The morning sun casted a golden glow over the precinct as I stepped out of my car. I stayed out a little more than an hour but I knew Jacob didn't want me back just yet so I considered that a break. The one thing that was on my mind was the uncertainty of the disappearance of Darius along with the peculiarities that surrounded it.
As I made my way through the door, the air inside the precinct was filled with tension. A feeling of uneasiness hanging over us all.
I settled back into my desk. Folders and paperwork related to this case lined all over it. My gaze fell on the piece of paper where I scribbled the initials "E.D." The letters echoed in my mind, a puzzle waiting to be solved.
Jacob appears by my side, sitting back at his desk beside me, a coffee in hand.
"Welcome back Detective." He said.
I glanced at Jacob, who was busy reviewing some paperwork at his desk. "Jacob," I said, my voice trembled slightly. "Do you know what 'E.D.' might stand for?"
"E.D.? What?"
I hesitated, unsure of how to approach the topic. "While I was out, I got a message from an unknown number with this message and the letters E.D." I said as I handed Jacob my phone.
"Stop looking for answers, or you'll regret it. -E.D." Jacob repeated, looking over to me.
"What does tha-"
"WOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO"
"even mean?"
"WOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO"
Jacob and I looked around, unsure of what the siren noise meant. Jacob looked down at me, that same look I had when I found the watch at the gas station appeared on his face.
"That better not be what I thi-"
"WOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO"
"Think it is." He finished before he got cut off again.
"Attention all units, attention all units. We have a Code 10. I repeat Code 10. El Diablo has escaped. All units be on HIGH ALERT." Captain Howard yells over the loudspeakers.
Jacob and I looked at each other with concern. How did El Diablo escape without us knowing?
Jacob and I hurried down the dimly lit corridors towards the cell room.
As we rounded the final corner, the sight that greeted us sent a shiver down my spine. The cell perfectly in tact, minus a giant hole in the ceiling, outside Miami can be seen. My heart hammered in my chest as I stepped cautiously into the room, Jacob close behind me.
The walls were graffitied with a simple message in what looked to be like blood. The words WE WARNED YOU.
Jacob looked confused, "Who? Who warned us?"
I sighed, hitting my fist against the wall. I flashed back to when we first caught El Diablo.
"Do you? Do you think you've gotten me? We'll see Grant, Flint, we'll see."
I shook my head, I repositioned my vision at Jacob who has an angered but confused look on his face. "Do you remember when we caught El Diablo at the abandoned house and he questioned if we got the right guy?"
Jacob nodded "Don't tell me you're starting to believe that malarkey."
I pulled out my phone, pulling up the text from the unknown number.
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"E.D.," I said to him.
"How though? You know we take everything when they get put in jail. Phones, wallet, guns, everything." Jacob followed up my theory by saying.
"He could have gotten one of his disciples to do it." I added.
"But now I'm starting to think. El Diablo has always been known as a mastermind. If I were a mastermind running from the police I don't think I'd be hiding in plain sight with a big devil on my jacket to point me out right away. That'd be too obvious. Stop looking for answers or else. That means the real El Diablo must have seen we continued our searched. THAT.
"That is who warned us," I said with anger in my voice.
Jacob sighed.
"We got leads. We'll check them all..."
"He doesn't want you, or Ray, or anyone else at the Miami Police Department... I'm the one he wants it seems."
Jacob had a look of confusion on his face.
"We can search but if we find him... It's all you. BUT. The backup will be there. I'm not going through a worse case of what happened with Ortega.
I glare over at Jacob, sighing, knowing he's not gonna budge.
"You never wanna let me have any fun!" I playfully act childish.
We headed back to our desks, and continued to search through the paperwork and such. I looked at my phone a few times, I imagined Darius. I pulled up his contact information, I was hesitant to call it but I did anyway, I crossed my fingers. After a few moments, it goes straight to voicemail, Darius's sweet voice appeared on the message... I thought... The normal voicemail gets cut off, a darker voice comes over the message.
"If you work for the Miami Police Department and are looking for me. We're going to give you ONE MORE chance to stop. Stop looking for me. Give it up. You won't get anywhere. If you do not follow these rules, everything in your precious little city will belong to us." The message ended and then was followed by menacing laughter.
I looked up at Jacob who was eating a donut at his desk.
"Smith, bring Ortega up from his cell, put him in Interrogation 4," I yelled to Deputy Smith. Jacob looked at me, a bit of shock on his face.
"That's a new one... You wanna talk to Ortega?" He asked, taking a sip of his latte.
"He knows a lot about Diablo... Plus, listen to this." I said, calling Darius's phone again and letting Jacob hear the menacing warning.
"Diablo's taken Darius's phone then?" He asked, standing up and trying to follow me.
"I guess... But that's why I need to talk to Ortega. He knows everything about Diablo, he works with him. He should know other places where we can find him. " I said, taking a deep breath and grabbing a file marked DIABLO off my desk. Jacob stopped me.
"You want backup? I know as well as you do your history with Ortega Izzy." He asked with a look of worry on his face, I glared up at him.
"I know... believe me... But I need to do this..." I said with a hint of determination.
He nodded, "I'm still gonna be watching, He tries anything, I'm not afraid to slam that old bag through a table one time." He laughs gangster-like to which I punched him in the shoulder.
I headed down the hallway with the interrogation rooms, lined with pictures of fallen heroes to the Miami Police Department, until I reached the room marked 4. Taking another few deep breaths and walking in. Ortega was handcuffed to the table, his hair looking like he just woke up, He looked up at me.
"Detective Grant!" he laughed, his voice dripped with sarcasm. "To what do I owe the pleasure?"
Ignoring his taunt, I pulled up a chair and sat down across from him, my gaze steady. "Ortega, we both know why I'm here. El Diablo has escaped, and I need to know where he is."
Ortega's smirk widened, his eyes gleaming with amusement. "Oh, Izzy, you think I'd just hand him over to you? You must be desperate."
"Here's the deal, you can either tell us where he is and potentially get a chance at freedom or stay in here and let him ruin everything that you've done. You seem to trust him more than you should Ortega." I said sternly, trying to calm myself down.
"You think he's a bad person, don't you? Well to that you'd be right but Diablo's like a ghost, always one step ahead. " He'd laugh again.
"We'll catch him... I'll make sure of it... Like I said, you know him better than anyone. Where is he."
Ortega sighed, a look of pure mischief in his eyes.
"There's an old factory downtown. Not like the others you've been to. Diablo's been known to do the work for the missions down there. Be careful though. Backup is always with him."
I nodded as I wrote down the information Ortega had just given me.
"Address? Where can I find this joint?" I asked.
He sighed, "Downtown, by the old dump." He said beginning to wheeze again.
"Got it..." I said as I packed my things up and began to walk out of the room.
"Let me just add, if this is you taking me on a wild goose chase. You will certainly not be getting out of here anytime soon." I added.
What a pleasure as always Walter." I said finally. I opened the door and signaled to the deputy at the door to take him back to his cell.
I walked over to my desk, where Jacob was sitting.
"How'd it go?" He asked looking up from his computer.
"Good I think I go-" I was interrupted by the sound of my phone vibrating in my pocket, I took it out to see another message from the mystery unknown phone number. I clicked on it to be met with a video of myself from the fire at the gas station, as I walked back to my car. Jacob is right behind me. A the end I am met with the same bold letters appearing over the video feed. WE WARNED YOU.
I looked over to Jacob, an annoyed smirk on my face, I showed him the phone.
"In the words of a famous detective. This sends the investigation into a whole new direction." Jacob said with a corny smirk on his face.