Shawn and Enilese were on their way back . The forest was still dark but the chirping sounds of the birds were indicating that the start of a new day is near .
By the time they came to the beach the sun had just peeked its bright red face from the foggy curtain of the sea . Its red hue was spread on the still waves of the sea . The sun was rising with new light , new blessings and new hopes for a new day .
Enilese couldn't help but stop to witness the mesmerising sight .
" It's beautiful . " , she said excitedly , " Shawn let's take a picture here . "
He didn't object . In the first rays of the sun the two took a photo ....... their first photo together .
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That afternoon .
Ryan was waiting outside the Daisy hospital when he heard a familiar voice , " Oh , look who is here ! "
Ryan looked up from his phone and saw Phil standing in front of him with a slight smirk .
" Phil , long time no see . " , Ryan took a glance at Phil from head to foot and said , " You adopted the attitude of a police officer very well , I must say . "
Phil laughed a little and said , " So , why are you here ? I mean , I didn't know you guys target hospitals too . "
" And what made you think that I'm targeting this hospital ? "
" Nothing special , it's just , seeing you here only that option comes to my mind . Because you guys can't be here for anything good . "
Ryan let out his famous lazy smile and said , " Come on , we're not that bad , we don't target hospitals . "
" Of course . After all , you guys are not the dark souls . " , Phil's tone was sarcastic .
Ryan spoke up , " I'm waiting for someone , nothing much . "
Phil was going to say something but he got interrupted by a female voice , " Sorry , I got a bit late . "
Ryan and Phil both looked at the owner of the voice and just then the woman noticed that Ryan wasn't alone .
" Are you busy ? " , she asked . She felt a bit nervous seeing the two men of opposite occupations together .
" Not at all , darling . I was just having some chitchat with officer Phil . "
" Oh , so it's her who you were waiting for ? " , Phil spoke up .
Ryan nodded slightly .
" Dr. Melvine , I must say , your partner choice is really surprising . I didn't expect you to choose someone like him . "
Melvine looked at Ryan but didn't say anything . Phil said again , " Or , you don't know about his job ? "
" I know . " , she said disregarding her nervousness .
" Amazing . " , Phil said raising his brows , " Well , Dr. Melvine , it's so bad that your shift is over , I wanted to talk to you . "
" About what ? " , Ryan asked .
" About the dark souls attack . Actually I am in charge of the recent dark souls attack on Daisy hospital . "
" But officer , I've told you everything . I don't have anything else to say . "
" Few questions always remain unanswered , Ms. Melvine . But since you're leaving now I won't stop you , I'd talk to you later . " , he said and turned to Ryan , " Okay , Ryan , I'll leave now . Bye . " , he tapped on Ryan's shoulder a few times and proceeded towards the hospital .
Ryan was looking at Phil's direction when Melvine asked , " Do you know him ? "
" Yeah , very well . "
" How ? "
" He used to be a gangster before becoming a police officer and we've worked together a few times in the past .... let's go . " , Ryan started walking but Melvine asked again , " Does he know that you are a ....."
" He doesn't but I think he has some suspicions ..... Finally he's using his brain . " , he said with a chuckle .
" That's not something to joke about . " , she said in a serious tone .
Ryan put his arm around her shoulder and said with a smile , " Darling , are you worried that I would get caught ? Don't worry , it won't be that easy . But ...... if you disclose my identity to him ..... that's a different thing . " , he made a scared expression and said , " Darling , are you going to tell him ? Oh I'm scared . "
Melvine said , " Do you think , I'd tell him ? Ryan , if I had to disclose your identity I would've done it a long time ago . "
" Okay , okay darling . I was just kidding . Don't be sad . Let's go . "
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A VIP cabin of Daisy hospital .
The cabin was completely silent , only the faint beep sounds of the patient monitoring machine were heard . On the bed , was sitting an old man . A few wires were connected to his body .
" Mr. Chairman , I am really sorry to bother you like this . I came to know that you were hospitalized but I had something important to inform you . So I came . " , Phil said . The old man nodded .
" How are you doing now ? " , Phil asked .
" Much better . " , the old man spoke up , " What is it that you wanted to discuss ? Did you find something about those dark souls ? "
Phil looked at his dull yet hopeful eyes and sighed a little , then he said , " Sorry to disappoint you but no , it's not about them ? "
" Oh " , the chairman said as if he had expected the answer , " Then ? "
" Mr. Chairman , what I'm going to tell you is very sensitive . I know your health is not very good still I'd ask you to be mentally prepared . "
The chairman frowned but nodded without saying anything .
Phil started , " So after the dark souls attacked your hospital I was given the charge of investigating the case . At first , I thought that it was just like their other deeds like attacking buildings , damaging properties , abducting people and so on . But this case was very different in many aspects . I started my investigation . And in the course of my investigation I came across some very disturbing evidences that I didn't expect to find here . " , he stopped for a while , the old man was very confused , he just waited for Phil to continue .
Phil held out some medicine bottles toward him and said , " These are from your newly purchased medicines . Some of the boxes were still left after the attack . Please look at them carefully and tell me whether you find anything abnormal with them . "
The chairman checked them and said , " I don't know what to check , officer . What are you trying to show me ? "
" Look at the expiry dates . They are fine , right ? " , the old man checked and nodded his head as yes .
" Now look at this . " , Phil took a bottle and remove its label . To the chairman's surprise there was another label underneath it and the thing which was more shocking was that the new label had a different expiry date which was already passed . In short the medicine was long expired . A deep frown appeared between his brows . He asked , " Officer , what is this ? "
" Very simple sir , false labels were put over the original ones to hide the actual dates . Not just this one , most of the medicines are like that . I also checked the samples of the damaged bottles , they are also same as this . In short , your purchased medicines were expired , Mr. Chairman . "
" What ! " the old man raised his voice a bit , " What are you saying , officer ? "
" I'm not saying anything . It's just the evidences are too distinct to discard . " , said Phil .
" Probably they mistakenly put the wrong labels before and that's why they put the new stickers to rectify their mistake . " , the old man said hurriedly , there was a bit of hope in his voice that the news might be wrong .
" Unfortunately , no , sir . Our forensic team has tested the medicines . They are really expired . " , the chairman's eyes quivered a little .
" Now would you please tell me , what is going on ? "
The chairman started absentmindedly , " How can it be possible ? That Company has been delivering medicines to our hospital from the very beginning . We've never found any problem with their products . Why would they suddenly send us expired medicines ? " , it was clear that the old man was having a real hard time processing the news .
" So , you are saying the company is responsible for this , right ? "
" Do you think we intentionally purchased expired medicines , officer ? .... Why would we do that ? "
" I see . I'll definitely investigate the matter more but don't you have a slightest bit of doubt that some of your staffs might be involved in it ? " , after a moment of silence Phil spoke up .
" That's impossible . Our staffs are very trustworthy , they've always been hardworking and sincere . I don't think , they would do anything as such . " , the chairman retorted in weak yet bold voice .
Phil smiled a little and started , " Okay , let us suppose for some time that the company has scammed you and your staffs have nothing to do with it . But I have something else to tell you . Let's see how long you can trust your staffs , after that . "
The chairman let out a tired sigh preparing himself for the next news .
Phil started again .
...................
The old man was leaning against the headboard . His eyes were shut . His breathing was very shallow . He was already dejected hearing the news of expired medicines , what Phil told him next had completely shattered him . He couldn't accept the fact that the staffs whom he believed more than himself could do such heinous crime .
" Mr. Chairman , please don't give up like this . I have great respect for you . I came here to tell you about these because I know when these evidences would be out there would be so many problems for you and your hospital . I want you to be prepared for them . "
The chairman let out a chuckle and started , " To be prepared ....for what ? ... for whom ? I have nothing left officer .... how would I fight against the outsiders when my own people are also at fault .... what would I do ? Even if I file a complaint against the company .... who would believe me ? And would I be able to defend myself against such an enterprise ... no because I don't have that much money to pay for a lawsuit .
When the dark souls attacked my hospital , I kind of knew that it'd be really hard to bring everything back to normal , see we're at the point of no return .
I'm really tired and I see no hope anymore . Daisy hospital was destined to be closed , let it be sooner . "
" Mr. Chairman , I will try my best to uncover the people who are behind all these . But I would like to say one thing , this time the dark souls didn't do anything harmful , of course we don't know their motive behind the attack but it's pretty clear that their action helped you in a way . If they didn't attack the wrong medicines would have been circulated by now , and you can imagine the result of that . Your hospital would have become the target of public rage . I know , it'd still be at the centre of public rage when the evidences would be out but at least it's a relief that the medicines were not used on the people .
And the people who died that day , died from their respective diseases , their deaths have nothing to do with the dark souls . So , the dark souls might be the enemies to the society but they are not enemies to Daisy hospital . "