Chapter 42: Hail to the Chief II (Reunited)

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LORELEI

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LORELEI

AUGUSTUS MORAN, the editor-in-chief of Clark Clarion and one of Moriarty's generals. The first time I heard of him was when Clarion's literary editor Agatha Cortez told me that their EIC was a fan of my stories. Weeks later, I personally met him during the Petrarchan Poem case, where they asked us to find their missing literary writer.

Not once did I think that the bespectacled, respected head of our student publication was connected to the depraved organization of a young criminal mastermind. Wala sa itsura niya. Journalists are supposed to be pursuers of truth and justice. But his affiliation with Moriarty made me think that he is part of what may be a cover-up to the same truth and justice that have eluded our hands.

Thanks to the late Officer Bastien Montreal—may he rest in peace and pay for his crimes in the afterlife—we unmasked one of the mastermind's important chesspieces on the board. Being the chief editor, he can control what is printed on our weekly papers. He can—in Loki's own term—shape public opinion, make the obscene platable and make heroes the villains.

Of course, I haven't forgotten what he attempted weeks ago. Sinubukan niyang sirain ang reputasyon ng QED Club. Sinubukan niyang pagmukhain na kami ang kontrabida, na gawa-gawa lang namin ang mga kasong na-solve namin.

In the end, he failed.

"Let's dispense all the niceties, shall we?" Loki responded bitterly, spitting the word "niceties" like poison. He had every right to be mad at the young man before him. Not only did Gus try to destroy us, he also tried to have Loki expelled and sent to prison (not really, Loki's still seventeen) by implicating him to a series of blackmailing incidents. Remember when his laptop containing the forbidden Pandora's Box was stolen? That would have been the nail in the coffin.

"By all means!" Augustus nodded. "But I am sincerely sorry about what happened to your little club. I'm a fan of your adventures, thanks to Lorelei's blog about your cases. I find them extremely engaging. We are going to print our literary portfolio soon, once the budget is ready."

Right. When his literary editor approached me for the first time, she asked if they could print some of my blog entries. I agreed because I wanted more students to know about what we do. Kailangan naming i-promote ang club namin no'n para makakuha pa ng maraming kasong pwedeng i-solve.

But it's all for naught now. The QED Club is no more, but in name and status only. We are still here, alive and kicking, ready to solve another case that may come our way. And voila! A case has already presented itself: the curious case of Augustus Moran.

"Such a shame that it wasn't you who brought us down," Loki chided, smirking sheepishly. "You risked almost everything back then to try to destroy us. I wonder why you are still the editor-in-chief. You should have resigned for allowing a fake news to be printed on paper. That's the most honorable thing that you could have done, if you had any shred of honor."

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