CHAPTER 35: CHAPTER 35

The icy stab behind Ace’s eyes intensified, freezing his thoughts. The blue System text pulsed silently in his mind, a cold digital heartbeat against the backdrop of the scattered, evidence on the wobbly table. Silva’s ragged breathing was the only sound in the cramped motel room, sharp counterpoint to the silent scream of the System’s evaluation flooding Ace’s consciousness.

EVALUATING TASK COMPLETION: NEUTRALIZE DEKE PERMANENTLY...

Ace stared at the folders bearing names like "Judge L. Hemlock" and "Councilman R. Graves." He looked at the burner phone, the USB drive, the bundles of cash – Deke’s desperate insurance is now at their hands. The recorder weighed heavily in Ace’s grip, like a weapon aimed at the city’s darkest secrets. Deke was trapped with Ramos. And if Ramos had him... was there any way he was still alive?

Silva let out a scared whimper, catching Ace’s attention. He looked pale, his face covered in sweat. His eyes kept jumping between the lockbox and the motel door, like he thought someone might burst in at any second. "What if Ramos sets him free? He’ll come after us! He’ll know we took this!"

Ace took a deep breath, trying to stay calm. Panicking wouldn’t help them now as it was a luxury they couldn’t afford. "Ramos doesn’t let people go, Silva. Especially not someone who betrayed him and used his name. Deke’s finished." He spoke the words with more conviction than he felt, willing the System to agree."

Then, the icy pressure vanished. The blue text snapped into sharp, final clarity:

SYSTEM ANALYSIS COMPLETE

PRIMARY TARGET (DEKE VANCE): STATUS - TERMINATED.

CAUSE OF TERMINATION: EXTERNAL AGENT (VICTOR RAMOS NETWORK).

ASSESSMENT: PERMANENT NEUTRALIZATION CONFIRMED.

TASK: NEUTRALIZE DEKE PERMANENTLY - STATUS: COMPLETE.

Ace felt an overwhelming sense of relief like a huge weight had been lifted off his shoulders. He hadn’t pulled the trigger, but the result was undeniable. Deke was gone. The constant, suffocating pressure of that fourteen-day death sentence lifted. He hadn’t lost his arms and legs. He’d survived.

REWARD UNLOCKED: SKILL - INFO-FINDER LV.1

DESCRIPTION: PASSIVE ABILITY. The system automatically gathers, sorts, and summarizes public digital information—like news, emergency reports (police/fire/EMS scanners), financial records, public records and social media trends that matches the user’s main goals and current threats. The results are delivered through a direct neural interface.

New pathways seemed to open in Ace’s mind. It wasn’t a flood, but a subtle shift, like tuning a radio to a clearer frequency. He instinctively focused his thoughts on "Victor Ramos" and "Deke Vance."

Suddenly, bits of information flashed in his mind, forming short updates:

Local News (Unconfirmed): Reports of trouble at Finley’s Scrapyard. Police are slow to respond.

Police Radio (Private Channel): Authorities say the industrial zone incident is under control and being handled by private security—no extra officers needed.

Anonymous Tip: A black SUV (partial license plate "XLR8") was seen speeding away from the dockside warehouse area at 12:47 AM.

The news was fresh, important, and only for him. It confirmed what had happened and suggested Ramos was involved. Ace felt a dark confidence growing inside.

"It’s done," Ace said firmly, keeping the details to himself. "Deke’s dead. Ramos has him... or had him. It’s over."

Silva slumped against the wall, letting out a shaky breath. "Thank God... oh, thank God." He wiped his face with a trembling hand. "So... we’re safe now? We can just leave?"

Ace pointed sharply at the table. "Safe? Look at this, Silva. This isn’t over. It just got a lot worse."

Silva’s brief moment of calm shattered as fear took over again. "The box! Right! We have to destroy it now! Burn it! Toss it in the river! Before anyone finds out we have it!

"Getting rid of it is suicide," Ace countered, picking up the ’Councilman R. Graves’ folder. He couldn’t explain the System’s confirmation of Ramos’s suspicion, but he could state the obvious danger. "If we destroy it, we will lose our only advantage. Ramos knows someone gathered that audio proof. He might already suspect us. And these people?" He tapped the folder. "If they find out we had this and destroyed it... they’ll bury us just to be sure."

"Then what?!" Silva cried, his voice shaking with fear. "We can’t keep it! It’ll get us killed!"

"We’ll figure it out eventually" Ace stated, his mind racing. He needed Evelyn’s help. He pulled out his burner phone, dialing her number.

She answered. Her voice was groggy with sleep. "Ace? What’s wrong?

Ace’s tone was tense and quick. "Evelyn, listen we are in my room now. Don’t turn on lights. Don’t make noise. Come fast here. Deke’s dead, but we found his lockbox. Whatever’s inside could blow up the whole city. We need you now."

A sharp gasp. Then, she said "Understood, I’ll come in two minutes." The call ended.

"You also involved her in this?!" Silva whispered angrily.

"She was already in it," Ace snapped. "She found the Ramos connection. She’s smart, she’s careful, and right now, she’s essential." He started swiftly gathering the evidence back into the broken box. "Help me to hide this."

They shoved the box under Ace’s thin mattress just as a soft, urgent knock came at the door. Ace peered through the peephole and saw Evelyn her face pale but calm in the dim light, her hoodie pulled up over her head. He unlocked the door, pulled her inside, and locked it again immediately.

"What’s going on, Ace?" Evelyn said, her eyes darting around the room taking in the tense expressions, the mess, and the odd bulge under the mattress.

Ace kept it short. "Deke’s dead. Ramos did it. We found Deke’s lockbox thrown over the fence near Finley’s place. Inside was..." He listed the contents—folders, a recorder, a USB drive, a ledger, and cash. Then he played a short recording of the councilman being blackmailed.

Evelyn listened, shocked by how dangerous the situation was. "So it’s proof," she breathed, her voice low and tight with disbelief. "Actual proof against city officials, cops, judges." she muttered, her voice quiet but full of fear. "This is like holding a bomb. If anyone finds out we have it, we’re dead. Ramos isn’t the only one after us."

"We know it’s dangerous, Evelyn," Ace said grimly, locking eyes with her. "That’s why we need to move fast. First, we understand exactly what we’re holding. Then we secure it – digitize everything, make backups. And the physical box? We need to hide the originals somewhere truly impossible to find. Fast."

Evelyn nodded, her expression hardening into focused determination. "First step: we digitize everything right now. We need multiple copies, encrypted, stored in different places." She pulled out her phone, already assessing its camera. "My phone’s camera will have to do for photos tonight. It’s not perfect, but it’s immediate. Tomorrow, we will use some of that cash to buy proper gear like burner phones, maybe portable scanners, and air-gapped hard drives." Seeing Silva’s confused look, she clarified quickly: "Air-gapped means drives never connected to the internet. It is much harder to hack."

She glanced at the hidden lockbox. "The physical evidence... we can’t keep it here. It’s too hot. We need somewhere it can disappear quickly." She ticked off options rapidly: "A construction site dumpster scheduled for pickup first thing in the morning? A bag of donated clothes dropped at a thrift store right before they close – it might get buried in sorting for days. Or... shallow in a public park flowerbed that’s due to be dug up and replanted tomorrow?" She met Ace’s eyes. "All of those are risky. Someone might find it. But any of them is less risky than leaving a nuclear bomb under your mattress tonight."

As Evelyn spoke, a silent alarm pulsed in Ace’s mind – his new Info-Finder skill delivering urgent news only he could see:

It showed a breaking news headline: Body found in Industrial Canal. Unidentified man, killed by blunt force. Possible gang involvement.

"They found Deke," Ace announced, his voice low and grim. "Body dumped in the industrial canal. News says blunt force trauma. Just hit the wires."

Silva shuddered violently, pulling his arms tight around himself. Evelyn’s lips pressed into a thin, hard line. "That’s Ramos’s signature. Fast and brutal."

Silva, still jumpy, edged towards the window, trying to peer through a gap in the cheap curtain. "Should... should we start taking pictures now?" he asked, his voice trembling. "While it’s still quiet out there?"

"This quiet won’t last," Evelyn murmured, stepping towards the bed where the box was hidden under the mattress. "The ledger first. It might have the most connections..." She reached for the corner of the mattress.

Suddenly, Ace’s hand shot out, grabbing her wrist. His eyes were wide, locked on something only he could sense. "LIGHTS OFF! GET DOWN!" he hissed, his voice a raw whisper laced with panic.

He lunged for the switch by the door. The single bulb died instantly, plunging Room 7 into near total darkness. Only thin slivers of the motel courtyard’s sickly yellow security light came from the cheap curtains.

Silva yelped and dropped to the floor near the bed. Evelyn froze mid-movement, her phone screen instantly smothered against the dark fabric of her hoodie. She pressed herself flat against the wall beside the door, her breathing shallow and controlled.

Ace moved silently to the window. He carefully parted the curtain a fraction of an inch with one finger, peering out into the night.

The rumble was low, almost a vibration felt through the floor before it was truly heard. Then, twin spears of blinding white light cut through the motel’s front entrance. A large, black SUV, sleek and menacing like a predatory insect, rolled slowly into the parking lot. Its windows were tinted impenetrably black, reflecting nothing.

It didn’t stop at the office. It didn’t slow near any other occupied room. It cruised with deliberate, chilling slowness past the main building... heading straight for the wing housing Rooms 1-10 and Evelyn’s Apartment 2A.

It stopped directly opposite the row, its engine idling with a low rumble. Its high beams snapped on, flooding the narrow courtyard between the building rows in stark, blinding light. The beams pinned Apartment 2A’s door, swept across the walkway, and lingered directly on the door of Room 7. The light was so intense it forced its way through the gaps in Ace’s cheap curtains, casting long, distorted shadows that danced across the darkened room like grasping fingers. It felt less like light and more like a physical weight, crushing and inescapable.

Silva muffled a terrified whimper, curling tighter on the floor. Evelyn didn’t move a muscle against the wall, Ace held his breath, the lockbox under the nearby mattress feeling like a pulsing, radioactive beacon. Did they see Evelyn cross the courtyard? Did they track Silva’s truck? Or do they just know Deke frequented this motel?

The silence stretched, thick and suffocating, broken only by the SUV’s idle and the frantic pounding of Ace’s own heart.

Then, the distinct, metallic click of the SUV’s passenger door unlocking echoed in the stillness.

It swung open. A shadowed figure began to step out onto the asphalt, silhouetted against the blinding glare of the headlights. One hand rested casually, ominously, near the waistband of a dark jacket.