Uche let out a sigh of relief as Mira left the room.
"Now I can have a good sleep,"
He said as he walked up to the door to lock it, then a sudden realization hit him.
"Damn, she didn't tell me the new combination."
Uche had completely forgotten that she had changed the combination, and he hadn't even asked what the new one was.
"What do I do now?"
He moved his hand onto the screen, trying to guess what the combination might be, and that's when he found out it had no combination. She didn't change it—she removed the previous one.
"That bitch, she left my house unprotected," Uche sneered.
---
Later in the evening, Uche woke up feeling refreshed, with renewed energy. He had barely slept since he started sharing visions with that bastard—the vicious killer—but today felt different.
Although he hadn't gotten any sleep at night, the nap he had now was far more refreshing.
He stretched his body for a while before picking up his phone to check the time.
"Huh, who's that?"
Looking at his phone, he was shocked to see he had missed a couple dozen calls just a few minutes ago.
"Who might it be?"
He didn't usually receive calls—hardly anyone called him. In fact, apart from Mr. Kim, his boss, who sometimes called whenever there was a load of work to do, no one else did. So, he was surprised to have missed 24 calls, and all in such a short time. There was even a voicemail waiting.
Looking at the missed calls, he saw they all came from a single number—one he didn't recognize. Twenty-four times, and one voicemail.
"Did that bastard somehow manage to get my contact?"
He couldn't help but think it was Snowflake. He decided to listen to the voicemail.
*Hey idiot, wake up, the cops are on your doorstep. I'm still far away—I can't get there in time to help you. Just follow them, don't try to fight, as it would reveal what you are, and things will get complicated, making it harder for me to save you. Just cooperate and follow them.
I don't know if it's a mere interrogation they're coming for, as there are a full seven vans, all heavily armed. But whatever it might be, I'll come to save you.
Anyways, I hope it's not too late when you open this voicemail.*
The voicemail ended. He recognized the voice too well—it was one he had grown used to recently. Mira.
And the number belonged to her. She was the one who had called him 24 times.
"But how did she get my number? I mean, we didn't exchange contacts, so how?"
He was sure she hadn't asked for his number, nor had he given it to her. But he didn't have time to think about that now—there were more pressing matters at hand.
"Cops on my doorstep? No food for uninvited visitors."
He tried to crack a joke, but quickly realized it wasn't funny at all.
"Damn, what's going on? Do they think I'm Snowflake? How did they find me?"
"And why did she ask me to surrender, not fight back? Nah, that's not nice."
Several questions ran through his head, but he had answers to none. He quickly rushed to the door and peeked through the camera to see who was outside.
Then he saw them: several white vans slowly parking in front of his house, with countless cops pouring out, all armed with heavy weapons, all pointed at his building.
His heart sank.
"This… this looks like they're waging war," Uche muttered, his mind racing.
Now he understood why Mira had told him not to think of fighting. He should just surrender and follow. Even if he didn't want to surrender so easily, there was no way he could escape this. Even with his extraordinary healing abilities, he wouldn't survive with countless missiles in play.
"But I can't just follow them like some dumbass nigga. I did nothing wrong. I need to find a way to escape."
He rushed back to his bedroom, trying to think of the best move. Sadly, the one who always saved him in these situations had told him to surrender.
"Funny."
Getting into his room, he peeked through the window and saw that the cops were already surrounding the building. His gaze landed on one of them hiding behind the street's waste bin with a sniper rifle aimed directly at Uche's window—the very one he was looking from.
"Damn it."
He quickly jerked his head back, realizing the sniper must have seen him. He saw the man touch his earpiece while his lips moved.
"He's communicating," Uche thought, trying to read his lips.
"Sniper 3: Snowflake spotted near the window close to the street, permission to shoot."
"F\*ck, they really think I'm Snowflake," Uche cursed, hastily rolling back down in fear the sniper might shoot him any second.
---
Outside the building, Sergeant Kim stood in front of Uche's house, with Inspector Ray by his side and several men in heavy military gear all around them. A couple of men were drilling the door, trying to break in.
The large grin plastered on Inspector Ray's face couldn't be missed, and it refused to fade.
"Are we finally catching Snowflake? I can't believe the bastard is right under our nose. I can't wait to kick his ass," Inspector Ray said with a smile.
"Don't get ahead of yourself, brat. We aren't even sure it's him before we bust in. The source that gave us this information is anonymous, and you're celebrating. What if he's an innocent man? You know very well this is against the law. We don't even have enough evidence to prove he's Snowflake," Sergeant Kim sneered, making the young inspector stare at him in amusement.
"This is against the law? F*ck the law. Who told you that man knows any law? And mind you, we'll find enough evidence after searching his place thoroughly."
Just then, Sergeant Kim received a message:
"Sniper 3: Snowflake spotted near the window close to the street, permission to shoot."
"No, do not shoot. I repeat, do not shoot. We're breaking in through the front door," Sergeant Kim replied.