062 SEEING THROUGH WALLS
Dan turned slowly, forcing calm into his voice. "Why are you back? You ca to… erm…too?"
Kurt blinked, thrown off by the question. "Erm… I'm visiting a friend." He wiped sweat from his brow like the lie was a nuisance. He was obviously hiding sothing.
"Who? Soone I know?" Dan pressed.
"Nobody you know—my cousin from out of town. She's staying here for a few days," Kurt said, his eyes darting as if searching for an exit.
Dan forced a smile. "Alright, I'll get going," he said, and stepped away, keeping his movents casual. Kurt slipped into his room and shut the door.
Dan lted back toward his own room and slid inside, his heart thudding against his ribs.
He thumbed the group chat.
Dan: Sazie could be in the next room. Kurt is with her.
Lander: Wait for Kurt to leave. Then sneak into his room and check if Sazie's there.
Dan: Easy for you to say. There's a "fat bucket" waiting outside—won't be simple to cross the carpark.
Dorin: Fat bucket… you an the fat guy riding a woman outside the carpark?
Dan: Yes, that's him. Handle him—don't let him co in.
Dorin: I'll see what I can do.
Dan stared at the screen, stretching unbearably long every second.
"Damnit… should I crash the door?" he muttered, then stopped himself. "If I'm wrong and Sazie isn't here, I'll ruin everything. It would alert Kurt or his accomplices."
Dan didn't know if Kurt was acting alone or had accomplices. If it was only Kurt, he wouldn't worry… but if there were other people involved… it'll complicate matters and affect the safety of the other missing students.
Then an idea struck him.
He pulled out his phone, logged into Kurt's profile, and activated Live View.
Before Kurt had left the motel earlier, Dan had tagged him as a favorite target. Now he could watch him in real ti.
Dan waited, his muscles coiled, and his ears strained. Kurt's feed showed only the attached bathroom…. there was no clear view of the room itself.
"Damnit, Kurt. Co out of the damn bathroom," he murmured.
Then he saw it.
"I'll be damned…"
In the vanity mirror's reflection, barely visible in the corner of the feed, was a woman tied to the bed.
Her head was covered, so Dan couldn't confirm whether it was Sazie. But that didn't matter. Either way, this was a kidnapping.
Dan rushed out of his room and slamd his foot into Kurt's door.
Thunk.
A force field flared to life, stopping him cold.
"Damnit! Why did they install a force field on the damn door?" he cried.
Motel Blue Moon wasn't expensive, but it wasn't careless either. Every door was protected by both an alarm and a defensive field. It was quite standard for hotels in the city to have this feature because there are too many ta humans who could easily break wooden doors.
The alarm scread to life, the sirens blaring down the corridor.
"Damnit… I triggered the bloody alarm."
Dan tried kicking the door again, but it wouldn't budge. The force field was strong—strong enough that breaking it would take ti he didn't have.
Then he rembered.
Fat Bucket's keys.
He pulled them out, swiped the access, and the force field dropped instantly.
The door flew open.
Dan rushed inside—and froze.
Just like in the Live View, a woman was tied to the bed.
But Kurt was gone.
"Hell… where the hell is Kurt?"
His eyes snapped to the bathroom.
The window was open.
Kurt ran the mont the alarm went off.
Soon, footsteps thundered down the hall.
SIA agents stord into the room monts later.
"What the hell happened here?" Dorin demanded, already moving toward the bed.
She pulled the cloth from the woman's head—
—and recoiled.
Her face was unrecognizable.
The body was decaying.
Silence fell over the room.
If this had been Sazie, she'd been dead for days.
Monts later, Lander burst in, followed almost imdiately by police units swarming Motel Blue Moon—their lights flashing, the scene sealed in red and blue.
"What the hell is that?" Dorin whispered, pointing to the mummified body of a girl.
"She was probably already dead when I ca in," Dan said, his voice low.
"Judging by her condition… she's been dead a long ti," Lander added grimly.
He quickly collected a sample of the mummified tissue, scanning its DNA through his instrunt. His eyes widened as he checked his data pad.
"She's Sazie, alright," he said, flatly.
The words hung in the air.
The girl they'd co to save was gone. Outside, the police had rounded up Fat Bucket, and everyone else in the motel was being taken in for questioning.
-----
"What about the other missing students?" Dan asked them.
"We've searched the whole place and gathered interviews from the staff… there is only Sazie here. This ti Kurt is probably acting alone
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