056 FILLING THE PUZZLE
Dan held his phone tightly, debating whether to power it on. If he did, his mining app would appear right there on the front screen… it was impossible to hide it.
Before he could decide, Dorin snatched it from his hand.
"No…"
"Relax," she said, flashing that teasing smile. "We're not checking whatever smut you've got in there."
"There's no smut," he said flatly.
Lander didn't comnt.
He simply opened a tallic case on the table — a portable container-like machine — and placed the phone inside. The lid sealed with a hiss, and the hum of scanners filled the air.
"What the hell are you doing to my phone?" Dan demanded.
"If we break it, we'll pay you back," Dorin said casually.
Dan's jaw tightened.
"Pay back? How can you pay back if you break my phone? The mining app's inside."
A soft beep echoed.
The light on the device shifted between amber and green. Lander leaned closer, watching. It was a portable psychic-wave detector — a crude and simple detector but functional. It was nowhere near the sophistication of the Fortress Myrone system but effective, nonetheless.
Dan hid a smirk. "They'll detect nothing. With this baby machine."
Lander frowned as he opened the box and lifted the phone by its edge, dangling it like evidence. His brows drew together.
"This doesn't make sense…" he muttered.
Dan snatched it back quickly. "Lucky you didn't remove the case," he thought silently — the phone cover was made of a special material designed to block psychic emissions.
"Wait, I'm not done—" Lander began.
"You're done," Dan snapped. "You almost fried my phone in your bloody microwave!"
Lander hesitated, still puzzled.
"What is it, Detective?" Dorin asked.
"I'm sure the psychic readings we tracked ca from him or during the use of his phone," he said, glaring at Dan.
To prove a point, Dan tapped his phone. Dorin's phone started ringing in her pocket.
Lander's eyes narrowed. He pulled out another handheld scanner, and swept it around. The readings were clear. There was no psychic trace in the room.
"Now what?" Dan asked, his tone dripping with irritation. "You people are crazy."
"No, we're not insane," Dorin replied, her tone firm now. "We suspect you're connected to the serial psychic attacks in the city."
Dan blinked. "What serial case? I didn't see the news," he asked, feigning confusion.
Lander leaned in, with his sharp eyes. "Don't you find it odd that so many people near you collapsed into psychic shock? Your classmates — Thas and Onda. Your uncle Ralph. The boy band Sneaker and their bodyguards. The MMA fighters…"
The nas hung in the air like ghosts. Dan stayed silent, his mind running faster than any scanner could read.
"They deserve it", Dan replied flatly and unapologetically.
Dorin and Lander stared at him.
"Wait …. my classmates got hysterical, and my uncle had a heart attack. But Sneaker and the MMA fighters? What the hell happened to them, and what does that have to do with ?" Dan asked.
"He's right, Lander," Dorin said, stepping between them. "You're stretching the hunch. He wasn't at the Black Owl when the boy band was hit, and he wasn't at the stadium when the fighters went down."
"And what have all these conspiracy theories got to do with my phone?" Dan insisted.
Lander tapped his datapad, eyes hard. "I checked the tistamps on the attacks and cross-referenced cara footage of you. Even when you weren't physically with the victims, your hands were always on your phone."
"Hell, you could link even that to ? Who the hell are not always with their phones nowadays… You people are bent on making guilty", Dan thought. In his mind there was only one thought- he couldn't look guilty.
Dan barked a laugh. "So, your logic is: millions of people use phones every day, and millions die. By that standard, everyone's guilty of murder."
Lander didn't have an answer.
They'd already run his phone through the detector; the last threads of their suspicion had been cut. They have nothing on Dan.
"You're barking up the wrong tree, Lander," Dorin conceded, softer now.
Dan's patience thinned. "Okay, then — if I'm cleared of the murder charges, I'm getting out. I just ca through a space rift, and I'm exhausted."
"We can't leave," Lander said. "We're using your apartnt for this mission."
"Fine. I'll find sowhere else to crash." He moved for the door.
Dorin put a hand on his sleeve, stopping him. "Wait. Maybe you can help us."
He halted. "What?"
"There are missing students in school," she said quickly before adding politely, "We can't ask around as SIA agents— it would tip people off and worse cause a panic. We need soone who's a student, who can move without drawing attention. Will you help?"
"Nah. Not interested," Dan said.
"There's a bounty," Lander added.
"I'm rich," Dan replied, reflexively.
Lander's tone sharpened. "You're not. Your foster family mistreated you. I didn't dig deep, but soone's underwriting your gym fees and your lifestyle. Do you want to expose you?"
The question sank into the room. Dan's face tightened. He could not say he'd taken money from the gangsters he'd killed, could he?
He swallowed hard.
On impulse, Dan pulled out a small token and flipped it across the light. "This is Lord Nicaesa's token with access to all services and resources in Fortress Myrone. Do what you will with it. I can't tell you more… it's classified and beyond your pay grade."
Dorin caught it effortlessly, inspecting the token before handing it back. "It's legit. A real token from Fortress Myrone. Only top agents ever get their hands on these," she said.
Lander and Dorin exchanged a look—one of those wordless monts that always made Dan feel like a part of him was being dissected. He could feel the suspicion in the air, tightening like a noose.
They'd always been puzzled by him. The profile didn't match—Dan, who'd been poor and desperate his entire life, suddenly had money, skills, and connections that didn't make sense.
And now the myth was falling into place.
Dan had a secret benefactor.
Soone inside Fortress Myrone, soone probably tied to his deceased superhero parents, was pulling strings—funding him, training him in ta skills. The pieces clicked, the puzzle was complete.
"It makes sense now," Dorin said, her voice edged with realization.
Lander pulled Dorin aside, lowering their voices as they spoke without Dan.
"It seems the boy isn't connected to the psychic attacks directly, he's not culpable," Dorin whispered, her gaze never leaving Dan.
Lander didn't answer imdiately.
He just stared at Dan, his thoughts clearly working over ti. Then, his voice lowered to a near whisper, "Whatever caused those attacks... it's highly likely to be connected to him. We need to keep him close, watch him. He could lead us to the source."
Dorin nodded, her mind already calculating. "I'll keep him under surveillance, 24/7. Track his every move."
Lander shook his head, his expression hardening. "If you do that, you'll scare him off. The real culprit will stay hidden, and we'll waste our ti. It's not the right approach."
Dan could feel them talking about him, their words seeping into his awareness like poison. The longer he stayed with them, the higher the risk of his secrets slipping out. Every second in their presence was another mont that could expose him.
"So, anything else?" Dan said, trying to keep his tone light, masking the tension in his chest. "Can I go now?"
Every second felt like a countdown.
Dan's mind was racing now. "How do I get out of here without them suspecting more?"
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