Duskwood Legends [English Version]

The flame of hope.

---- ALAN'S POV ----

I've been driving for a while now; I retraced the whole narrow road back, the one that led us to the clearing where the group left their cars, and I already passed the entrance to the farmhouse. I just stopped for a couple of seconds there in the surroundings, pulling over to the side of the road to observe the property from a distance; the area has been almost completely cleared, and only a couple of patrol cars remained on the scene, to perform an initial inspection and apply the seals. I gave them clear instructions to cordon off the area, marking off its perimeter with warning tape, and arranged for a patrol of four or five officers to stand guard at all times, shifting with the other units on duty.

The entire property is now off-limits; no one shall enter it without permission.

Between tomorrow and the day after that, this place will be swarming with FBI agents and Interpol bigwigs; the chances that the dwelling contains material useful to the investigation are really high, and any information that will be gleaned from the findings could bring us one step closer to foiling their illicit trade, as well as arresting the various members of the organization.

If we succeed, this would undoubtedly be one of the greatest police successes in the entire history. The criminal group is supposed to be composed of about two hundred elements, not including outside collaborators and criminal associates, which enable the underworlders to traffic all over the world. The final estimate is that it counts more than half a thousand followers, scattered across continents.

Right now we only know the sin, but not the sinner. Yet, in recent weeks, we have made enormous strides that give us hope; our enemy does not yet have a face, but it is only a matter of time before it will be unmasked. Moreover, we know in which part of the globe it is located, and this greatly simplifies the work of intelligence. The organization is headquartered in Beijing; and it's from the East that their criminal network starts, extending to the other end of the planet. This is one of the few sure things we know at present, without considering another unquestionable truth, of which we have absolute certainty: these people are extremely dangerous, and wherever they pass, they leave an indelible trail of blood and pain.

Jake, who are you up against?

Unfortunately, taking the right choice is not always the equivalent of taking the best one...

Sometimes, unfortunately, it leads us toward negative consequences that we never expected and that make us regret the decision we made. These choices are taken in a matter of seconds, yet we end up discounting them for the entire remaining time; what a strange irony of fate.

But it is thanks to brave individuals like Jake that we are this far along with the investigation today.

I won't permit, under any circumstances on earth, all the sacrifices he has made so far to be in vain. His honesty and righteousness to moral principles have driven him down a road too difficult to cross, full of dangers and traps, but one that he will no longer have to walk alone.

The time has come for justice to take off the blindfold and begin to recognize the value of his actions.

But first, we must find him, and we have little time to do so; locating the hiding place where they imprisoned him takes priority over everything right now.

Actually, I do not fear for his life; I am rather certain that killing him is not part of their intentions, although the thirst for revenge is strong and they are probably itching for it. But there is one really important factor to take into account, which outweighs any desire for revenge: people with Jake's computer skills can be counted on the fingers of one hand. He could easily infiltrate the FBI's servers completely on his own, without a collective of hackers to help him in the task.