CHAPTER 8

"Excuse me, Mr. President, what do you mean by dismissing?" He asked unbelievably. What does he mean by dismissing the case? What about the innocent family? The governor who was killed? Why should the case be dismissed?

"As what I have said, Phileo. We can't continue to investigate further." He said as he watched the two, still couldn't believe what he said. "But it'll cause an uproar, Mr. President! Your position will be at stake! You know how the countrymen will react if we dismiss this case!" General Felipe tried to control his temper. He couldn't let this family leave unjustified, justice must be served against those syndicates!

"Felipe. Dismiss the case." The President once more said. Felipe groaned and punch the wall beside him while Phileo's hands turned into a ball of fists. How could the President act like what happened was nothing?

"We can't!" General Felipe fought back and glared at the person whose rank was even higher than theirs. "First of all, Mr. President, the lives of these people matters to us as we protect them. We can't dismiss the case without looking for the perspective suspect. Second, our jobs would be unstable because of your rash decision! We can't abandon this case, Mr. President! The people will attack us, even you! I fear that your decision might cause rebellion—"

"WE CAN'T ATTACK THEM, FELIPE! USE YOUR BRAIN! What are you going to do? Find nothing? Investigate nothing?! The only evidence you have is that fucking flower that is not even confirmed that it directly came from them! Felipe, I know that you are uptight in your service, but think Felipe! Think! This syndicate can harm our entire country! Do you think if we push more, then we can eliminate them? No! Our resources are currently short because of these fucking corrupt officials, we must solidify our country before we push to fight back. Besides, I received a lot of papers about the Goyo Family, and how they did something unbelievable. I received it anonymously, the sender wasn't included, but the evidence we're clear as the sun. Dismiss the case now and present this evidence to clear our side. We still have a lot of things to clean properly." The President lashed out and sighed.

"I cannot risk the civilization getting crushed against those wild animals, Felipe." He said and ended the call. Everyone was scared when the President shouted at the General and the Lieutenant Colonel, they have seen the President getting annoyed but hadn't seen how he lashes out.

"We can't go against the President, Phileo," Felipe muttered in irritation. Phileo didn't speak, he was silent. He could never accept the fact that the case would be dismissed. Even though the President himself said that he anonymously received evidence of their corruption, it is still wrong to dismiss the case.

Phileo sighed and nodded at General Felipe. There's nothing he can do about it. Especially if it's an order he received from the President.

When General Felipe and Phileo went out of the mansion, flashes immediately attacked their eyes as news reporters has been flocking the way. He never noticed them as they were busy receiving an order from the man himself. It was wild, wild-like animals, racing to the meal. Soldiers managed to block them from entering and even made a small pathway for them to safely escape from these maniacs.

"General Felipe! What's going on?"

"General! After the case of Governor Goyo, what can you say about this current case?"

"General! Who massacred the family?"

They were shouting and pushing each other just to get the news they were craving. But both the General and the Lieutenant Colonel were silent and didn't utter a small word. Everyone was pissed, annoyed at their silence.

"General! Lieutenant Colonel! Who killed them? Let us know!" They shouted, causing injuries to the soldiers who were blocking them. "Who the fuck leaked this out?" General Felipe cussed as he whispered at Phileo who was silent the whole time.

"I have no idea, General." He said and sighed as they began to walk faster. The reporters keep on flocking, disrespecting them as the General and Lieutenant Colonel. "Fuck, I hope there will be no reporters later." He wished but Phileo chuckled because that is impossible.

"You know General what you wished cannot be granted. It's impossible." He commented and laugh. "I won't be saluting General, I must get going." He said and Felipe just look at him dead in the eyes and nodded, sighing. That kid needs rest too.

"Be careful on your way, son." He said and Phileo nodded, started to run fast to his Ducati, and immediately fired it up. Everyone was distracted, especially the girls when Phileo climbed into his motorcycle, wore his helmet, and immediately drove away from the scene, earning a lot of squealing from the female reporters. That was hot especially since Phileo was only wearing a gray jacket and khaki pants, it was as if he was not a police officer but a handsome detective.

"General, enter now. They're distracted because of Lieutenant Colonel." A soldier said, waking General Felipe up from his daydream. "The charms of that kid are effective during an event like this." He commented and immediately went to his car. "Secure the mansion, don't let anyone peek at what's inside." He commanded and everyone saluted him before he started to drive his car away from the crime scene.

—

Meanwhile on the other side, someone, a woman was sitting in front of her desk looking at her computer, observing different faces that she hadn't seen but had been already accustomed to. The woman started to laugh hard as she look at how the syndicate was celebrating their victory. She was watching from someone's point of view, it's as if the person was somewhat controlled by something or by someone.

She casually sipped her wine, observing how these men were so fired up in celebrating. She swirled her wine in her glass, grinning ear to ear as it was something insightful to see. "Haa, I'm dying here." She said and reclined in her seat.

The lights were off, the gleaming city lights and the computer's brightness were the only things that served as the lady's light in the night. It was already nearly 5 in the morning, yet she still looks so fresh despite the lack of sleep. Wine in the morning isn't so bad after all, especially if you're watching something interesting.

"It was great to know who's who. Now, everything is under my control." She said and smirked towards her computer, turned it off, and closes her eyes. The smirk on her lips wasn't erased, she was still smirking even though her eyes were closed.