The Devilish Assassin Meets The Angelic Detective

Two days had passed since the encounter happened at South Carolina's coast. The members of the joint task force who were involved in that incident were summoned by their Unit Head and superiors.

Because they hid this operation to their superiors, all members of Team Alpha Cinco and Special Task Force Eagles were slightly reprimanded. They even got a one-week suspension as punishment.

But at the same time, they were praised by their Unit Head and congratulated the whole team. Since Catseye was now dead then the case related to Catseye would now be officially resolved. 

Along with the closing of Catseye's case, the Unit Head also asked them to give a comprehensive report regarding the whole incident.

That incident was a great benefit for the XXX Crime Investigation Bureau. Since Casteye was a high-profiled criminal, the government officials were planning to promote the members of the Joint Task Force in a much higher position or rank.

After facing their Unit Head, the team decided to visit Erick in the hospital after lunchtime. Bryan headed to the hospital first without waiting for his colleagues.

When he reached Erick's ward he saw Sarah panicking.

"Aunt Sarah, what's wrong?"

"Bryan… Erick is missing. He was here a while ago. I just went out to buy some food but when I came back he is gone."

"What? He's missing. Where's Uncle Raymond?"

"He went to the Hospital's CCTV control room to check about Erick's whereabouts."

'Where is he? What if he will try to kill himself?'

Bryan's worry intensified by that thought. Then a certain place in the hospital popped up in his mind. Without explaining to Sarah, Bryan rushed in going to the rooftop. He ran as fast as he could, not minding the exhaustion of running in a five-floor emergency stair just to reach the rooftop.

He could feel the surge of adrenaline rush in his entire body. When he arrived there, Bryan had confirmed that his suspicion was correct. Erick was there, standing near the edge. 

Horror filled Bryan's eyes. He thought Erick was about to jump off the building.

"Erick! No!" Bryan shouted as he dashed towards Erick.

He immediately grabbed Erick's arm as he dragged him away from the edge of the rooftop. Erick was startled to see Bryan. He was about to talk when Bryan suddenly burst out.

"Why are you doing this to yourself? Do you think this is the right thing to do? Committing suicide? Then how about your parents, Uncle Raymond and Aunt Sarah? Did you consider what they would feel if they found your body in the morgue instead in your ward?"

Erick just stared at him blankly as he kept silent. Bryan continued to speak spontaneously, pouring his heart out.

"How about us, the people who care about you? Are we not also important to you? Okay just forget us. But how about Elle? Do you think Elle will be happy if you do this?"

Erick's expression changed the moment Elle was mentioned to him.

"Are you wasting her sacrifices? She did her best just to make you and your parents safe. And now you are throwing your life just like that?"

Bryan didn't stop. He couldn't control his emotions. His tears started to fall down his face.

"Did you know? Before the mission, Elle talked to me. She asked me for a favor. She wanted me to protect you. She was thinking about you. I understand if you are mad at me but at that time your safety is my priority! I promised her that I will protect you no matter what!"

"Erick! You are not the only one suffering here. Why are you giving up so easily? I also care about Elle. I am hurting too. My guilty conscience is killing me day by day! I felt horrible. I am blaming myself for not able to save her."

Erick knew what Bryan did. His parents told him last night that Bryan came back and tried to rescue Elle for the last minute however another explosion happened, obstructing him from going to Elle's location. Bryan had no choice but to go back or else he would also get caught in the explosion.

"If I could just turn back time… then I wished I was the one who died, not her. I can't bear to see you hurting like this. Apart from being colleagues, you're my best friend."

Erick frowned. Erick didn't want anyone to die nor be hurt. Then Bryan suddenly kneeled before Erick as he pleaded to him.

"Erick, please live… for Elle's sake… please treasure your life and continue living. I know it's hard, but we are always here for you. This is not the end, Erick."

"Elle still has a mission left. Do you remember our conversation with her? She said something about Catseye taking her revenge. Erick… I found it… the connection between Jefferson Gong and Carlo Vello. They were the original members of the Los Mollasses Gang a few years back. I think Catseye's revenge is related to the Los Mollasses Gang."

Seconds later, Bryan felt a hand brushing his hair and gently patting his head. Then he heard Erick utter something.

"Good job! Thank you Bryan for reminding me." After saying that Erick held Bryan's shoulder as he guided him to stand up. 

"By the way, I am here because I just want to breathe some fresh air. I am not planning to jump off this building." Erick corrected Bryan's thought before he walked past him.

After hearing that, Bryan was rendered speechless. He stayed rooted in his spot as he watched Erick's back until he vanished from his sight.

"I am not imagining things, right? Erick… he smiled faintly just a while ago."

Though Erick's expression didn't change as his eyes were still lifeless, that faint smile from Erick was enough to console Bryan.

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In the afternoon, the members of the Joint Task Force arrived at the hospital however Erick refused to see them. He was not yet ready to face them.

Bryan and Erick had also talked prior to their arrival. Erick already made up his decision. He asked Bryan to tell the team the truth about Catseye. This was also what Elle wanted for him to do.

"What did you say? Elle is Catseye?!" Rose blurted out in disbelief when Bryan told them the truth.

The team already returned to the headquarters. They were currently discussing the incident that happened as Bryan explained to them the situation.

Everyone had an astonished expression on their faces. This was a shocking revelation.

"No wonder, Chief Lee was greatly affected by that incident," June said. He felt sorry for Erick.

"That explains why he was so worried when he was rushing to Catseye." Carl also shared his thoughts with them.

"I am sorry I didn't know. I-I lied to him that she was already dead. I just wanted to protect him. There was no time left. Enemies were on our tails. They started shooting in our direction and Erick still wanted to rescue Catseye. There were also bombs." Captain Jason apologized as he felt guilty.

Bryan looked at him with a questioning gaze.

"So you mean C-Captain… Elle was still alive at that time?" Bryan asked him desperately.

"I felt her pulse but I thought with her wounds she won't be able to live. Besides, saving her was not my priority." Captain Jason said to them truthfully.

Everyone became silent. Others couldn't blame Captain Jason. They understood his motive to protect his team first. Bryan didn't know how he would tell Erick about this.

Their conversation continued. Bryan told them everything he knew about Catseye and her plan that day. But he left out some information that would make Erick look like he already knew the truth a long time ago.

He stuck to his story that Catseye just told Erick the truth because his parents got captured by the Azumi Twins because of her. He didn't mention to them the marriage of Elle and Erick.

With Bryan supplying them information, Captain Jason was able to make a comprehensive report about the incident. They couldn't bring back the past. Though they were also saddened and had conflicting feelings about this truth, they needed to move on.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Elle was having an ending cycle of dreams. For the very first time, she felt the peace that she longed for. In her dreams, there was no demon nor nightmare haunting her.

She was in a very quiet and solemn place. She could no longer feel the hatred in her heart because she was with her family right now.

In a place that looked like a paradise, she was with them laughing and bonding together. She could feel the warmth and love of her mother's touch. She could see the gentleness in her father's eyes as he looked at her. He was telling her that he was very proud of her.

Elle was very happy. This was the moment she yearned for her whole life. This blissful and joyful feeling, she didn't want this to end. If this was just a dream then she would rather not wake up.

Then suddenly out of nowhere, she heard a faint voice calling her.

{ "Elle…" }

Elle frowned as she stood up and peered at her surroundings, looking for the person who was calling her. But to her disappointment, she didn't see anyone. Only her parents were there with her.

As time went by, she heard again that familiar voice. This time it was louder in her ears.

{ "Wifey…" }

Her heart skipped a beat the moment she recognized that voice. It was Erick's voice. Staying in this wonderful dream for so long, she forgot about him. 

Now that she remembered him, she realized how much she was missing him. She glanced at her parents with a complicated expression on her face. Then she heard his voice once again.

{ "This will be a dangerous mission. Please promise me one thing." }

{ "No matter what happens you must stay alive. Understand?" }

Those words echoed in her ears coming from her subconscious, reaching down her heart. That was a wake-up call for her.

"I remember… I made a promise to Erick." Elle mumbled to herself.

"Dad, Mom, I am sorry but I must wake up. I should come back to him, to my husband!" Elle said helplessly.

After saying those words, the tears came without warning as they continued to seep down her face. Then she ran as fast as she could as she left that place, looking for the direction where Erick's voice was coming from.

She wanted to see him again so badly. There were still a lot of things she wanted to tell him. She was looking forward to spending her whole life with him, living happily while building their own family. 

"Erick… hubby….wait for me!"

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

««« 6 Months Later »»»

Beep! Beep!

The sound of the machine echoed inside a VIP ward of a prestigious hospital. There were two unconscious patients lying on each sickbed, one was a woman and one was a man. The two beds were three meters away from each other.

There were lots of tubes connected to the patients' body. Several high technology machines were also there monitoring their conditions.

After a while, the door of the VIP room was opened. Then a pool of doctors wearing medical protective gear entered the room. 

One of the doctors flipped a chart containing the result of tests done to the two patients.

"How is it, Doc Argus? How are the patients doing?" One of the doctors asked.

Doctor Argus rubbed his chin before he spoke up.

"It's odd. The man's condition was not looking good compared to the woman who directly received the toxin in her body."

Then the doctor heaved a deep sigh. "The drug we created had still no effects on their bodies. We need to start again from the beginning and change the formula."

His fellow doctors just nodded in agreement. They were about to leave when Doctor Argus saw the woman open her eyes. Doctor Argus subconsciously dropped the chart in his hand and immediately dashed towards the sickbed of the woman.

"Oh, God! It's a miracle! She wakes up!"

[ The End of the First Volume: Fateful Encounter ]