Chameleon's Game [3]: Trojan Horse Strategy

"It's all going according to plan"

The officers stood there perplexed for a few seconds wondering how exactly this predicament was beneficial to us as well as the reason behind my smirk.

Detective River broke the ice.

"Explain"

"Hahaha.... Lizard boy knew the police will want to avoid keeping our guy at the station since a victim had already been killed in custody during his original spree and that's why he set this trap to capture his prey. I anticipated this ofcourse....."

I raised my phone with the tracking app open.

"Which was why... I planted one of Liz's tracers on him. Don't forget, he still has hostages from the previous challenge who are being kept somewhere— most likely his base of operations. It's not like a wanted murderer has so many places he can stay...."

I put my phone back in my pocket.

"He's been treating this like a game and if that's the case, he'll want to make a big show of his victory— whether by stringing him up like the last two victims or something even grander. For that, he'll need to prepare which means holding our suspect at his base"

"..... So you used him as a trojan horse, huh? Once we get the base's location, we move in to save both the hostages and the scum of a brother then arrest The Chameleon, I like it"

"Glad I have your seal of approval cause you'll be leading the charge"

"What? This isn't even my jurisdiction..."

"You have the most experience dealing with lizard boy and even Liz said you're a capable guy, there's no one more suited for the role, Detective River"

"Alright..... Then, I accept"

The other cops were a few decibels short of jubilating at the fact the case might end today without overtime.

"Great! Now that that's settled....Chris!"

"Hmm? Yeah?"

"There are showers at the precinct, right?"

"Y-Yeah"

"I'll need you to show me where they are. I still feel grimy from all the dirt back at that warehouse"

"Sure! No problem"

"Oh, and.... Detective River, I'll appreciate it if you come with us as well. I'll like to hear more about the case 5 years ago... There's no such thing as too much information after all"

He complied without much issue and tagged along. I checked my phone to see if Liz had replied to my message.

Are there any useful clues we can get from this murder?

No reply yet. Oh well, It doesn't really matter much since lizard boy took the bait, he'll be in custody soon enough.

I purchased a little something before returning to the precinct.

**************

★ Lizard boy's POV ★

What do you think is the similarity between humans and game pieces? The answer is simple, they both exist for the sole purpose of entertaining me.

Aside from that person, no one in this world could ever keep up with my mind. They're all always one step behind so they might as well be just pieces for me to do as I wish. Whether it's to toy with their minds or play with their bodies, it shouldn't matter because I am superior.

Whether it was family, my classmates, my neighbors or even the police. They're all inferior to me.

The police can try shoving their heads together to come up with whatever their meager brains can manage but they'll still fall to me in the end. After all—

I've been one step ahead from the very beginning.

At the amusement park, I took the liberty of planting listening devices on several officers, most of which were included in their makeshift team led by that female detective I've been toying with. That dead woman's cash came in handy for a lot more than crowd control, haha.

I've been listening to all their plans from the very beginning so I know every single move they intend to make.

The only thing I didn't expect was that blond haired brat showing up at the warehouse instead of my precious toy, however, that was simply just her luck at play.

She escaped death by a narrow margin and now she's not even part of their operation anymore. She ran away like a scared little girl, hahahaha—ha..... Just another boring toy she was.

It seems like the blond haired brat is now the one in charge. He seemed like he would be a threat when I faced him in the warehouse but he turned out to be inferior as well. A trojan horse strategy? Ha— Don't make me laugh.

I've planted multiple bombs at the location where the hostages are and evacuated to a safe location. Once the cops see the hostages, the final look of despair on their faces before they meet their end will be priceless!

"Looks like they've arrived"

I had cameras installed in that building. I want to relish their expressions once they realized they've failed.

"1st floor, clear.... They're on the second floor according to the tracer. Stay sharp, boys"

The detectives involved in the Chameleon case five years ago are all here.... especially that damn Miles River! Go on.... Get to the second floor. I want to see you despair the most.

The cops climbed up to the second floor where they saw the hostages with bombs strapped to their chests as well as C4 placed at random areas of the second floor.

"W-What the...."

"There's that look officers. It's been nice playing with you but it's about time I find some new toys. Don't feel bad, the little girl and blond haired brat will join you soon enough."

I placed my finger on the detonator

"Hahahahaha..... I'm always one step ahead. I....WIN!"

*BANG

Huh? I heard a loud noise and the detonator dropped on the ground. I turned to look at my hand. Is....that..... blood? My blood?

I've been shot?!

"Arrrgghhhhh"

Who did this? I turned round to look and noticed a tanned man about 6'2 ft in height a couple centimeters away from me. It appears he closed the distance after shooting me

He grabbed my other arm and threw me to the ground.

"Chameleon, you're under arrest for three counts of murder, aggravated assault, assault with a deadly weapon, attempted arson and being an arrogant son of a bi*ch"

He said while handcuffing me. This man....is a cop?

"Well done Chris"

That voice.... No way! I turned to see the blond haired brat walking towards me. He picked up the detonator then looked down on me with such arrogant, condescending eyes.

"Now then lizard boy, it looks like I win"

**********

★★★ Adam Graves POV ★★★

Don't you just love it when a plan comes together? I sure as hell do.

I had my reservations about the whole situation from the start, the timing of his calls were too precise to be just luck— the first one right after we captured his target and the second right after Liz was done examining the body, you would assume he was watching us from somewhere.

However, I could rule both that and the existence of a mole out with mind reading, the only other possibility was that we were being bugged. I didn't know who had been bugged or how many though, but I knew I was clean— I would've noticed the person's intent before the deed was done.

If the officers had been bugged then it's most likely from the amusement park— it's a denominator common to most on the team and a place lizard boy had also been. After all, he did set up a body earlier and Sean supposedly chased him and got injured.

Liz was at the park too but she's also clean— she took a bath and changed clothes when we went to her home and I've been with her since then. The only time we were separated was her talk with her dad but I was already on the lookout for lizard boy then.

It would've been a simple task to have everyone change and eliminate his advantage but it seemed like a waste.... After all, I could use it to turn the tables.

After hearing the rules for the 26 envelopes challenge, I realized he wanted to use that opportunity to eliminate someone who could pose a threat to him in the long run. From Liz's reputation as a detective, she was the prime target but I couldn't be sure he won't try playing it safe which was why I took a few measures.

Aside from boosting her standing among her subordinates, I riled her up to show lizard boy who was listening through the eavesdroppers that she was in a fragile state of mind. She had lost someone close to her and was struggling to keep her composure.

She was slipping and could make mistakes, there was no better opportunity for him to remove her from play, he had to act fast before she's back to 100%

I further emphasized how important Liz was to the team during our assignment meeting and announced she would be going to the warehouse thereby manipulating him to go there as well.

I gave Liz the envelope for the factory and had a lie prepared in case lizard boy managed to get away— the lie I told Chris when I woke up about her taking the other envelope herself. I then headed to the warehouse with the intention of catching myself a lizard.

Once I confirmed he was inside, I made preparations for my Plan B— An event where I couldn't apprehend lizard boy by myself. I did two things with my phone before entering— first, I informed Liz he was here and to bring the cavalry. Second, I set my phone to screenrecord with the tracking app open.

During the fight when the coffee from hell sank my odds of catching him, I switched to plan B. The multiple weak hits I landed on his neck while he stabbed me was a diversion.

I made it seem like I was trying to get him off when in fact I was planting one of Liz's tracers on him. After succesfully planting it, I bluffed my way out of getting killed and 'let him escape'

When I came to, I called Liz and informed her of my plan using morse code. Anyone listening would've heard us discussing pointless chatter when infact I was updating her on my plan and telling her to stay put.

Sure, Liz wanted to catch lizard boy herself, however, she hadn't forgotten her curse nor her role as a detective. If a plan to capture him was guaranteed to succeed if she wasn't there then she'll gladly comply.

I then checked my screen recording to track his movements after leaving the warehouse—That was how I figured out the location of the next victim and his plan to capture the conman's brother. I decided to play along but I couldn't make it easy so he doesn't suspect. I planted my second tracer on the guy and used him as bait—A fake trojan horse to make lizard boy feel he was still in control.

I took a bath with Chris and River, changing our clothes and debugging them in the process, then I filled them in on the real plan. We had to time our execution for him to be distracted enough by the people who put him behind bars for Chris to apprehend him.

If I moved in too early, he could've noticed and detonated early and if River stormed in too early, he would've blown them up before I could stop him. I and Chris followed the tracer to his location and River to the other, executing a simultaneous raid, securing victory.

"Now then, lizard boy. It looks like I win. Time of arrest, 5:47pm"

I said while holding the detonator. I informed River that we had caught him so they could call in the bomb squad and rescue the hostages. Chris and I drove to River's location with our 'prize' handcuffed in the backseat, we reached our destination shortly after.

"What's up my people?!"

Chris screamed with pride. He was imagining a hero's welcome like the one Na**to got after becoming the leaf's hero..... He's an interesting guy, that's for sure.

The officers seemed pleased by our arrival, no cringeworthy jubilation though. Although, Detective River had a glum expression on his face.

"What's wrong detective?"

"Well, we confirmed all the hostages are present and accounted for. However.... Our trojan horse wasn't there"

"Huh?"

"We found his clothes and belongings where the tracer was attached, but the man himself isn't here. Also, there was another black envelope mixed in with the belongings. It has a puzzle for his location inside"

"Well, we've caught the bastard so we can just get the info out him, no problem"

"Yeah, you're right"

Detective River walked past me to the backseat of the car and opened the door to check out our captured lizard. However—

River's face turned pale after setting his eyes on lizard boy and the thoughts I heard baffled even me. River pulled lizard boy's face to confirm it then said—

"This..... isn't the chameleon"

What?! How? This is definitely the guy I fought at the warehouse and the one behind the calls and murder at the karaoke joint. Was this really just a copycat murder? No, we got Liz's seal of approval that it was the real chameleon's handy work. So then—

The chameleon had an accomplice? Then where.... and who is the real chameleon?

I took out my phone to inform Liz of this turn of events but it went straight to voicemail. I tried again multiple times but to no avail.

"I'm starting to have a bad feeling about all this"

That was when it hit me. No way, so that was the meaning behind that message Liz sent which read—"I see" .

I tracked down the karaoke booth using lizard boy's movements—lizard boy was definitely the one who killed the last victim. Liz probably noticed the difference in precision and concluded lizard boy wasn't the real chameleon.

Hell, even before that..... She went off to investigate a lead right after treating my wounds. She must've noticed at that time that the wounds I received from lizard boy were inconsistent with that of the chameleon, so she went to investigate that possibility.

"Damn it Liz! You promised you won't fight him alone!"

She wasn't answering my calls or texts. If I had to guess, she's probably en route to face the real chameleon right now without any backup. I'll understand if she couldn't ask the other officers because they were bugged but she could've asked me!

"I have to go..."

"Huh? Where?"

"To find Liz!"

I said taking off at top speed, destination unknown. This was definitely an illogical and irrational decision born out of desperation. After all, if she had gone in the opposite direction from where I was running, I'll only be making more work for myself.

My only hope of finding her was in the puzzle left by the chameleon. However, it was far more complex than the previous ones and I couldn't make heads or tails of it— Although, that's probably because I wasn't in the right headspace to think properly.

I was worried about Liz.

She had lost someone important today and was up against a serial killer. When she comes face to face with him there's no way she'll let him go. She won't consider what's logical in that situation, she'll use any means necessary to catch him—

Even if it costs her life.

That was the outcome I feared the most and with the way things were going, the odds of that are pretty high.

Not just was she near her mental limit because of her curse, her only support mechanism, the man who gave her a purpose and a reason to live was taken from her on the 18th. She was falling apart.

She's angry at the chameleon for killing Alan Smith in cold blood, but more than that.... I'm sure part of her blames herself.

She's probably thinking somewhere deep in her heart that it was her fault Alan died, that her curse took him— despite the fact it was beyond her control.

"She's probably thinking death is the way to atone and will probably sacrifice herself to stop that murderer, I can't allow that, I won't let her die. Shit! How the f**k do I find that brat?!"

I finally stopped running, took a deep breath, put on my headphones and started thinking.

There has to be a way! Maybe something I overlooked, c'mon, c'mon, c'mon....

Wait—

"THAT MIGHT BE IT! I'm not sure but I definitely have to try!"

I quickly pulled out my phone and dialled a number.....beep, beep...

Lucky for me, the person on the other end—my last hope to save Lizbeth Andrews picked up the phone...