Dakota turned to Sam. "That’s why I asked you and Rina to come to my birthday party, because the culprit will be there." Sam didn’t budge, another puzzle. Even though he was a pretty sharp detective, he still found it hard to dive into Dakota's train of thought. "Can I know who it is?" Dakota nodded. "You should already know, Sam. Why are you asking me again?" Dakota seemed annoyed, which was rare since Sam always acted foolishly in front of him. "Okay, the woman, but you don’t have solid proof, Dax. We don’t have strong evidence, it’s all just hidden and vague traces." Dakota pushed the laptop in front of Sam, letting him see the screen where he has shared several photos. "Investigate the people in the police department first; we have spies here." Sam looked at the photos, which were none other than pictures of his own team, even the chief and the deputy, all filling the screen, including Thomas, Dakota's partner. "You’re not joking, are you, Dax?" Dakota neither
Back at the police station, Sam pushed the man named Robi towards the officer to take him to the holding cell. Dakota glanced at someone who had just exited Mr. Ron's office, walking a bit hurriedly. It was Thomas; he hadn’t seen him in a while because he had been busy transferring to another station out of town. His former colleague was back, limping slightly. “Tom, is your leg okay?” Dakota asked. The stocky man smiled at Dakota and raised his hand."Oh, it's nothing major, Dax. Just got a bit tangled up while chasing the suspect yesterday. I’ll go to a massage therapist and I’ll be fine afterward. Not a big deal. Oh, by the way, how's your case going?" Sam returned after dropping off the guy, just about to say something when Dakota jumped in first. "There's nothing much, same old, same old. We're still trying to find witnesses, but there hasn't been any significant progress yet." said Dakota.Sam frowned at Dakota's answer, but Thomas nodded. "Oh, I see. Well, if you need my
As midnight approached in Dakota's apartment. Dakota sat on the edge of the bed in the dark, just sitting quietly and thinking. He pulled out his phone and replayed a five-second video where a woman resembling his mom fell from a balcony, but the person who pushed her wasn’t clearly visible. This video might be the closest evidence he had now that his mom didn’t die by suicide; someone had pushed her.Dakota opened his email on his phone and sent the video to Sam's email address. It didn’t take long for Sam to call back. “Is this the video from yesterday, Dax? Are you sure you want to investigate it?” Sam asked. Dakota nodded. “Well, I’m not sure, Sam, but this might be connected to the murder at the hotel. This video was sent during the incident, and the break-in at my apartment might also be related to it. Whoever they are, they’re trying to find it because they think it might be in my apartment.” “Why do you think that, Dax? Where did you get that information?” Sam asked. Dako
“Chiiitttt!!” The sound of tires screeching on the hot asphalt filled the air as several vehicles with flashing lights on their hoods chased after a medium-sized black car. The wail of a siren echoed down the main road, and other cars on the street scrambled to avoid getting involved, pulling over as much as they could. “Chase that one!” Rina was seen sitting in the passenger seat while Aries drove like a racer, pursuing their target along with two other official vehicles. “There he goes, turning right!” Rina held on tightly as Aries expertly maneuvered the car, making a sharp turn that nearly slammed her against the side of the small vehicle. Rina's phone buzzed in her hand. “Yeah, Boss!” It was a call from Sam. Sam, who was in one of the rooms of a three-story apartment on the outskirts of the city, frowned at the noise coming from the phone. “Where are you guys? Are you still chasing him?” Sam asked, recalling Rina's last update that she and Aries had tracked down the man sus
Police headquarters. Rina and Aris were in the interrogation room, questioning each witness and colleague who had seen BigPapa last. Among them was Albert, the finance director of BigPapa and Co. A sharply dressed man whose hair seemed to be stiff from an excessive amount of hair gel that made it shine. In his fifties, he still had a keen interest in fashion, sporting a complete outfit of a dark brown suit made from high-quality merino wool. The latest Dolce shoes, and a small wallet that he always carried to hold his Apple phone and a first-class mini cigar. All of these items were undoubtedly expensive; even a police captain might struggle to afford them on their monthly salary. "This isn't a prostitution ring, but a professional escort service, you understand what that means, right? Or should I explain it further? And please note, BigPapa is not a pimp; that might have been the case in the past, but since we established BPC (BigPapa and Co.) two years ago, we’ve been running a p
Klek. Dakota get out off his car, he parked it in front of an old house not far outside the city. He checked his phone; this was definitely the location Aaron had given him. But this place was very quiet and dark, it was so deserted. The only light came from the streetlamp in front of the large house, which looked like it hadn’t been taken care of in ages. Wild plants were overgrown up to the house balcony, while the roof was nearly collapsing. Some nearby buildings were barely recognizable, and tall weeds were sprouting through the cracks in the pavement, along with dry leaves from the bougainvillea and other lush trees that almost covered the floor surface in the front yard. Dakota took a deep breath; it was already dark, and that guy was really strange for inviting him to a place like this. He pressed Aaron's number, and after several rings, no one picked up. Dakota was starting to get annoyed. From the beginning, he had been a bit hesitant about Aaron's suggestion to meet som
Dakota fell silent, staring off into the distance, looking at his feet covered by a blanket. Since waking up from the coma, she couldn’t feel the tips of her toes. According to the doctor, this was normal, considering AB attacked the nerves first before hitting his heart and brain. He might only be temporarily paralyzed because he could still feel Sam’s strong hands massaging his legs.“Does this hurt?” Sam asked, pulling back the blanket from Dakota’s feet and massaging both of his legs.Dakota nodded. “It doesn’t hurt, but I can feel it.” “Is it like, you’re numbed but can still feel your tooth being pulled?” Sam asked. Hearing this, Dakota furrowed his brow. “What do you mean? What does that feel like?” Sam pursed his lips. “You know, when you go to the dentist, they inject anesthesia into your mouth that numbs it, so you don’t feel pain when they pull your tooth.” Dakota thought for a moment, furrowing his brow again as he looked at Sam and shook his head. “Um, may
“Stop it, Dad. Just tell me why you’re really here. It’s not just to say that unimportant stuff, right? I’m not a kid anymore, Dad. Why do you act like I still need all your attention?” Kim's eyes widened; she didn’t expect her brother to say that to their dad. Though, it wasn’t surprising—Dakota had always been sharp with his words, thinking it was just normal for him. When he was ten, the incident caused him to fall into a coma for weeks, He woke up and didn't talk for a long time, He even didn't shed a tear when he learned about his mother's death. And recently they found out about the brain trauma he suffered, it's quite understandable for his coldness.August straightened up, glancing at Roger to signal him and his men to leave the room. Once the guards were gone and it was just the three of them left, August sat down slowly beside the bed. “Hey, Dax, no matter what, I’m really worried. This situation is beyond what I can control, and I truly hope that guy doesn’t start touc
Emma sat back down, and it was now Rina's case. Sam looked serious until his phone in his pocket vibrated. A call from someone he wasn't expecting, just as he thought. Jack Moris from the federal agency."Yeah," Sam said, getting up from his seat. He glanced at Ron across from him, then got up to answer the phone.“You’re incredible! We haven’t even released any reports to headquarters, how did you know about this? Did you plant spies in our office?” Sam asked. Jack Moris’s voice boomed in his ear; Sam had to pull the phone away, his ear aching from the man’s thunderous tone.“Ouch, that’s loud,” he muttered, pressing the phone back to his ear.“This might not even be the same case. Why don’t you let us handle this first? You won’t be late getting information, trust me. It could just be a random attack, like what usually happens. Anyone can go crazy, right? Are you sure this is
Morning comes. The sun shone brightly until it hit the highest part of the Bayward One tower and reflected all around it. The busyness of the metropolitan city has been visible since the sun was bright. Far below, the city's main roads are starting to fill with vehicles of all sizes sharing the pollution.Sam had just put on his leather jacket, today was going to be a busy one. He had to go early in the morning to the office for the weekly routine meeting and to analyze the various cases that were piling up.The bombing case at the center has not yet been resolved and several other cases have emerged. He came out of his room, and saw Dakota who was ready at the dining table in the kitchen. As usual, chef Edi looks quite busy in the kitchen.Don't look at his appearance like that, what is clear is that his monthly salary is much bigger than Sam's, he knows that from Kim. Sam just wanted to resign and become Dakota's personal driver, that would be more profitable
It was getting late, midnight, and Sam had just finished cleaning up. He came out of the bathroom, toweling his hair with a small towel, his upper body bare except for a towel around his waist. He approached the bed where Dakota was already sitting, opening his laptop."Wow, it's midnight, my dear professor. Time for bed, why are you still working?" Sam said, stopping beside Dakota.Dakota looked up, seeing Sam's slightly wet, bare upper body displaying his muscular chest. Sam seemed quite proud of showing it off.Dakota just pursed his lips, ignoring Sam and continuing to look at his laptop screen. Sam smirked; he'd intentionally teased Dakota, but the young man was completely unaffected. He'd hoped for some kind of reaction.Sam sat down next to Dakota. But before he could sit on the soft bed, Dakota moved the pillow from his left side onto the bed, preventing Sam from sitting down."You can get a blanket from the closet. The couchis very s
Dakota looked at the takeout container Luke had placed on the table. He watched him slowly sit down."Aren't you with guests? Why aren't you eating with them?" Dakota asked. Luke waved his hand dismissively."Let my secretary keep them company, I said I had important business. Look at this, supposedly amazing steak, almost perfect reviews. Next time we have time, we'll eat at the restaurant, they say it's much better there."said the man excitingly.Dakota looked at the logo on the box."I tried it last week with Sam."said Dakota.Luke's hand movement stopped; he looked disappointed."Oh, really? Was it good? How’sthe rate?" Luke asked."Yeah, pretty good," Dakota replied casually.Luke placed the plate in front of Dakota and carefully took out the neatly arranged steak from the box. Even though it was in a delivery container, the restaurant paid attention to quality, keeping it aesthetically pleasing wit
Rina approached their office just as Sam came back in after dealing with the attackers. She looked annoyed.“Boss,”Sam turned. He was applying a compress to his jaw, which was swollen and slightly red from the hard hit.“What about the woman? Did she confess?” Sam asked.Rina and her boss went into their office. It was dark outside, and the air was getting cold. Everyone was exhausted.“She’s very good at making excuses, Boss. According to her secretary, there was information about a room that couldn’t be used; she told Amelia because she was in charge of the seminar. After that, she got word to move everyone to the auditorium at the last minute. All the information fits Amelia Roy’s alibi,” Rina replied.Sam sat down, wincing slightly from his bleeding lip, a souvenir from the thug’s punch.“She must have planned everything meticulously. Find out the woman&rsquo
The wail of sirens echoed in the distance. Fire trucks had arrived and were tackling the blaze that erupted from an explosion of some electronic equipment in the now-destroyed auditorium building. Several ambulances pulled up, administering first aid to the victims, including Dakota, Luke Osborn, and Sam, who sat on the side of an ambulance, their faces and bodies covered in dust."Here, let me brush off your clothes," Sam said, brushing thick dust from Dakota's sleeve. They both looked like they'd just cleaned out an abandoned warehouse.Dakota had some scrapes on his forehead, and his clothes were torn; besides the aches and pains from the impact of the debris, they seemed alright. Medics bandaged a gash on Dakota's arm and Luke Osborn's forehead scrapes."Why did they target this building? Man, this was built less than two years ago. If they wanted to blow something up, they should've gone for that old building behind the lab," Luke said, propping his chin in his hands.Sam sat b
"Having no one to eat with is kind of weird, right? Is Mr. Meyers still reaching out to you?" Luke asked as he opened his takeout bag and pulled out his food, setting it in front of him. Dakota closed his laptop, watching Luke unpack his meal from the carton and arrange it neatly. The guy even opened the chopstick wrapper to hand it to Dakota."Why would he reach out to me? We're not that close," said Dakota.Luke raised his eyebrows at Dakota's response. "Oh, really? I thought you two were close. He often invites you to lunch and waits for your class to finish. If that's not close, then what is?"Dakota opened his lunch box. For some reason, he felt like trying the wet noodles Rina had recommended a while back; they looked pretty good."We have lunch together too,
The sun shone brightly, breaking through the curtains and hitting the long sofa in Dakota’s room. Sam lay face down there all night, still in the clothes he wore yesterday.“Ouch, my body,” he turned over, feeling sore after sleeping on that couch all night.Even though it was the softest, highest-quality sofa money could buy, it would still be more comfortable to sleep in a bed. He remembered that last night because he was so tired, he fell asleep on Dakota’s very tempting bed, so why did he end up there?“Boss, let’s go out!” Edi’s voice still echoed in his head. His forehead was hot, and he was sweating even though the room was cold. He pulled himself up and sat, glancing at Dakota’s neatly made bed. It was nearing noon, eight in the morning when h
Sam frowned; he had misspoken.“I mean, don’t stay up too late. You’re still in recovery. The city is now in chaos; it’s better to stay in the apartment and lock all the doors. I’ve already asked Roger to add more people if needed.” Sam added.“What does that have to do with me? I have Edi here; don’t do unnecessary things. Since when does Roger have to listen to you?” said Dakota.Sam bit back the urge to shout. That stubborn one.“Since the honorable Prime Minister said I have to keep an eye on you, twenty-four hours a day, every second, every minute, even microseconds if necessary. So Roger and anyone else has to listen to me,” he said, annoyed.