Creating a distraction using durian scent to disable the cameras...

Selling only half the number of total paintings tonight at the auction...

Occupying two storage units for unknown reasons...

I know what they're doing. If I'm right, then that means things haven't changed at all.

Alice's thoughts completely drowned out her ringing phone and the evacuation screams while she glared at the open storage unit in front of her on the second floor.

Everything points back to Klaus. Something must've gone wrong during the auctions. What else does he get out of this besides money? Klaus legitimately buys paintings using the highest bid, but once they leave the stage, he claims that what he got was fake. In reality, he replaced the real items with his premade fakes so that the appraiser could confirm that they're fake. Then he made sure that buyers left with forgeries in the end so that he keeps his original real paintings. But this is too complicated and elaborate for him to accomplish alone. Is that why he's been working closely with Annie and Vanessa? How many gunshots have been fired already? I can't let him escape and execute the entire scheme again at a new location.

Little did she know that she was speaking her thoughts out loud. "But you knew that already, didn't you?"

"Smart girl you are." Klaus suddenly appeared and pointed a pistol at the redhead's left temple. "Step away immediately."

"You planned this ahead of time to frame innocent people while making yourself appear as if you did nothing wrong. Auctions held at Bayview Expo Center always have the strictest tests. You submitted the real paintings first to pass inspection. In the very end, you swap out your real paintings with the forgeries just before the buyers leave the premises forever. Then you created that odor in the building to evacuate everyone and disabled the security cameras so that you could sneak in your forgeries. Otherwise, everyone would've questioned you as to why you brought duplicates of everything."

The art collected tightened the grip on the trigger. "What else do you know?"

"I heard what happened on the first floor. You killed Komba O'Charlie after buying Summer Sweet for one million, stole the painting, and saved yourself a large sum of money. But with Annie and Vanessa's assistance, money isn't a big deal to you."

"Those girls were losers. I didn't want to buy that painting anymore after I realized that it was stolen from a museum in Kenya."

"Who told you that?"

"I have my sources."

"Why would anyone who steals paintings donate the earnings to a children's hospital? Every painting he brought here was going to be sold to raise money for countless other hospitals back in Kenya. Given what you said about the sisters being amateurs, you have more reason to kill them since—"

Now Klaus pushed the gun under Alice's chin. "What if I did kill my partners? They were in my way after numerous complaints about this plan not working. I gave them the dream job they wanted of collecting art and donating money. They had to follow my terms and conditions. Annie was reluctant, but Vanessa agreed—"

"What about Lync?"

The art collector froze, but his gun-wielding hand trembled. "What did you say?!"

From the corner of her left eye, the redhead noticed a black shadow approaching her way. "Don't pretend that you don't know him."

Klaus was about to shoot Alice's forehead when Shun arrived and fired a shot that grazed the former's gun-wielding arm. "Thanks for the confession, Klaus. Now if you'll—hey!"

"Go to hell!"

The art collector smacked the redhead's face with his weapon and ran off. Alice fell to her knees and gasped for air erratically as the raven-haired agent caught her. "Alice, are you alright?! What are you still doing here?!"

"I was so close to—"

"I don't care if you came here to confront him about what happened in Canada, my current case, or what he was even doing with Lync. That's not your job. Leave that to me and DSP."

"But I want to be helpful, too."

"Alice, your knowledge and intelligence have been extremely helpful to us ever since you came back, but that's where Marucho and I have to draw the line." Shun brushed the redhead's hair back behind her ear and gently touched the bruise on her cheek. "You got Klaus to confess, but you also almost got shot."

"You're right. I shouldn't have run off in the first place, but I just really wanted to find Klaus and ask—"

"You followed your instincts when you heard that first gunshot. I followed mine when you weren't answering any of my calls. Now let's get you to the first floor for medical attention." On their way downstairs, Shun gave everyone else an update. "Klaus just left the second floor. I took an indirect shot at him since he was holding Alice hostage. He ran off with a grazed arm."

"I see him entering the parking garage next door!" echoed Dan's voice. "Going there now!"

"Rafe and I need to talk to paramedics about Annie and Vanessa, then we'll come over," Baron replied.

At the expo center's front entrance, Shun saw Katie talking to several paramedics. "I'm glad I found you. Are you asking all visitors to seek medical attention?"

"Not really. So far, everyone I've seen is scared to death but otherwise physically unharmed." The interim manager then saw the redhead standing next to the agent. "Alice looks terrible! Let me get you to a paramedic right now."

The journalist was reluctant to leave, but Shun reassured her. "You need a full exam to check your current bruises and the old stab wounds from back then. I need to catch a killer now."

"Be careful..."

After taking a few turns to the entrance of the parking garage, Shun slowed down after seeing a black truck turn on its headlights. How did Klaus even obtain an armored security truck? A door slam echoed as Klaus walked out from the back of the truck. The raven-haired agent aimed his gun and yelled, "Don't even think about it, Klaus!"

"So you found me. Too bad, I'm escaping."

The art collector maximized the headlight brightness before driving out, which blinded Shun and caused him to hit himself against a lamppost. Instinctively, the raven-haired agent shot at the windshield and headlights. "You won't get away with this!"

"This truck has bulletproofed glass all over. You won't stop me!"

I understand the need for bulletproof windows, but bulletproof headlights are ridiculous. This time, Shun aimed at the truck's grille and tires, but all the bullets ricocheted again. Bulletproof glass, sturdy grille, thick tires...this is premeditated. His gun clicked softly, prompting him to unload the magazine from the handle. "Guys, I ran out of ammunition. Do not shoot at Klaus's vehicle because every bullet will just bounce right off."

"Are you alright?" asked Runo as she ran outside.

"I'm fine...but is that Dan running in front of Klaus's truck?!"

Suddenly, a gunshot fired outside, followed by a loud crash. The brunet made a turn and approached the driver's side of Klaus's truck. "The suspect's vehicle just crashed into the front gate. Medical assistance needed!" Then he smashed the glass and opened the driver's door. "Cancel my request! Klaus von Hertzon is dead. No pulse detected."

At the crime scene, Klaus stayed buckled in the driver seat with his head leaned back against the headrest. There was a centered gunshot wound on his forehead. The bluenette took a closer look at the windshield, which had spiderweb cracks and a bullet hole aligned to the gunshot wound. "Didn't he say his windshield was bulletproof?"

Baron came up and observed the body. "If it weren't for the glass, it looks like Klaus got executed."

"Everyone, search for anything out of the ordinary! We have a sniper!" Dan ordered. Then he received an incoming video call from Marucho. "What's up?"

"Local police are on the way. I heard that Klaus got shot."

"Marucho, I have something." Runo used tweezers and pulled out a brass-colored cylinder stuck in the windshield's bullet hole. "What's this?"

After the brunet moved his phone closer to the foreign object, the blond director observed the item closely. "It looks like a bullet cartridge, but I won't know until the ballistics teams analyze it. Block this area off immediately. Judging by the length, it could've come from a regular or sniper rifle."

Shun returned to the building's front entrance with ringing ears. A sniper was responsible for shooting Barodius and Julio at Wardington's courthouse. Now another sniper might be responsible for shooting Klaus. But Wardington and Bayview are two completely different cities. Am I overthinking? Then he saw Katie talking to the paramedics. "You're still here?"

"I have too many follow-up reports to complete. Anyway, one of the ambulances took Alice to the hospital after a paramedic said her gums were bleeding. Her face was so red and swollen."

"The person who hit her is now dead, which makes the case even more confusing." After a few more breaths, he dialed Alice's number. "Are you okay? Katie said you went to the hospital shortly after I dropped you off."

"I'm feeling a lot better now after taking painkillers."

"Do you need someone to cosign for your discharge later?"

"Actually, no. Marucho sent someone named Paige from DSP to record my statement. She'll cosign for my discharge afterwards."

"Oh, I know her. She might sound loud, but she's very friendly. Anyway, Klaus got shot dead by someone else."

"Really? That's so sudden..."

"I know you're angry about him hitting your face, but he's gone now."

"But I didn't get to ask what he was doing with Lync. Anyway, Paige is coming over. I'll talk to you later."

"Good night." Shun hung up and stared at his phone. I still haven't asked Alice how she figured out what Klaus was doing behind the scenes...

-x-x-x-x-x-

BREAKING NEWS: Gunshots were fired during an art auction at Bayview Expo Center, leading to two dead and two critically injured.

Marucho began his field agent meeting by reading reports from ballistics and autopsy. "No doubt that Klaus was killed by a gunshot wound into his forehead. Komba bled out quickly after receiving a through-and-through shot. Fortunately, Annie and Vanessa are still alive. Ballistics confirmed that Klaus's handgun had shot all three of them."

"He also used that gun to hold Alice hostage and hit her face before running off," Shun commented with a hint of fury.

"I heard... I'll call her after this meeting."

Dan flipped through the ballistics report. "This is so cool yet deadly at the same time. The bullet that killed Klaus is a .338 Lapua Magnum. Extremely modified, too. I've never seen armor-piercing bullets like this."

"A .338 LM? But it's so short," Runo wondered.

"That's where this projectile comes to play. Watch the screen. Inside this bullet is a tungsten steel penetrator. The outside layer gets stuck in the glass, which becomes the cylinder that you found stuck in the windshield. However, the penetrator keeps going until it blows Klaus's brain out. Dead on impact with maximum fatality."

"Who manufactures it?"

"It's not on any market," the blond director emphasized. "You'll need professionals to assemble and modify a regular bullet into this. Therefore, it's not in the database."

The raven-haired gent pulled up images from the crime scene. "The person who shot Klaus has to be a sniper. Look at the entry point. He was driving toward the gate and away from all major buildings. The shooter wasn't nearby at all but must've known in advance that Klaus would escape in a bulletproof vehicle in order to use an armor piercing bullet. Just when you thought that Klaus planned everything meticulously, so did this sniper."

"Sorry for interrupting again!" Julie's webcam window appeared once again. "We have another ridiculous news report!"

Marucho turned on the television as told. The current news report was located in front of Bayview Expo Center, with several reporters pointing their microphones at Katie. "Do you know if this recent shooting at the expo center has anything to do with the false gas leak from a few days ago?

"I'm not entirely sure what the shooting was about or even how someone passed security despite carry a handgun, but the police told me that this is an active investigation."

Toward the end of this news segment, a sandy blond reporter occupied the screen and faced the camera. "With this being the state's seventh mass shooting in the past three months, Bayview Police has all departments investigating this case, and government officials are revising their draft of a new gun restriction bill to become even stricter. This is Joe Brown signing out."

Shun continued staring at the television even after the previous segment ended. This guy sounds familiar...but from where? "Marucho, are you going somewhere?"

"I have a last-minute press conference to attend. You'll see me on television in a few minutes. By the way, I approved your day-off request, Shun."

"Where are you going?!" Dan and Runo asked.

"I have personal matters to deal with."

Julie was still in the virtual meeting and asked, "Any updates on Alice? I heard that Klaus hit her face real hard."

"The hospital actually discharged her within an hour of admission," Shun replied. "Paige took Alice's witness statement."

"I see. Currently, all the evidence and statements suggest that Klaus was manipulating Annie and Vanessa into completing forgery assignments for him. With Klaus dead, at least that's one less person and case to follow. Oh look, Marucho is live now."

Among all the repetitive questions that the reporters asked the blond director, one particular question caught everyone's attention. "Do you believe that a vigilante group is responsible for this unfortunate events?"

"No, I am not aware of any 'vigilante group' being responsible for the recent mass shootings. The Department of Special Projects only recently took on a few local cases, so we don't have any leads or enough information to tie any of the cases to each other. The only thing that the cases have in common is that the final shooter remains unseen."

The brunet shook his head. "What is it with reporters asking if we know anything about vigilantes? Sounds like this guy knows more than we do."

Shun's eyes widened after hearing Marucho's response. That reporter is the same guy that asked Wardington's police chief the same question and also has the same voice as 'Joe Brown' that interviewed Katie earlier.

Once the press conference ended, a campaign advertisement appeared next. "I completely forgot that midterm elections are only a month away," Runo commented. "Wait... This is a smear ad where the candidate badmouths the opponent. Who approved this?!"

"Gross. I'm out." Julie left the chat immediately.

The raven-haired agent sighed as another campaign ad aired. Every time we make progress with a case, some unknown shooter takes out at least one person involved and drives us to a dead end. I hate closing a case with such an empty feeling.

-x-x-x-x-x-

Alice had just entered the elevator in the lobby of her workplace when she received a call. "Shun, what is it?"

"Are you free next Saturday?"

"Let me check... Yes, I'm free. Why?"

"Time to give you a proper tour of how much Bayview has changed."

The redhead giggled softly while exiting the elevator. "Thank you for still thinking of me despite everything that happened recently. I'd love to go next Saturday. Let me text you back. I just finished my lunch break."

"Of course. Think about it first. Later."

The journalist entered Bayview Broadcasting Station's office suite and saw Mira and Ace both staring at the television. "What are you are watching?"

"Everyone's talking about the art auction shooting," the mint-haired journalist replied. "Too many conspiracy theories about what happened. You're supposed to report facts, not opinions!"

"And now there's an update on Barodius Meunier's case in Wardington," the editor-in-chief interrupted.

The trio focused on the news until Ace pointed at one reporter in particular. "This Joe Brown guy has been on camera literally every day and asks the same questions repeatedly.

"Does he actually work for every channel out there?" Alice asked.

Mira shrugged. "Maybe he's freelanced. Some channels like the additional popularity this way. Other channels say it's a distraction. Seems like he's asking the same questions to get different opinions."

"But this is the second or third time that he asked the Wardington police chief about some vigilante group," Ace complained. "Move on already."

Mira's phone dinged, which prompted her to check the notification. "Looks like the senate election candidates will be open to interviews for the next couple weeks at city hall. Let's have Alice be the one interviewing."

"Why me?! You said they're senate candidates, right? They must be locals. I feel out of place being the one to ask questions because I'm—"

"Don't worry about it. I'll help you draft some questions and plan the schedule while you continue finishing your tasks at hand."

"Alright. Thank you for the opportunity." Alice returned to her desk and turned on her computer again. With Klaus dead, I lost my lead on Lync again. Ace's photos were a blessing and a curse. But maybe a day tour with Shun and the others next Saturday will clear my head.

-x-x-x-x-x-

"I'm outside."

Seconds after Shun sent that message, Alice appeared at her doorstep and gasped upon seeing her host for her day. "I thought you said that all of you would give me a tour around Bayview today! What are you doing here by yourself and with a motorcycle?!"

"We couldn't all request a day off, or else no one would be working. Here's your helmet."

"Thank goodness I dressed in layers." The redhead put on her helmet and took a seat behind her driver. "Where are we going specifically?"

"I wasn't planning on stopping at any particular location, but let me know if you want to stop somewhere. Overall, it's just a nonstop motorcycle ride."

The first few minutes were dedicated to driving through city streets. "Did you say that you requested a day off just to take me around? What's your normal work schedule like?"

"All field agents work full time for five days a week but might need to work overtime as needed. We all stagger our off days so that there will always be coverage in case of emergencies. I trust Dan and Runo to get things done while I'm away."

Upon reaching the outer city roads, Alice looked at the water to her right. "So many cargo ships docked at the harbor on a weekend..."

"They're probably here because Saturday isn't a business day. Anyway, this harbor used to be for civilian use before it got commercialized. All the dragon boat races that our classmates attended during high school have now been moved to another southern harbor."

"Dragon boat races... Sorry, I didn't participate in a lot of community events back then."

"Nothing wrong with that." Then they passed by a huge shopping center. "Half of this mall was still under construction when we graduated from high school. I came here a few times with coworkers for lunch or dinner at some of the newer restaurants, but then we stopped coming because there were too many students around."

"Isn't there a shopping plaza closer to our high school? Why are all the students here?"

Shun made a sharp turn and pointed to a few buildings in the distance. "That's because the city built another high school and two middle schools nearby around the same time."

"You're kidding..."

"And the transportation department added a few more lines to the underground metro. If you factor in all the government subsidies, you'll realize that public transit isn't that expensive or slow at all."

"Would you say that the population has doubled since I left?"

"Maybe a fifty percent increase? Marucho once said that homelessness and overpopulation are both under control. Despite all the changes that have happened, I'm glad that there's one thing that hasn't been affected yet. You'll see in a few minutes."

The raven-haired agent entered a highway at 80 KPH for a few minutes before taking an exit. Unlike other previous highway exits, this exit led straight into a single lane road that eventually paired with two way traffic through tall redwood trees. "Shun... are we still in Bayview?"

"Surprisingly, yes." He then slowed down to 40 KPH. "Overpopulation isn't an issue yet, but the city still needs more affordable housing to keep up. However, I don't want the city to ever expand into this forest area for that purpose."

"Is this forestland protected by the government?"

"No, and it's not a national park either because it doesn't meet qualifications. Nothing I can do about it. My mom used to take me camping here when I was younger. This is probably the only place that hasn't changed over the years."

"How far is that path ahead of us? Just curious, not asking to leave yet."

"The entire road winds through the forest, and I'm driving kind of slow, so we have a long way ahead. Why do you ask?"

"Since we have time, I want to know how you ended up in DSP with the others."

"That's a really long story. My inspiration was my mom, who was an administrative assistant in Bayview's office branch of the justice department. By complete coincidence, all of us majored in criminal justice. Marucho actually double majored in criminology as well. That, plus his family connections to DSP, allowed him to become DSP director after solving many cases successfully. But our recent cases have been extremely puzzling. Even though he's usually calm and has clearcut orders, I can tell he's frustrated."

"Would you mind stopping here for a moment?"

Shun drove to the side of the road, and they both got off his motorcycle afterwards. "Alice, is something—"

The redhead embraced her driver and buried her face in his chest. "I'm scared..."

Surprised by her sudden actions, all he could say was, "Of what?"

"Lync is still out there somewhere. I still get upset stomach despite taking my discharge medications. Now I need to take more medication to manage the injuries on my face. I feel like I'm not meeting work expectations. And I haven't seen Grandfather's lawyer in a while regarding the inheritance."

"I see..." The raven-haired agent began stroking Alice's hair to calm her down. "If it weren't for your stabbing incident, DSP would've never have found Lync. Now it's apparent that he's involved in many of our other cases and even became a puzzling case himself. He may not be an active threat now, but I stand by my promise that we'll bring him to justice after what he did to you. As for your injuries—the trauma from both injuries definitely still affects everything you do, but you're alive after both incidents. It might not seem like a big achievement, but you're a strong survivor."

The journalist finally let go and wiped her eyes. "I can't thank you enough for being at the scene when I was stabbed and also for everything you've done ever since I moved back. You're a lifesaver."

"I was just... at the right place, at the right time." Shun turned around and clenched his teeth. "If only we caught Lync at the previous crime scene that we were canvassing, then he wouldn't have escaped and cause a chain reaction that—"

Now the redhead embraced her driver with a back hug. "You'll definitely find him."

Surprised by Alice's sudden actions again, he remained silent this time and held her hands as the sound of heartbeats and creek water flowed in his ears.