Thank you, Jake. Thank you so much. I can't wait to tell my people the news. We're going to celebrate today!"

They fell into silence for a moment. Gradually, Catalina's smile faded, replaced by a frown. Jake could sense she was troubled by something.

"You know, there's been something bothering me lately," she said. "Talking about there being no more bandit bases in the city has reminded me of that."

"What is it?" he asked.

"At some point, it occurred to me that not everyone under my command could be who they pretended to be. I can't help but think, what if some of them are actually ex-members of the gang, trying to pass themselves off as regular survivors? After all, it was pretty clear to everyone in the city that after you declared war on Los Demonios, the tide was turning against the gang, and very fast at that. In the past few days, Melissa and I have seen a huge influx of new people wanting to join us, which wasn't surprising considering how quickly Los Demonios were losing the war against you. So, I wonder if some of them were actually ex-gang members. After all, all they needed to do was abandon their bases and get rid of any red fabric they wore. After that, blending in as ordinary survivors could be a piece of cake for them."

"Don't worry about that," Jake replied. "If there are any ex-gang members among you, they obviously decided to join you because they knew Los Demonios had lost their power, and staying with them was no longer beneficial. Leaving the gang and joining you was a smarter choice for them. They won't stir up any trouble. They'll just keep pretending to be one of you. They'll be careful not to compromise themselves and won't cause any issues. Why would they? Being members of Los Demonios is now their past, and from now on, they'll stand with you."

"And I don't like it," Catalina said stubbornly. "I don't want people who were once with Los Demonios among my ranks. I'm not just saying this out of fear that they might turn against me if a more powerful force appears on the horizon. I can't trust them, but what's more important than that is that they need to pay for their crimes. They committed horrific acts just to join Los Demonios, and the atrocities they carried out after they became full-fledged members of the organization are even worse. I refuse to shelter such monsters. They can't just live among us like nothing ever happened."

"If you feel that way, I can swing by your base after I'm done with Skullface and check if any of your people are ex-members of the gang," Jake suggested.

"That'd be nice. How do you plan to do that, though?" Catalina asked. "You're not just going to grab a handful of my people and torture them, right?"

"Of course not," Jake replied. "There's no need for that. I have a special ability I can use to identify any potential ex-members among your ranks."

Catalina's expression turned surprised.

"Really?" she said. "So you can read minds?"

"Better," Jake said without giving too much away.

Catalina waited for him to elaborate, but he remained silent. Once she realized he wasn't going to explain further, she said, "That's cool. Having such a useful ability, I mean. I'd really appreciate it if you could use it to detect any ex-Los Demonios among my people when you're back."

"I'll do that," Jake promised.

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