C 10

"Damn it!"

Anton cursed under his breath, trying to keep his anger in check. He said steadily, "Phil, you need to find a way to get information on Eddie's situation. Ideally, find a chance to get him out. Understand?"

"I understand. We'll do our best."

Phil replied quickly, though his voice shook slightly. He felt the weight of the investigation more intensely now. Realizing that Eddie hadn't let him infiltrate the homeless shelter was starting to dawn on him; Eddie had chosen to take the risk himself and was likely sacrificing much to do so. 

During the past days, with Eddie unreachable, guilt had gnawed at Phil. He kept thinking that if he hadn't suggested the infiltration, Eddie wouldn't have returned to San Francisco.

"Mr. Anton, don't worry. I'll do everything possible to get Eddie out."

After hearing Phil's resolve, Anton offered a few encouraging words and hung up. Though reassured, a nagging unease lingered. Trying to distract himself, he decided to check on his newly released novel, Batman, and dialed Betty's number. She picked up immediately.

"Anton, I'm off work!" she said, sounding both tired and slightly amused.

"Welcome to the joys of overtime," he replied, trying to play the boss role. Then he asked, "How's the novel doing?"

Betty shifted to her professional tone and reported, "About one-third has been serialized so far. It's doing well. We're getting letters from readers asking us to publish more every day." She paused. "Also, daily newspaper sales are up. However, I've noticed some pirated copies online. Should we send a warning?"

Anton chuckled, "The more piracy, the better—it's free advertising. Still, let's put a serialized section on The Daily Bugle's official website for readers to follow it. The tech team can get that up fast."

"Understood," Betty replied. Then, with some hesitation, she asked, "Anything else?"

"Yeah, run a PR campaign to build up hype for the novel. Link Bruce Wayne and Tony Stark—play up the connection between them. It'll get people talking."

Betty sounded skeptical. "Are you sure that won't annoy him?"

"Don't worry; I'll handle any fallout. Batman's film has Stark's investment. We're all making money off this!" Anton replied confidently.

After Anton hung up, he checked his cheat to see the fan engagement. He scrolled to the total count of Batman's supporters: 32,145. It wasn't bad, but the goal of 50 million felt like an eternity away, atleast the cheat offered him discount on this one.

Now that they'd started, though, he was determined to see it through. Once the movie released, he was betting on a massive surge in attention.

Meanwhile, in San Francisco

At the Homeless Shelter, Eddie sat in a corner, caked in dirt and stinking of sweat. His surroundings—a hopeless mix of dejected, silent people—left him deeply troubled. Since arriving, he'd witnessed the ugly reality of the place firsthand.

Far from the image the Life Foundation painted in press releases, the shelter treated the homeless without dignity. In truth, it was a "social garbage dump," neglected by the city and exploited by the Life Foundation.

Occasionally, a truck arrived, collecting "volunteers" who were never seen again. Staff insisted these individuals returned to normal life. Eddie knew better. Those people were likely used in Life Foundation's experiments, probably held in glass cages like rare animals. He felt his anger boiling over.

"Carlton Drake," Eddie muttered, clenching his fists. He wanted nothing more than to expose every crime Drake had committed.

Through his hidden camera, Eddie had captured hours of footage. Unfortunately, wireless signal jammers around the shelter prevented him from transmitting any of it.

But he had an idea: if he could find a way to leave with the footage, it would expose the Life Foundation's violations and, hopefully, force an investigation.

Just then, a rumbling truck pulled up to the shelter's entrance. Uniformed security, different from the usual shelter staff, climbed down from it. Eddie tensed up—he knew this was a Life Foundation vehicle.

"They're coming for new test subjects," he thought, his pulse quickening. A wild idea popped into his head: why not smuggle himself into the Life Foundation's compound? Eddie felt a trickle of cold sweat as he weighed the risk, but before he could overthink it, he took a deep breath and began walking toward the truck.

At the Outskirts of the Shelter

Phil sat in his car, nervously checking his phone. Suddenly, his GPS tracker started to beep. A small red dot had appeared, indicating Eddie's location. Phil's eyes widened as he realized Eddie was on the move.

Without hesitation, Phil slammed on the accelerator, hoping to catch up. A short distance away, he spotted the Life Foundation truck rumbling along. Knowing he couldn't rescue Eddie directly with all the security present, he decided on a risky plan. He sped up and purposefully rear-ended the truck.

"What the hell?" the truck driver yelled, slamming the brakes. He stomped over to Phil, who was looking shaken and apologetic.

"I—I'm so sorry!" Phil stammered, digging out his wallet. "I'll pay for everything. Just please don't be too mad."

The driver grunted, "Whatever. Just don't let it happen again." As he turned, Phil subtly approached the back of the truck, glancing toward an open window. Inside, Eddie spotted him and immediately tossed the mini-camera, containing all the footage, out of the small vent. Phil caught it without drawing attention.

"Let's go. Work to do," the driver barked, slapping his coworker on the shoulder. With one last, impatient glare, he left Phil standing there as the truck pulled away.

Phil breathed a sigh of relief and hurried back to his car, clutching the camera. He couldn't contain his excitement—Eddie had outsmarted them all. Quickly, he dialed Anton's number to relay the success.

…

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