Code Of Conduct

Chapter 23

6TH HOUR.

SEO-JUN.

C, T, E, M.

From the envelopes that I had gotten from Chessman, I have collected a total of four letters. This is obviously another hidden message, what it spells yet I don't know which is why I have them lined up on the board along with everything else that we've collected so far. When I get my hands on all the envelopes, I'll finally know what they all spell. 

After Sierra had dismissed me, I returned home with Alec and we finally went through the folder Kelly had given us. A hundred thoughts and assumptions went through my mind as I held the folder in my hand; I felt like I knew what I'd find in there once I opened it but I had my doubts as well.

In the end, what I found in there left me speechless.

"Are you sure this is real?" Alec asks in disbelief; we had put everything together on the whiteboard and also sorted through the documents which Alec was currently looking at. "You're telling me they make this much money just from pulling off a heist?" He asks again still unable to wrap his head around what he just learned.

"The government tends to underwrite most of the news that they broadcast to the public. What would it look like if they announced that a group of robbers were able to walk away with 2.5 billion dollars instead of just a hundred thousand?" I ask giving a vague example and he nods seeming to understand now.

"So they cut down half the number so as not to cause panic and encourage more of it from happening?" He asks and I nod. "Still, that's a little...are you seeing the numbers on these reports."

"It wouldn't be impossible if the government wasn't behind it." I say and he looks up at me in surprise. "You have to understand that even though the Pride Order is an organization on its own capable of protecting itself, they're not completely invincible which is why they need to go the extra mile."

"They have the backing of the government as well." Alec whispers quickly catching on.

"Just like human trafficking, prostitution, and the rest, we'll never be able to completely get rid of them because those at the top won't let us."

"Isn't it a little hypocritical though?" He asks as he picks up a random report on the table. "They commit a crime and then use a good deed to cover up their sins, the government is more than capable of doing all this without the need to commit the crime."

"They are, but that's not the work of the government." I say and he looks up at me confused. "All of these charities are the works of the Pride Order, they use the money they make to take care of their own and many others like them that find themselves in unfavorable situations." I explain.

The folder that Kelly had given me was one full of surprises. It seemed Redemption was only the beginning; charities, orphanages, low-paying homes, and hospitals, all of these were secret foundations funded by the Pride Order made for homeless children and those alike that had nothing else to turn to.

It was a little confusing to see all the good that they did considering how and where they got the money from, I couldn't deny that this right here has saved a lot of lives. But the downside was that most of these children under the protection of the Pride Order ended up following the same path. They get taken out of the streets only to be turned into different variations of criminals.

It was all a little hard to come to terms with.

"But what's the point of all this, what are we doing here anyways?" Alec asks looking at the pile of mess scattered all around my living room. "Is he trying to get you to back off of him by showing you all the good that they do?" He asks and I can't help but chuckle.