~Identity Theft (Part 2)~

Meanwhile, back at the mansion, Drake and the others finally reached the helipad area.

“Damn it! Ethan’s not answering his phone.” Drake said and tried to redial it.

“Bro, why don’t you just use your speed and quickly arrive there within a few minutes, maybe?” Mike asked, wondering why Drake wouldn’t use his powers instead.

“Bro! First of all, that’s more or less an hour travel with our vehicle. Imagine the stress and fatigue it will cost me if I just run it with my two legs. I am not a metahuman like your favorite superhero and neither a mutant like Ethan’s superhero too. I am just a human being who has the power to control time. When I’m using my ability, I am just fast-forwarding my time to speed up, but the fatigue it cost me is still the same. Yes, I can do time manipulation on my cells to be like your superhero but using both speeding my cells and my time would greatly drain my energy. That’s why I only use my powers for quick moves and short-distance travel only. Unless Lez used her ability to boost me up, then I can do whatever your superhero could do but with a limit.” Drake explained to Mike while his phone was still dialing Ethan.

“Damn it! Ethan won’t answer. I’ll try to call Lez to inform Ethan to apprehend Nicole.” Drake self-talked as they went in the chopper.

………………………………………………………………………………..

Going back to Lez’s house as she was pointing the stun gun she had at Drake.

Ring! Lez’s phone began to ring.

She moved slowly, focusing her eyes on Drake, then made a peek at her phone and saw Drake was calling. That call convinced her that 'the' Drake in front of her is not her real boyfriend, Drake. Suddenly, as Lez lost focus on what was in front of her, the fake Drake threw the pillow towards her that made her pull the trigger and hit the pillow instead. Drake quickly went out of the room and ran as Lez picked up her phone to answer it.

“Drake?” Lez answered her phone.

“Lez! Is Ethan there? Listen, you and your parents are in danger in there. Please be on your guard and let me talk to Ethan.” Drake said on the phone.

“Drake? What is that noise?” Lez asked as she heard a loud noise.

“We are using the chopper right now coz someone sabotaged my bike and all the vehicles in the garage. We are going to your house as fast as we can. Please let me speak to Ethan.” Drake said and requested.

“Drake? Someone is in the house. I’m going to my parent’s bedroom right now to secure them. Where are you? I need you here right now. I don’t know what to do next.” Lez said as her voice on the phone could distinctly prove her cries and fear.

“What? Are you hurt?” Drake loudly said as Mike, Al, and Clem heard that made them think something terrible had happened. “Okay, stay at your parent’s room and wait for backup. I’ll try to call the others to secure the area before we arrive.” Drake said before he hung up his phone.

“Okay, I’ll wait for you here,” Lez replied while sneaking towards her parent’s room, looking in every direction before opening her parent’s bedroom door.

Mr. and Mrs. Anderson wondered about the sudden behavior shown by their daughter as she quickly went inside their room, closed, and locked the door.

“Mom! Dad! Please grab your stun gun and prepare yourselves.” Lez said as she quickly hugged her mom while her dad picked up his stun gun.

“Why? What’s wrong, sweetie?” Mrs. Anderson, in panic, asked.

“Sweetheart, are you okay?” Mr. Anderson said, noticing his daughter was crying.

“Someone is inside the house, and I don’t know what it is. But I have a big hunch that it is a demon.” Lez worriedly said to them that made the couple more panic and nervous at the same time as Mr. Anderson pointed his gun at the door.

The fake Drake was in the bathroom when Lez sneaks into her parent’s bedroom, as it transforms back into its original form, Ethan. He reached his phone in his pocket and quickly changed his ringtone, then dialed a number.

Ring! The phone on the other line is ringing as Ethan holds his phone in his right ear.

“Ethan! Thank God you finally called.” Drake answered on his phone.

“Sorry, sir. I was in the bathroom at the moment. What can I do for you, sir?” Ethan replied calmly.

“Ethan! An intruder is in the house. Please, secure all the VIPs in there and protect them at all costs. Apprehend Nicole and put her in custody until we arrive.” Drake directed at Ethan.

“Affirmative, sir! Executing your order all at once.” Ethan replied as if getting worried about the happening then ended the call.

“All personnel! All personnel! Get in the house and secure the VIPs inside. Arrest and detain Nicole Finley when you see her. Over and out!” Ethan said on the radio.

Heather and Feng, who were nearby, quickly responded to the call and went beside Ethan.

“What is happening, sir? Where’s the intruder?” Heather asked while pointing her gun at any angle.

“How many intruders are inside, sir?” Feng said as he secured the area.

“I don’t know, guys. But Sir Drake called and informed me about the intrusion. Even I don’t know how many or where it is right now. Just be on your guard and follow me to the VIPs room.” Ethan said as they slowly moved towards Lez’s parent’s room.

Ethan knocked twice on the door.

“Mr. and Mrs. Anderson! Are you okay inside?” Ethan shouted to know the condition of the couple.

“Whose there?” Mr. Anderson replied behind the closed door.

“It’s me, Ethan, sir. I’m here with Heather and Feng for your protection. Sir Drake called us to secure all of you inside.” Ethan replied.

“Come in, Ethan!” Lez replied as she unlocked the door.

“Is that you, Miss Lez? Okay, we’re coming in,” Ethan said as he, together with Feng and Heather, slowly went inside.

“You two, guard the door,” Ethan commanded the two SBGs with him.

Ethan receives a radio message from Jin.

………………………………………………………………………………..

Looking back at the last moments, Nicole gradually regained her consciousness and slowly opened her eyes.

“Where Am I?” she said while looking at every corner, disoriented at the moment.

She slowly got herself up and recognized she was in the basement. As her vision began to clear, she saw a dead body on a corner, withering away. She had a sudden scream and ran upstairs in a panic. She went into the front door and was about to call for help, but Jin, together with two other mansion guards, quickly drew their guns and pointed at her.

“Don’t move and put your hands up!” Jin strongly said to Nicole while pointing his gun at her while the other two pointed their stun gun.

“Hey, what is happening? I did nothing wrong, okay?” Nicole justified herself as she raised her hands.

“Down on your knees,” Jin said as Nicole obeyed his command.

“Secure her weapons and cuff her up,” Jin said to his comrades and took her guns and cuffed her hands on her back.

Jin laid Nicole face down onto the ground to secure her more.

“I’m sorry, Nicole, I don’t know what’s happening, but an order is an order,” Jin said to her as he reached for his radio to inform Nicole’s apprehension.

“We have Nicole in our custody. Awaiting further instructions.” Jin said on the radio.

“Bring her inside the house. Watch her every move closely. Do not let your guard down.” Ethan replied on the radio.

“Affirmative, sir!” Jin replied and brought Nicole inside the house together with the two mansion guards.

……………………………………………………………………………….

“Are you all okay?” Ethan asked the Andersons.

“Yes! We’re all okay here. Have you seen the intruder?” Lez asked.

“Actually, no, ma’am. We haven’t seen anything suspicious that went in and out of the vicinity. Could you tell us what he looks like?” Ethan said as he tried to find out the culprit.

“He looks like Drake,” Lez replied that making everyone look at her doubting her words.

“I know it’s weird, but I know what I saw.” Lez is trying to support her words.

“But how could that be ma’am, Sir Drake just called me on his phone, and by the sound I heard, I think they’re on their way here using a helicopter. So how could he be in two places at the same time?” Ethan was trying to confuse Lez on what he said.

“Are you sure about what you saw?” Ethan added.

“Yes! I’m sure. There’s no doubt about it. I think it was a demon disguising as Drake.” Lez strongly supported her words.

“Okay, if you say so. Let’s just wait here until the other backup comes.” Ethan replied.

A knock on the door twice was heard.

“Who is it?” Heather asked.

“It’s me, Jin. The others are already inside and already cleared the area. We also have Nicole apprehended at the living room.” Jin replied at the other side of the door.

“Nicole? What’s wrong with Nicole?” Lez asked.

“We don’t know, ma’am, but Sir Drake requests her detention and waits for his orders until they arrive,” Ethan replied. “Please wait here for your own safety,” Ethan said as he went outside the room to manage everything and wait for Drake’s arrival.

Unfortunately, there was no open area to land the chopper near Lez’s house, so Clem had to find one, and they landed more or less three kilometers away from the house. Drake had to go their first and speed himself up, leaving the three behind to follow afterward.

Drake finally arrived at the house a moment later, panting and a little bit sweaty.

“Lez?!? Drake called as he opened the front door.

“She’s at her parent’s room, sir.” Ethan immediately replied as Drake rushed towards the bedroom door.

“Lez?!?” Drake called as he suddenly opened the bedroom door without knocking, which startled everyone and pointed their gun at him.

“Wooh, wooh! Hey guys, it’s me, Drake. Remember?” Drake raised his hand and halted at the door.

Lez grabbed the stun gun that her dad was holding and pointed it at Drake.

“Hey! Hey! Lez? What’s going on?” Drake was confused about the way they reacted to his arrival.

“Stay there and answer my question,” Lez told him in a natural tone.

“What? Is this a joke? What is happening here?” Drake thought that Lez was making fun of him by asking questions because he could not comprehend why he had to answer a question.

“Shut up! And answer my question.” Lez looked sharply at Drake.

“Okay, Okay! I will answer any of your questions.” Drake replied as everyone inside the house was looking and listening to them.

Lez calmed herself as she began to ask him her question.

“What do you use to call me for a nickname?” Lez asked as she lowered her weapon slightly, which made Drake laugh a little, for he really thought it was a bad joke.

“Are you serious about this...?” Drake said as he lowered his arms and took a step forward.

Lez got triggered as she thought it was the demon buying his time, making excuses, then he’ll suddenly make his move when he got close to them, so she raised her gun and pointed at Drake's forehead at point-blank.

“Hey! Okay! It’s your highness, okay? It’s your highness.” Drake panicky answered after seeing his girlfriend go killing machine at him.

Silence shrouded the whole area as Lez stared at Drake's face for a moment and slowly lowered her gun, and began to cry. She hugged her boyfriend so firmly and wept over him, dropping the stun gun behind him. The guards also started to lower their weapons at Drake.

“What is going on?” Drake asked, looking at everyone in front of him, then hugged his girlfriend back.

“Now I know what went wrong,” Ethan said inside his mind that made him smile.

Later on, Al, together with Mike and Clem, arrived at the door.

“Lez?” Al worriedly call.

Ethan stared at her for a moment.

“Now, here’s the other princess of mine. I’m going to taste you next.” Ethan said in his mind making him more eager to do his evil intentions.

The guards are posted inside, guarding the front and back doors, surrounding the group as they gather in the living room.

Lez was telling them about what happened earlier. She said to them that someone who looked like Drake entered the house and tried to harass her. She noticed it was not the real Drake and pinned the culprit for a moment but got away when she got distracted by Drake’s phone call and lost him in the process.

“But how could that be? - Someone that looks a lot like my own brother. Is it a demon?” Al asked as she walked around looking at some picture frames of the Andersons.

“I don’t know how’d he does that, but I’m sure that he’s a demon. Who else would do that and can copy Drake’s face?” Lez implied.

“Wait! If it can copy my face, does that mean he can copy any face he wants?” Drake asked the group.

“A shapeshifter? Is this the kind of demon we are facing right now? Man, this is going to be hard as hell. Imagine. He could be any one of us right now.” Mike said that made everyone in the room think much more resounding.

“We cannot tell that yet without proper proof. But as Lez told me, this demon cannot copy memories. So the only thing we can do to verify a person is by asking a question that only the two of you must know to be safe.” Drake implied.

“But we can’t do a verification like that to our guards. We never knew their secret lives in the first place, and it only works with our friends and family.” Al commented.

“I guess you’re right, Al. But the demon might have returned to his original form, and that will lead us to our primary suspect in custody. Why wouldn’t we ask her?” Drake said as everyone stared at Nicole, who is tied in a chair at the moment.

“Hey guys, I told you, I haven’t done anything wrong. It’s not me, and I’m not a demon.” Nicole strongly defended herself.

“This is the video that we received from the security camera from the mansion that clearly made us say Nicole is the culprit. Care to explain this to us, Nicole?” Drake asked.

“Sir, I told you it wasn’t me. I was with Jef and Ethan loading some equipment at that time.” Nicole explained herself.

“Yes, I can verify for both of them at that time, sir, except when both Nicole and Ethan went to the bathroom as I waited for them inside the car,” Jef confirmed.

“Yes, but the problem is someone deleted the video footage from different angles of the security camera, including the one in the Tech room, and left only the video with Nicole, sabotaging the cars,” Drake said.

“And you don’t find it fishy even a little bit, sir? If I am the perpetrator, then why would I not include my video to delete in the process? Why would I let my face be seen and caught along the way? This is clearly a setup to lead it all on me, showing that I’m the bad person here.” Nicole explained, which gives a point.

“Yes, I know, Nicole, but we can’t just erase the idea that you may have planted all this evidence on you intentionally so that we could not include you on any accusations that could lead to you becoming the prime suspect. That’s just simple reverse psychology.” Drake explained which Nicole understood his point.

“For now, we cannot just release you until we find some hard evidence telling that you’re innocent,” Al added.

“Sir! I think it would be better if we remove the VIPs from here first and transport them to a safer place.” Ethan suggested.

“Yes! That would be great, but we have to distinguish first who among the guards can be trusted and transport the VIPs back to the mansion.” Drake explained.

“Wait! Drake, I forgot to tell you how I managed to tell that the intruder was not you.” Lez said.

“I thought it was because he called you babe?” Drake answered.

“Yes, that was the most distinct clue that made me arrive at my conclusion that it was not you, but there is one more thing that first gave me the bad impression,” Lez replied.

“And what was it Lez?” Drake asked, wondering what it could be.

“His cellphone ringtone,” Lez answered that made everyone afraid to reach for their cellphone.

“Your ringtone is from a part of music while the intruder is just a normal ringing tone. I will know if I could hear it.” Lez replied.

“Okay. No one should touch their phones to change ringtones. Just put all your phones on the table right now, and I will call it one by one. I have all your numbers, except for the mansion guards.” Every one of the SBGs and Mansion guards put their phones on the table. Drake noticed that the number of phones on the table was not the same number as the guards he appointed in the task. Two personnel hasn’t given their phones yet. They checked for names and found out that one of the mansion guards, Philip Brownstein, and one of the SBG, Antonio Rodriguez, were the ones who did not submit their phones.

“Where’s Philip and Anton?” Drake asked.

“They are not inside the house, sir,” Jin replied.

“Actually, I’ve never seen those two when the event happened,” Ethan replied.

“Could one of them be the culprit, sir?” Jef added.

“We are not sure of that yet. When and where was the last time you saw those two before they went missing?” Drake asked.

“The last time I saw Philip sir was earlier this afternoon around 4:30 to 5:00 pm maybe. He went inside to take the bathroom but never saw him return to his post after. I thought he was assigned to another area, for they both came in with Ethan inside the house.” One of the mansion guards replied.

“Yeah, I saw him that time went in with me and said he's going to the bathroom. After that, I reassigned him at the back lawn with Sam, for I replaced him with Nicole in the front lawn.” Ethan answered.

“Yes, I saw him posting at the back lawn with me for a moment before I went to the bathroom to take a leak, then went out, but he was gone when I came back,” Sam confirmed Ethan’s words.

But the truth behind Philip’s disappearance was when he and Ethan went inside the house, they had a little conversation about his desires, just like what Nicole and Anton had, and become the first victim of the demon Leviathan. He trashed his withering body in the basement, then changed his appearance as Philip pretended, guarding the back lawn together with Sam. But as soon as Sam went into the bathroom, he changed back into Ethan and went inside the house; then Lez requested him for the groceries and meds. Ethan then called for Nicole to grab the list on the dining table. Ethan then changed his appearance into Philip, banged Nicole on her head, and dragged her down the basement.

“Drake? You think…? Lez couldn’t finish her words as Drake interrupted her.

“Yes Lez, I think he fell into the demon’s hands. Clem, have someone search this entire house for Philip’s body, and it might be here somewhere.” Drake requested Clem.

“As you wish, sir!” Clem responded.

“Poor fellow. I can imagine how his body would look like now.” Mike said as both he and Lez looked at each other, remembering the body they found at the school gym.

“I think I saw a dead body in the basement.” Nicole suddenly said and started to tell her story.

“I was called by Ethan to do some task ordered by Miss Lez. When I turned around, I saw Philip behind me, banged my head with something, and lost consciousness. When I woke up, I was in the basement and saw a dead body lying there, and I panicked and ran towards the front door, but suddenly I got arrested by my fellow guards. Please believe me, and I did not kill that man. Please, sir, believe me.” Nicole tried to convince everyone with her words.

“I’m sorry, Nicole, but I cannot, coz you’re the main suspect that we had by now,” Drake said as Nicole just bowed her head in silence.

“Clem, have someone come here tomorrow for the dead body,” Drake ordered.

“How about Anton? Anyone noticed him earlier?” Drake asked.

“Last time I saw him was when he went inside the house for a task. He went out together with Nicole in a car and drove off. And when she came back, she was alone,” Jin said.

“What? But I haven’t been with Anton earlier. I told you I got knocked out and put in the basement by someone.” Nicole angrily said, for she thought Jin was lying.

“That is true, sir. We even helped her unload the groceries from the car and into the dining table.” One of the mansion guards confirmed.

“So all the evidence leads on to you, Nicole,” Drake said, staring at Nicole. Even though the evidence is all leading into her, he still feels something wrong around him. But he still needed concrete proof of her innocence.

“I know, sir. Coz it’s a God damn bullshit frame-up.” Nicole strongly believed her idea.

“Let’s just continue on our investigation,” Drake said.

Drake was the only one verified in the group by Lez itself. To verify the others, Drake asked Clem, Alex, Mike, and Lez a question that only both of them knew the answer to. After confirming those mentioned, Lez asked her parents next, and they all passed with flying colors. The only ones left to verify now are the SBGs and the mansion guards.

They labeled their phones with their names and took it all back inside Lez’s bedroom for testing. Drake, together with Lez, Mike and Al, and Clem, went inside the room to investigate as Drake called each SBGs’ phone numbers while Clem called the mansion guards’ for Lez to distinguish the ringing tone she heard from the culprit. Three from the SBGs and two from the mansion guards have the same ringtones as the culprit that appeared in the result.

“Sorry guys, I hate to do this to you, but this will be for everyone’s safety. I hope all of you will cooperate in this process. Five of you have the results having the same ringtones as the culprit, and as I say their names, they will be detained immediately for this moment until proven guilty.” Drake explained.

Drake mentioned first Roger Hanford and Nicholas Dalton from the mansion guard and was immediately handcuffed behind their backs and was kneeled in the corner. Drake then mentioned from the SBG team, namely, Jefferson Dougman, Sam Jon Breckenson, and Nicole Finley. They were detained and joined together with the mansion guards kneeling except for Nicole, who is already tied in a chair.

“I’m sorry, Nicole. But all evidence leads back to you.” Drake explained to Nicole with a heavy heart, for Drake knows she was clearly being set up but won’t let his guard down until he has concrete proof.

“I’m well-informed, sir. I understand your situation, but I will try my best to clear my name from this mess, sir. That I can promise you.” Nicole was determined to unfold the truth behind this case.

“Okay, guys, here’s what we are going to do. We’re going back to the mansion, using the four types of vehicles available for transportation separately. We do have a chopper and three cars waiting for use. The VIPs will take the chopper together with Al and Clem as the pilot. Ethan will fill the first car as the driver with me beside him and Nicole and Jef at the back. The second will be Jin as the driver with Mike beside him and the two mansion detainee at their back. Third would be Feng as the driver with Heather beside him with two mansion guards on the back with Sam in the middle. Once we arrive at the mansion, we will hold the detainees directly in the panic room temporarily until we solve this case. It will be heavily guarded with cameras at all angles for 24 hours. Understood?” Drake instructed.

“Yes, sir!” the guards exclaimed.

“Now we have to secure the VIPs first before we move on. Ethan, transport the mentioned to where the chopper is located. We will be waiting for your return, and then we’ll move out with the detainees.” Drake added.

“Yes, sir!” Ethan replied.

“Lez? Is this you as a child in the picture?” Al asked.

“Yes, Al, that is me when I was 9,” Lez replied

“Can I take this with us?” Al requested.

“Okay, but why?” Lez asked.

“I think I have a picture of Ember, your twin, in our database. I would like to see this picture side by side with your twin. That would be a lovely scene.” Al smiled at Lez.

“I would love to see my twin, too, even just in a picture,” Lez said and smiled.

Ethan transported Clem, Al, and the Andersons back to the chopper, then quickly returned to the house and proceeded with Drake’s plan.

END OF CHAPTER 16