Verboten/FORBIDDEN

47. Cold Hands

Sherrif and Chief worked together on the case. They kept the files controversial and I respected it. I wasn't allowed unless it is my mission. The rules kept me away from knowing what happened. I am considered a suspect and a victim hoping everything will be over.

"William..." I paid my respect in his funeral and also attended the burial. William is an orphan and considered the orphanage and the underground mission as his families.

I can still remember when I was working with him. Renee was our subject during that time and I was the one who was allowed to travel to Palawan. He wants to come but Chief didn't allow him so he remained working on scraps of what Renee left.

"Jude..." After the burial, I finally had the chance to talk to him. I pulled his wrist and we went to an empty grave.

"Don't tell me we're going to kiss on a creepy place." He grins and gently slams his palm on my shoulder. I rolled my eyes and looked around for precaution.

"Shut up!" I screamed in a whisper. "What happened? Until now, Chief never updated me." My eyes enlarged as I showed him my impatience.

"Wait, hold on, best dream. Let's not talk in here." He grabbed my wrist and we went out to the cemetery. We kept walking until we got inside his car. "We still can't discuss that here. It's not yet safe." He drove me five kilometers from the graveyard until we reached an open space part of a park.

"Here?" I looked around and we were the only people at the center of the very wide space. "Alright, I got it." I grin and sit down on the cardboard that Jude have spread out. He sits on the space at my back and leans on me.

"What are you doing?" I also lean on him to push him back because he puts a lot of weight on me.

"We have to be careful, right? We have to sit like this so we could see if someone's spying our conversation." He leans again but no longer heavy as before.

"That's not what I'm asking, idiot. Why are you leaning like I'm a chair in your car?" I lowered my voice down as I look around.

"Nothing, I just want to relax. Now, back to our conversation, promise me never to interrupt because I will lose my focus if that happens." He side glanced at me and I agreed. "Sigh! That night, before the day you found us, I accidentally overheard William talking to his phone. He was talking about a one million cash as a payment and asked for a location. I assumed he wrote it down. Maybe he had a new and expensive project but I snapped my head saying, Hey, he was in a lower position than I was. No one even you were paid that much so I got suspicious and waited for him to get out. I tinkered his lock and run some carbon on his notepad. What was written on it? It was the Leap Yard road. I thought that he will be going to find Scion so he named the price but hell no, I was wrong again. There are only two people who were looking for him and can afford that big cash. It could be Sovran or his murderous family." I felt his head shake and let him continue.

"Sovran has already sent me with a group, why does he have to pay that big to a single and lower person? Funny, isn't? That's why I called you but the line said you're out of coverage area so I called your father and he answered that you went on a trip. That's how I woke up and assumed that you were the real target. I was close to dying, Brazen. I thought he already got you." I can feel him slightly moving on my back. He leans again and I pushed him.

"I immediately drove away after I called your father. Two hours before you came, I reached the location but I just passed over it because I haven't seen any sign of your car so I proceeded until I saw William's motorcycle parked half a kilometer before I saw your car. I also traveled on foot and prepared the recorder and my gun at my back. He was busy unlocking your door that he didn't notice my arrival until he saw my reflection in the window."