The Devilish Assassin Meets The Angelic Detective

««« 2 YEARS LATER »»»

They said no matter how painful life could be, people had to move forward, and leave the past behind, forget everything in order to continue living while persevering every day.

But for someone, he seemed like his heart was stuck in the past. He continued living but he never forgot her even once. His memory of her was both his joy and sorrow.

He was moving forward and persevering every day but he couldn't leave the past behind.

Time passed by too quickly. Today was the exact same day when Erick and Elle got separated because of the unfortunate incident two years ago.

Erick didn't know how he was able to survive these two years filled with sadness and loneliness. Maybe, he became used to feeling the pain of losing her and his heart just became cold and numb as time went by.

Erick was now sailing at South Carolina's coast. Every year, at times like this, he would rent a ferry boat and sail in the sea alone, visiting the area where the M.V Athena sank.

Erick was staring blankly at the floating flowers in the water. He would always make sure to bring flowers for her. The retrieval operation lasted for 15 days but the coastguard failed to find Elle's body.

Erick didn't know whether he should be glad or feel sad about it. Feeling sad because he was not able to give her a proper burial. Feeling glad because deep inside he was still hoping that she was still alive out there.

"Elle…" Erick mumbled as he clenched his fists.

Just a mere thought of Elle could send an excruciating pain deep down his heart. 

"I missed you so much, wifey." 

Tears were in his eyes but he tried to look brave.

"You are so unfair, do you know that? Is this your revenge for breaking my promise before? You also broke your promise to me? You promised me that you would stay alive no matter what." Erick's lips trembled as he tried to suppress a sob.

"Elle… if you are still alive please come back to me now. Please return to my side. I am begging you."

Erick slammed his eyes shut as he gritted his teeth. 

"I wanted to see you again."

Erick was so engrossed in his thought that he failed to notice the other ferry boat near his location. Aside from the boat captain and his two crews, there were two passengers in that boat.

"Hey, Ali? I thought we were going to the beach. We are supposed to enjoy our time on an island with white sand. What are we doing here, in the middle of the sea? Don't tell me you are planning to go fishing?!! " the girl glared at her friend as she complained to her.

The girl called Ali just ignored her ranting as her eyes were focused on the figure standing in front deck of the nearby ferry boat.

"Hey, girl! Did you not hear me?" the girl felt very frustrated as she walked beside Ali.

"What are you doing? Where are you looking at?" The girl asked her as she followed her line of sight. Then she saw the other ferry boat.

"Ali! Am I talking to the air?" She stomped her feet in annoyance.

Ali rolled her eyes because of the girl's ranting.

"Sandy, can you keep quiet for a moment? After this, we will go to the beach. If you don't stop nagging me then I will make you as bait to catch sharks."

Sandy's eyes widened in disbelief after hearing Ali's threat.

"So ruthless girl! Alright! I will keep my mouth shut. Happy? I will not accompany you to your trips in the future. Hmmph." Sandy pouted as she put on a pitiful face.

Ali let out a soft chuckle and said, "I didn't ask you to come with me. You are the one who insisted on tagging along with me."

Sandy just stuck her tongue out at her. When her friend became silent and stopped nagging her, Ali moved her attention back to the person on the other boat.

As she gazed at him intently, a wave of emotions flashed in her dark eyes. Her lips curled up in a faint smile. She felt the longing in her heart.

"Let's have a fresh start," she mumbled to herself.

Meanwhile, Erick was pulled out of his deep thought when he heard the ringing of his mobile phone in his pocket.

He gathered his emotions first before he answered it.

"Hello, Bryan?"

"Are you coming here to the headquarters today? Unit Head is looking for you. Should I cover up for you?"

Bryan knew that Erick was currently in South Carolina.

"It's alright. I am coming in an hour. Why is he looking for me? A new case?" Erick asked him.

"Not a case but I heard that it's a very important mission this time," Bryan replied to him.

"I got it." Erick simply said.

"Erick…?" 

"Hmm"

"Oh...it's nothing. Never mind. See you later."

"Alright." Erick hung up after that.

Bryan seemed like he had something to say but he was not able to voice it out. He knew Erick was still mourning because of Elle's death and he never truly moved on. He wanted to console him even a little but he didn't know how to.

Bryan took a deep sigh. In his mind, he was grateful that Erick came back to his normal daily routine. He was really afraid that Erick would break down and go mad due to Elle's death. 

He thought he couldn't handle it. But Erick didn't give up his life despite the overwhelming pain and sorrow he was feeling.

However, a lot of things had changed since then. Erick was no longer the same Erick they knew before. He became aloof as if he created an invisible wall, not letting anyone in. They could no longer see the gentleness in his eyes, the warmth was missing.

He was back to being a workaholic. Though he was with them physically he became distant to everyone around him. But Bryan never left his side. He remained true to his words when he said to Elle that he would always be there for Erick.

His colleagues were hoping that the Erick they had used to know would come back someday. They were missing the old him.

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

*** XXX Crime Investigation Headquarters ***

After an hour, Erick arrived at their headquarters. He headed straight to their Unit Head's office. He knocked a few times before he entered the room. 

Erick saluted as he greeted his superior politely before he spoke up.

"Sir, I heard from Sergeant Velasquez that you are looking for me."

"Yes, please sit down first." The Unit Chief said as he signaled him to sit down on the vacant chair in front of his desk. 

Erick gladly complied. Then the Unit Head handed over a white folder containing printed doc.u.ments. Erick accepted it.

"Tomorrow, Senator Alex Mondragon, one of the presidential candidates, will launch his election campaign. He received a death threat that's why his team went to our headquarters, asking us to investigate who sent the threat as well as to protect him."

"I like you to handle this case. I know you will be able to do this job very well." There was a hint of pride and admiration in his voice.

"Noted, Sir. I, together with my team, will do our best." Erick reassured him.

"Don't worry, Senator Mondragon also applied for protection and hired people from one of the prestigious security agencies in the country. Your main task is to trace and catch the culprit who is giving him the death threats."

"I understand, sir."

After briefing Erick of the situation, the Unit Head dismissed him. He took a deep sigh as he watched Erick's retreating back.

He considered Erick as one of the pillars of their Crime Investigation Bureau. He had high expectations for him. He was a very intelligent and capable detective that he had ever known.

He shook his head as he remembered how Erick refused the promotion he had offered him two years ago when they solved Catseye's case. 

All the members of the Joint Task Force were entitled to have high ranking positions but since Erick declined the offer, his team members in Alpha Cinco also didn't accept it. Only the members of the Special Task Force accepted the promotion.

He couldn't understand what Erick and his team were thinking at that time. But since he admired and acknowledged their great works, he had no choice but to respect their decision.