“You’re coming with us to see the Commander-in-Chief.”
Leonard was silent. He realized that in just a little while, he might be put on trial by the Commander-in-Chief before the Ethics Council because what he had done had crossed the boundaries of his duties. But he was determined to defend himself, preparing to hire a lawyer if necessary to protect his career.
He looked toward Mala one more time.
The woman was still crying on the bed.
But this time, Leonard said nothing. He no longer cared. Every feeling that had ever grown between them was now dead. Gone, swallowed up by disappointment that had exceeded the limits of his patience.
He simply turned away.
“All right.”
Leonard, the Captain, and two others were about to step outside.
But after they had taken only a few steps away from the room, a team member came running toward them.
“Captain!”
The four men immediately stopped.
“What is it?” the Captain asked.
“The Commander-in-Chief just sent an order.”
The Captain furrowed his brow.
“What order?”
The man swallowed.
“He wants Leonard Altharez temporarily removed from field operations and ordered to appear before the Ethics Council.”
Leonard swallowed hard, as if his throat wanted to protest.
He’d already guessed as much.
The atmosphere suddenly fell silent. The Captain looked at Leonard. Leonard slowly turned around, his brow furrowed.
“Removed?”
“Only temporarily,” the team member replied.
Leonard gave a humorless laugh.
“After working for years, all because I lost control for one night...”
The Captain patted him on the shoulder.
“This isn’t the end, Leo.”
Leonard stared straight ahead.
“I know, but whatever happens to me next is bound to be much worse.”
The Captain had not yet had a chance to answer when one of the team member’s phones suddenly rang.
He answered it.
His expression immediately changed as soon as he read the message.
“Captain...”
“What is it?”
“Headquarters just received some information.”
“What information?”
The man looked at Leonard.
“Donny Zack isn’t our primary target.”
Everyone tensed, their eyes widening.
“What?” the Captain asked incredulously.
Leonard furrowed his brow.
“What do you mean?”
“Donny Zack was only bait.”
The Captain slowly lowered his hand.
“Then...” He looked at Leonard seriously, then turned back to the team member. “Who’s the real target?”
The team member drew a breath.
“The person who’s been controlling the entire network all along.”
Leonard clenched his fists.
“Who is he?”
The man answered in a low voice.
“Their kingpin. And the latest word is...”
He paused for a moment.
“He’s in a city far from here.”
Leonard gripped his hair and squeezed his eyes shut in fury. The Captain even punched an innocent wall. They felt that the struggle to catch their quarry this time was going to be incredibly difficult. And now they had detected the kingpin of an even larger network, adding another name to their list of targets.
For the first time since that night began, without anyone realizing it, the anger inside Leonard shifted into something else—the instinct of a hunter resurfaced. Unfortunately, he had no idea whether the Commander-in-Chief would put him back on this operation or not.
That night, in another distant city...
“Ahhh... There’s nothing better in this world than your pussy, baby...” Arven said as he sprawled across the bed after just reaching the peak of pleasure.
Yes, the married couple had just had lawful sex as the night edged toward morning. Understandable, since the husband had come home from work incredibly late the night before.
He had attended an emergency meeting with all the members of the council at a location other than their usual building, somewhat far from the main road. The grand building he usually worked in had been completely devoured by flames during yesterday’s massive protest.
Ah, perhaps that was simply what it meant to be an elected official: being ready to show up whenever you were called, no matter the time, even if all you did in the meeting was sit there with your mind blank—or pretend to listen while actually asleep. In his mind, the important thing was that he could show up and breathe. As long as he kept enjoying his salary.
That was Arvenio Lanumbara, an oriental-looking man once famous by the nickname “the campus playboy.” Besides being one of the council members in his district, he also had a more promising side business—a shoe company whose products were famous throughout the country and in several neighboring countries. However, he merely ran it; the whole thing belonged to his wife—Viora Evelyn.
So it was easy to imagine that money was always overflowing from their pockets.
But material wealth could not make its owner feel happy all the time. Behind all that luxury, there was always some lingering dissatisfaction. Both husband and wife felt it.
And because neither of them wanted to hurt the other’s feelings, silence had become their excuse.