Bullet 11

Bullet 11

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"Captain Thomas, why do you keep following her?" asked Flora "I mean, she really does not want you, just give up and have some pride and dignity. You are a handsome, prince-like, gentle and dreamy man, you can have any girl you desire. You can have another act of a true love."

"She saw my monster side…" he murmured "She just accepted my scary face, that's why she is different from any other girl, so I can not give up on her. But I am the faulty one here, not her, so I want to beg for her forgiveness and reimburse with her.. I.. I really.."

All of the group stopped when they entered the manager's office, as he was waiting them on the door to greet them respectfully, considering them the heroes of the United States and guardians of the safety of citizens. Their sudden stop interrupted Thomas while talking and brought him back, from his sadness and sorrow, into the real life.

"Welcome! Welcome! Our country's heroes!" greeted the manager "What would the FBI want with this modest shop?"

"Hello, sir. Hope you are doing well." Started Emina in an assuring tone "We are investigating about a crime that happened twenty years ago, so I hope you cooperate and help us if you please."

"Twenty years ago?! How am I supposed to help in this matter? Also, how are you supposed to search after this long time? I mean there would be no clues or evidence anymore."

"Can we see the videos recorded on the cameras?"

"Yes, but.."

"What?"

"I guess that the old videos are all deleted, so how are you supposed to fimd them out."

"Is it the same computer? Camera? Email?"

"I do not really know.. But I remember changing them once.."

"Ummm.. Do you have the old ones?"

"Well, yes, in the storage room. Do you want to see them all?"

"If you please, and the new ones, too. Thank you."

"How will you find the deleted data?"

"The softie here will find the all, he does not look so, but he is a professional in computers and information."

"Am I the softie?" asked Thomas

"Yes.." assured Flora

"Well, she really does hate you!" stated Joseph

The manager closed the store for a while to ease the investigation, he was so cooperating and friendly. Then, Emina and her team, lead by Thomas, who was an ex member of the the technology department before he became a captain, started their investigation by checking the cameras.

Thomas Christen, was a member of the cybersecurity squad, he was one of the most genius hackers they might encounter, his skills, intelligence and work were beyond any normal human being and any hacker. He proved his importance at the age of 19, after he was suspected as a criminal in a strange case, so he had go work with the FBI in order to prove his innocence, so he broke through a hazardous drugs gang's system, knew all of their members' identities and hunt them one by one. Upon meeting his treasurable skills, the FBI assigned him as an agent of the cybersecurity squad. He became famous upon entering his squad, as he was considered the most dangerous and smart among men, and the prince charming among women. Then, his star shone at the age of 24, after his squad had to attack physically a risky building and hack into his system, he showed a great leading skills on that day of the dilemma, so he was named the hero and th FBI's pride, to be promoted to the chief of staff of the FBI Criminal, Cyber, Response, and Services Branch (CCRSB).

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Thomas started his investigation in the shop, by collecting the cameras' memory cards and checking whether they hold any important video on the day of 1 May 2020, however, their last date was on 16 July 2033. The cameras were all different from the case's date, as well as the computer too, so the team had to check out the old ones if they were still working and whether they saved the videos or not.

Johan took a box full of cameras out of the storage room, the cameras looked old, dusty, rusty and broken, so they doubted that they might actually work. They were drowned in large masses of dust, that showed that they were not touched for a history, some rust was overlapped throughout the core of the cameras and memory cards, and there was some broken metals, glass and bolts inside the cameras, as if they were a puzzle, so it was impossible to fix or get any information from them.

"Are these even alive?" laughed Flora "They look like a pile of corpses, how can you interview a dead, Emina?"

"By bringing it back to life." Answered Emina in a confident tone "Mehmet, call the maintenance department, I need about four professionals to fix the cameras, Captain Christen will take care of the other issues."

"Roger that, my miss." Replied Mehmet

After calling the department, Mehmet informed Emina and the team that they would be late to reach the store, since the had some work to be done, so they had to wait them until they finish, when, in the meanwhile, the manager started asking some questions.

"What is the case about?" he started "And why did you open it all of sudden?"

"It is about a disappearance of a little girl." Replied Thomas

"We opened it after the long time," joined Johan "because it is thought to be related to a serial killer."

"Serial killer??" yelled the manager "Is there a killer roaming in St. Louis?! Why isn't he caught yet? How long was he around the city? Twenty years ago?!!"

"We opened it, based on her family's request." Interrupted Emina "There is no way that a case from twenty years would be related to a killer of this age."

"Yes, if they were related, doesn't it mean that the killer is old enough to be unable to kill?" puzzled Thomas "Also, there is no way for a criminal to be free under our sentry it is just an old case."

"No need for worrying, spreading rumors, scaring other citizens or acting chaotic. It is only an old matter that we have to solve."