More than good decisions, people are more p.r.o.ne to commit mistakes throughout their lives. And Chris did just one of them today.
This happened after he advised Alessa Morgan and the police about the bomber lurking around the mall.
The folly of a youth who has yet to discover that most of the time, age equates knowledge and experience.
He stupidly a.s.sumed that by throwing away his sim card, no one would be able to lead the message back to him. He didn"t know that the network"s records could be hacked, and even if the possibility crossed his mind, he a.s.sumed that there would be nothing to worry about because all he did was tipped off the police.
Also, unlike the other hosts who knew they could use the system to mask delete their records or traces, Chris knew none of it. His system AI was ultimately like its brethren with a nasty little hobby of letting their hosts discover the system"s functions by themselves.
Hence, he didn"t know that he could use points to erase his tracks. His degree of carefulness had also not yet reached the point of inferring any possible trouble which could come his way as a consequence of an action which he doesn"t normally take.
However, when all of these reasons added up together, perhaps it could no longer be said as a great surprise that an hour after he left that mall he ended up suddenly picked by the police when he got off near his house...
...
"How did you know that this person will bomb the southern side of Ever Mall?" brusquely and warily asked by a tan-skinned, middle-aged looking police officer clothed in a blue uniform.
Chris glared coldly at the man and asked back, "How many times are you going to ask the same question to me while ignoring my answer?"
He had already been sitting in the same confession room for almost an hour surrounded by three police officers. The experience was not at all pleasant, especially since these three kept on making it appear like he was an accomplice of that bomber despite what he had done.
"Kid, just admit it, how are you related to this bomber?"
He faced the fierce-looking woman on his left and said, "No relation."
"Then how did you know that he will blow up that place?!"
"Saw him looking suspicious."
"Don"t lie! How can you even say that when you did not even see him because you"re inside the mall, and he"s outside near the parking lot?"
"How will I know? As if you"ll believe that I have an advanced machine or something in my brain if I tell you." He resentfully thought.
"Then why am I related to that kid? Who is he? Can you tell me, please? Because, I, frickin", don"t know. Like how I don"t know why I"m suddenly a criminal when all I did is tip you guys off that there"s a suspicious individual there. I did not even say that there is a bomb."
"You did!"
Chris went silent but deep inside him, he was cursing and questioning the world. For a few seconds, he didn"t know whether to thank the system that it informed him of that dangerous individual or not. He had saved himself, and probably that lady. Regrettably and to his sadness and guilt, the place was still blown up. It was because the police promptly responded to his anonymous message but failed to make it on time. Now he could guess why they were like this to him when they tracked him through some weird and alien computer technology. They must be totally upset that such a horrible thing took place under their jurisdiction. He perfectly understood their point and feelings, after all, they could be said partially at fault that many lives were lost there. It was just there"s also nothing that he could do! He was truly innocent. What else could he answer except he just happened to know?
The young man felt helpless inside even though he maintained the frosty glaring.
"All I can say is that I feel bad for that accident but I"m in no way related to that bomber. If I may also add, I"m only a concerned individual who tipped you guys off so you can prevent him from terrorizing the place. For treating me like this, you"re making me regret that I did." He remarked, reproach evident from his gaze.
The place went silent, not because his words shut the three up, but because two other men wearing blue came inside the room. One of them came with a thin stack of papers in hand. The other, just a regular beer-bellied middle-aged officer.
The former looked more pleasing to the sight than the two other blue-uniformed men originally in here. Chris" eyes narrowed as he checked whether he was really seeing correctly.
A couple of moments later, he had confirmed that he knew the person. It was someone he met once in Alina City. To be exact, at the police station there. However, unlike in his current situation where he was interrogated just because the group of people here found or created the least bit connection between him and a criminal, in Alina City Police Station he met this person through Wendy, the egotistical muse of that station, and in there he was one of the acting detectives, forced to contribute ideas by that annoying woman.
"What is he doing here?" he asked himself as he watched the cold-faced man approached the middle-aged officer together with the beer-bellied officer whom he a.s.sumed was one of the higher-ups.
After their greetings and salutations, the two oldest men in the room talked for a while through whispers until a minute later when the fellow who came in together with Wendy"s brother stopped talking and the other officer turned to him in surprise.
The man"s lips twitched as he watched Wendy"s brother strode towards him.
"Is he handcuffed?" Simonne asked the three behind.
"No," answered the lady officer.
Chris disdainfully thought, "I was brought in here with my arms locked on my back and was made to sit down with a handgun threatening to blow up my brain. Just how ironic could they be?"
The beer-bellied one also came forward and gave him a warm smile. Chris watched him suspiciously.
"I"m sorry, kid. They didn"t mean what they did and said to you. I vouched for that. It"s just that we"re all anxious to arrest that pesky brat who kept terrorizing the country with his bombs. Our hackers mistakenly relayed to our detectives that you are related to that person due to the message earlier."
He kept staring, waiting whether this person would also ask the same set of questions that he"d been hearing for almost an hour.
"Mr. Meyer, just for formality, so we could release you, are you really not Leo Jones accomplice?"
"...I don"t even know the man. How can I be his accomplice? I"m sorry for my bad speech, Sir. I respect your profession, but I just can"t seem to agree that a piece of anonymous advice will get someone to jail. Your hackers should be very capable, no? I"m daring them to trace my records and see just where the heck am I connected to a criminal."
The middle-aged man who has one more badge on his left chest than the other guy shook his head and said, "No need. I believe in you. After all, you already once received a Good Citizen Award from the Alina City branch."
Chris frowned at the mention of that award that he seemingly never received. "What the heck is this man talking about?"
A second later, he crossed it out of his mind and asked, "So will I be detained here?"
"No."
"""Chief!""" Voices of protest echoed behind when this reply was said.
The only woman in the room spoke up, "Forgive my interjection, Sir. But he"s the only lead we"ve got for this bombing incident. We couldn"t rule out the possibility that he did collude with that kid and was just guilt-stricken, so he ratted Leo Jones out."
Uncomfortable with the words he just heard, Chris could no longer hold back from asking the system, of course, grumpily, "b.a.s.t.a.r.d system, who the heck is this Leo Jones and why can"t these people find other leads about that person?"
"...Alright, sorry. Now, who is he?"
Towards his insincere and grumpily said apology, the system went silent for a while before replying, <...i access.="" don="" have="">
When his gloomy face darkened more, the fat policeman shook his head and reprimanded the woman by asking her what her bases were for trying to convict a normal boy of a crime.
"Officer Gabriella, I"m afraid we can"t detain this kid any further. We just don"t have any reason. Him coming from the same city as Leo Jones doesn"t mean that he"s acquainted with that person."
"But he couldn"t explain how he managed to predict that criminal will blow up that place," argued the fierce policewoman. "I believe this is already ground to suspect him."
With a forced polite smile, since his temper had already exploded, he replied, "Then, by all means, put me behind the bars. And I"ll wait as my parents sue you all for illegal detention."
...
In the end, that fat officer only allowed him out of the confession after fulfilling the request of that persistent Officer Gabriella to do another round of interrogation in his presence. By that time, Chris had long wished that he just didn"t go out to mail out that letter. It was simply a jinx! Without that Sofony doing anything against him yet, he already seemed to receive punishments in the form of two other annoying and unreasonable women.
"What an accursed day," he complained to himself with a face that seemed as dark as the bottom of a pot. The sun outside the station could not drive away the ominous clouds floating above his head.
Truthfully, he was not yet outside of the police station. He stopped at the lobby and those rays of light which could not really alleviate his gloomy mood were merely refracted through the gla.s.s window. But actually, putting his mood dampened by all the unpleasant experiences he had within that room aside, there was another reason he said his Friday was cursed.
"...What the h.e.l.l is this?"
...
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