Ch.33First Entanglement – The Traitor and Blues (2)

“So, Miss Rose. Getting a scoop is certainly good news, and an exclusive extra edition is even better… but isn’t tomorrow morning too late? I mean, if you’re going to do that, it’s no different from the morning paper. Wouldn’t it be better to polish it a bit more and publish it in the morning edition? It’s only 1 PM now, and you said you have all the materials, right?”

The editor’s uncertain words greeted the reporter who had just shared everything about her meeting with one of her police sources. He was feeling uneasy about something.

What was the reason? Surely this was news worthy of an extra edition, and it was confidential information that only they knew… It must be because of the Mafia connection. The editor, being a veteran in the industry, feared them.

No, he wasn’t afraid of them personally. An ordinary person who doesn’t drink alcohol would rarely have any reason to get involved with the Mafia. The editor wasn’t afraid of them, but of their influence.

How many times had he seen journalists who spoke only the truth fade away, even when intoxicated by their own righteousness? He himself had once received a fish wrapped in a formal coat.

He worried something might happen to this young reporter. Concern tinged his voice. Truth doesn’t die, but people do.

“But if we do that, only our regular readers will see it. Surely distributing it as an extra edition would reach more people, and this is something that needs to be shared with as many people as possible. Right?”

The editor’s concerns only deepened. This was certainly a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. He should be jumping for joy like a child while embracing Rose for extracting internal investigation information from the police. Yet, somehow, the uneasiness wouldn’t subside.

If this article was published properly, Golden Age Press could shape public opinion, even if just for a week. Print runs would increase, and more advertising and investment would come in.

If it succeeded, that is. Was it right to reject this opportunity or turn it into a safer but smaller chance just because of his personal anxiety? The editor briefly removed the receiver from his ear and looked around the office.

The office was bustling with activity. Reporters were finishing articles for the evening edition, while the morning edition staff would be out gathering news at this hour.

It seemed worth taking a gamble if it could give wings to the diligent efforts of all these good people. With Paulina the lawyer near Rose, things should work out well.

The reporter knew the saying that a journalist who only looks at tomorrow as a stake loses today in hand, but the editor didn’t. Or perhaps he would have placed his bet on this hand anyway. He nodded.

“Alright, let’s do it then. But be careful about your safety. Ears are everywhere, and someone might already know. Make sure to lock your windows, you understand?”

“I’m on the 11th floor, so don’t worry! I’ll be at the printing house by 1:30. Can you review it there?”

“Yes, I’ll see you then. I hope nothing goes wrong…”

The call ended, but the editor’s worries would follow him all day. The reporter, unaware of this, was focused solely on her article.

A reporter should view facts objectively, but she was feeling somewhat emotional now. She thought it natural to harbor animosity toward the hyenas who had mauled her family.

What separates humans from animals is reason. Humans have reason, but beasts have only instinct. Killing someone for causing inconvenience was instinct, not reason.

The reporter believed in reason. Knowing herself to be an emotional person, she believed in reason all the more. Part of why she had been angered by The Reasonable Insight’s article was because of the newspaper’s name.

“Have you finished contacting your company, Miss Rose? They seemed somewhat reluctant.”

Inspector Jonathan, who had brought her to this hotel, stood before her. With his black hair swept back and round glasses on his face, he looked quite intellectual, though his body was solid.

Rose nodded, with her usual expression that mixed a bit of confidence with considerable innocence.

“I think they’re worried because it’s connected to gangsters. But with you protecting me, there’s nothing to worry about. Oh, what’s the schedule?”

Inspector Jonathan pushed up his glasses slightly with his finger before speaking.

“You need to be ready to leave by 11 PM. My colleague and I will go out briefly to check if there are any dangerous individuals around, then we’ll depart at midnight. Can you finish by then?”

“I have so much more time than usual that I don’t even know how much effort to put in! I’ll see you then!”

Once again, they had different intentions. Inspector Jonathan’s goal was simply to finish the job cleanly. For him, being a police officer was a job, but the Godmother was family. And family always comes first.

Though he worked as a police officer, he didn’t believe in justice. A hungry mouth and an empty stomach know no justice. They know only bread and dream only of a drop of meat juice.

For someone who has experienced hunger, the benefactor is not the one who guides but the one who feeds. It was the same for him. Was it justice or morality that had saved him from the hellish life in the poorhouse?

After he returned to room 1108, the reporter began writing her article. She started with the title: “How Many Bodies Must We Retrieve from the Waters off Long Island?”

She organized photos of numerous victims disposed of by the Mafia that the police had provided, along with information about the latest body, whose identity was confirmed.

She also called for action. She asked when New York’s streets had become the Mafia’s territory, and added the question of who had given the streets to them. She proclaimed that it was our silence that had handed them over.

Writing wasn’t just technique but emotion. It wasn’t just about how to combine letters. Writing and reporting were about allowing truth to lead people. Rose believed in this.

By 4 PM, her two-page draft was complete. One page reported on the crime, and the other urged countermeasures. Her articles always had a first reader.

“Paulina! I’ve finished the draft, can you read it?”

Though Paulina’s bangs still covered her eyes, she seemed able to read Rose’s article. Rose tried to glimpse her eyes through her hair as she read, but couldn’t see them.

Nevertheless, she was definitely reading. Since she already knew about the first page, she focused on the second. Paulina returned the draft with the corners of her mouth turned up again.

“You know I’ve never doubted your writing skills, Rose. This is good too. In fact, it might be even more suitable for this kind of article.”

Paulina understood the purpose of the article. It wasn’t about conveying the truth. It was about shaping public opinion in the direction the police wanted, and Rose had written an emotionally stirring piece.

That’s why she said it was good. She was someone who kept her distance from right and wrong. There was an employer. There was herself, the employed. She was someone who simply did what her employer asked.

Her current employer was an exceptionally good person, and that had made Paulina a somewhat better person, but it hadn’t completely changed her yet. She was still an instrumental person.

After checking the article, Paulina got up and went to the hotel window. She leaned out slightly and looked around. There was an emergency railing for fire evacuation in front of the window.

It was a metal railing with ladders at both ends, designed for evacuation through the window in case of fire. She would need to check what the first floor looked like.

She unfastened the shield secured to her belt and reconnected it to the buckle on her suit sleeve. Though she was a rookie police officer, there was another officer in the room, so it should be fine to step out briefly.

She left the room where Rose was writing her article and approached the officer who was sitting stiffly on a chair placed in front of the door, clearly tense. He was obviously a novice.

Inspector Jonathan seemed quite capable, but this officer he had brought, claiming he could be trusted, was far too inexperienced. Was his judgment of people poor, or had he simply brought a junior who would be easy to handle?

“I’m going to check the first floor quickly. Please stay in the room until I return. It shouldn’t take long, but misfortune doesn’t choose its time.”

The officer stood up and nodded briefly. His hand gripping the shotgun was so tense it had turned white. In such a state, he might not even be able to shoot immediately.

Though anxious, she left Rose in his care and took the elevator down to the first floor. She headed to the back of the hotel where she had seen the emergency railing. As expected, there was no wall blocking it.

The end of the ladder was fully lowered, so anyone who wanted to climb up could do so freely. There was a sign saying it should be raised during normal times, but such rules were rarely followed.

Still, a hotel employee would probably choose to raise the ladder without argument rather than argue with a lawyer. After checking her gray suit, she entered the hotel and snapped her fingers to call a bellboy.

“Yes, yes. What can I do for you, ma’am? I mean, you look like a lawyer…”

She used a different voice than when talking to Rose. She understood well the unique intimidation that came from someone over six feet tall speaking in a stripped-down, businesslike tone.

“I noticed a safety regulation isn’t being followed. The fire escape ladder at the back of the hotel should be raised during normal times according to fire safety regulations, but it’s lowered. Could you have it raised?”

The bellboy, a good span shorter than her, was flustered but nodded. His tension was evident.

“Ah, ah. The emergency stairs? Yes. I’ll call a staff member right away…”

It wasn’t stairs, but that was the conventional term. In a typical building, there would be metal stairs rather than a ladder, but hotels couldn’t obstruct the view with metal stairs.

Paulina was only reassured after seeing the bellboy hurriedly call a staff member, who then went out through the staff entrance, raised the ladder, and secured it.

Unless someone could jump twice as high as a normal person, climbing up via the ladder would be difficult. And it wasn’t likely that someone would come to this busy downtown area carrying a rope or ladder.

Time passed. It was around 11 PM when the area around the hotel became less crowded. After checking around, Paulina found that apart from the metal railing where she had raised the ladder, there was no place for someone to sneak in.

The staff had been told not to come, so if anyone did arrive, they wouldn’t be staff.

Paulina checked outside the window once more. Light was leaking out from Eden outside Fifth Avenue, but no other places had lights on. There were fewer cars as well.

Rose had already revised her article three times and packed all her materials and the article in her bag. She had eaten a hearty dinner, and now all that remained was to complete the safety check, depart, and print the article.

Rose seemed tired of waiting in tension. Paulina, somewhat awkwardly, worried about her client, wondering if this was too much pressure so soon after the Cowboy incident.

The reporter sighed deeply. Taking a deep breath to kill the tension meant she was tense.

“Ugh! I was fine during the day, but it’s getting to me now… Nothing will happen, right, Paulina?”

“The hotel will be safe. We just need to be careful during the car ride. So, don’t worry…”

As if waiting for this moment, there was a knock at the door. Paulina was also on edge, and Rose, an elf with naturally sensitive senses, jumped as if the sound was a gunshot. It seemed the weight of this job was finally sinking in for Rose.

Fortunately, the voice from beyond the door belonged to the rookie officer.

“Lawyer Paulina! I, I’m going out for a moment! Inspector Jonathan called me to discuss security during transport. He said you could come listen if it would make you more comfortable!”

This was exactly what Paulina had been worried about. Should she go listen briefly? No, it would be better to ask them to come here for the discussion. She couldn’t leave Rose alone at this crucial time.

“Why don’t you ask the Inspector to come here? It seems better to discuss it here than to leave my client alone.”

“Ah, that makes sense! I’ll go bring him!”

However, several minutes passed, and the officer didn’t return. What was happening? It shouldn’t take that long to bring one person.

While Paulina was worrying, a car carrying the detective stopped far from the hotel. Though he parked in front of the Eden building as if going to Eden, the detective immediately moved toward the alley beside the hotel, heading to the back where the emergency stairs would be.

Just as he arrived, two police officers ran out of the hotel entrance. One was a bookish-looking man with glasses, and the other looked like a rookie. What was going on? The detective briefly hid behind the hotel wall.

“Inspector! Inspector! Where are you going? I mean, Paulina said…”

“Someone was watching the hotel with binoculars from quite far from the main entrance. Follow me! We need to find them before they make their move.”

Ah, that seemed to be the Italian thugs’ informant. He was luring the rookie officer away from the main entrance, as if he knew the detective would climb up the emergency railing at the back of the hotel.

He seemed like a police collaborator twice as reliable as Yehoel. After confirming they had gone far enough, the detective continued walking.

Emergency railings were always on the back walls of hotels. And usually, the ladders on such railings were left down rather than raised… but here, as if the person in charge was a stickler for rules, the ladder was raised all the way up and secured. Perhaps the reporter’s lawyer had a hand in this.

The detective tensed his body slightly. Of course, the ladder might not be the only problem. If anything was going to be a problem, it would be the reporter’s lawyer who had been thorough enough to think of this.

He lowered his body and, with his cursed double strength and double vitality, jumped up. It wasn’t difficult to grab the bottom rung of the fully raised ladder and climb up.

He looked around to see if anyone had noticed him. No one had seen him in the deserted street.

One floor at a time, one floor at a time. He climbed the railing ladder, making sure the metal railing didn’t make any creaking sounds. By the time he reached the 11th floor, the building wind was quite strong, but not enough to be a major hindrance.

The detective reached the 11th floor. He stayed low as he made his way to room 1107. Fortunately, the lights were on in the room, and he could hear the voices of two women.

“I’m just going to step out into the hallway for a moment, Rose. I’ll just check what’s going on and come right back, so keep an eye on your bag. Understand?”

“Got it! Should I get ready to leave right away?”

“Probably. Since we don’t know where the police went… Anyway, I’ll be right back.”

It seemed the lawyer was about to leave. This was thanks to the Italian thugs’ informant who had rushed out the main entrance with the rookie cop to search for a non-existent observer.

Paulina was suspicious of the suddenly disappeared police officers. She thought they might be Mafia pawns who had abandoned them here.

Moreover, in her mind, the only place someone could approach from was the hallway, so if she just went out to the hallway, Rose would be safe inside the room.

The detective took advantage of this opportunity to peek into the room over the windowsill. Inside the room was just one small elf, with what appeared to be her bag neatly placed on a chair.

He knew how sensitive elves’ senses were. He raised just one finger to the window and tapped three times, then three times again, creating a deliberately artificial sound.

At the same time, he readied his pistol from his chest. With a silencer attached, he could shoot if necessary. After about ten seconds, as if sensing something amiss, the elf’s footsteps could be heard approaching.

There was the sound of curtains being drawn. The detective was still well-hidden, so the reporter didn’t seem to see anything, and soon, defenseless, she tried to open the window to check outside.

It was a foolish act, but unavoidable. In such situations, people prefer to confirm the reality and say, “Oh, it was just a pigeon,” rather than acknowledge that something unknown is making noise outside.

The detective rose up immediately and grabbed her by the collar. As the window opened, he pressed the silenced gun barrel against her closed eyelids. The elf’s face turning pale was clear right in front of him.