The night stretched on in heavy silence, the kind that wrapped itself around the abandoned police storage facility like a forgotten ghost. The building stood on the outskirts of the city, its metal siding rusted and worn, its presence a stark contrast to the skyscrapers that loomed in the distance.
From their vantage point outside, Audrey and Kenzo crouched behind an overgrown chain-link fence, their eyes locked on the entrance. Hana's voice crackled through their earpieces, steady and sharp.
"You're clear. No movement on the perimeter. The cameras are running on a loop, but you'll have about twenty minutes before the system resets."
Kenzo exhaled slowly, adjusting the strap of his bag. "Twenty minutes. No pressure."
Audrey shot him a glance, the corners of her lips twitching. "We'll make it work."
A quiet hum of static signaled Damian's voice cutting in. "And remember, if anything goes sideways, I'm a sprint away. Though I'd rather not demolish another building tonight."
"Duly noted," Audrey replied dryly before signaling Kenzo to move.
They slipped through a gap in the fence, their steps silent against the cracked pavement. The entrance was a rusted metal door, the lock brittle with age. Kenzo pressed his hand against the surface, activating his truth-seeing ability. The glow in his irises flickered faintly as hidden mechanisms became visible to him.
"There's a secondary lock," he murmured. "Hidden beneath the panel on the left."
Audrey reached into her pocket, pulling out a small tool Hana had provided. Within seconds, she popped the panel open, revealing the secondary lock. A few precise movements later, the lock clicked free, and the door groaned as it swung open.
Inside, the air was thick with dust, the scent of old paper and decay pressing against them. Rows upon rows of metal shelves stretched out, filled with neglected case files, forgotten evidence, and discarded secrets.
Audrey turned to Kenzo. "Start looking for Rudi's files. We need proof of his involvement."
Kenzo nodded, his eyes flickering again as his ability activated. The room shifted before him, the mundane giving way to the hidden. Behind one of the shelving units, a small compartment flickered into existence, previously masked by layers of illusion.
"Here." Kenzo pulled at the shelf, revealing a set of locked drawers embedded into the wall.
Audrey crouched beside him, her fingers brushing over the metal. She pulled out a set of lock picks, working with precision until the first drawer popped open. Inside, stacks of files lay untouched, the papers yellowed with time but their contents damningly fresh.
She flipped through the documents, her pulse steady despite the gravity of what she was reading.
"Bribery, destruction of evidence, coerced confessions—these cases should have put people behind bars." Her voice was quiet, but the steel in it was undeniable.
Kenzo scanned another file, his jaw tightening. "Here. Officer Iskandar—covered up the shooting of an unarmed protester. Witnesses went missing, security footage was erased. They ruled it as 'self-defense.'"
Audrey's eyes darkened. "And here—Captain Yudha. He framed a rival officer for drug trafficking because he refused to take bribes."
Kenzo exhaled sharply, flipping through another document. "It's a pattern. Each one of these cases was buried, the truth rewritten by those in power."
Audrey's grip on the paper tightened. "This isn't just about Rudi. This is a network."
A beat of silence passed before Hana's voice crackled through their earpieces. "Guys, I hate to interrupt, but you need to move faster. I'm picking up a vehicle approaching the facility."
Audrey exchanged a glance with Kenzo before stuffing as many files as she could into her bag. "We have to find Rudi's records now."
They moved deeper into the storage room, past broken cabinets and forgotten case files. Kenzo's vision flickered again, and suddenly, his breath hitched.
A cabinet in the far corner burned with an eerie glow visible only to him. The energy surrounding it was thick, oppressive, as if the very air recoiled from it. His steps faltered.
"Kenzo?" Audrey's voice was steady, but she had already noticed the shift in his demeanor.
He swallowed hard. His fingers trembled as he reached for the handle, the metallic surface colder than the rest of the room.
As soon as he pulled the drawer open, he felt it.
The weight of a truth he had been running from.
Inside, neatly stacked, were documents stamped with red ink.
Human Trafficking Investigations - Confidential
Kenzo's breath hitched, his pulse thundering in his ears. He flipped through the files with shaking hands, his mind unwillingly dragging him back to memories he had buried deep.
Images of victims, their faces blurred by time but their suffering unmistakable. Names—names he recognized from his last investigation, the one that had cost him everything.
The cold realization settled like iron in his gut. These were the files that had vanished before he was attacked.
Audrey placed a gentle hand on his arm. "Kenzo."
He couldn't speak. The world around him felt like it was closing in, the air thick with ghosts of the past. He saw flashes—interviews with survivors, whispered confessions of those too afraid to speak aloud. And then, the night everything was taken from him. The hands that dragged him into darkness. The voices that told him to stop digging.
He had been so close to the truth.
And they had almost killed him for it.
His fingers curled into a fist, his nails digging into his palm to ground himself. But the nausea didn't subside, nor did the overwhelming sense of helplessness.
Audrey crouched beside him, her voice soft yet unwavering. "Breathe."
He inhaled shakily, his vision blurring at the edges.
"This is real," she continued, her grip firm but comforting. "But you are here. You are not alone in this."
Kenzo's throat tightened. "I thought—I thought I lost everything. And now it's here. Just sitting in a drawer like it never mattered."
Audrey didn't look away. "It matters. It always mattered. And now, we can make sure it's not forgotten."
He closed his eyes for a brief moment, forcing himself to steady his breathing. The files in his hands felt heavier than anything he had ever carried.
But Audrey was right.
He wasn't alone anymore.
A sharp buzz through their earpieces snapped them back to the present. Hana's voice was urgent. "The vehicle's here. You have maybe five minutes before company arrives."
Audrey moved swiftly, stuffing the trafficking files into Kenzo's bag. "We have what we need. Let's move."
Kenzo exhaled, nodding. He slung the bag over his shoulder, his steps steadier now. They navigated back through the storage facility, weaving through shelves as shadows danced under the dim lights.
As they reached the exit, Hana's voice came again. "You have two guards heading your way. Side entrance is still clear."
Audrey grabbed Kenzo's hand, pulling him toward the alternative exit. They slipped out just as the sound of approaching footsteps filled the hall behind them.
The night air was sharp against their skin as they ran across the overgrown lot, slipping through the gap in the fence. Damian was already waiting by the car, engine running, impatience written all over his face.
"Took you long enough!" he snapped as they climbed in. "We need to be out of here. Now."
As the vehicle roared to life and sped into the night, Kenzo clutched the files tightly in his lap.
The truth was back in his hands.
And this time, he wouldn't let it be buried again.
The safe house was quiet, save for the occasional hum of passing cars outside. The dim glow of an old desk lamp cast long shadows across the room, flickering slightly as the power wavered. Kenzo sat on the worn-out couch, his fingers lightly tracing the edge of the file in his hands. The words "Human Trafficking Investigations - Confidential" were stamped in red ink, glaring at him like an unhealed wound.
He tried to ignore it. Tried to shove the memories back where they belonged. But every time someone mentioned the case, his stomach twisted, his hands clenched, and he felt the phantom weight of chains pressing against his skin, the echoes of terrified voices from the victims he had failed to save.
Audrey noticed. Of course, she did. She always did.
She didn't pry, didn't push. Instead, she sat beside him, keeping a careful distance yet close enough that he could feel her presence, steady and unwavering. "We're close," she said softly, shifting the topic, guiding his mind away from the abyss. "Rudi isn't working alone. Someone higher up has been keeping him protected. If we take him down, we have to make sure he doesn't become another ghost case."
Kenzo exhaled, forcing himself to focus on the mission. "How do we find out who's shielding him?"
Across the room, Hana sat hunched over her laptop, her fingers flying across the keyboard. "I might have something," she muttered, barely looking up. "The files we stole had encrypted sections. Took me a while to crack through, but guess what? Rudi has a patron."
She turned the screen toward them. Rows of transaction records, messages, and confidential reports filled the screen. At the top, a name stood out: Commissioner Arief Kusuma.
Audrey's breath hitched. "A commissioner?"
Kenzo's mind raced. Commissioner Arief Kusuma was well-known for his 'zero tolerance' stance on crime, a man who built his reputation on eradicating corruption. But here he was, listed as Rudi's protector, pulling strings behind the scenes to ensure dirty cops stayed in power.
"This explains why Rudi's never been caught," Hana continued, her tone matter-of-fact. "No matter how much dirt we dig up, it never touches him because his crimes are buried before they can be exposed."
A slow, amused chuckle broke the tense silence.
Damian, leaning against the wall with his arms crossed, smirked. "So, let's change the game."
Kenzo glanced up. "What do you mean?"
Damian pushed off the wall, stretching his arms as he paced. "We don't just take Rudi down. We humiliate him. We make sure the entire city sees his downfall, sees the corruption rotting this system from the inside out. And we do it in a way they can't cover up."
Audrey considered his words. "If we want to expose this, we need undeniable proof. Something bigger than just files."
"Like a confession," Hana said. "On record. Direct from the source."
Kenzo rubbed his temples. "That's easier said than done. Rudi isn't dumb enough to just admit to his crimes."
Damian's grin widened. "He doesn't have to know he's confessing."
Kenzo arched an eyebrow. "You have a plan?"
"Of course I have a plan," Damian shot back. "I just made it up thirty seconds ago, but it's a damn good one."
Audrey sighed. "That's reassuring."
Damian ignored her sarcasm and turned to Hana. "Can you set up a fake meeting? Make it look like one of Rudi's clients wants a private deal?"
Hana cracked her knuckles. "Easily."
"Good," Damian said. "Kenzo, you're going to be our inside man. You'll listen in, pick up on anything useful, and if the bastard so much as breathes wrong, you'll catch it."
Kenzo hesitated. Normally, he'd be the first to go undercover, but after everything he had just uncovered, the thought of being near Rudi again made his skin crawl.
Damian, for all his teasing, seemed to notice. He sat on the couch's armrest beside Kenzo and, for once, dropped the bravado. "You don't have to tell me everything," he said, voice lower, more serious. "But I want you to know you're not alone in this. We'll make them pay. Together."
Kenzo looked at him, surprised at the sincerity. Then, a slow smirk tugged at Damian's lips. "Now let's go kick some corrupt cop ass."
Kenzo huffed a quiet laugh. "Fine."