We have arrived at the Lincoln Conclave Hall, where the Ms. Cosmos pageant will take place three weeks from now. Ivan and I stepped out of the car, and ascended to a flight of stairs, only to see a man and a woman surrounded by bodyguards waiting for us at the entrance. The man is in his late forties to early fifties, with chocolate brown skin, wears a black and white business attire, and has a jolly expression while the woman beside him is in her fifties and her strands of grey hair are showing her blond hair. She wears a grey blazer, a grey skirt below the knee, and grey high-heeled shoes.
I noticed that the bodyguards were also on high alert. I don't blame them since seven beauty queens have been slain in the past few days.
"Ms. Brown and Mr. Robinson of SECTA, I presume?" The woman spoke out of respect for us.
"Yes." Ivan answered, "And you must be Mrs. Jessica Carlson, I'm correct?"
The woman, Mrs. Carlson, nodded in response and shook hands with the both of us. "My apologies that this incident has reached your organization all of a sudden."
"The reports about what happened have reached us, and we suspect that this is the work of the vampires," Ivan said then looked at the dark-skinned man. "Apologies. And you must be?"
"My name's Brandon Tyrell." The man introduced himself and shook hands with us. "I will be the host for this year's pageant."
"Nice to meet you as well." Ivan said with a small smile but returned to his serious look. "We are here to investigate the incidents that occurred these last few weeks. Shall we talk about this matter elsewhere?"
"Of course." Mrs. Carlson replied. "Please this way."
*
We ended up in Mrs. Carlson's office, which is also heavily guarded. Ivan and I sat down as Mrs. Carlson handed the files to us. "These are the files of the candidates that are participating in this year's pageant." She explained as she and Mr. Tyrell sat down facing us while Ivan got the files and flipped the contents. "We also hold a weekly survey to the viewers so that we studied which candidates have a shot who is winning the crown."
I peeked at the contents and looked at the candidates' profiles. I turned to Mrs. Carlson. "Are these candidates being the most votes in these weekly surveys?" I asked.
She nodded in response. "They are the top ten candidates that the viewers likely to win the crown. This one recently was from two weeks ago."
"Before these incidents happened, the pageant happens to be running smoothly." Mr. Tyrell said with a worried look on his face. "We never knew that something like this would happen to our candidates."
I looked at the surveys again. The ten candidates have the most votes by the viewers that would likely win the crown. They are based on their performance in each category of the pageant: national costume, evening gown, swimwear, and question and answer portion; but the information indicated in the survey was from the national costume and the evening gown.
"Is the swimwear category is still running?" I asked Mrs. Carlson again.
"Yes." She answered. "Apparently, Ms. Phosop, who is the lead in the evening gown category, was the latest victim of the killings. We tried to cover up the incident but-"
"The media won't shut up about it." Ivan sharply said. "It will be a matter of time before the media found out about this incident. And if they find out, this will lead to controversy and scandal, or in a worst-case scenario, authorities will get involved in this case and this will be the end of Ms. Cosmos beauty pageant. We will handle the security with all the candidates while finding the culprit so that the coronation night will go smoothly."
Mrs. Carlson held back her tears of assurance. "Please, as the CEO of the Ms. Cosmos organization, I'm begging you to find the culprit at any cost."
"We will do everything in our power to end these killings." Ivan reassured her.
I had a bad hunch on the files that were lying on the table but decided to shove it off.
*
"The swimwear competition is this way." Mr. Tyrell said as he escorted us to the outside pool, where the competition takes place. "Ever since seven of our candidates died, we are tightening the security around this area. No outsiders are allowed in this area but since you are here, we can relax and little, and" he winked at us, "you could see the candidates in their swimwear."
We stepped outside the building as I saw a giant oval pool in front of us. I could see the candidates on the other side lining up while they were listening to one of the organizers who was giving out instructions. I could see Angelina and Ms. Urduja among the candidates.
"The program's about to start in five minutes." Mr. Tyrell said while turning his head back and forth to see somewhere for us to sit down. "Oh dear, seems like all the seats are occupied by the candidates." He said with a dejected look on his face.
"We can handle standing up." I assured him. Ivan only nodded.
"Really?" He asked. "I mean, you both tired from your travel here, and-"
"We'll be fine." Ivan said while glaring at him.
This makes Mr. Tyrell shaken with fear. "Oh, okay. Is that you wish." and he ran away with fear.
I looked at him. "Please don't scare the poor guy." I said sarcastically but he glared at me even further. I stepped back an inch from him.
*
The program runs very smoothly as Ivan and I watched from afar; the candidates walking the edge of the swimming pool like it was their runaway. I saw the judges writing something in their clipboard while looking at the candidates with their analyzing look. Some of the candidates that are done their part are sitting on the bench while their assistants got their towels, bottle of water, and a fan to refresh themselves.
Well, it is a very hot day, so I was swelting myself and I fan myself just by tugging my clothes back and forth to create a little fan.
"Don't let your guard down." Ivan said as he watched the candidates doing their thing. "We never knew what will happen next."
As he was done saying these words, we heard some arguments three meters away from the area where the candidates rest up.
"Will you just get out of our way, you bitch?!" One of the candidates shouted as we looked at the source of the argument. Two girls are ganging up on one of the candidates who is picking up her towel at the edge of the swimming pool. "This is why your country didn't win a single crown in any beauty pageant!"
"Let her be, she's a dimwitted, scattered-brained bitch!" The other candidate beside the candidate who shouted earlier mocked the candidate in front of them. "The only place that they belong is in the slums, where she can work under the sun!"
"Scram, bitch!" Rude candidate #1 shouted at the poor girl while trying to kick her in the face. "Your presence is an eyesore!"
The poor girl stands up and confronts the two girls in front of her. "Look, if you are here to mock and trying to say racial slurs in front of me, I'll suggest that you should shut up now before the organizers hears this."
"Oh, so you are fighting us, now that you were included in the ten candidates in the surveys?!" Rude candidate #2 fights her back. "Have your voters got their eyes checked? You were only included because you're a lost cause!" Then she tried to shove her into the swimming pool. The girl they confronted took a step back away from the edge to avoid being shoved. "You know what?! We hoped that you will be one of those 'thank you girls' and go back to your country and work with cow manures!"
"Don't insult my country!" The girl angrily shouted at them. "Yes, our country may be poor, and yes, we have the same dark skin color, but we are hardworking and respected citizens, and we never sacrifice our dignity and morals to trample other people."
"Yeah, hardworking and respected people," Rude candidate #2 mocked what the girl said to them. "Yet, hardworking and respected to scam other people!"
"Don't put me in the same place as them!"
"Sheesh, enough!" Rude candidate #1 did the unthinkable: She used her hand full force to shove the girl in the pool, which caused her to fall in the body of water. "Hope the water washes that dirty skin for you! But I think bleach will do the good trick on your skin!"
Of course, the sound of splashing water caused the other candidates to turn their attention and was shocked to see the girl drowning while the two rude candidates laughed at her mockingly and pointing fingers at her, hurling racial slurs on her face.
My blood boils at this scene, and I can't stand this anymore! What they did to the poor girl is racist and xenophobic, and I will give them a piece of my mind that they never forget!
I tried to rush in to save the drowning candidate, but Ivan grabbed my wrist to stop my attempt to save her. "Don't. Let the organizers handle this mess. We are only here to check any vampiric activities in the pageant, not interfering in their business."
"Are you insane?!" I angrily shouted at him. "You have seen this is front of you, yet you didn't do anything on this?!"
He looked me hard in the eye. "Yes." his answer is icy as he looks. "We are not doing anything in this matter. We are SECTA agents, and we are only dealing with vampires. Listen to me: Let them be and focus on your duty."
Now this guy made me angry even more. I struggled to let my wrist be free from his grasp and after a minute, I successfully let it go from him. "You know what," I said angrily while looking at him in the eye. "You are the coldest and uncaring supervisor I've ever met. No wonder most of the agents don't want to work with you. Have it your way, you cold-hearted sadist!"
"Agent Brown, don't you talk back-"
"Shut the hell up!" I roared, which made him stunned in silence, but I didn't notice that he backed down, like he was scared but he hid it in his stoic, cold face.
Using this as my opportunity, I rushed to the scene and dived myself into the pool. I swam towards the drowning girl as my hand grabbed her arm and swam her back to the surface. Some of the staff helped me to lift her up and lay down on the edge of the pool while one of them gave her CPR.
As I rise to the surface, I faced the two women who are only standing there while there is a commotion in front of them.
"Listen," I glared at them so hard that when they looked at me, they were only shocked. "I don't care where you came from or what kind of environment your family raised you; but remember this: don't judge a person based on their physical appearance alone. Maybe you were scared that they can achieve better then you?"
"So, what if they can do better than us?" One of the women regained her composure and tried to talk back to me. "Maybe you're one of those activists-"
"Don't make me repeat myself." I glared at them, which made them shiver in fear. "If you don't stop right now, I will burn you to cinders."
Then this makes me stop.
What the hell did I just say just now?
Someone tapped me on my shoulder. I turned around and I saw Ms. Urjuda smiling at me. "I'll take over from here." She said in a calm voice. Then she steps up to me and face the two women who are still scared at me.
"Stop this harassment right now. There are a lot of eyewitnesses here and they will testify that you two are the ones who pushed Ms. Yemana into the swimming pool. If you don't stop this right now, I will report this incident to the organizers."
The two of them don't utter a word as they stand there, quivering in fear. "B-but, she t-threatened to b-burn us."
"Huh?" The confusion in Ms. Urduja's voice and titling her head only makes me confused. "I only heard her that if you two don't stop badmouthing Ms. Yemana, she will tell this incident to the organizers of this place."