Max’s phone rang in the middle of the Chief’ briefing about the operation they will carry out at the Oakleys University. The office was filled with about four team leaders with each team consisting of ten officers. Some will be joining the ceremony for the security of the civilians, and the others will surround the hall, break into the rooms where the possible meeting of the Nightcrawlers will take place. An anonymous caller gave them a tip about the University ceremony, and the Oakleys’ plan to merge business with the Nightcrawlers. The call dropped before the Chief could even ask who was at the other line but the information specialists confirmed that the Oakleys University would be holding a graduation ceremony by four o’clock in the afternoon. Driven by their eagerness to gain their credibility and reputation again, the Chief gathered the best teams to deploy. Iris’ name showed up on his screen. Max tapped the acce

 “Please everyone, stand up and let us welcome the guest speaker for tonight.” The collective murmurs in the half-oval shaped hall finally died down after the host spoke to the mic. The giddy smiles of the students wearing their maroon graduation robes set the place with such a triumphant and euphoric atmosphere. The crowd followed the order to stand up, clapping as the guests sauntered up the wide and bright stage with grand curtains behind an enormous screen. There were six chairs elegantly lined up on the stage, two were vacant while the other four were occupied by three old gentlemen in their black suits looking all debonair while a sophisticated looking middle-aged woman sat at the center, her dark hair with big curls cascading over her shoulders, making her look younger than her age. Iris almost couldn’t feel her lungs as she runs out of breath arriving at the hall. Her eyes quickly roamed around the hall glistening in differ

  Iris drove Max to his home in an awfully quiet ride of thirty minutes. To prevent further mistakes coming out from her mouth, she just let him sleep the whole time and didn’t bother to initiate a talk. His house was along from one of the suburbs few blocks away from the St. Valen’s unit. It was a humble home of a single floor built with a yard and a parking garage. Iris concluded he was living alone. But as she help Max get out from her car, a young girl came running out from the house with horrified expression upon seeing them.   “Max!” she yelled with a tiny, shaking voice. Iris was stunned when she approached them and jumped to hug Max sobbing. “What happened to you?!” she asked. Max gave her a weak smile, his gaze turned back to Iris.   “My sister, Georgia,” he said. The girl peeked from Max’s arms. “She’s a little shy around people.” Iris saw the resemblance of their eyes, both as if glazed with honey that glimmer when th

 The door burst open and the Chief slid through. He sighed upon meeting her gaze, and walked towards the metal chair facing Iris. He slammed the notepad he brought on the table and sat down without a word. For a whole minute, they were sitting in silence, as if waiting patiently for a bomb to explode that was the Chief. “You may start, Detective Anderson,” he announced, his unusual cold voice lingered in her ears. He clicked the button on a small tape recorder and the red dot started to blink. He put his hands on the table, cupping it together at the center as he bore his grudging eyes on her. “First day,” Iris muttered, resting her back against the chair displaying no penitence. “I moved according to my plan. I managed to get information about how their organization works from a common friend which is one of them. He gave me the instructions on how to apply for the position of a hunter. A hunter is

 The red sedan car ahead decelerated and slowly turned to the right where the road leads to the city. Iris stepped on the brake, bringing the car to a halt, looking at the sedan slowly blur from her eyes as they take the detour. She stepped out of the car, the little hairs around her nape raised from the cold breeze that hit her skin. The month of iced coffees and tan lines had gone off and the raging storms and almost negative degrees celcius weather took over, one which Iris loathed from among all seasons in her life. She grabbed the freezing metal bars of the “DEAD END” barricade placed at the center of the unpaved road which was just a few steps away to an unfinished residential location built for the homeless people but was just used as a front act during the election of officials—one for sure to gain their vote, and two to show fake humility to the people. Max got off the car following her, frowning on wh