The Devil's Cage

Kieran left his place and rushed to the police station. He needed to know whether the place where Shuberg had been blasted to hell had a secret passage or not.

If there really was a secret passage, it would confirm his wild theory. Of course, Shuberg might have had a different use for the secret passage, but Kieran needed to verify this himself.

The station was not far from his place. Although they were on the same block, one was on the north side and the other on the south side.

Kieran ran as fast as he could and within twenty minutes, he could already see the station.

He did not enter it right away though. The existence of that Evan guy had made him more vigilant.

Although his theory had yet to be confirmed, if he was right, Evan’s deliberate plan to get his hands on the millennium treasure must have been thorough. Whether that was Evan’s identity or his secret plans, it was not something someone like Kieran, who had just entered the dungeon, could comprehend.

His secret plan could be something as simple as planting a mole in the police station.

"Frickin’ bastards! Goddamnit! Have explosives become a must for gang members? How could others besides Shuberg get their hands on them, too?"

Deputy Leschuder’s loud ranting could be heard from miles away.

Kieran’s ears picked it up and an idea instantly popped into his head.

It was not that simple after all. It was not just about allowing the military to enter the city, it was about creating chaos.

If it was only to support their "agent" like they had Shuberg, that "agent" might had been one too many.

Leschuder’s ranting continued, but Kieran did not enter the station. Instead, he stayed outside and monitored the situation.

He hoped that he could get more information by using that method.

Chief John and Deputy Leschuder were the perfect candidates to get informations from.

Not only were their offices on the second floor, but they were also next to each other. Climbing up to the second floor would be a piece of cake.

However, just as Kieran was about to enter the premises, he saw someone walk out of the station.

It was Carl.

Although Carl was not in his uniform, Kieran would have recognized him anywhere.

He looked tired as Kieran followed him from behind.

Carl was heading towards the police hostel for single officers. It was one of the benefits of being in the police force, but of course once an officer got married, they needed to move out.

Carl was too young to get married, at least in the foreseeable future.

"Blackhand" Jimmy’s disappearance and the chain of events during the past few days had been too much even for a young, energetic police officer like Carl.

He had rested less than ten hours the past three days, which was why he had been ordered by the Deputy to go get some rest.

"I need a strong, brave lion, not some sleepy worm!"

The Deputy’s words had made Carl happy. He took them as words of encouragement, and they really were.

Coming from the stubborn Deputy, those words were almost like a compliment.

As soon as Carl got into his room, he lay down on his bed.

Just as he was about to get some sleep though, he heard a whisper beside his ear.

"Carl!"

"Sir Kieran?"

He quickly woke up. He seemed shocked by Kieran’s surprise visit.

"Wha... What are you doing here?"

Carl looked at Kieran with an incredulous expression. He could not understand why Kieran would appear in front of him in such a way.

"Something has happened and I need to lay low."

Considering Kieran’s identity and his earlier help, Carl was willing to believe him.

"You’re looking for me?"

Carl was not all that stupid. He knew Kieran had not showed up in his room for a midnight chit-chat.

"Did the police find the secret passage in Shuberg’s place?"

"Yes, we found it! It’s a long passage that leads to the next block on the street," Carl said honestly.

"The next block on the street? When did Shuberg occupy that place?"

Kieran was surprised by the length of the secret passage, and it made him think even more.

"It was a week ago. When "Blackhand" Jimmy went missing!" Carl answered naturally. As he uttered those words, his expression was stunned. The young policeman seemed to have realized something.

An underground passage that led to the next block had been built in less than a couple of days.

It would normally take ten weeks for a construction crew to finish such a passage in time, but that time frame exceeded the time that Shuberg had been occupying that place.

"Sir Kieran!" Carl looked at Kieran.

"So it was built long ago?"

Kieran did not answer Carl’s question and uttered the words in his heart. After thinking a little silently, he said, "Did the Deputy bring the others to "clean up" the rest of the gangs?"

"Yes! After the incident with Shuberg, the Deputy wanted to take down the other gangs too, but those bastards had the same explosives as Shuberg! Plus, they seemed to know about our operation in advance! It was just like last night!"

Carl was hesitant, but eventually he spoke up about his doubts when they had failed to suppress Shuberg and his men.

As Kieran had expected, there was a mole in the police force.

That was Kieran’s first reaction to hearing Carl’s words. Then he started to speculate about that "Evan" guy’s influence again.

It had just been a wild guess, but now Carl had confirmed it.

"What happened?" Carl asked when he noticed Kieran thinking hard about something.

"Something bad has happened and lots of folks will be dragged into it! Carl, I need you to promise that you will keep this a secret. Don’t tell anyone that you saw me tonight. You came back here and fell asleep right away! Understand?" Kieran looked at Carl seriously.

Carl wanted to say something, but he just nodded.

"Very well, Sir Kieran!" the young police officer said seriously, as if taking a vow.

Suddenly, Carl seemed to remember something and he said, "Sir Kieran, there’s one more thing. The Chief was missing the whole day from the office!"

"What?" Kieran was caught off guard.

"The Chief did not show up in the office on time today. The Deputy sent some men over to the Chief’s house to look for him, but Mrs. Adams said that he hasn’t been home for a week! It has happened before, but this time..."

As Carl spoke, his expression grew more and more worried.

"I understand. John must have had to deal with some urgent matter and could not let the station know in time. I’ll find out what it is for you," Kieran tried to comfort Carl. "Remember your promise, okay?" he reminded Carl again before leaving the police hostel swiftly.

As soon as he left, his face turned heavy from the information he had just gotten.

John was in trouble. Kieran had had a hunch before Carl had even said that the Chief had been missing the whole day.

What had really happened?

Kieran knew. After all, when John and Kieran had parted ways the day before, John had mentioned that he’d wanted to contact more allies and investigate Shuberg’s case.

"Damn it! Evan’s influence has spread wider than I thought! I hope that John was just captured and not..."

Even though he had known John for a short period of time, Kieran still hoped that a righteous man like him would not lose his life over this.

...

As Guntherson saw Kieran came back, he thought that he did not look happy. He could tell that things were much more serious that they’d looked. Something must have gone wrong.

"What is it?" he asked Kieran in a calm tone.

As a Guardian Knight, Guntherson was not one to be afraid.

He had been through alot, and was never surprised if things went south.

He knew that panic would not help in any situation.

"Hold on a moment, please!

Kieran walked over to the unconscious Lushan and woke him up with cold water.

"Did Evan give you the explosives?" he asked.

"Yes!"

Noticing Swarko’s cold, dead body beside him and Kieran’s cold stare, Lushan cooperated without a complaint.

With a quick hit on the neck, Kieran knocked Lushan out cold, and turned around and told Guntherson what he had discovered, "I think that’s it! The person behind Shuberg and this Evan are the same person!"

Guntherson frowned. "Is it the military?"

Guntherson knew very well what the military was capable off. Even he could not have ignored the hundreds and thousands of guns, not to mention the canon that they had.

It was nothing mere mortals would be able to fight against. Guntherson’s previous comrades and friends were the very proof of the military’s destructive power.

"We need a plan!" Guntherson said.

"Of course, we cannot take on a whole army by ourselves!" Kieran agreed with Guntherson. While he spoke, he tried to come up with a plan.

"Still, we have an advantage on our side. The thing that that bastard wants most, the millennium treasure of the Church of Dawn, is in our hands! Or at least that’s what he thinks!"