Investigation (XXI)

03:01 A.M. 

Michie Alestre's Residence. 

July 21st, the year 2018. Saturday. 

Katrina Fajardo's 23rd birthday. 

8 hours and 33 minutes since Katrina Fajardo went missing. 

"There she was," Carmela hissed. She saw a glimpse of a red-haired girl over the curtains. Marcus quickly observed Lieutenant Lirio opening the gate. They heard loud jamming of the window and they saw a shadow escaping from the insides of the confines of the house. 

Lieutenant Lirio kicked the gate open. Marcus ran over the side, seeing the broken window on the upper floor. 

"Michie must have jumped from the upper floor," Carmela cried out as she stopped right behind him. Marcus aimed the gun at the wood railings of the backside of the house as he saw Michie jump outside. The officers broke off the front door of the house as Lieutenant Lirio observed inside.

He retrieved the personal background of the one they were searching for. He's puzzled why her family wasn't there. 

"She's alone here. She must have been using this place for something," Lieutenant Lirio whispered. The officers continued to open the drawers and threw the contents onto the floor. 

Marcus and Carmela walked over to the wood barricades. They looked at each other as Marcus crouched down and Carmela stepped foot on his back. She jumped and landed with her two feet on the ground while crouching down as her two hands supported her. Marcus jumped beside her too, and they looked at each other.

"You should stay here. You don't have the right to arrest someone. I might get fired if you moved. Protect yourself from here. Use the dagger I gave you," Marcus breathed out as he secured the vest and the helmet on his body. He scanned Carmela's vest too and patted her helmet. He was turning his heel back around to chase Michie on the street as Carmela grabbed a hold of his arm. 

"Be careful, Marcus," Carmela whispered. Marcus nodded, unclasping her fingers from her arm. He shouted at the confines of the street, aiming the loaded gun towards the person running over the trail.

Carmela glanced at the surroundings. Someone moved to the inside of the house, as Carmela saw. She ran over to the exit and saw the police cars in the area. The sound of someone raiding the contents of the house... was evident. The lights from the inside of the house across the street opened right away. 

People swept the curtains, observed the people outside. Lieutenant Lirio and two officers came out of the house. Carmela quickly tracked the pathway and stopped right at the side of Marcus's car. 

Lieutenant Lirio looked up at her, asking where Lieutenant Marcus was. 

"He's chasing Michie. He prohibited me from running beside him since... I'm not a police officer," Carmela muttered. Lieutenant Lirio gave the notebook he was holding to the officer beside him. Turning his heel around, he sprinted towards the side of the house. 

He secured the bulletproof vest over his chest and retrieved a gun. 

…

Marcus cried out towards her as Michie was sprinting so fast. Marcus doesn't want to stop right now. He's chasing the suspect for this investigation. 

The alcohol bottles, in their cases, swung down as Michie hitched them. It smashed on the ground one by one; the remnants shattered loudly. Marcus got distracted, but he quickly jumped. Michie showed her red hair as the hood removed itself from the back of her head. She fastened up a bit, retrieving a gun inside.

Marcus clenched the handle of the gun, aiming it at Michie's back. 

Michie stopped right away, faced him. She shot up a bullet into the sky. Marcus halted right in his place as he breathed out over his secured helmet and aimed the gun towards her chest. 

The bullet came out from the cartridge of the gun she was holding. It fell down on the ground with a clunk. Michie pointed her gun at Marcus's feet. 

Marcus clenched his jaw right away when he heard the screams from the neighborhood. He panted as Michie wiped the sweat on her forehead and glared through the Lieutenant in front of her. 

"Why are you chasing me, Lieutenant Dela Rosa?" Michie's hoarse voice asked as beads of sweat trickle down the side of her head. She was wearing an oversized black hoodie and tight jeans. Her hair was greasy. He squinted his eyes as Michie sneered.

"Oh, I know why you are here. You found the clues from the other side of the national road, am I right?" Michie's furrowed eyebrows made Marcus grit his teeth and didn't want to answer right away. 

He still pointed the gun at her chest. Michie raised both of her palms out, holding the gun in her right hand. Many people came out of their house as Michie clicked her tongue from her mouth. 

The people stopped right away when they saw two people have their own guns. One is a lieutenant who was pointing his gun towards the culprit they had been searching for. 

"Who are you, Ms. Alestre?" Marcus asked, clenching his jaw. He gripped the handle of the gun tightly. Michie guffawed, placing her hands over her knees. Marcus glared right through her. 

Michie's laughter didn't die down for a minute as the people behind them halted right in their tracks. She shot another bullet at the sky without even hesitating. It made the people shriek, except Marcus. 

Marcus raised his gun towards her forehead as Michie did the same with her right hand. They stared at each other's eyes as Marcus narrowed his eyes at her. 

"Why are you asking me who I am, Mr. Dela Rosa? You knew me all along. I am the eldest daughter of the Alestre. I'm the one who is suffering right now because they have taken our company away from us," Michie agonized. The wind rustled around them. 

Her red hair flowed away from her shoulders as she steadied the gun in her right hand. She held them with both of her hands right now as she continued what she was saying. 

"They had tricked you. How foolish of you," Michie hissed, sniggering.

They heard a set of running footsteps as Lieutenant Lirio reached the scene. He widened his eyes as he saw that Lieutenant Marcus was in the middle of the street. 

He pulled out his gun, moving towards the crowd of people. He carefully walked in the middle, beside the head of the detectives. Michie averted her eyes from Marcus and chortled a bit as she saw another police officer. 

"You even brought a minion with you," Michie remarked, tilting her head on one side. 

"I got it. You will not die with this. You got a very expensive vest to catch someone who was not even part of the investigation, am I right? I am glad that the dandelion hoodie resembled Katrina's. It was a complete misdirection." Michie's sarcastic voice made Lieutenant Lirio shout upon the street. 

"Shut up, or I'll shoot!" Lieutenant Lirio yelled over the street, as Marcus remained calm. Michie lowered down the gun as she chucked a bit. Marcus hastily grabbed a hold of his colleague's gun as he put his finger on the trigger. Marcus shook his head as he saw Michie shedding some tears. 

"The patience that the police have is now very low. You know, all of you, you still have to study that. In order for you to solve a case so fast, you're chasing the wrong person for you to justify what happened." Michie stated the fact as Carmela reached the crowd of the people with two officers beside her. 

She ran up over the front, widening her eyes when she saw that they finally cornered Michie. Marcus was holding the gun of Lieutenant Lirio and Michie was talking over the center.

Carmela scooted over to the people disturbed in the middle of their sleep. She panted as she reached the front. Michie saw her shedding some tears. The two officers furrowed their eyebrows, but then, she smiled widely towards Carmela. 

Marcus and Lieutenant Lirio glanced at her rapidly. They both widened their eyes when they saw Carmela. She removed all the protective measures and came upon the scene with nothing but the dagger in her hand. 

"Carmela," Michie called out. The tears streamed down her eyes and Carmela didn't even know when to move an inch from her body. 

Michie aimed the gun towards her chest and she shot the last bullet in her gun in a blink of an eye. The bullet found its place as the people screamed all around the area as the crows over the trees hooted.