Encoded

Chapter 16 : Bonjour

MHOREIN

I sat down and looked at Chain in disbelief. I can barely proccess what's happening. This woman almost put my life in danger.

Kung hindi ako nahanap ni Chain noon, Baka kung ano pa ang nagawa nila sa akin. Naramdaman ko na naman ang pait at galit sa puso ko.

I felt like her life is in my hands. Like she had mine years ago.

"Mhor, Kumalma ka muna. Pagisipan mo tong mabuti. Do we wanna be the ones to save her?" Chain asked me.

"No, Chain! Of course not! I want her to be killed brutally! I want her to burn in hell!"

But deep inside, I knew that if she dies and I didnt do anything to help even when I could've, I would live on to carry the burden of knowing that someone died because of me.

My brows furrowed when I remembered that email.

"Bakit ba nila ito ginagawa?! Anong kasalanan natin, Chain?" Chain held my hand, Trying to calm me down.

"They sent me an email! Sinasadya nila ito, eh!" I threw the folders across the office.

"Calm down, Mhorein. Please." Malambing na sabi ni Chain.

"We're taking every case that comes our way. If that's what it takes to figure out who the hell is behind all of this." Chain assured me.

"We dont need to! I know it's Daniel Lucas! It's him! That bastard-" Chain stopped me.

"Paano mo naman nasasabi yan, Mhorein?"

"He deactivated all his accounts!"

"Because he massacred a whole mansion of people and killed three other officers including Inspector Arcilla! The guy is insane!"

"The notes Acros left and Lucas' handwritting. Iisa lang!" Nagaalalang tumingin sa akin si Chain.

"They are finding Daniel Lucas. Mhorein, We don't have to deal with him. Please. Youre doing it again. "

"Ano?"

"Youre just blaming someone to ease everything. Youre trying to make yourself believe that arresting that man will make everything stop," A memory of a man behind bars begging and crying flashed in my head.

"Hindi iyon, Mhorein. Hindi na pwedeng maulit pa iyon?."

''It wasnt me! I have a son! Please!"

"Chain, No... Trust me. May ibedensya tayo! Maniwala ka naman!"

"Well, How are we gonna find him? Huh? Mhor. Paano? Sige nga!" Tumaas ang boses ni Chain.

"A whole agency and police office is looking for him. Just let them do their job!"

I cried.

"Hindi ko na kaya, Chain... This is getting worse and worse everyday." Our phones rang. I opened a message with a video attached to it.

A dim lit room features a masked man in the middle. I played the video.

"Bonjour Detectives! Je' m'appele Morse! Haha! If it isnt the selfish infamous Leounet detectives. Let's see if you can be such a saint this time around. I'll give you a clue. Following the nostalgia of the game." He laughed maniacaly,

"Raise a toast to us! You've been a good sport" He held a glass cup of what seemed to be wine and took a sip.

"Coordinates are 26.3045° N, 80.2695° W. We are giving you three weeks to try and find the location and save our little torture slave. See? So easy to find this time! But can you control your emotions? Haha! Au revoir!"

The video ended. Are they pointing out where Roxxane is hidden? I tried to open the account that sent the video but it dirrected me to a loading screen that only displayed the word error after minutes of waiting.

"All we need to do is search up the coordinates and we'll find the place... It's like they're giving the location away." Bulong ni Chain.

"But they know what's stoping us..." I started to cry again. Why is this happening to us?

"Chain, Why is this happening? I shouldnt be double thinking about saving a living, breathing human being!"

Chain embraced me. Is my anger that bad that I would let it cost someone's life?

"Mhorein, Remember what we stand for. What we're here for. Wag mong kakalimutan iyon. Andito lang ako. "

Chain's mother and sister died infront of us when we were kids. We saw them drop dead with a deafening bang in the park we were at.

Hanggang ngayon hindi namin alam kung sino at bakit sila binaril.

"You have something to fight for... Ako wala." Chain smiled at me, Calming every muscle in my body.

"We can take a rest." I remembered what the video said. Three days. Maybe I can think about it... Maybe in three days I wouldve made up my mind.

Tinitigan ko si Chain bago tumango.

"Pupuntahan pa natin ang burol ni Inspector Arcilla bukas. You need to take it easy. Okay?" Chain handed me a cup of water from the dispenser.

"Thank you, Hon..." I handed him back the cup.

I started to think, Is there a chance that the abductors will be at the coordinates? Or will they be smart enough to fled the place and leave the victim behind?

O baka patibong lan ang lahat ng 'to. Baka wala doon ang biktima. Kami lang at kung sino man ang uutusan nilang pumatay sa amin.

I took my phone out and googled the coordinates.

"Putangina nila." I clenched my jaw.

It's the school where it happened. Where Roxxane did that.

"Why? What did you find?" Inabot ko sa kanya ang telepono na siya namang tinignan niya.

"... shit, Really?" I nodded. I sighed.

Thinking of the possibility that she's getting hurt. I guess... Im alive right now.

Nasaktan man ako, Buhay parin ako. Maybe that's her karma. She's getting badly hurt. But I wont let her die. But I have to admit that Im still bitter about it.