Stephanie, who has been a private investigator all her life, got her sister Ruth recruited into the job and taught her all that she needed to know, the dangers of the job and dangers associated with the job, and how to play safe if there was anything like that. Ruth went missing 9 months after recruitment and has been missing for over 7 months. Stephanie had to abandon every case she was working on to focus on finding her sister, but all efforts seem futile since every clue she got only leads to dead ends, and she is forced to start all over again.
"We have done all we could, and I think it is time to close the case." The police chief officer said to Stephanie, feeling sorry for her and trying to sympathize with her.
"My sister is out there, sir; you cannot close the case; I know she is out there somewhere, and I just need to find her." Stephanie responded as she bowed her head on the table with tears rolling down her eyes.
"If she was, we would have found her already; it has been what 6 months or over 7 months?" The police chief officer said, raising his voice since Stephanie won't let go of the case and they cannot close the case if she does not agree to it, but the police are already tired of the goose chase.
"I know she is out there, and I am not letting you close the case." Ruth said as he walked out of his office, banging the door behind her.
Private investigators are taught to never let a case get personal, but on this one Stephanie is not going by the rules, as she has promised her mom she would bring her sister back no matter what; at least she should confirm if her sister was still alive or dead; that way she would be at peace and not be left wondering what if she is still out there somewhere. She let the case get personal, and at some point, let her emotions get the best of her, she blames herself for everything and regrets recruiting her sister into the job.
"I don't know why I feel like there are powers at play here and my instincts are always right; the police wanting to close the case says a lot. Looking at the chief officer, I could feel he was being manipulated. I am being followed, and my every move is being watched. I need your help." Stephanie said to a colleague over the phone, asking for help to uncover the truth about how her sister went missing and why.
"I cannot help you; you have been told to let the case go, so let it go. I know you love your sister so much, but we cannot win all our battles, we win some and lose some." Her colleague said as he hung up, and this alone helped convince Stephanie the more that the people she was up against were not ordinary people; they have the world at their feet.
Stephanie was optimistic to find her sister at all costs; he just did not want to be left in the dark and asking herself questions like, What if her sister is still out there? So she wanted to be sure her sister is no more before she lets go of the case and gets back to her normal life; for this reason, she was willing to accept help from just anyone as long as it brings her close to finding her sister.
"Let's meet up; meet me at midnight at Creek Town Avenue; come alone if you want answers about your sister." Ruth received a text from an unknown sender through a burner phone.
She did a background checkup on the meeting point and realized it was on the on the outskirts of town and an abandoned building project, but she still wanted to take the risk as long as it gave her the answers she wanted, and when it was midnight, she set out for the meeting point alone like the sender instructed, and since no one was willing to help because of the powers at play. Approaching the building, she was forced to notice a figure hiding behind the shadows.
"Who are you?" Stephanie shouted, taking a step backwards.
The figure stepped out of the shadows and showed himself to be a tall and very hairy-looking man. "My name is Randall. I was paid to watch you and monitor your every move and give them a report, but I have never felt pity for a victim. I don't know why your case is different; I just don't like how you are moving in circles." Randall said
"You look familiar; I have seen you at the coffee shop countless times, so you have been following me all this while? What do you know about Ruth? Stephanie asked while she stayed alert in case he moved towards her.
"I have been your tail for months, and I think I am tired of being that already. I know everything you need to help you find your sister. She went undercover and was working for a drug dealer, but her cover got blown, and they have been keeping her captive and trying to extract information from her, but she is being stubborn, and they don't want to let her go. My job was to make sure you don't find her, but if you want to see her again, you will go to this address at the time written there, as they have the area crawling with guards, but at the time written there, there won't be any guards on duty." Randall said as he handed her a piece of paper and walked out of the building.
"Why are you helping me? How do I know this is not a set up?" Stephanie shouted as she ran after him.
"I have a sister too, and I won't let her suffer this much. Don't forget, if you want to find her, you have to do it alone, as the police is not your friend and these guys control the police, and all you have is yourself." Randall said "We never saw each other." Randall added as he disappeared into the shadows.
Stephanie's instincts screamed fear and had her asking questions like, What if it was a set up? After all, he confessed to working with whoever has her sister; what if they just want to lure me in and from there take me out and have no one coming for them since they already have the police at the back of their hands? Lots and lots of thoughts clouded Stephanie's mind.
"This is the only way to find out what really happened to Ruth; this is the closest I have ever gotten to finding the truth; I am not backing out now." Stephanie said to herself as she headed out for the location Randall had given so as to be on time and slip and slip out without getting noticed.
She arrived on time and waited for the area to stop crawling with guards as she sneaked in. She found her sister, like Randall assured her, and they sneaked out, leaving no trace of them. The man who has been following her around helped her save her sister.