FC Arcade Series #1: Q
He needs a cook for his nephew. . . and she's the perfect candidate.
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Shantrie Qin is a private detective who was looking for a cook for his nephew, one who can pass all his tests. But to his dismay, none of the applicant...
"I CAN'T CLASSIFY the thief as a kleptomaniac, since ang mga nanakaw ay talaga namang mga mahahalagang bagay. They have value, at talaga namang nabebenta," Elisheva stated, staring at the ground and clearly thinking deeply.
Mas lalo niyang itinaas ang kamay ng babae at ipinakita rito ang vicinity map na nilagyan nito ng x-marks. Hindi niya alam, pero parang gustong-gusto nang sumabog ng puso niya sa pagnanais na paulanan ang babae ng halik.
If it weren't for her, he wouldn't have seen this.
"Did you see anything weird?" he asked, staring at her face. Kita niyang matiim itong nakatitig sa map, and her eyes shifted back and forth. Nakatingin lang siya sa reaksyon nito, waiting for that realization to strike on her face.
And it did.
Nanlaki ang mga mata nito at napasinghap. Nakaparte ang mga labi na nag-angat ito ng tingin sa kanya.
"Holy shit, Detective! You're a fucking genius! It's braille code!" she said in a high-pitched voice with astonishment and surprise in her eyes.
His lips automatically form a smile, at parang may kung anong sumipa sa puso niya sa narinig. Fuck.
He's used to people telling him that he's a real genius when it comes to solving crimes and cracking codes, but hearing it from Ellie, the woman he likes, fills his heart with butterflies. Para siyang nakalunok ng paruparo, at may kung ano sa tiyan niya na hindi niya mawari.
Fuck. Oo, kinikilig siya.
He pursed his lips and brushed his hair upwards as he slowly took a deep breath. Kaso ang tatrabahuin, hindi si Elisheva.
The woman took the phone and wrote boxes over the codes. Now, it was clear that the thief left them a message.
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"Pero 'yong block two. . ." bahagyang humina ang boses nito, kaya napatingin siya sa tinutukoy nito.
13, 15, and 21.
"It doesn't make sense kapag susundin natin ang alphabet," kunot-noong ani nito habang seryosong nakatutok ang mga mata sa map.
"Let's crack that after we crack the braille. If the braille is a single-layer code, there's a high probability that the code on block two is also single-layered." Ginulo niya ang buhok nito, at tiningala siya ng babae. May maliit na ngiti ito sa mga labi habang nakatingin sa kanya at ang mga mata nito ay kumikinang.
He sucked in some air as her stare brought a dry lump into his throat that he couldn't seem to swallow. Fuck.
"Ang galing mo," mahinang saad nito at ngumiti habang kagat-kagat ang pang-ibabang labi. Para bang kinikilig ito.
Shit.
He squinted his eyes at her, giving her a threatening glare. "I told you to have mercy on my heart, but you just couldn't understand." Mahina niyang pinitik ang noo ng babae na ikinakurap nito.
