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S U N D A Y

May 24, 2020
Eastwood
6:00 a.m.

"DO YOU think they already made it to the Devil's Island by now?"

"I know they did," tugon ng abogado na kanina pa nakadungaw sa malayo. Atty. Lelouch San Andres stared off into where the horizon met the sea, the sun slowly rising to signal a new day ahead. "Nawalan na ako ng contact kay Brian kanina. She made it clear that if that ever happens, it could only mean they've entered the area. Hinala namin na may certain perimeter kung saan may signal blocking para hindi matunton ang eksaktong lokasyon ng isla through any visitor's phone. But then again, there's also a way to 'unblock' this based on how they were able to briefly contact the butler on the island... Otherwise, if anything happens to her before they've reached  Insula Diaboli, SHADOW's tech head wired Brian's phone to mine. It'll show me her exact coordinates and her vital signs. Plus, she last updated me a couple of hours ago."

Rizee raised an eyebrow at him. "That's quite impressive. You two seem close?"

Tumango na lang si Lelouch, hindi na nagkumento pa.

Hindi niya maitatangging wala siyang maayos na tulog kagabi. If the dark circles under his eyes were any indication. Mula noong tinanggap ni Detective Briannova Carlos ang imbitasyon, Lelouch admits that he's been worried sick about her. The only thing that keeps him grounded is how he requested to wire his phone to hers (with Nova's consent of course), and the promise he made of taking care of Nirvanna while she was away.

"Let's just hope nothing unexpected happens to them, even though those two often find themselves caught in the most bizarre cases," he murmured to himself. Unfortunately for him, Officer Rizee had great hearing. 'Be safe, Brian.'

"It's their job. Alam kong hindi madaling tanggapin ang desisyon nila, pero sa huli, it won't change the fact that they've accepted it knowing the possible risks. They can handle this." Namulsa ang police officer at bumaling sa dagat at papasikat na araw. She had a distant look in her eyes and a confident smile on her lips. "Meanwhile, we've also got a job to do here. Habang wala sila, ipinagkatiwala nina Yuki at Nova ang Eastwood sa atin."

Lelouch remained silent.

He wasn't quite sure of that.

Beside him, a certain detective kept reading through this morning's newspapers while sitting on the docks. His legs dangling above the water. Maya-maya pa, nag-angat ng tingin si Dan at inayos ang kanyang salamin. Thick, black-rimmed glasses almost making his eyes look double in size.

"SHE'S RIGHT! Ipinangako ko kay Yuki na babantayan ko ang mga krimen dito sa Eastwood! Walang killer-killer when I'm around! I'm officially his stand-in as Eastwood's Best Detective!"

Lelouch and Rizee sighed, knowing all too well that Dan made that up himself.

Naaalala na naman nila ang text message na ipinadala sa kanila ni Nico bago tuluyang sumakay ng barko:

Be at the docks at 6AM, Sun.
Meet your little team.
Mission: don't let Eastwood burn down to ashes while I'm away, tnx.

—Nico

Huminga nang malalim si Lelouch sinulyapan ang dalawa pa niyang kasama. May meeting pa siya kasama ang kanyang kliyente mamaya, but he doubts that he'll be able to focus with the peculiarity he found himself involved in.

"What an odd trio we'll be."

The other two silently agreed.

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