Ivan Hoff was enjoying his stroll in SM Annex, secured with his double face masks and face shield, when suddenly he noticed how everyone there didn't have a face shield on. And their face masks were down to their chins. Wasn't that prohibited in malls? He decide to look for a guard.
Photo by Claudio Schwarz on Unsplash.
But the guards he saw also didn't have face shields on. And they seemed to be disturbed by something. They were running here and there, reporting things over their hand radio sets. "We see nothing here on the ground floor!" one of them said. "Block the exit points!" the voice in the radio set returned.
Ivan decided to ask. "Excuse me sir. What's happening here?"
The lady guard regarded him for a while, thinking of what to say. Finally she said, "It's good you have your face shield on. There's a face shield snatcher on the loose. But you cannot leave the building yet!" Then she left Ivan in a hurry. A face shield snatcher? he thought. But why? Will he be able to sell the face shields he stole?"
"He's trying to sabotage government efforts against the pandemic," a voice behind him said. He was startled. Who'd be able to know what he was thinking of? Who had the power to read people's minds? He turned around and saw who it was. He was shocked!
"And he's not alone. He's actually with a group of rumormongers spreading fake news about the pandemic to confuse people and cause panic. Now, they have decided to steal face shields to lessen people's protection against the virus and hope that would increase the cases," the voice added.
"How did you know all these, Kuya Jaden?" asked Ivan. Jaden was the older brother of his friend, Jonah Mero. They all belonged to a club they called MTrackers which was dedicated to sleuthing and solving mysteries in Project 8, Quezon City.
Jaden smiled. "You get the latest mystery updates when you're connected to the spiritual realms." Then he winked.
Ivan considered what Jaden said and then noticed something. "How come you and I still have our shields on? Everybody else lost theirs, including the guards."
"Well, that's the benefit of having supernatural protection--God's shield of faith. And because you are connected to me, you get a measure of the protection, too," Jaden whispered. "Spiritual covering," he added.
"Is Jonah anywhere around?" Ivan wondered.
"He's at The Block with Isay buying coffee latte."
Then it happened.
Jaden motioned Ivan to follow him and then took the stairs to the 5th floor. When they got to the third floor, Ivan asked why they didn't take the escalator or elevator. He was puffing in exhaustion. "Can't we do things simpler?" he suggested.
"Nope," Jaden simply said.
On the stairs to the fourth floor, four young men in formal long sleeves with ties were coming down, each with attaché cases. Just when they crossed paths, Jaden suddenly pushed two of them hard to the stairs and quickly locked the arms of the other two. "Choke those two!" Jaden told Ivan, which Ivan did, choking the guys on the stairs.
But they struggled hard to be free from Ivan's hold. "What do I do now?" Ivan asked. It was then that one of the guys punched Ivan on the nose. Ivan fell a bit on the stairs. "Oh! That hurts!" he yelled, covering his nose. As the two guys were about to run, Jaden simply extended a leg to block their path and made them trip over, at the same time still locking the arms of the other two.
Just then, mall guards came.
The four guys accused Jaden of attacking them without any reason and threatened to file charges if the mall guards didn't do appropriate sanctions. But Jaden challenged them to open their brief cases. "What for?" One of the guys asked. "We have the right not to be searched unreasonably," he added.
"Yeah, but you don't have any right to snatch people's face shields," Jaden returned.
The four guys looked at each other and laughed. "What face shields are you talking about. You must be out of your mind!" one of them said. They wouldn't open their brief cases.
But Jaden gave an intent look at their brief cases and mentally commanded them to fall and break open. And they did. The brief cases burst open and out came face shields that were pressed flat to fit inside the cases. The guards wondered and asked the four. "What's this? Why these face shields?"
"We're selling them!"
"Really?" said the guards. "Why aren't they in sealed boxes? And the shield surfaces are not sealed either. It's illegal to sell shields like that. They can infect people rather than protect them from the virus!"
"But..."
"You can explain later at the police station. Cops are on their way now," said one guard. "I know Jaden and Ivan," the guard said, "and I know they don't mean harm except for those who mean harm. Jaden and Ivan are my good neighbors," said Totoy Golem who was one of the Ocho Boys. "Huh! MTrackers yan!" he added proudly.
When it was all over, Ivan asked Jaden. "How did you do it?"
"Do what?" Jaden asked.
"Make the brief cases fall, burst and reveal the face shields?"
"Did I do that?"
"Of course you did!" Ivan insisted, almost shouting which caught the attention of some passers by. "Don't pretend you're innocent. You said yourself that it's a sin to tell a lie and that liars go to hell! You teach that in our bible studies!"
"But I'm telling you the truth. It wasn't me. It was them." Jaden pointed at someone at the back of Ivan. Ivan turned around, expecting to see Jonah and Isay, but he saw no one. "Who?" he asked Jaden.
Then Jaden said: "Lord, open his eyes that he may see!"
Then Ivan saw four warrior angels just behind him.
Project 8 Whodunit Blog
MYSTERY STORIES OF THE MTRACKERS AND OTCHO BOYS. Plus other stories and fiction about Project 8 in QC.
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