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Hastalavistababy969: Any lacking in the intel given?
Beri: None, I'll commit.
Hastalavistababy969: Good.
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The heavy rain outside showed no signs of letting up—in fact, the water droplets slamming against the car's metal roof created a consistent, static-like noise.
The car windows had been intentionally swapped for a maximum-grade dark tint. From the outside, the vehicle looked like an abandoned car on the shoulder of District 24's road. Yet inside, a pair of sharp eyes was scanning, looking out.
"It's too quiet," Jan muttered. Her voice was flat, but there was an undertone of restrained aggression. "We've been cooped up in here for nearly two hours, Zane."
"Merlin, Mordred. Let the cop coping," Zane said nonchalantly. His eyes didn't drift from the screen. "The system never misses a coordinate. Bait dropped. Now we just wait for the big fish to bite.Big big fish."
Suddenly, the high-beam lights of a vehicle pierced the darkness of the night from the end of the alley. The light reflected off the puddles of rainwater pooling on the decaying asphalt road.
A faded red-and-yellow taxi crawled to a slow pace before stopping right in front of the internet café's storefront corridor. The taxi's engine sounded choked, sputtering a few times before being shut off completely.
Jan instantly straightened her posture. Her hand automatically moved under the seat, gripping the hilt of her firearm.
"He's here."
The back door of the taxi swung open. A thin man wearing a worn-out denim jacket stepped out. His steps seemed hesitant, his eyes wildly darting around with pure paranoia. That was him—the death-row inmate marked as the target by the system. He walked briskly through the pouring rain, ducking his head before pushing open the dim glass door of the internet café and disappearing behind the establishment's plastic curtain. The taxi then turned a corner and drove away, leaving the alley back in the silence of the night.
"Zane..." Jan suddenly whispered, her tone pressed as low as possible. Her eyes narrowed, looking toward the left side mirror. "On your left."
Zane didn't turn drastically. He only shifted his eyes toward the driver's side mirror.
The giant silhouette of Beri Da Costa had apparently emerged, cutting through the driving rain. In his massive right hand, he was holding something—a small device emitting a dim red diode light.
Beri walked past the side of their vehicle. He was right in front of and beside the car. The distance between that massive body and the darkly tinted car window was less than a foot. Zane and Jan held their breath simultaneously, their bodies freezing.
Yet, Beri didn't look toward the window at all. He kept walking straight ahead, as if completely unaware of their presence inside.
Instead, while his eyes stared straight ahead, Beri's massive left hand lowered casually as he passed the car. With a highly subtle movement, his rough fingertips groped around the underside of their car's rear trunk, pasting the device beneath the vehicle.
A heavy sigh escaped from both of their mouths at the same time.
"Owh..." Jan cupped her face with one hand. Her tone was half-disappointed in herself. "We're so dumb."
"Lol," Zane, beside her, only etched a thin, cold smile. His hand was already poised on the car door handle. "Say with me. 3... 2... 1..."
— END OF CHAPTER —