Chapter 44: Dead Man's Switch III (Black Bishop)

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A/N: The third day of the second wave of updates! Things are gonna get messier!

I'd like to thank the readers for sharing their insights through their comments here on Wattpad or through their tweets! Reading your comments keeps me inspired to regularly update the series. It's kinda rewarding for me to know your thoughts and theories!

 It's kinda rewarding for me to know your thoughts and theories!

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LORELEI

THE FIRST twenty-four hours of our search for Augustus' dead man's switch was somewhat futile. Our working theory is that the late chief editor entrusted his "box" to a person whom he trusts the most. We didn't know him very much kaya kinailangan naming magtanong-tanong.

We started with his colleagues in the Clarion. They all shared that their relationship with Augustus was only professional. Nag-uusap lang daw sila kapag may iuutos siya na related sa publication. Beyond that, they can't say na may ka-close talaga siya sa staff.

We moved on to his classmates in Grade 12-HUMSS. Tinanong namin kung sino ang mga kaibigan niya, but no one volunteered any name. In class, they said that Augustus maintained constant communication with everyone, but their connection with him never led to what they could consider as "friendship."

At the end of the day, wala kaming pangalan na nailagay sa aming suspect list. That was so frustrating! Gaya ng sinabi ni Rye sa morning meeting namin kahapon, it's like finding a needle in a haystack.

Either Augustus' colleagues and classmates failed to notice who he is close with, or one of them was lying. Or maybe, Augustus' confidant is in the circle that's out of our reach: someone in M's organization or someone from the outside.

Remember what Sir Jim Morayta told us about the school holding a memorial service for Augustus? The next day, we convened in the school gymasium for that ceremony. May malaking portrait niya sa stage. May urn na naka-display na may mga kasamang bulaklak. Some of us wore black armband as a way of mourning the dead.

"I get why we need to pay our last respects to him," Loki spoke as we sat on the bleachers. He would rather stay in the execom office than to join us. Kinailangan pa namin siyang hilahin ni Jamie. Nang magmatigas siya, we asked for Alistair's help. Hindi na siya nakapalag. "Given everything that we know about him, does he really deserve it? Does he deserve our sympathy?"

"Can you tone down your voice?" I whispered to him. We're in a solemn event, I hope he could shut his mouth for an hour. Napatingin ako sa paligid namin. May iilang nakasuot ng itim na armband. "Someone might hear you."

"I don't really like him," komento ni Jamie na umupo sa kanan ni Loki. She stuck to him like a leech. Para-Paraan nga naman. "But he's still a student of Clark High. May contribution siya sa honor at glory ng school natin. He won a number of journalistic competitions, mula division hanggang national. Under his leadership, the Clarion received a number of recognitions!"

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