THE CULPRIT'S VERDICT
CHAPTER 10

When the day bleeds

into nightfall

and you're not here

to help me through it all,

I let my guard down and let you pull the rug

I was getting kinda used to being someone you love.

I could hear Lewis Capaldi singing in my head. The song reminded me of the time I had with my parents, how I wished I could spend even an hour with them, to feel their touch once again, to hear them laugh, to glance at their smile, but as the sun went down in the horizon and disappeared right in front of my eyes, the hope I had viciously faded away.

Sigh.

I stood from the bench under the towering trees of pink and yellow blossoms. The natural sight that entertained me for hours had been replaced by artificial light that guided each side of the narrow pathway. The place was solemn, neat, and refreshing. It helped me reminisce about the good memories I had with my family, yet at the same time, immersed me further to loneliness.

I put the strap of my bag on my right shoulder and started walking along the footpath. Suddenly, a tall centennial tree glimmered as the tiny flying creatures emitted lights from their bodies- bioluminescence, such a wonderful sight, enough to wash one's worries away.

My jaw dropped and my eyes sparkled at the sight, little did I know that a suspicious man in a hood had been keeping his eyes on me and had found a chance to snatch my shoulder bag away.

"Hey!" I shouted, hoping that he will come back and return what he stole from me, but he didn't. I stood motionless until I could fully comprehend what had just occurred.

The document and the files, the product of my sweat and tears, all of it saved onto that USB. I can't just let that go!

He escaped quickly, jumping from bushes to bushes to make sure I couldn't keep up with him, but I wasn't too weak for his dream to happen.

His speed might be of The Flash but mine was not far from a Super Saiyan, hence I managed to cope with his fast movement.

We reached the busy street in Chiba and to my surprise, he crossed the street even with a green traffic light on. I was desperate, so I followed him. The cars grinded to an unexpected halt while others tried to maneuver in different directions causing a collision, but that didn't stop me from running after the man who snatched my bag.

I was already close to the other side, but an ear breaking buzz stopped me from moving. My heart almost jumped out in surprise, I was close to being hit by a car. Then, I found my right hand on the surface of the front part of a red Lamborghini. My eyes traveled to the front window of the car, though a little blurry, I still managed to look at the shocked face of a familiar man in his red suit, the CEO.

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The extreme noise of beeping cars brought me to my senses and I remembered that I was after someone. My eyes struggled to look for him in a busy crowd, but when it did spot him, without any ado, I continued hunting him. I caught him making his way down to an underpass, my feet did not wait for my mind to think, it automatically followed the steps of the snatcher.

The place was so dark, that only a beam of light from a slightly elevated slope could illuminate it. I made small steps one at a time as I tried to figure where the man could have possibly hidden. Suddenly, a ragged hand grabbed my shoulder and pulled me close to him. I felt a pointed edge on my neck that voluntarily stopped me from breathing and swallowing my saliva. It was too close, I could feel it on my skin.

"You're too brave for a girl, are you ready to die?" I heard him asked in a crampy voice with an accent that resembled that of the south.

"No, please don't, "I said with a shaky voice. My knees were trembling, but I couldn't let him kill me, not yet, not now. "I am just after the USB. It's important to me, but if you don't want to give it, it's okay, just let me go, "I continued. "My apology lovely lady, I don't occasionally let a big fish escape after catching it, especially if it looks delicious."

He whispered in my ears and slowly licked his tongue on my neck. Shiver ran through me- a feeling of disgust and anger.

When he suddenly got distracted on his whims, he unconsciously loosened his grip on the knife and yanked it a little far from me. I took the chance and hit his wrist, making the knife fall off from his grip. I stepped on his shoe and hit his stomach with my elbow, but it was hard like a cork. I was afraid it didn't hurt him a bit. Still, I was able to create a little space and grabbed the chance to escape while he was in a state of pain. But not for long, his long arm and wide palm grabbed the edge of my hair and pulled it back to him. It sent a shock on my neck, I felt annihilated.

"You bad bitch! Do you want to see hell now? I'll give it to you," he said and bent his body down to get the knife on the ground whilst still pulling my hair.

"Let me go, you lazy dirty cockroach!" I screamed, demanding him to let go of my hair but he didn't. Suddenly, I heard a tingling sound of metal. I followed the sound, and my eyes saw the knife he was holding earlier in a slightly far distance from us.

"What the f***!" I heard him uttered. The presence of someone behind us made my head turn, a man in a black cloak towered above us.

"Who are you?" The snatcher asked with high pride in his voice.

"Let the lady go, " the man in black demanded.

"Oh, nice name!" The annoying lazy dirty cockroach retorted. He let out a heinous laugh, but it was abruptly replaced with cough as the man in a cloak kicked his stomach, it made his left leg slide backward. He was taken aback, for sure it maimed him.

"One command should be enough for you," the mysterious man declared while he made his way to the snatcher. An extreme shock and unbelievable stare was evident on the snatcher's face as his eyes locked with my savior's face. I smelled a strong feeling of fear as he trembled and struggled to run and crawl away. I sighed in relief, I thought it was the end of me.

"I believe this is yours," he said and extended the bag on me. His voice was deep, it sounded familiar but I couldn't discern the person behind.

"T-thank you, "I mumbled and waited for him to say something, but he didn't. Instead, he turned his back away from me and started moving forward.

"Wait, may I know who you are?" I asked, hoping that he would answer.

He stopped for a while and shifted his head on his shoulder, as I was ready to receive an answer, he continued walking. He disappeared out of my sight, without giving me what I needed- his name.