Chapter 31_ Decoy

Just as Raine had told Xu Ying earlier, she had added an extra 20 rounds to her run. At the end of the run, Xu Ying could barely move her limbs. She was fit, but without company, it had been boring to continue her military exercises so she had slacked off and was not in shape which Raine had figured out and preyed on.

Raine was content that Xu Ying was too exhausted to talk her ear off so she extended her departure by an extra thirty minutes. Though, she later regretted her decision to do so when Xu Ying walked out of the shower looking all energized.

"I know you've told me you don't want me to call you by your Chinese name ever again but can I still call you R. J? That's a nickname dear to my heart. I've called you that since the first time I could speak." Xu Ying said as she packed the last clothing she was stealing from Raine into her duffel bag and turned around to face Raine.

Raine looked back at Xu Ying and nodded her head. "Go ahead and refer to me anyhow you'd like to but don't call me that name." 

"Thank you." Xu Ying replied demurely and picked up her bag. It was obvious that she was ready to leave the house.

Raine stared at Xu Ying and observed her, she was behaving so different from the time she arrived at her home. It was like she had become one of those socialites. "What is it?"

"Nothing is wrong. Yesterday was my cheat day and now, I'm back to normal. Thank you for giving me a place to exercise my freedom." Xu Ying replied elegantly.

"Hmm..." Raine hummed as she shook her head. "What the heck did they do to you?" She asked in mirth. 

"Oh, you know, just teaching me how to suppress my wildness and to be more elegant. It was a torture that I wouldn't pray on anyone else " Xu Ying laughed then smiled beautifully at Raine. "I'm going to miss you a lot, R. J and since I know how much you hate these kind of sappy goodbyes; please escort me to the car."

"After you!" Raine smiled back with a twinkle in her eye that showed how happy she was. Xu Ying had a sudden flashback to the past where Raine was one of the happiest but arrogant and stubborn friends she had and she had to stop herself from sighing. That was a long time ago and some things were impossible to get back.

Raine personally saw Xu Ying till she was driven out of her house. It was only after then that she marched back to her secret office to see how April was fairing. 

When she got into her office, she met a bleary eyed April seated in front of the computer. She was so focused that she didn't notice Raine's arrival or her presence next to her. 

Raine quietly stared at the images on the computer screen until she got to a particular one that she felt a bit strong about. "Rewind by two seconds then pause."

April froze for half a second before complying. The people who had access to this room were limited and all were people she was liable to obey. Moreover, there was no way she wouldn't be able to recognize the icy and commanding voice of her boss. 

April obeyed the instruction given to her by Raine and kept quiet as Raine's eyes were riveted on the face of the man on the computer screen. "Have you noticed him earlier?"

"Yes, I have seen him twice but he only visits once in a month so I wrote him off. Moreover, he never spent more than a second in the reception before he was led into his private room."April responded. 

"What room does he book? Is it always a constant room?"

"No, each of his bookings were for different rooms."

Raine nodded her head and smiled mischeviously. She looked at the interior of the room he was in and the time then picked up the document April had given to her and looked for the person that booked that room during that period. "Look for his other bookings."

"Yes, Madam." April responded and went through the document. The more she looked through the document, the more she furrowed her eyebrows. "This cannot be possible!!!"

"You cannot find that name again." Raine stated and was not surprised when April nodded her head in response.

"For each of the days he booked according to the screen there are different names registered and I just remembered, he always had a fixed day to book. He always booked the 18th of the month." April analysed as she went through the document and browsed through her earlier observations.

The more April spoke, the sharper her eyes had become. All signs of her exhaustion had been replaced with her enthusiasm and excitement at discovering an important clue to their problem. 

"It's a decoy." Raine laughed.

At first April laughed with her; she was over the moon that they had caught some of their accomplices but then her brain processed what Raine had actually said. "huh..."

Raine raised an eyebrow at her and April realized that she wasn't playing around. "No way, It can't be."

"Think it over." Raine commanded and April did. She followed the thought process of it being a decoy and tried to trace the possible reasoning behind that decision. She thought of the pros and the cons then looked dismayed. 

"Oh S**t!!! It really is a decoy. They thought of all the possibilities didn't they? Those lousy cowards."

"I don't think lousy is a good qualifier for them if they were able to fool you, April." Raine said before standing straight. "Find the culprit and narrow the range to the first twenty days of the month. Don't leave out anything that might seem suspicious to you and rely on your intuition. Remember, you have a day and a half left." Raine ordered and left the office.