It was Nathan. He used to go to Mr. Terry's Photography classes. His desk had a piece of paper containing the list of all the victims. She informed Adam. Adam was already on his way to the basement. There met him, Nathan anxiously waiting for the arrival of Adam. Nathan was sitting with a phone in his hand, keeping his hand ready. He welcomed Adam.
"Welcome Adam Alexander. We meet at last,"
"Why are you doing this Nathan? What do you want? I saw good in you," asked Adam questioningly.
"I'll tell you what I want. I want revenge. Relief. Happiness. All I see is love and couples. Why should I suffer alone? I too was in a relationship. You know her. It's your best friend Paul's lady, Maya! But she left me when she met Paul because I wasn't too"smart" or "good-looking". So I took my revenge. My first victim was Paul and Maya. I took photos of them, and that's when I realized something. When I used to spy on them, I would bump into other couples. So I took their photos too. I planned this only for Paul and Maya. But it became fun. So I blackmailed others, too. I was planning to quit when I heard of the "Dynamic Duo". So I thought to give you guys a challenge. At first, I thought of blackmailing you too. But you were tricky. You had no one. Did you ever wonder why I gave away my location? I gave you a week, but I got bored. So I preponed it. So if you expose me now, it will all go in a press of a button,"
"Nathan. You are a fool to fall into the trap of relationships. Friendships last longer and are much better. Do you think by exposing your ex's photos, you'll feel happy? Sure, it might bring you joy, but only for a slight amount of time. After that, you'll be back to being sad and angry. Please. You don't have to do this. Find yourself some excellent friends. They will always have your back," said Adam, reaching his hand into his back pocket.
"Fine. But what if those friends stab me in the back for a girl?" said Nathan and pressed the button. Adam smiled. When Nathan pressed the button on his phone again, his smile became a laughter.
"Why are you laughing?" asked Nathan frustratedly.
"Do you think I came unprepared? We could not track your location because of the VPN you were using, but the number you used was the same. So we tracked the SIM signal which led to the basement. We even found the computer system that you use frequently. So I asked Evan to plant a fail-safe hyperlinked to that button. So when you pressed that button, you let a virus into your phone. You have exactly 1 minute to send a message to the class saying that you are responsible for everything. After that, give me your phone. You do it. We kill the virus. We all know you value the phone over your life. Tick Tock. Oh. And a minor piece of advice. Remember to log out of anything so that others may not use it,"
"Fine. I'll do it," said Nathan, accepting his defeat. He sent the message to the class and gave his phone to Adam. Adam and Nathan entered the classroom. Rage and anger filled the air. The angry mob approached Nathan. He had Adam's protection.
"BACK OFF EVERYONE," shouted Adam. "All of you remain calm. Give him a chance. He's broken. If you please let him, you'll understand why he did all this," Said Adam
"Stop supporting that asshole, Adam," said Dan.
Adam, already annoyed with Dan says:- "Dan, keep your filthy mouth shut. If I hear a word from you unless you're needed to, you won't know what will happen next."
Adam explained everything to the class, Most of them felt guilty. The one who started it all, Maya was so guilty, that tears rolled down her cheeks. She apologized to Nathan for what she had done and asked him to be his friend. Nathan forgot all about his revenge and accepted her. But there were still some who were not convinced. The whole class cheered and praised Adam. San was among the crowd, cheering. Adam called her up to be with him. San hesitated at first but then accepted.
"Why should I deserve all the cheering? It was your idea to trap him by infecting his phone. It was you who found out that Nathan was the culprit. You decided to play the Game of BlackJack and defeat him. All I did was find him and stop him."
"I'm glad you're back. It's good to see you happy and joyful again. Ph and by the way, there's this cute girl who asked me about you yesterday. Should I set you up?"
"Hmmm. I think I'll pass. I just want to be with you guys." said Adam.
And so, Paul, Adam, and San Zarah regained their lost friendship with the inclusion of a new friend, Nathan.
The End