HORIZON 1.1

Part-17

"Has he gone?" Maya put her gun back and asked.

"I'm not sure. He might be inside the building wearing anybody's face. If you wish to save Jack, now is the right time to place him in Zero-cell." Shiva said, giving Maya a nod.

"You are right." Maya began escorting Jack to the cell area right away.

"I'm going to murder you. You shithead." When Jack was being dragged by the police, he could not stop shouting this.

"Try me, Jack; I'm here."

Abruptly, the killer's figure appeared in the middle of the hallway. Without delay, Miya put herself in the way of Jack and the killer.

"You're trying to save someone who doesn't deserve it." The killer said it in a stern voice.

"Actually, I was trying to buy some time."

Shiva then jumped on the killer and took him by surprise from behind. This gave Maya plenty of time to lock Jack in Zero-cell.

"Jack is a criminal. You know this very well, Mr. Shiva. He will pay a price for his deeds. You can't protect him." Before disappearing, the killer said to Shiva.

"Has he gone this time?" Maya asked Shiva.

Shiva frowned, as if to say, "How would he know?"

The police headquarters was silent. From anywhere, the killer could launch an attack. Everybody was terrified and suspicious of one another.

"Relax; he is after Jack, and now that Jack is in Zero-cell I think he can't do anything now," said Shiva.

Everyone sighed with relief. The chaos at police headquarters had come to an end, leaving a trail of destruction in its wake.

Just when it seemed everything was fine, Riya entered the building. Once again, everyone had their guns aimed at Riya.

"Hey..Hey.." Riya said as she lifted her hands in surrender. "What did I do?"

"Where have you been?" Miya asked, her gun still aimed at Riya.

"Captain, I just came."

Riya's hands remained raised in surrender. Her whole body was shaking with terror. Her co-workers were all pointing guns at her. For Riya, this scene was frightening.

"I informed you last night that I would be arriving late today. It was my night out." With terror, Riya answered.

"Alright, put down the guns. Let her in." Putting her gun back in its holster, Maya spoke. "If we want to apprehend this killer, we need a full-proof plan."

"Who?" Looking over the destruction of the police station, Riya asked, still surprised. "What happened here?"

"There has been an attack," Macc replied. "And the killer was wearing your face."

"That video's killer did this, and he looks like me." Riya tugged at her short hair and said it angrily. "Captain, I have nothing to do with it. I swear."

Maya gave a nod of approval.

"What do you think? Is he still in this building?" Maya inquired of Shiva. "The entire building has been secured. It is impossible for anyone to enter or exit.

"I doubt it." Shiva stated, gesturing to the enormous hole the killer's weapon had created. "Whenever he wants, he can teleport."

Maya added, "You are right. "We can't talk outside like this."

"Zero-cell." Shiva pointed to the cell beside Jack's.

When Maya, Riya, Macc, and other officers entered Zero-cell, Shiva locked the cell from inside.

"You look slender." When Macc noticed that Riya had suddenly become extremely thin, he asked her.

"Sorry pals. This is how I really am. I always wear layer." Feeling ashamed, Riya replied.

"No technology or enhancement works in Zero-cell." added Shiva.

"Tell me, how can you afford a layer?" Macc asked her.

"Are you people crazy?" Maya yelled at them. "We are all confined to this cell, and you are all talking about Riya and her layer."

"Take a seat, please." Shiva said as he offered Maya the bed cell. "I have a plan in place. Could you please listen to me first?"

"I have to catch him at all costs, so do anything." Calming her racing heartbeat, Maya said.

Shiva smiled and said, "My plan is to lure him out and catch him."

"Seriously," Riya frowned, "you think it's that simple."

"How?" inquired Maya.

"Everyone knows he'll return for Jack. What if we give him Jack ourselves? But using Jack's layer." Shiva answered.

"He wears some cutting-edge technology. He will easily figure it out." Riya said.

"To do so, he'll need to get closer to Jack. Maybe that's how we'll locate him." As he moved to one side of the cell, Shiva said.

"And where are you planning to do this operation?" asked Maya.

"A day before the election at the Stadium Building, there will be a debate between politicians," replied Shiva.

"There will be a large crowd on the stadium's roof. The killer carries a weapon capable of killing people. It isn't possible. I'll not risk the lives of any citizens to apprehend him. Think something different."

Maya was not fond of Shiva's plan.

"Yes, he carries a weapon that can kill. How different our Zone would be if this weapon ended up in the hands of any mafia or gangster! What happens if the killer chooses to sell the weapon?"

"The constellations will help us." Maya prayed as she said this.

"Have you ever heard of the direct involvement of constellations? I also think that constellations exist, but have you ever seen the direct interference of constellations in any Zone's situation? Captain, this is our only chance. It's obvious that you can't hold Jack captive in Zero-cell for very long. What if, the next time, the killer decided to use even more advanced technology?" Shiva pointed out the opening left by the killer's weapon in the police headquarters building.

"It's too dangerous. We'll be on the stadium to protect the public, not to endanger them."

"We have very little chance of success. If we do, our Zone will be safe."

Shiva's remarks profoundly affected Maya. Maybe she should take this risk. For the safety of Zone, this was a very small risk.

"All right, continue." Maya said after giving it some thought.

"Political debate will take place on the roof of the stadium, and police officers will be stationed throughout. One of our members will be positioned away from the public on the building's edge, donning Jack's layer. All we must do is figure out a way to move our man to the next building in case the killer shows up. This will keep us away from the public. If the assassin follows our Jack and we get to this point. Constellation law states that no one is allowed to enter any building from the outside. At this height, there won't be much the killer can do. He can only teleport on roofs to go from one building to the next. He will always be in the open, right in front of our eyes."

Shiva drew several lines on the cell wall to finish his demonstration.

Shiva cast a hopeful glance at Maya. Maya found it extremely difficult to decide. She was dragging things out.

"All right, let me know who will wear Jack's layer."

Shiva is very close to catch this killer.

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