momentous message

Lila and Kai hid behind a wall as they spotted the guards.

The guard with the mustache turned to his partner and said, "Looks like the backup will be coming soon."

The other guard smirked and replied, "Don't mix the other boxes with the important ones."

They entered the elevator and went up again.

Kai faced Lila. "There's no time to waste."

Lila nodded. "We need to go upstairs—to the second floor. We may be fortunate enough to find a phone there."

Meanwhile…

Outside the police station, Ryu and Camila stood in the rain, their uniforms damp and clinging to them.

Camila sighed and shivered. "Why are we stuck out here patrolling in this weather?"

Ryu folded his arms, trying to keep warm. "Well, everyone is stationed around the city in small groups. We should have taken raincoats before leaving the station."

He sighed again, looking up at the dark, cloudy sky. "We can't stop doing our job just because the weather isn't in our favor."

Camila held out her hand, letting the raindrops collect in her palm. "I know… I just hope it's a quiet night."

Back at the Factory…

Kai and Lila ran upstairs. As they opened the door to the second floor, a guard sitting at a desk immediately jolted upright in shock. His hand darted toward a distress button.

Kai lunged forward and slammed the man's head against the table. The guard collapsed to the floor, unconscious.

Lila barely flinched. She rushed toward a desk where an old rotary phone sat, but something else caught her attention. She picked up another device—a radio scanner.

"Hmm… seems like they've been tracking the police," she muttered.

Kai exhaled. "Yeah… the Shadows are always one step ahead of them."

Lila kept scanning the room, her fingers brushing over a police-issued radio transceiver. Her thoughts raced. They even have a transceiver to intercept communication from our local radios…

Her eyes widened. "Kai, does your illusion have the same voice as the real person or a different one?"

Kai bent down beside the unconscious guard and replied, "Depends… what do you want to do?"

Lila turned to face him. "I want to alert the police, but without them knowing it's us. If they find out, we'll probably get arrested… but Officer Marsh is supposed to be with two other officers. So, can you create—"

Kai waved a hand and smirked. "Don't get too carried away by my awesomeness."

Lila rolled her eyes.

A shimmer of light flickered, and an illusion formed—an exact replica of Officer Marsh. Kai stood behind it, carefully controlling its movements.

Lila picked up the phone and held it near the illusion. She quickly unrolled the tangled cord. "Now!"

The illusion spoke with a firm, commanding voice.

"Attention, attention, all officers of the APD. Urgent message from Marsh… I repeat, we are detectives. To whoever receives this, we have located the factory on Oke Street. We are requesting immediate assistance!"

Elsewhere…

Detectives across the city began moving toward the factory. Ryu and Camila stood near their patrol car, listening to the walkie-talkie as static crackled.

Ryu gripped the device and shouted, "Message wasn't received! I repeat, message wasn't received!"

No response. Just more static.

He sighed and shoved the walkie-talkie back into his pocket. "With this weather, communication is getting jammed…"

Camila suddenly grinned and turned toward him. "I've always wanted to try something when it rains. Wanna see what it is?"

Ryu hesitated, swallowing hard. "Huh?"

Before he could react, Camila grabbed his hand and pulled him forward. They dashed through the rain, water splashing beneath their feet.

Soon, they arrived at an old phone booth. Ryu ducked inside, shielding himself from the downpour, and quickly dialed a number.

A man on the other end picked up. "This is Herman."

"This is Ryu," he responded, "requesting transportation to the precinct from Champlain Street and Maple."

Herman's voice came through the receiver. "Ryu, I assume you were able to hear the message from Marsh?"

Ryu scratched his head. "Yeah… a bit. But the important details were missing."

Herman sighed. "Must be the weather. It was clearer on our end, though still patchy. We managed to get a location—73 Sherbrooke Street, the Glass Factory."

Ryu tensed. So that's where they are…

Herman continued, "Where is Sergeant Camila?"

Ryu glanced outside the booth. "She's here too."

"Perfect. I'm sending a car to pick you both up and take you there. I want you to scout the situation and report back. Stay covert. Don't let anyone know you're there. Understood?"

"Yes, sir."

Camila, standing outside in the rain, overheard everything. As soon as Ryu hung up, she wiped the water off her face and gave him a knowing look.

"Looks like our quiet night is over," she muttered.

Back at the Factory…

Lila clutched Kai's sleeve. "It was Ryu who received the message earlier. If they come and don't know about the nitroglycerin, it's going to be really bad."

Kai nodded. "Yeah… let's find a phone before this place turns into fireworks."

Suddenly, the door burst open, and a guard spotted them.

In an instant, the guard reached for his gun—but Kai was faster. He leaped into the air and hurled a chair at the man. The impact sent the guard stumbling backward.

The man tried to yell for help, but Kai grabbed his head and slammed it into the wall. He crumpled to the ground.

Lila stood frozen, her heart pounding.

Kai turned to her with a smirk. "That's two to zero, Lila. Didn't think you'd be so out of shape."

Lila snapped out of her daze and scoffed. "Don't worry. I won't let some manipulated boy outscore me."

Kai chuckled and slowly opened the next door, peeking through the gap. His expression darkened. "Seems like we made a lot of noise… more are coming in."

Lila bit her lip. "Then we better move fast."

The sound of hurried footsteps echoed down the hallway. More guards were closing in.

Kai tightened his grip on his weapon. "No turning back now."

Lila exhaled sharply, steadying her nerves. "Then let's give them something to be afraid of."

They exchanged a glance—one filled with unspoken understanding.

It was now or never.

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