TRIPLE SEVEN

Chapter Four

Juan said goodbye as soon as he dropped Ella off at her grandmother's house. Joshua said he would catch up with her later. After Juan left, Ella and Joshua were silent for a while without speaking.

"You're careless." That was Joshua's first sentence. They sat facing each other in the living room, separated by a teak table that had clusters on the edge. Ella's grandmother was sewing in the living room. Only the sound of the sewing machine could be heard.

Ella rubbed the bridge of her nose and leaned back against the chair with an innocent face.

"What do you mean? Am I not careful in considering everything?”

“If I hadn't interrupted earlier, you would have already revealed your identity to Juan. Even though he is still a foreigner…”

"I know what I'm doing."

"No wonder Mr. Yubatan sent me to catch up with you…”

Ella glared at Joshua. This time she saw a serious expression on Joshua's face which was usually full of jokes.

"Come on, Josh. Don't join in being annoying like Mr. Yubatan. I know what I'm doing. Juan deserves trust...”

"O, he does?" Joshua looked straight, with a cynical look.

"My feeling says so. And my intuition rarely goes wrong.” Ella insisted.

"What information have you got?" Joshua changed the subject.

Ella shares the results of her investigation so far. Joshua just silently listened.

"There's one thing I want to tell you." He said after Ella finished telling her story. He stood up, ready to leave.

“Someone, or maybe something, is peeking at you behind the rows of rocks on the beach. I'm not sure what it is. But the odd silhouette between the distinctive coral shadows is enough for me to understand, you were in a bad position earlier, without you knowing it. That's why I called while you were still talking at the top of the rock." Joshua explained.

Ella fell silent.

Joshua combed his hair back with his hands. Smiling he leaned towards his comrade in a whisper.

"Triple Seven, you need to be more careful and more observant."

Joshua strolled out accompanied by his triumphant laugh seeing Ella's face which had turned saga red.

"I'll make sure I don't need your help!" Ella shouted, firm and loud.

“Stubborn!” Joshua just hummed while laughing laughter. A moment later, the FU motorcycle had sped away, leaving Ella, who cacklingly stepped into the house.

"You need to calm down, honey." her grandmother's voice broke the silence. "Whatever you do and work on, you must take it in a calm manner. If your eyes are filled with emotion and annoyance, you won't be able to analyze things with clear eyes, and it will be hard to find a way out."

"Thanks, Grandma." Ella replied while hugging the old woman for a while before finally entering her room.

Ella had not been out of her room for hours. If she were to analyze a problem, that girl would indeed take some time alone for quite a long time.

When he came out, her body had been wrapped in long jeans and a baggy black jacket. Her grandmother was in her room, and she went quietly for fear of disturbing Alina's rest.

Ella left her motorbike and chose to walk along the village streets. She walked straight ahead, cutting through the air which was black because of the lack of street lights.

The hood of her jacket was lowered, revealing her beautiful oriental face. The streets are deserted. The doors of the residents' houses are generally closed.

She turned in a narrow, quiet alley, remaining silent for a few moments there, her glistening eyes in the dark glancing sideways. An imperfect half smile tugged at Ella's lips. She turned around, following her previous path.

At the end of the road where there are no more people's houses, this woman stopped again. The silent situation felt really tense.

Ella turned around, looking straight at the trees on the dark side of the road.

"That's right there...Okay, I'll wait until you show me yourself." Ella hissed, barely audible.

However, after a long wait, no movement was heard or seen.

Ella knew her efforts had failed. She stepped back, walked the path in silence while occasionally glancing back.

I don't know how long it took, when her grandmother's house was in sight, the girl heard footsteps behind her. Ella stopped. The sound of footsteps following him stopped. Ella estimated the stalker was about two meters behind her. Slowly, she turned around.

“Why are you following me, Joshua?”

The young man who stood before him only smiled in the dim light. "I'm not the one following you. I've been stalking 'the one following you' since the village hall."

"Did you see it?"

Joshua stepped past the girl. “Two figures, tall. Black clothes."

he whispered before leaving.

"Meet me tomorrow morning." Ella replied casually.

"Don't you need my help?" Joshua smirked while he leaving.

No more replies. They have walked away alone, far away, as if they did not know each other. However, they understand that tomorrow the two of them must meet to analyze the case together.

***

Joshua was a little surprised when he returned to Juan's house, and found that youngman already sitting on his porch.

"Not asleep yet?" greeted Joshua to open the conversation. Juan shook his head. "Where do you come from, Josh?" he asked casually.

"Nightwalk ..." Joshua replied while taking off his jacket. It started to rain outside, and the two young men came into the living room.

Joshua was about to enter the room, but his intention was canceled when Juan stopped him. "Could we talk a minute, man?"

Joshua turned his head with an astonished expression. But then he nodded and preceded Juan to sit on a chair.

"What is it?" Josh asked, tucking his jacket over the arm of his chair and bending down to take off his shoes.

"Who are you?" Juan asked quietly. His face was calm, but demanded an answer.

The man sitting in front of him laughed as he straightened his back again. A moment later his laughter cleared, Joshua's sharp eyes challenged Juan's face, a smile on his lips.

"Who do you mean?"

"You and Ella." answered Juan short. "I've been meddling in your affairs too much, and yet I don't understand what you're doing..."

"Look, man. I think you've got the wrong..."

"Don't lie to me, Josh." interrupted Juan, smiling faintly. "You are smart people, but you can't always keep your secrets safe."

"What's that suppose to mean?" Joshua raised an eyebrow with an emotionless expression.

"Are you from the Police?"

There was a pause that hung for a while before being broken by Joshua's soft laugh. While combing his long hair with his fingers he said. "You believe someone like me is a cop?"

"I've heard of intelligence police..." Juan replied.

The smile still bloomed on Joshua's lips, before slowly fading away. He stared at the young man in front of him for a long moment. "You're expecting too much already. I hope Ella's perception of you isn't wrong."

Juan was silent. Joshua stopped talking, looking like he was weighing things down.

"I won't say much. Previously I asked you to keep this secret. Because our identity is very important." Joshua took something out of his pocket. A thin metal plate with the Garuda symbol and a row of embossed numbers 264. The plate is the same as Ella's, only the numbers are different.

"How are you called? Two Six Four?" he asked.

Joshua shook his head. "You don't need to know that far. We're not criminals. We're from the Investigation Department on a non-public basis. You can call us the police, if that's what you know better about. We were sent here to work on a case of mysterious deaths in this village. "

"Who commissioned you?"

"That's none of your business, man." Joshua laughed. "You've helped Ella all this time. I hope you'll continue to help us in the future...."

"That girl, isn't it dangerous for a girl like her to handle a case like this?" He frowned.

"You don't know her well yet. One day you will see how appropriate she is in this field." Joshua said. Then he stood up. "Tomorrow morning, come with me to see Ella."

***