THE SUSPECT

“Gia?” I am pulled out of my thoughts by Paul’s voice as he takes over the phone call from Sheryl.

“Hey? Paul.” I greet.

“I am sure you heard what happened. I am heading down to the station to get all the information. I am sorry that Sheryl and I will not be able to come as I had earlier promised because I will have to solve this one first.” Paul explains.

These people worry so much. “Forget about coming here, Paul. You and Sheryl are better off over there. I need you to do something else more important.” I say it in haste. We cannot afford to delay. With the rate at which things are happening, we have no time. Just a little slumber, and we will be so sorry.

“Sure. What is it? Tell me.” Paul says.

I take a deep breath, stopping the pacing. “You and I know how this man works and how vicious he can get. I need to find Deep ASAP because I believe he might have crashed with that monster.”

“Wait, you think so? You think he would be capable of harming his half-brother?” Paul speaks even before I finish.

I scoff at that. Who on this earth can this man spare, huh? No one but himself alone. “He had a deep hatred for Deep. One from the past, and the second because I chose Deep over him. He swore countless times before me that he would give Deep a torturous death if ever he laid his hands on him. He will not hesitate to hurt him.” I explain.

“Oh my God! This thing is getting more serious and complicated than I thought. I also have a feeling that the son of a bitch is behind the girl's kidnapping. No one else would have that motive.” Paul says.

“I thought so too. He is moving too fast, Paul. We cannot let more people get tangled in this.” I say.

“I know. What do you want me to do?” He asks.

“I want you to secure Deep’s parents. I don’t think they are safe either. He bombed their motel a few days ago. That means he can hurt them too.” I explain. That monster can never be underestimated underestimated. I did that once, and I will not make that mistake this time around. I need to make sure that everyone close to Deep and me is secured first before I do anything.

“But won’t they grow suspicious and inquisitive as to why we need to keep them safe? They will ask questions for sure.” Paul says.

For sure. They will not agree to be bundled from their home to some unbeknownst place or even be nonvoluntary to be surrounded by bodyguards without knowing the reason behind the sudden change. “I know. Do you think I can have a word with them? I will do the explaining to them," I suggest.

I know his mother hates me right now, but I have to do this. I owe them this. Their son is in trouble because of me. This is the least they deserve from me—hearing the truth from me.

“But you cannot leave that place. I am sure that monster is watching our every move. I will make arrangements to fly them over there. It is easier that way.” Paul says. Then he adds. “I will put them under tight security. You do not have to worry about their safety.”

That puts me at a little more ease. Not completely because whenever this monster is in the picture anything can go wrong at any time. But I am crossing my fingers in the hope that they will reach here safely. He will not even know that they are coming here; otherwise, he can make them his target just to hurt me, even if they were not in his plan. “I trust you. Thank you, Paul. And please, you and Sheryl should be very careful. Remember, you both participated in ruining this monster before? He might be targeting you two.” I say.

“Don’t worry about us, Gia. We will be extra careful from now on.” Paul speaks with assurance that convinces me enough. I know he can not let his guard down especially now. I just needed to remind them.

“Okay. And just one more thing that is bothering me, Paul. Don’t you think that everything is happening strangely? I mean, it is like this monster knows our every move. For someone whose connection we destroyed when we supposedly killed him, I think someone is feeding him with information about our moves.” I speak.

“It is like you read my mind. I was about to ask you the same. I don’t understand how he could have known about the girls and your whereabouts as well. But I just cannot think of anyone who might be filling him with the information. I mean, we destroyed all his connections.” Paul explains his worries.

“Yes, we did. We destroyed all his connections, but only the ones that we knew about, Paul.” I say.

“What do you mean?” Paul asks.

“Someone in our circle is betraying us. Someone so close—a friend or a colleague. We have a mole within us.” I state.

“I cannot think of anyone. Do you have anyone in mind?” Paul asks.

I take a breath, preparing my words. “I do. Someone who has been having all the information about our plans. That is why Ejay has been able to screw us. He is making a move before even us, the ones who are making plans.” I explain.

“I am still lost. Who are you talking about?” Paul asks.

“The one who has been compromising issues from the beginning, Paul. First, he suggested that Ejay should not be declared dead to the public for some stupid reasons. Then he went ahead and gave contradicting information to the police about Ejay’s body. Then he just ordered you this afternoon not to pursue the case anymore and never to ask anything about it. Does that ring a bell?” I asked after explaining. I don’t trust that fat man at all. God forgive me if I am wrongly judging him, but my urge against that man is so strong and riveting.

“General Mane?” He asks. He sounds taken aback.

“My urge is telling me that that man is the mole.” I state this with boldness.

“That is such a serious accusation against such a high-profile man. He is the head of the defense forces in this country, Gia. Why would he betray his integrity like this?” He asks.

Integrity, my foot! “Look, it is not about how serious my accusation is or what position he holds. The question is, Paul, do you trust his ways? Do you consent to how he has handled this case?” I ask.

“Well, no. But…”

“Let us try to look into his profile. Watch his moves closely since you will be dealing with him closely from now on because of what happened to the girls. If, in the end, he turns out to be clean, then well and good for him. But my urge tells me he is the one we need to watch out for.” I explain.

“Alright. I will update you if I find anything.” Paul says.

“Okay. Be very careful. If it is too dangerous, please do not do it. I don’t want anything bad to happen to you or anyone.” I say.

“Don’t worry, Gia. I will be careful. We must kick all our fears aside if we want to put an end to this once and for all.” He says.

“Sure. Take care. When can I expect Deep’s parents?” I ask.

“Tomorrow before noon. I am going to start arrangements right now.” He says.

“Okay. Please make sure they get here safe.” I plead.

“You have nothing to worry about. Just relax and do not do anything on your own, Gia! Just follow the police pieces of advice.” He says.

“Sure. I will. Bye.” I said that and cut the call.

Yeah, right! As if it were that easy to just stay back and wait for instructions with all this burning heat of baffles!