Find me, Detective

CHAPTER 11 - SHOW

As the reality of our failed ambush sank in, frustration surged through me. We had been so close, only to find ourselves duped by a mere scarecrow. The realization that The Ace had been one step ahead of us felt like a punch to the gut.

“Puta,” Mady cursed, glaring at the now motionless scarecrow. "Anong klaseng kalokohan ito?!"

“Looks like they’ve upped their game,” I muttered, running my fingers through my hair in exasperation. “This was a setup. They wanted us to chase shadows.”

“Anong gagawin natin ngayon?” Justin asked, frustration evident in his tone. “They’re clearly toying with us.”

I took a deep breath, trying to steady my racing thoughts. We had to regroup and rethink our strategy. “We need to get back to the station and analyze what we know. This may be a dead end, but we can figure out their next move if we piece together the clues.”

As we exited the warehouse, the weight of defeat hung heavily over us. The evening air felt charged with unspent tension as we made our way back to the car. I couldn't shake the feeling we were missing something vital.

Once we were settled in, I quickly called Dwayne. The ringing tone felt painfully long, but finally, he picked up.

“Hey Louise? sorry hindi ko nasagot kanina, something came up. What’s going on?” he sounded breathless, like he had just run a marathon.

“Dwayne, we just had an encounter at the East Warehouse. It was a bust. They used a scarecrow as a decoy to throw us off,” I explained, my voice edged with urgency.

“Damn. Did you manage to find anything else? nasaan kayo ngayon?” he pressed.

“No, just that they’re playing mind games now. But we need to discuss our next step. Paalis na rin kami, mag kita na lang tayo sa station."

“Alright. Wala ako sa station ngayon, pero doon na ako dideretso." he said, and I hung up.

The drive back was punctuated by silence, each of us lost in our thoughts. I could see Mady biting her lip, Justin tapping nervously on his knee, and Alex staring out the window, lost in her own world. I know i-stress na rin ang mga 'yan dahil sa mga nangyayari, this is the first time na nakipag laro sa amin ang mga Ace kaya grabe na lang talaga ang eager namin kanina na mahuli sila.

Bumalik kami sa shop na pansin ang pagkalanta namin, we were greeted by the familiar sight of Joaquin and Rals. I could see her and Joaquin sitting at a table, a worried expression on their faces as we walked in. Tinignan ko lang ang mga ito at binigyan ng maliit na ngiti, mukhang nag expect ata sila na mahuhuli namin ang Ace.

“What happened?” Rals asked immediately, her eyebrows furrowed in concern.

“Nasa harapan na nga ang ginto at talagang naging bato pa, letche, we got played,” said Mady, crossing her arms, frustration radiating off her. “They sent a fucking scarecrow to mess with us. Penge nga ng tubig nauhaw ako kakamura kanina.” pag uutos nito kay Raleigh.

Kita ko namang napataas ang kilay ni Rals pero agad rin itong umalis para kumuha ng maiinom ng isa.

“Ano ng plano ninyo? they're probably just messing with you," Joaquin chimed in.

“We need to find out what they’re up to,” I said, taking charge again. “As much as we want to stay here for a little longer and have a small talk with you guys, ay hindi naman kami pwedeng mag tagal pa rito. Our colleague is waiting for us at the station to discuss what happened."

"Naiintindihan ko." Joaquin said.

"Bibisita nalang kami kapag naka luwag-luwag na siguro. Thanks for your cooperation, we need to go now, Rals mauuna na kami." pag kuha ko ng attention dito na nag sisimula ng makipag daldalan kay Mady.