Lightspeed: Drug Detectives

Chapter 7 (Act I): Honorable Herman

Hey, guys! Ariel Axilas here and welcome back to another chapter of "Lightspeed: Drug Detectives"! Last chapter......oh, my God, guys.....I can't believe I had to pull out the threat card, but I did. Erica Shields and I—mostly me—tried to convince my on-and-off boss, Marle Atkins of the Mastermind Conspiracy, to join us on our quest to take down the Celestial Syndicate, a cannabis-producing and distributing drug cartel that's stationed out of Santo Domingo in the Dominican Republic, and whose heiress, Isabela Acosta, died after trying to flee to America for a better life and getting herself into a mentorship with the Paragon Powerhouse. It took me about.....three tries. .....I think.

First, I try to appeal to Marle's hatred for law enforcement by pointing out that Isabela had been killed by an FBI special agent who was the leader of his unit. But after I revealed that said special agent had already been killed and that his unit had been exposed, fired, arrested, charged, sentenced, and put away, Marle didn't see it fit to do anything more with them.

Second, I try to entice Marle by implying that since the Celestial Syndicate's operations have been going on for years, it means that the law enforcement officials of the country aren't doing a great job at keeping them contained. Though this does momentarily sway Marle, she remains unshaken, unfortunately for me.

Or.....unfortunately for her, I guess. Because she ended up making me resort to my last card.

Almost at the end of my rope, I threaten to expose Marle's secret; that she was the one responsible for killing 85% of the entire world's police forces.....and not the Cosmic Armada, like the world at large currently believes. I demonstrate the ramifications of the reveal right then and there because I reveal it within earshot of my best friend Erica, who also didn't know the truth beforehand. This is finally enough to get Marle on our side, and she agrees to help us if I keep her secret, much to my contentment.

After she tosses out our styrofoam coffee cups, however, the three of us are then met by another one of the core Paragons—Herman, to be precise—and I'm shocked. Like, SHOCKED. Not like "electricity" shocked, but like....."dumbfounded" shocked.

This time, we find out what the hell he's doing in this place.....

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"What the hell are you doing in this place?" I ask the Paragon Herman in disbelief as he casually strolls into the break room as well to join me, my best friend Erica Shields, and my on-and-off boss Marle Atkins. "I thought you went back to Mercury Heights after vacationing with James!"

"I was, but shortly after I got back, Marle called me saying that she needed help. So, I borrowed a certain doctor's old plane to come here quickly," Herman explained. "I get that she kind of wants to keep her distance from me, especially since the Paragons had quite the legal fallout in the past.....but I do still consider her a friend deep down. If she needs my help.....I'll be there."

Both Erica and I nod with understanding.

"What a hero," Erica comments with a smirk. "Glad to finally be able to see you in person!"

However, I soon notice that Marle's currently looking at Herman with trembling lips and a shaking hand. As she speaks, her voice audibly trembles, too.

"You.....you didn't hear my confession about the police forces that were killed aboard the Domination II, did you?" she asked with great apprehension. "Did you?"

Herman exhaled. "I did."

"FUCK!" Marle exclaims frustratedly, loud enough for Erica and me to flinch. The others outside hear it too, but they didn't hear anything before it, so they just assumed their dear leader was just frustrated about something. "Ugh....damn it!"