Officer Ethan gazed at Bella. The moonlight gently caressed her face, making her even more beautiful. Her clear, flawless skin and the wetness of her lashes seemed almost ethereal. For a moment, he was completely mesmerized, as though trapped in some magical spell.
"Officer Ethan?" Bella's voice broke through his trance, pulling him back to reality.
He quickly diverted his gaze from her face and cleared his throat. "Ah… Ahmm," he stammered, then added, "Why didn't you come to the mess for dinner?"
Bella, turning back towards the moon, replied, "I'm not hungry."
Ethan exhaled deeply, his tone becoming more serious. "Five officers from SID have been murdered. They were killed in the same manner, and these officers were high-ranking."
Bella turned to look at Ethan, her gaze sharp. "Which wings are they from?"
Ethan studied her for a moment, a slight furrow appearing on his brow. "Cadet Bella," he said, his voice firm, "don't you think you're crossing the line here? I've shared as much as I can with you. This is confidential information, and I expect you to leave it at that."
Bella met his gaze and asked, "Then why did you give me this information? Isn't this part of it also confidential?"
Ethan looked at her for a long moment, before reaching into his jacket pocket and pulling out a pack of biscuits. He handed them to her, saying, "You don't take out your frustration on food. Rest up. You have to get up early tomorrow for the training exercise."
With that, he turned to leave. But Bella's soft voice stopped him in his tracks.
"Thank you," she said quietly.
Ethan paused for a moment, a faint smile tugging at his lips, before he walked away without another word.
****************************************************************************
"Do you mean to say that the high-ranking officials have been murdered?" Ellena asked, staring at Bella with wide eyes, clearly shocked.
Bella quickly placed a hand over Ellena's mouth and whispered, "Shhh... Keep your voice down, or everyone will hear."
Ellena blinked, still in disbelief. "Did you hear this with your own ears?"
Bella, locking eyes with her, replied, "No, I heard it with my nose... what a silly question. Of course, I heard it with my ears."
Ellena, still processing the information, asked, "So, what do you want to do?"
They were in their room at the moment, with Norah having gone to the library. The two of them were alone, and Bella, other than Ellena, didn't trust anyone else in this matter. She looked at Ellena and said, "I need to call Noah. But if I do it from here, it will be recorded."
Ellena glanced at her, unfazed. "So, what now?"
Bella looked back at her, a hint of concern in her eyes. "I'll need to use Officer Ethan's mobile phone. If I ask him directly, he won't let me."
Ellena frowned slightly. "So, what you're saying is that we have to go to his office and take his mobile phone?"
Bella looked at her, a mischievous yet innocent smile crossing her face as she nodded.
****************************************************************************
In the evening, after the training session ended, instead of heading back to their room, Ellena and Bella made their way towards Officer Ethan's office. As they approached, Officer Matthew was just coming out of Ethan's office. He saw the two of them and asked, "What are you two cadets doing here?"
Bella stammered a little, "Officer Matthew… uh… we, uh… we had something to ask the officer, so we came to his office."
Matthew looked at them for a moment, then shook his head slightly and walked away.
Before knocking on the door to Officer Ethan's office, Ellena turned to Bella and warned, "Think carefully, Bella. You know taking on Officer Ethan is like sticking your hand into the lion's mouth."
Bella gave her a reassuring glance. "Nothing will happen. Just knock on the door."
Ellena knocked softly, and from inside, a voice called, "Come in."
They entered the room. Officer Ethan was sitting at his desk, focused on typing something on his laptop. His mobile phone lay on the side of the desk. He looked up in surprise when he saw the two cadets enter his office and asked, "You two cadets, here at this hour?"
Bella replied, "Well, I had something to ask you, and Ellena too. That's why we came."
Ethan studied them both for a moment, his gaze intense. "What do you need to ask?"
Bella subtly signalled to Ellena to go ahead. "You ask first."
Ellena, sitting on the couch in the office, glanced at the book in her hands and said, "I'm not understanding something in this theory section, it's law related. Bella said you were the topper, so you should be able to explain it easily." She paused, letting out a deep breath.
Ethan rose from his desk, moved to the couch, and sat next to her. "Which part don't you understand?" he asked.
Without looking up, Ellena placed her hand on a paragraph in the book. "This."
Ethan leaned in and observed the paragraph. The topic was related to juvenile delinquency. He began explaining it to her in a serious tone. Meanwhile, Bella, careful not to draw attention, slowly made her way towards Officer Ethan's desk. Ellena, her eyes filled with apprehension, glanced nervously at Bella and then back at Ethan, who was speaking in a tone full of authority.
Bella, with her hand inching towards the mobile phone, moved closer to it. But just as she was about to grab it, Ethan stood up from the couch. Bella quickly pulled her hand back, heart racing.
Ethan, handing the book back to Ellena, said, "I hope you understood the topic now. Cadet Ellena, you may leave. I'll stay here and explain the topic to Cadet Bella."
Ellena glanced at Bella one last time before leaving the office. As she walked out, Officer Ethan turned and gave Bella a piercing look, followed by a slight smirk.
Bella, now alone with him, stared back at him, fear creeping into her eyes as she thought, Today, I won't get away.