"The connection is lost," Gilg said, frowning.
"Huh?" Dove's brow furrowed in confusion.
"The Wi-Fi network I created was disrupted by the blackout," Gilg explained. "We'll have to wait for them to return—"
Thud!
The apartment door burst open, revealing Xian and Yolan, their faces flushed with excitement.
"We're back!" Xian announce.
Yolan throwing the heavy bag onto the floor.
"That was easy, wasn't it?" Dove remarked, a surprised smile on her face.
Aca entered the room and closed the door behind her. "I parked the van somewhere discreet and left a cryptic message for Asmar," she announced.
Gilg nodded in approval. "Good. That will make the puzzlemore interesting for him. So, what did you guys find?"
"Lots of stuff," I replied, pulling a stack of debit cards from my pocket.
Their eyes widened in astonishment as I revealed the sheer number of cards I had found.
"Well, I can definitely brute force all of these," Gilg said, rubbing his hands together excitedly.
I handed him the cards, then pulled out Asmar's wallet.
Dove took the wallet from me and rummaged through its contents. "Hmm... his identification card, driver's license, police badge... We've got everything we need," she said with a triumphant smile.
Yolan dumped the contents of the bag onto the table, a cascade of cash and documents spilling out. She pushed the money aside, revealing a thick stack of papers held together by a rubber band.
Everyone gathered around, their eyes fixed on the documents.
Yolan, with a flick of her wrist, returned the papers to their original size.
Gilg picked up the top sheet, his brow furrowing as he scanned the lines of text. "Hmm... these are closed case files," he said, a puzzled look on his face. "Cases that Asmar supposedly solved."
I leaned in closer, my eyes scanning the documents. The cases were all relatively minor – missing persons, petty theft, and low-level assaults.
"These don't seem very significant," I remarked, feeling a wave of disappointment.
"Maybe not individually," Dove countered, her voice sharp, "but together, they paint a picture of a corrupt officer who's been exploiting the system."
Gilg nodded in agreement. "He's been closing cases without thorough investigations, taking bribes, covering up evidence, and even framing innocent people."
"That bastard!" Yolan exclaimed, her face flushed with anger.
"We'll save these for later," I said, determined to use this evidence against Asmar.
Everyone nodded.
"Luckily, I was prepared for this," Gilg said, pulling out a small device from his pocket. "I knew you'd probably find some credit cards."
"What's that?" I asked, intrigued.
"A debit card skimmer," Gilg replied, a mischievous grin spreading across his face.
"Are you going to brute force them with that?" Dove asked, pointing to the skimmer.
"No," Gilg replied, his eyes glued to the device. "This is for forensic analysis. It'll scan the card's transaction history, which might reveal patterns or clues about Asmar's activities."
He inserted the card into the skimmer, and the device whirred to life, scanning the magnetic strip and extracting data.
"So, what now?" I asked, impatient to move forward with our plan.
"You can go home for now," Dove said, checking her watch. "You have school tomorrow, don't you?"
I nodded reluctantly.
"Aca, let's go home," Dove instructed.
Yolan and Aca nodded in agreement.
"We'll leave you to it, Gilg," Dove said, turning to leave.
Gilg nodded, his eyes still fixed on the computer screen. "If a large sum of money suddenly appears in your crypto wallet tomorrow, just remember it was me," he said with a mischievous grin.
Dove chuckled. "What a thief," she teased.
The four of us left the apartment, the weight of our mission heavy on our shoulders. We piled into Dove's SUV.
Aca started the engine, and we merged back into the city traffic. Yolan sat beside her in the front, while Dove and I shared the back seat.
"So, how was it?" Dove asked, turning to face me.
"My first time stealing?" I clarified, a nervous laugh escaping my lips.
"Yeah," she replied, her eyes twinkling with amusement. "How did it feel?"
"Nervous," I admitted. "But also... kind of exhilarating. Especially knowing we're stealing from bad people."
Dove chuckled, her laughter filling the car with a warm glow. "I know the feeling," she said, a mischievous glint in her eye. "It's like we're modern-day RobBeen in the Hoods, righting wrongs and taking from the rich to give to the poor."
"What do you do with the money you... acquire?" I asked, curiosity piqued.
"It's used to support our family and expand our operations," Dove explained.
"Aren't you afraid of getting caught?" I questioned, a hint of concern in my voice.
Dove chuckled, a mischievous glint in her eye. "Getting caught? We have WRA Company for that, Xian. It's called money laundering."
"...Money laundering..." I repeated, picturing stacks of cash being washed in a giant washing machine.
"It's not exactly what you're imagining," Dove laughed. "But it's a way to make illegally obtained money appear legitimate."
Aca, who was focused on driving, suddenly spoke up. "Yolan's asleep," she giggled, pointing to the backseat. "Look at her face!"
Dove leaned forward, a smile playing on her lips. "Haha, it's past her bedtime, I guess."
She settled back into her seat and glanced at the bulging bag in the back. "At least we got all that evidence," she said, a satisfied smile on her face.
***
The next day at school, I found myself dozing off in class, the afternoon sun casting a warm glow on my desk.
Thud!
A sharp slap on my desk jolted me awake. "Tsk... Marcel," I mumbled, already knowing who the culprit was.
"You seem to be lacking sleep lately," Marcel observed, his eyes wide with concern. "And your body... it's getting bigger. Like, really fast..."
I sighed, rubbing the sleep from my eyes. "I've been training a lot," I admitted, not wanting to divulge the details of my nighttime activities with the Unveiled.
"Training?" Marcel perked up, his eyes gleaming with interest. "Like, superhero training?"
"Something like that," I replied vaguely, not wanting to reveal too much information.
He nudged me with his elbow, a mischievous grin spreading across his face. "So, are you going to show us any of your cool moves?"
I chuckled, shaking my head. "Not now," I said. "Maybe later."
"Aren't you going to the cafeteria?" Marcel asked, already on his feet.
"No, I'm good," I replied, closing my eyes and leaning back in my chair.
"Alright, alright," Marcel said with a shrug. "Sleep well, then."
Marcel left the classroom, heading towards the cafeteria alone. As he walked down the hallway, he couldn't shake the feeling that something was different about Xian.
Xian Ying has been acting strangely lately, he thought to himself. I mean, he's always been quiet, but not like this. He's almost... distant.
Marcel reached the cafeteria, and his eyes widened in surprise. A large crowd had gathered around the TV screens, their faces filled with shock and horror.
"What's going on?" Marcel wondered, pushing his way through the crowd to get a better look.
< Chapter 059 > Fin.