Chapter 3 Part 1 The Answer is Somewhere

Rachel

April 18th, 2014

3:48 PM

10 Miles From Arcadia Bay

Kettle Lake Lodge

I spent the next four in a half hours struggling to find the answer to end this abomination Arcadia Bay is suffering because of Max's concoction. I told Frank he could stay in the lodge with me while I struggle to set things straight. He even brought Pompidou along too. I skim through every file, every piece of data, every possible clue to prove the untruth of Max's crimes in the computer room with pretty much all my hopes dashed in doing so.

At this point, after a weeks worth of all this fucking around with files, it has become frustratingly hopeless. No matter how hard I've worked, no matter how much bullshit I've gathered to clear up Max's name, I'm still running around in circles. Even now during the day before Max's verdict. And now, Max is bound to lose this case and Chloe is going to hate me more than she ever has. More than leaving her for a year to get famous in LA.

"Mother fucker," I mutter. "Max is gonna lose this trial, Chloe is going to destroy me, and I'm running around in fucking circles!"

I shove all the files off the desk in frustration and scratch my head. This was it. It was over. Over for Max, for Chloe, and for me. After every illegal thing done to accomplish this, after breaking into mansions and shipping docks, all for nothing. Fucking nothing. Frank had overheard me in the room and walked inside to cool me down.

"For the love of Christ, Rachel," said Frank entering the room. "You're scarring Pompidou. Keep it down."

"Frank, unless you have anything sympathetic to say, please leave the room now."

Frank sighed.

"Give it up, Rachel. We both knew this wasn't going to end well to begin with. I don't believe you've actually been this persistent on a case you know you and Chloe won't win."

"That's not fair, Frank. You know that."

"What's not fair, Rachel? You bail on me for a year just so you can get famous and rich in LA, and then you come back to me as a fugitive to this Chrysalis group who turned herself into a time controlling X-Man. And you have the balls to tell me that 'this' isn't fair?"

"We've had this argument before, Frank. Unless it has something to do with the falsification of Max's crimes, we have nothing to talk about."

"Oh whatever, Rachel. I would be lying if I said I gave a damn about Max's crimes. So why should you?"

"Why should I? You know Max isn't the only person claimed responsible for that twister storm in Arcadia. I'm also a suspect to that storm too. They're calling me a fugitive for a reason you know. So saying you don't give a damn about Max is the same as saying you don't give a damn about me. Even if Max does lose, it won't be the end. They'll still be coming after me and assuming I do find a way to clear Max's name, I would be clearing mine as well."

"Pff. Rachel, the more bullshit that leaks out of your mouth, the more I just want this relationship to be over. You might as well be a fugitive for that Prescott heist you and Chloe brought me into than for some stupid ass twister storm."

"You think I'm making this shit up? I'm not. Truth be told, if Max is guilty, I'm guilty. Plain and simple. So unless you want to live the rest of our lives as fugitives on the run who have to change our names and start a new life to cease that we ever existed, only then will our relationship be over."

"Whatever you say, Rachel. You know what, I won't be apart of this. Fugitive or no fugitive, this relationship will come to an end if this bullshit case of yours doesn't. If you don't mind, I think it's time to take Pompidou for a walk. Good luck solving this bullshit case, Rachel. You really are gonna need it."

As soon as Frank left the room and left the lodge with Pompidou, I let out a sigh and cup my eyes closed in irritation. He was absolutely right. If Max doesn't win this and her relationship with my ex-girlfriend ends, so does my relationship with Frank. I had to find the answer. Now more than ever. For Max's sake, Chloe's sake, everyone's sake. The answer is somewhere. It was staring at me in the face. I just had to look more inclusively.

I look back at one of my files caring the photos of Alexei Ranikov. There was something about one of those pictures that didn't seem right, but wasn't exactly sure. To be sure, I had to look at it again. The picture I had to look over again was of Ranikov holding a brief case filled with money and gold bars in it. When looking at the picture more closely, I begin to notice something strange. The Russian man appeared to be looking at someone when holding the brief case. Of course there was something odd about this pic. It appeared to be edited or something.

There were some other photos of Ranikov that looked like they were edited out as well. I took every photo of terrorist in the files over to the kitchen where I could put them under film solution. I poor the solution into a cookie pan and dip the pictures into the solution carefully and wait for them to be processed. When the pictures are fully processed, I carefully take them out of the solution and them on a wire for them to dry. When that was all done, I come across the most disturbing revelation yet. Something I've been demanding to confirm since the heist. I had actually discovered the fucker who set Max up.

The processed pictures revealed another person with Ranikov. The man who framed Max wasn't just another badass quantum terrorist. He was the man who was sworn to protect and bring order to Arcadia Bay.

"Sean Prescott," I said to myself.

Chapter 3 Part 2 The Mole

Chloe

April 18th, 2014

4:01 PM

Arcadia Bay, Oregon

Arcadia Docks

I drive down to the Arcadia Docks where Warren told me to meet him. I see Warren's car parked on the side of the road and that's where I park my truck. I hop out of my truck and step inside the passenger seat in his car.

"What took you so long?" asked Warren worryingly. "I told you to hurry."

"I came here as fast as I could," I said. "Now what do you want to show me? It better be good."

"See for yourself. Take these and look right over there where I'm pointing."

Warren hands me over a pair of binoculars so I could see what he's showing me. I take the binoculars and take view over at the docks from the far side. The only things I could see were nothing but containers and workers.

"What am I looking for Warren? I don't see anything?"

"Look carefully, Chloe. Look for a guy with a scar and a trench coat. Do you see him?"

I carefully look for the guy Warren told me to look using the binoculars and acknowledged his description. As I scan through the docks with my binoculars, I eventually see the man Warren told me to look for. When I see him, I immediately recognized his likeness. It appeared to be the Russian man Rachel talked about when we were reviewing the files that we took from the Prescotts and Chrysalis.

"Well, do you see him?" asked Warren.

"Yeah, Warren," I reply. "I do. He looks oddly familiar. I think I know that guy."

"You know him? How?"

"Rachel told me about some Russian terrorist man named Alexei Ranikov. I think that's him. Is that what you wanted to show me?"

"That's not all, Chloe. Wait 'till someone approaches. There was a limousine that arrived he not too long ago and I think I know who it belongs too. Watch closely are your gonna really know who did all this."

I had seen the limo Warren had said arrived at the docks earlier before Ranikov caught my eye. When I kept staring at the Russian in the trench coat with the binoculars, another person was in my sights. The second I saw him, the second I was flabbergasted. It was the one human being who had a grudge against Max since the day in the principle's office with him and the man who fathered a dead rich boy from Blackwell. It was Sean Prescott.

"What the dick," I said.

"Crazy, isn't it?" said Warren. "It's Nathan's Dad. He's the one who-"

"I know who he is. Him of all people. It was him? He's the son a of bitch who tried to take Max away!?"

Sean Prescott walked out of his limousine with some of his guards in suits and with a briefcase in his hand. He walked up to where Ranikov was standing with his guards in preparation for the exchange he was about to make with the terrorist. Ranikov was too holding a briefcase with cash inside in exchange for the shipment Prescott was about to deliver.

"Do you have the package," asked Ranikov in his thick accent.

"Right here like you asked, Alexei," replied Prescott.

Prescott opened the case caring the shipment revealing canisters of radioactive chronon material.

"Here it is," said Prescott opening the case. "Two quantum gallons of chronon material. As you requested, Alexei. For your weapons your developing."

"Khorosho (Good), Mr. Prescott. Given the circumstances of Chrysalis occupying the bay, may I ask does anyone else know about this?"

"Not even remotely, Mr. Ranikov. I have the whole town under my control and there should be no reason anyone else other than my family does."

"Otlichno (Excellent). Let us return to the warehouse outside Arcadia Bay."

"Hold the phone there, Alexei. I still need to see the money for my family's wealth."

Ranikov opened his case revealing thirty-million in gold bars. All for the hard cash he needed to work for his family.

"There's your thirty million, Sean. Vernemsya k mestu srazu. Let us return to the place at once."

I see the two men hop inside the limousine and I knew me and Rachel to do something about this immediately.

"Warren, those two are working for Neo-Chrysalis. Do you know what that means?"

"It means they were the once who set Max up?"

"Exactly. I need to call Rachel right now!"

"Hold on, Chloe. Shouldn't we go to Chrysalis or something and tell them about this?"

"We will once I get a hold of Rachel."

I grab my phone and dial Rachel. I wait for Rachel to up the phone while a dial tone hums through my eardrum.

"What? What is it, Chloe?"

"Rachel, I know who did it! I know the person who framed Max."

"You know who framed Max? I just found that out seconds ago. How did you figure out who framed her?"

"I just met up with Warren at the docks and we just found out who. It's Sean Prescott, Rachel. It's him! We saw him with that Russian man named Ranikov. That confirms who did it! That confirms he's working for Neo-Chrysalis!"

"Alright, Chloe! I know this already! I was just about to call you and tell you. I'll bring some weapons over and I'll see you at the docks. I won't be long."

Note: I bet some of you were suspecting Sean Prescott to be up to something weren't you? If so, you already know the shit is about to hit the fan real soon!

In the last episode, Nathan's ghost tells Max in her dream of Elysium that the Prescotts were under the leverage of Neo-Chrysalis for some years to come and were forced to do what they told them. Sean Prescott on the other hand was secretly taking the extortion to deliver chronon material developed by Chrysalis to Neo-Chrysalis in order to not only allow the terrorist to build quantum weapons, but to gain the financial aid for the family to perform certain projects such as Pan Estates or the Dark Room. You might get the idea. They'll be more to grasp in the next two or three chapters to come.

Until next time, stay tuned.