THIEF! Chapter 11

First Move

Liana called her emergency meeting. The first thing they did was watch the recorded conversation from the previous night. "And so you see the problem," Liana announced. "Now, we must figure out a way to stop them. We have to make a move before they do."

Bobby shook his head. "This will be too difficult to do on our own. We'll need to bring in the police."

Dragon nodded. "I agree. A small group of kids can't take on a whole corporation. We don't know how deep this corruption thing goes."

Liana frowned. "But I don't want to reveal my identity to the police unless I am forced to do so."

Jenna smiled. "I have an idea. We'll need that recording, and Angel's technology expertise. Angel, can you switch that from a video/audio track to merely and audio one?"

"Sure, I just need my computer and a blank CD. I can edit content and sound quality too."

"Ok, good. So here's what we should do." Jenna explained her plan to them in great length. When she finished, there was silence for a moment as everyone digested the implications of this.

Then Liana smiled too. "That sounds like a good idea to me." Everyone else nodded. "But there's one thing I'm a bit squeamish about. Do I really need to drop so big a hint as that? What if I am caught because of it?"

"They will not be in a position to do anything but thank you," Jenna soothed.

So, later that night, Liana and Dragon arrived outside another house. It belonged to none other than Dream and his father, the chief of police. Liana took her customary trophy, but instead of leaving the usual "Thank You" card, she left an envelope containing a note, and a CD of the conversation.

Dream was the first to notice it in the morning. He promptly called his father over, who read the note:

"In one of my recent nightly wanderings, I have come across a disturbing discovery. Such a degree of corruption I cannot tolerate. I wish to see these men brought to justice, and so I yield this information to you. The matter is now in your hands. However, I am willing to cooperate with the police in this affair, in the event that you need more information or such other help. If this becomes necessary, your son will know how to reach me. Thank you."

"My son?" The chief asked himself out loud. "Dream, how would you know how to contact this person?"

"It must mean that my theory was correct. The thief must be someone from our school."

"Who did you tell about your theory? Who there could have known?"

Here Dream looked a little sheepish. "Well, actually, I told anyone who showed any interest in the matter. And there's no telling who those people could have told. So, it doesn't really narrow it down, sorry."

"That's ok. Well, let's see what information we have here." Dream's father placed the CD in his computer, and played it. He heard the conversation in full, up until just before the men noticed Combusken and Noctowl. Angel had edited that part out. "Well, it's too bad we couldn't get any names, other than this Josen man who is in danger. This makes it harder to discover and prosecute the criminals. It also doesn't seem like the whole conversation. There must have been more about the details of hiring a hit man. Such specifics would have helped us in our search. I wonder, why didn't the thief let us have this information as well?"

"He couldn't be covering a criminal network he has ties to, could he?" Dream asked. "I mean, he's just a high school student; his message confirmed it."

"You're forgetting that he could also be a teacher. But no, I don't think that was why. This thief seems to work outside of such organizations, and seems to have a strong sense of justice, despite his choice of occupation."

Dream thought hard. "Could that be why he doesn't keep the things he steals?"

"That could very well be the reason. C'mon, I want to get this analyzed at the department."

Dream hadn't come to school today, Liana noticed. Jenna had warned that this might happen; the police would need some time to think about it before they answered. She sighed. It was the police's responsibility now to catch those men, but she couldn't help feeling worried about it. Hopefully, Dream would give an answer tomorrow.

Dream wondered if he really belonged here. Was he really all that helpful to this investigation? Surely, he'd made the link between the thief and the police, but did that merit his father bringing him to the police station, to work alongside real detectives?

"You made the first connection, son," his father had told him. "You will be useful in profiling this person. Besides, you will be the one giving the answer, if there is any. You need to know what to do." So here he was, working on a real crime! Dream was very excited. He could just imagine the look on his classmates faces when they found out. One face in particular, he wanted to impress. He wouldn't let anyone down; he would catch the culprits. No one could escape while Dream was on the case!