063 WHICH MOTEL DID HE GO?
Miss Gallum was brought into the interrogation room, her wrists cuffed tightly behind her. She was seated in the tal chair, a device was strapped across her chest locking her in place as the polygraph's sensors flickered to life.
She sat unnervingly calm as the interrogator began with routine questions—her na, occupation, years of service. Her voice remained steady, her eyes half-lidded, as if this entire process bored her.
Then the real questions began.
"Are you aware that many of your students have recently shown a sudden, unexplained increase in their ta scores?" the interrogator asked, leaning forward.
"Yes, I am," she answered simply.
He blinked, caught off guard by her openness. "Do you know the reason behind this phenonal growth?"
"Yes," she said again, her tone unwavering.
The interrogator froze.
The monitor beside him spiked slightly—but not from deception. The polygraph confird she was telling the truth.
"Then tell ," he pressed.
Miss Gallum didn't answer. Instead, she slowly turned her head toward the mirrored wall. Her eyes fixed on it with unnerving precision, as if she could see through the glass.
"I'll only speak to Dan Dark, alone," she said.
On the other side of the partition, a murmur rippled through the observers. Dorin turned sharply toward Dan, who stood behind her with his arms crossed.
"She wants to speak to you? Why?" Dorin asked with disbelief in her tone.
Dan's brow furrowed. "See … what the hell for?" he muttered, watching Miss Gallum's reflection on the other side of the glass.
Even through the thick partition, it felt like her gaze was locked directly on him.
----
Dan entered the interrogation room as the interrogator quietly stepped out. The door shut behind him with a tallic click.
Miss Gallum sat still, the cuffs clinking softly as she shifted her hands.
Dan leaned against the desk, uncertain why she had called for him.
"Why did you ask for ?" he asked flatly.
Miss Gallum smiled faintly. "Because only you will understand."
"Understand what?"
"Revolution," she said, her voice low but fervent. "This world is a plutocratic ss—ruled by the rich and powerful, built on the backs of the weak. There's no justice, no honor. Only strength… devouring strength is the only path to equality."
"Sorry, Miss Gallum," Dan said dryly, "this isn't a class on politics. What happened to the missing students?"
Her expression cooled. "They're gone. Gone to a better place."
Dan's eyes narrowed. "You killed them?"
"No…" she said softly, shaking her head. "They were sacrifices—to a greater cause."
Dan slid a photo across the table.
It was Sazie—her desiccated, mummified face frozen in horror. "And what about her? Does she count as part of your revolution too?"
Miss Gallum's smile returned, slow and deliberate. "Sazie isn't my work."
Dan paused, processing. "So, Kurt acted alone?"
"Kurt was never part of my plan," she said. "It was Irine who gave him the Ring of Greed."
Dan frowned. "Ring of Greed? What's that supposed to be?"
Miss Gallum's eyes glead. "Didn't you once ask in class if it was possible to transfer ta abilities—or even ta scores—between individuals?"
He nodded slowly.
"The Ring of Greed," she said, "is the answer." Then she laughed—quiet, brittle, and unnerving.
Dan's stomach turned. "You an those students who suddenly gained phenonal ta growth… they used the ring of greed? They murdered others to steal their ta energy?"
"It was their choice," she said calmly. "Though they don't rember it now. I made sure of that."
Dan's blood ran cold.
Lander had been right—Miss Gallum possessed a psychic ability powerful enough to erase mories completely.
"So how did Kurt get the ring?" Dan pressed.
"Irine gave it to him. Without my permission, of course."
"And where is Irine now?"
Miss Gallum tilted her head, smiling faintly. "If I had to guess… probably hiding in so motel, waiting for the world to rescue her."
"Rescue her?" Dan asked, confusion flashing across his face.
-----
Dan soon left the interrogation room and returned to the observation room next door, where Dorin and Lander were monitoring the interrogation closely.
"Why did she say rescue?" Dan asked them curiously.
"Rescue? Is there sothing wrong?" Dorin asked.
Dan's expression darkened. "From Miss Gallum's confession, Kurt had the ability to steal power from Sazie… and now he's with Irine. Is it possible…"
"Kurt could've taken Irine captive—using her as a sacrifice, just like Sazie—to increase his power," Lander said.
"Then we must save her before Kurt consus her like Sazie", Dan said.
Dorin frowned. "But where do we find Kurt now? He's gone hiding. He could be anywhere."
Lander shook his head. "Didn't you hear Gallum? They're hiding in a motel."
He quickly pulled up his datapad and started working. The AI program began scanning CCTV networks from every motel within ten kiloters of the high school.
"Why the motels?" Dorin asked, watching the feed populate with hundreds of cara angles.
"Kurt wouldn't risk approaching anyone he knows," Lander said, his fingers flying across the console. "A shady motel gives him cover. No ID checks, no questions asked. Even if the staff recognize a fugitive, they keep quiet—not to scare off their usual kind of custors."
The algorithm began narrowing the list—discarding dozens of locations until only a few matched the ti fra and body profiles.
Several motels appeared as holoscreens above Lander's datapad.
"We don't have ti and resources to check every one of these motels… and ti is exactly what we don't have. Kurt would kill Irene soon and try to escape town", Dorin said.
Suddenly Dan had an idea and took out his phone. He put on Kurt's Live view imdiately.
Kurt was briskly walking across an unfamiliar street.
"Damnit, how can I tell where the hell he is from this alone?" Dan complained.
Then he saw sothing familiar- a clock tower. This was a landmark near his school and he recognized it imdiately.
"Try the motel near the clock tower", Dan spurted out imdiately.
Without asking Lander keyed in the search. Then the AI pinged.
A blurred image appeared on the screen: two figures were entering a motel beside a clock tower. They were wearing ski masks, but their body shapes and movent patterns were consistent with Kurt and Irine.
"Greenlight Motel," Lander read. "That's our spot. Issue a dispatch imdiately."
"How did you guess?" Dorin asked Dan in surprise.
"I've seen a motel near school. I guess Kurt might go there", Dan replied simply but Dorin wasn't going to press. The important matter now was to rescue Irine first.
----
Within minutes, police sirens wailed through the night. Patrol cars surrounded the Greenlight Motel, sealing every exit. There was no ti for undercover confirmation—the order was to search every room.
Dorin and Lander waited tensely in the observation room, watching the live feed from the field units.
A ssage ca through. Then a photo.
Lander's hand trembled slightly as he opened it. On the screen lay the mummified remains of a girl, her skin shrunken tight over her bones—lifeless, pale, and dry.
It was Irine.
Dorin covered her mouth, horrified. "Dear God…"
But Lander only stared at the image, his voice cold. "Kurt isn't there."
He turned off the monitor.
"He's still out there."
-----
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