96

Hunter, Don't Shoot My Friend

Chapter 96: More Information

"One!" Ethan shouted as he removed the safety from his automatic pistol.

"Two!"

Ethan was about to pull the trigger when a female voice called out from the bushes, "Wait, don't shoot!"

Stiles was surprised and looked at Ethan, and both silently reached a conclusion. "Alright, come out with your hands where we can see them."

Scott, on the other hand, stared at his friend in disbelief. What had Stiles become in just a few months?

Ethan's eyes soon focused on a young girl emerging from the bushes. She seemed aware of her surroundings and didn’t give off any signs that would make them think she was responsible for the murders, at least not at first glance.

Ethan, who was still pointing his gun at her, noticed the firearm at the girl's waist and quickly concluded that she might be a detective. "I have two questions, but I hope you’ll answer one of them without me even asking."

"I'm Detective Amanda López. Who are you?" The girl, Amanda, showed her ID, assuming the two men in front of her were also detectives. She didn’t panic; after all, not just anyone could carry a gun.

Stiles glanced at Ethan and, after a sigh, pulled out a fake ID from his pocket. "I’m Detective Stiles from the Violent Crimes Unit, and this is my superior, Ethan ShadowBane. We're on an undercover mission, so we can’t officially act as detectives until we catch the culprit behind these murders."

"Oh, do you really need to be undercover? That's unusual. What do you need that for?" Amanda seemed naive, but her suspicions about the two men in front of her were growing.

Ethan noticed the doubt on Amanda's face and didn’t want to raise her suspicions further. He handed her his ID and said, "Here’s my identification. Feel free to contact the central office and ask anything about me."

"This is..." Amanda was surprised to receive Ethan's ID. Not wanting to refuse, she immediately took out her cellphone and made a call.

Ethan smiled at the young detective's actions. She must have been transferred here from a faraway place to work as a detective.

"Are you sure it’s okay to involve her?" Stiles asked, clearly confused about why Ethan was offering his ID to a stranger.

"There’s nothing to worry about. It would only increase her suspicions if we made her doubt our words," Ethan replied, aware from the start that Amanda was very observant. He had noticed her doubts earlier and wanted to leave no room for suspicion.

After providing Ethan's information, Amanda was impressed to learn that she was dealing with a chief detective from a private department—something she shouldn’t have known, and she was strictly instructed to return immediately.

She had initially come to this place to investigate on her own, hoping to find things others had overlooked. But she never expected things to get complicated so quickly.

Ending the call, Amanda smiled slightly and said, "It seems you’re telling the truth. I apologize for my doubts. Have you discovered anything about this case that you can share?"

Ethan looked at Amanda expressionlessly and said, "That question should be the other way around, don’t you think, Miss Amanda López?"

"This idiot..."

"Did you say something? Speak up; you’re still too far away from us," Ethan said, becoming increasingly insolent.

Amanda forced a smile and replied, "Not at all. I was just hoping to find the son of a bitch who did all this in the middle of the night; at least that’s what the forensic reports say."

"Then you need to try harder. What makes you think these crimes were committed by a man and not a woman?" Ethan walked towards Amanda and retrieved his ID from her.

Amanda, staring intently at Ethan, was surprised at how young he was and said, "A woman lacks the strength, and even if her cunning is better than a man’s in average cases, decapitating someone is not only unintelligent but also lacks common sense."

"Hmm, can you cut a watermelon in half?" Ethan studied Amanda’s expression closely. She was quite attractive, with reddish hair, blue eyes, and very fair skin, but her serious expression took away some of her appeal. With that appearance, Ethan thought she was in the wrong profession.

Amanda, hearing Ethan’s question, frowned and looked at his emotionless face. "I can cut more than just a watermelon."

"Then imagine what you could do with the right weapon in your hands. A baby with a knife can stab and kill an adult. Imagine what an adult with a large machete could do when properly cutting off someone's head." Ethan sighed, and after rambling a bit, he added, "Please, return and don’t come back here alone... You should have a partner, so make sure to always stay close to them, especially in places like this."

Stiles, who was scanning the surroundings, asked, "Boss, do you want to continue investigating the area?"

Ethan nodded and said, "Let’s take more photos. We’ll leave after that."

"I can help," Scott offered, wanting to be useful.

As the van drove away, Amanda frowned and muttered, "What a damn idiot..."