Pools of Blood

Chapter 24

 "You have to run an ad for us, can you?", I asked Lily.

We were all seated in Bo Chang’s room. Jasmine refused to stay back in the hospital, so Angela pulled her wheelchair to the station.

-"What type of advertisement?"

-"It should be like this. For all the couples going to marry tomorrow, the government is going to congratulate them by giving free honeymoon packages anywhere in Asia to any place they would choose. There would be a challenge for the bride. She has to dedicate a song to her new would-be husband, sung by her own voice online. The best and unique voice would win the game and the tickets. The bride should be wearing a wedding dress and she also has to provide her own name and venue of the wedding as information. The rest you can make as you wish."

Lily looked amused but she knew none of her curiosities would be answered. She had worked with Bo Chang before. She was well aware of his personality.

"But Michael", Angela whispered, "what if she doesn’t take the bait?"

-"She would", Jasmine said. "She would. Nobody in their right minds would refuse such a deal".

-"How do you know from which voice which one is she?", Angela asked.

Jasmine looked at her and smiled. "Believe me. I can't forget her voice. She has a Filipino accent in her English and she rolled her Rs too much. I have never heard such rolling of consonants. Her voice would be the last thing to leave my mind."

I turned back to Lily.

"Okay. So make sure that all the channels broadcast this as soon as possible. We only have a few hours left. So the bride could get the news either from TV or from the Public."

She nodded. I trusted her ways of doing work. She was the best reporter we ever had. An expert in sucking out crimes and criminals from dangerous places.

Bo Chang stood up and clasped his hands together.

"Okay so far all sorted. In the meantime, I am going to pass on a piece of fake news that something bad would happen to one of the churches today according to a source, to all the police stations, so that they can spread out I disguise to all the churches in their jurisdiction. We not only have to arrest her but also prevent her from getting terminated by their Boss. And we cant reveal our real intention to anyone."

I agreed. He was right. Lily left along with Bo Chang and Angela who were on their way to the communication Room. Mark and his cyber team would be helping Lily to promote the Add to all the phone numbers and emails of the people of this country. By dawn, the Advertisement would be the only talk of the city. I was left alone with Jasmine. She was gazing outside the window.

"Are you sure you can identify her voice?"

-"Have faith, Michael".

-"Hmm. Okay."

I sat down beside her and looked outside. The night was already ending. Soon it would be dawn. We just had a few hours at hand. I prayed to God silently for success. After the death of Lenus, the number of people we could trust had lessened by degrees. Someone from inside was helping Frank Ting in carrying out his agendas. But who?

Lily ran the ad perfectly. All the girls going to be wedded the next day would definitely fall in. honeymoon free of cost is obviously every human of this planet desires. That’s a universal truth. No one would find this suspicious. A singing performance would be enough for Jasmine to confirm the voice of Woori. All the police stations have been alerted and police in civil attires have all taken positions in all the churches. The ad is being promoted by loudspeakers and announcements at all stations and bus stands. Not a single bride would be left unaccounted for.

Phones started to blare and excited women on the other end of the line were trying their best to win the prize. Jasmine sat placing a pair of headphones and listened to the blabbering of all those women who called one after another. Each time she shook her head in denial. Where was Woori? Did she even get the message? Where was she? What if the 'Boss' already had cleaned her out? Hundreds of questions were swirling inside my head.

Seeing the number of women going to get married, their happy and excited voices made me remember my marriage day. My beautiful wife was looking like a damsel in white when she trod upon the aisle with Alfred holding her hand and dad her another. She looked radiant as the sun and her rose bun and glittering tiara enhanced her beauty manifolds. I couldn’t look away. I felt as if she was an angel gliding towards me, smiling widely. It was our dream for many years. To be married. To have children. To be parents. When she said 'I do', I became euphoric in happiness. We are Buddhists but she desired to marry in a church like those Hollywood movies. So we did. I always tried to fulfill all her wishes and cravings. Due to this sometimes, mom used to get angry with me.

"Don’t pamper your wife so much", she would say.

-"Mom. How can you say that? She is your daughter."

-"You are my son too."

-"Amiya is the best thing that ever happened to me, mom. And she deserves every bit of pampering", I would say.

"Michael", Angela broke my thoughts.

-"What is it?", I looked at her.

She pointed towards Jasmine. Her face was contorted with anger. She was gritting her teeth and her fists were clenched. On the screen, a young girl with spiky hair and tattoos on her arms was singing in a white pinafore. She was singing a Filipino song. Her name shown on the screen was Alicia James.

I looked at Jasmine. She was fuming in anger.

"Is this her?"

-"Yes. It's her voice. I am 100% sure. This is the b***h Woori."