Inside the precinct building, Kevin was waiting anxiously by his table. His computer was running some news analysis programs trying to find patterns of incidents. There were some patterns found, and with more of them found, a few notifications popped up on the screen.

But Kevin did not have the heart to check the notifications. He checked his phone constantly, and kept his phone charged at all times. The call from Marcus still did not come. The time was getting late. In just 15 minutes, the day shift would be over, and the detectives would get off work. Many of the officers had already left, and the building was gradually emptied out. More would leave, before the night shift officers came.

After thinking for a brief moment, Kevin decided to move on with Marcus’ contingency plan. He packed his bag, got his taser and his pepper spray, then double checked his notes, before rushing out of his lab to find the desks of the detectives.

The other detectives were out, only Keryn Lance remained in the building, and the detective-in-training, Officer Mick Cramer. There was no other choice for him.

“Keryn. Mick.” Kevin rushed to Keryn’s side and waved at Mick, who was cleaning up his coffee mug: “We’ve got a problem. Marcus needs our help.”

“What? How?” Mick put his mug in the sink: “What happened? Isn’t he taking the afternoon off?”

“My lab, let’s talk there.” Kevin pointed behind him: “It’s - uh, it’s complicated. And I need your help finding him.”

“What’s going on?” When Kevin closed the door behind them, Keryn asked.

“Okay - Marcus did not take the afternoon off. He went to the Lanmian Forest to check on something.” Kevin sighed and explained: “He went to the forest because - well - he had certain suspicions about things, and the community collective.”

“You mean, he had suspicions about Tyler Khan.” Keryn frowned: “I see - I can’t say I would disagree with him. So he went there and - ”

If you come across this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it.

“He still hadn’t gotten back to me. He told me he would check it out, and if there’s anything I should find as many as I can, and if not I should hide.” Kevin rubbed his hair: “And I don’t wanna call him - I don’t want to expose him with a bad timing call - ”

“Okay, so we should go to the Lanmian Forest and find him.” Keryn nodded: “But - before we go, do you know where he went exactly? Lanmian Forest is a big place.”

“I know, it’s on the corner of - ” Kevin was just about to answer, before realizing that he forgot something - he reached below his desk and hit the button to trigger a bug scan. “Okay - this is strictly need-to-know intelligence, but I think the time calls for it. The food festival - we suspect it’s a farce - it’s an excuse to perform a mass sacrifice, as opposed to the smaller ones - ”

“Mass sacrifice? What - what - what do you mean?” Mick was flabbergasted by this sudden bombarding statement.

“Sacrifice of humans, most likely young children.” Kevin waved his hand: “It’s a working theory, that’s why we didn’t tell many, but that is not important - ”

Before Kevin could continue, a sharp beeping sound resounded in the lab.

“Holy fucking shit - someone bugged me.” Chills ran down Kevin’s spine.

“Who - ” Keryn was surprised by this finding as well: “ - the fuck?”

“Tyler Khan.” Kevin spoke through his teeth, stern and worried: “We must go. We must go!”

“What - what’s happening?!” Mick asked as Kevin grabbed his backpack, unplugged his computer abruptly and opened the door of the lab: “What’s this to do with Tyler Khan? What’s wrong with him?”

“He’s a spy! He’s a fucking spy!” Kevin responded with a raised voice.

Keryn followed up by Kevin’s side, she did not ask another question, just double-checked that her gun was strapped to her belt. “Grab your gun, Mick, NOW!”

But just as Kevin walked halfway into the common space of this floor, Tyler Khan came right to the front door, with a group of men behind him, all of whom were in dark cloaks and had their faces covered.

“Shit! Backdoor! To the back!” Keryn raised her voice and pulled Kevin back.

“The key! The key!”

Three of them headed towards the back door. They ran by the squad car registration window and just grabbed all the keys on the hangers. Behind them, the men led by Tyler Khan rushed into the precinct and started flanking them from every corner. There were only a few officers in the precinct, and most of them were instantly subdued.

“Bang bang bang!” Gunshots fired behind them as Kevin, Keryn and Mick ran into the garage. Keryn pulled Kevin and guarded behind him. Mick cursed, as he did not bring his gun over and left it on his desk.

Keryn ducked behind a squad car with bulletproof windows and doors, pulled out her gun and started firing back at those who came behind them. “Mick! Come here! Kevin! Find the right keys!”

“Okay!” Kevin tried a few keys, and within mere seconds found the keys to the car behind which they were hiding.

Mick leapt from behind another car and to Kevin’s position. Keryn fired off all the bullets in her magazine before jumping into the car. “GOGOGO!”

The bulletproof squad car’s tires scratched the ground before speeding out of the garage and into the street outside. The men pursuing them led by Tyler Khan tried to take the squad cars, but they were left with no keys so they had to rush out of the precinct to take the cars in which they came.