Is He a Hero?

(2.2) If You Step Into The Swamp

...

Thursday, October 12

5:00 PM

A middle-aged man sat at a desk; the slowly reddening sunlight reflected off the windows and onto the computer screen he was looking at, making him wince as he tried to work.

A minute later, his cell phone rings. The man pulls it out of his pocket, checks the screen, and sees it's an unknown number. Not believing it to be important, he silences his phone and lets the call ring out.

A minute later, he notices the same number calling him again. Curious, he decides to answer the phone this time. He accepts the call and puts the phone to his ear.

"Hello?" The man uttered, waiting for a response.

"Detective Ryan Miller? " A deep voice calls out on the other side. The man was frozen as he heard his name said aloud by this unknown entity.

"How do you know my name?"

"That's irrelevant. You were there, weren't you? At the fight pit two days ago?"

"Wha-"

"You disguised yourself as a foreign businessman interested in purchasing fighters for an overseas enterprise. That's how you got in, right?"

"..." Miller sat silently as this mysterious person unraveled his cover in less than a minute.

"Answer the question."

"...Yes..."

"Good, you remember the location?"

"I do."

"I see..."

"Why are you calling me?"

"..."

"Am I being threatened? Being told not to dig any further into this?"

"On the contrary, detective, I called to help."

Ryan perked up, his eyes widening at the revelation.

"Come again?"

"You heard me. I wish to aid in your investigation, though these calls will have to suffice, both for your safety and mine."

"How can I trust you? As far as I know, this could be a trap for me to walk into."

"You're right. There's no way for us to trust each other at the moment. If you want, bring a friend with you, but make sure it's someone close."

"I see..."

Ryan hesitated for a while, wondering what to do. After thinking, he sighed, putting his head down and continuing.

"What do you have to say." Ryan rustled around his desk, grabbing a paper and a pen. "I'll write it down, I can-"

"Hold on, detective." The voice interrupted the detective.

"What?" Ryan asked, his patience slowly withering away.

"Before I say anything, I present to you an option."

"Why?"

"How much do you want to know?"

"What do you mean by that?"

The voice sighs before continuing.

"Because whatever option you pick will determine how much danger you put yourself in."

"...I'm listening..."

"Option 1, I give you simple evidence. Not a lot, but it'll be enough to close your investigation. You'd shut down fighting rings across the city for good. You'll be rewarded and commended; you might even get promoted to work for federal agencies, NSA, CIA, FBI, you name it. You'd be regarded as a local hero for the next decade at least."