41 The Law ain’t on our side
1599 Words
The school had gone into a paranoid frenzy after news of the incident had spread. All of the students were on edge, worried that they might be next. It was the same for the faculty and staff. The teachers who would work late nights would prefer to stay the night in the offices rather than take the short trip to their cars. On top of hiring more security guards, President Emilia Karnstein established several routes for all of the guards to take in order to assure the students of their safety. All of the guards would be patrolling the entire campus, including the more remote areas as well. Even with the addition of the guards, Emilia also established a curfew which was taken into effect as soon as it was announced. There was no word on when this curfew would be removed, but as of that moment, it was implemented with the utmost seriousness. And even if the students did not have the curfew, they were all too scared to wander around campus late at night.
Max took note of this as the general unease proceeded to make his movement around campus more difficult. Everyone already knew that both him and Trae were the two people who were present in both instances of the kidnapping. So there was already growing suspicion that they were inside operatives. The stories grew more and more outlandish, even circulating around the gossip of the guards who were hired. As such, the guards paid a close eye to both him and Trae, making moving in secret both incredibly and unnecessarily difficult.
Trae and Max walked together to the meeting place with the detective known as 3D. Even on a casual stroll, the guards made sure to tail the two, sometimes deviating from their own route to do so.
“Man, these guards gotta relax. I can’t go anywhere nowadays without one of them breathin’ down my neck,” Trae said, as he tried to shoo away one of the guards, who pretended to look innocent. “What a drag.”
“Well, with all these rumors circulating about us, it’s pretty much set in stone to them that we can’t be trusted. Though I get it,” Max said as a couple of other guards started to gather in their general area. “It is really annoying.”
“Anyway, where are we supposed to meet this guy? He said he would be in one of the offices in the Admin?”
“One of the meeting rooms,” Max corrected him as they approached the looming building of the admin.
It was not surprising that this particular building was packed with a lot of the same guards that they have been hounded by ever since the rumors spread. As soon as they entered the building, the gossip and chatter of the guards hushed into a sort of murmur and whisper. Obviously, it wasn’t the weather that they were talking about now.
“I tell you man, I wanna knock one of these motherfuckers out,” Trae said, giving the stink eye to one of the guards who was clearly talking about them.
“Easy, Trae. We don’t want to give them anything to rat us out on,” he said as he glared at the same guard. “That’d just add to our problems.”
“Yeah, I get it.”
The two reached the room that they had been looking for. It was a room that was completely out of the way from all of the other meeting rooms. It was almost hidden, save for the decrepit sign that hung just outside of it. When Emilia had contacted them about 3D looking to meet them the day after Max’s encounter with him, they had requested that a room which was out of the way would be necessary in order not to gain any more suspicion. Two students meeting with a shady adult would make the rumors about them soar into the stratosphere. They opened the door, which immediately led to a very small room, filled with rusty metal filing cabinets, as well as a small desk, which 3D was already sitting behind. It almost felt like an oral presentation, except it wasn’t their grades on the line here.
As the students sat down, 3D had already begun the briefing. At this point, through text, Max had already informed 3D about the mention of the Brooklyn station pick up through the mouth of Ivan.
“So you’re sure about the information you’ve just given me, Max,” 3D said in order to verify.
“Yes, sir. Heard it with my own ears,” he replied.
“It’s 3D,” the aloof detective said in reply, as he flipped through the contents of a mysterious looking grey folder. “Anyway, in this folder lies information about the Wolfpack, as well as any kind of other miscellaneous information about their old lairs, and hideouts that may or may not be in use, of the moment.”
3D tossed the folder casually toward Max and Trae. It slid across the table, and stopped under the hand of Trae, who proceeded to open it and share it with Max.
“You’re some of the best hackers we’ve ever come across and I feel like with what you know, we will be able to get a handle on where the scumbags are lurking, and put them down. Once and for all.”
Immediately, Max interjected.
“What about Lina?”
3D looked at Max, slightly puzzled, but nevertheless took his question seriously. He looked through another folder that he had that was already laying on the table, and flipped through it to the most recent entry.
“Lina… Ku- Ku..”
“Kusonoki.”
“Right… Kusonoki. Well, the guys in the precinct are currently working on an investigation. Naturally, her parents have contacted us and tried to get us to hurry it up. You gotta trust me when I say, we are working as fast as we can.”
“Not fast enough,” Max said, clearly annoyed with the answer.
3D let out a sigh.
“Listen kid, I get it. She is your friend. But the fact that they got the wrong person, it won’t be long before she either turns up on some decrepit street in the ghetto, or is made silent. Permanently.”
Max glared at the officer, but the latter was unphased by this.
“I apologize for my bluntness, but that’s how it goes in this kind of business-”
“That’s not fair-”
“Let me finish kid!” he said, as he raised his hand for silence. “That’s how it goes normally in our kind of business. That being said, I do have some news about that Ivan kid. If you listen to the story all the way, you might find an answer that you might like.”
Max stayed silent, but looked at 3D as if he wanted him to hurry it up. 3D obliged.
“Right. Anyway, the news about the call that you tapped and recorded, as well as handed over to us, proved to be incredibly vital information. At first we thought that there was no way that Ivan would be there, as he would be held with us for a good while. However, for some reason, the chief of police had us release him. Nearly immediately.”
Max’s eyes widened slightly in intrigue.
“That being said, as of the moment, he is free as a bird. So our guys decided to track him down and find where this particular call leads.”
Max’s eyes met 3D’s hopefully. However, 3D shook his head in a disappointed, almost frustrated manner.
“As soon as word spread out about our involvement in tracking down Ivan, the same chief of police told us to halt it, and leave it to the feds. I have a feeling that once he catches wind of our investigation on Lina, it will be put to a halt too,”
“That’s not fair! Who knows how long that’ll take!” Max interrupted again.
“That’s what bugs me, Max. A crime in one of the most prestigious schools in the country, and neither body has made a move. It infuriates me,” 3D said as the hostility in his voice started to show.
After a few deep breaths, he looked at the two again solemnly.
“It’s blatantly obvious what’s going on here… you’ll have to allow me to go off record here.”
“Sure,” Max said, as the officer leaned in.
“I have a feeling they got someone on the inside.”
The two students looked at the detective in shock, and then to each other.
“That’s right. Whether it’s our Chief of Police or someone in control of him, I’m not completely sure. But as of the moment, that is the best that I can speculate.”
“But wait… So that means,” Max said, scared to finish his own sentence.
“That’s right kid… You got no police on your side for this one.”
Max’s heart sank as he heard those words. He leaned back on his seat and was about to give into despair. Trae put his hands to his face and rested his elbows on his knees. It was clear that there was no way that they could help their friend now. Suddenly, however the detective spoke again.
“That being said, I did tell you that you guys might hear an answer that you might like… right?” he said with a sly smile.
The two looked up at him, wondering what this detective was thinking. It was not long before their questions were answered, as he began to speak again.
“I told you that there would be no police to help you with this one. So I won’t speak to you as a detective… But as 3D,” he said as he leaned in. “I have a plan.”
- Writer
