The forum was a hive of activity. "No one knows who the attacker was yet," another user posted. "But there’s evidence of a firefight. Whoever it was they were definitely armed."
Adam scrolled down further. He saw another message a mission update. "Target Adam is currently in Saman City Hospital room number 67."
Instantly a flood of new messages appeared. "Information confirmed," one user wrote. "Police are on site but they’ve been given stand-down orders. If anyone wants to make a move now is the time."
Adam’s blood ran cold. The police knew who he was. They had identified him. And they were not protecting him. They were leaving him exposed a sitting duck for the next wave of bounty hunters.
He took a deep breath closing his eyes. He weighed his options. He could run. He could flee the hospital and try to disappear. But that would only make him look guilty. It would draw even more suspicion. If he stayed here the assassins would come for him. He was trapped between a rock and a hard place.
He was still contemplating his next move when the door to his room opened. He reacted instantly dismissing the phone back into his inventory. It vanished from his hand just as a group of men walked into the room.
It was the police commissioner Captain Miles. He was flanked by three other officers. Adam had never seen him in person before but he recognized him from the news.
Captain Miles walked to his bedside and sat down in the chair Anastasia had just vacated. It was too late for Adam to pretend to be unconscious. The commissioner had already seen him awake.
They stared at each other for a long moment a silent battle of wills. Adam broke the silence first his voice carefully modulated to sound weak and scared.
"Sir is my friend Eric okay?" he asked.
Captain Miles looked at him with a surprised expression. "Just one friend?" he asked his voice a low rumble. "You’re not going to ask about your other friend?"
He was testing him trying to catch him in a lie. But Adam was prepared. A faint sad smile touched his lips.
"My other friend came to see me a little while ago," he said his voice trembling slightly. "She already told me that her brother my other friend Joseph didn’t make it."
He feigned a surge of anger and grief. He clutched the blanket in his fists his knuckles turning white. "We made a terrible mistake sir," he said his voice choked with emotion. "We should have never gone to that place."
Captain Miles watched him his expression unreadable. He showed no sympathy no emotion at all. He just stared at Adam his eyes cold and analytical. After a long moment he turned to the officers behind him.
"Leave me alone with him," he said.
The officers nodded and filed out of the room closing the door behind them. Now it was just Adam and the police commissioner. The air in the room was thick with unspoken tension. Adam was confused. He did not know what the commissioner wanted. He did not know what was about to happen.
The police commissioner leaned back in his chair a small knowing smile playing on his lips. "You’re a pretty good actor kid," he said his voice a low rumble.
Adam froze his heart pounding in his chest. He tried to maintain his composure but the commissioner’s words had thrown him completely off balance.
"You did all this," the commissioner continued his voice a mixture of admiration and disgust. "And what surprises me the most is that you even killed your own two friends. I’ve never seen anyone like you. So young yet capable of such big things."
Adam remained silent his mind racing. He tried to feign confusion. "Sir I don’t understand what you’re saying," he said his voice trembling slightly.
The commissioner’s smile widened. "You were very clever in that clubhouse," he said. "But you forgot one important thing. You were in such a hurry that you overlooked a crucial detail."
Adam’s mind reeled. What had he missed? Did someone survive? Did they tell the commissioner everything?
"You forgot to shut down the cameras inside the club," the commissioner said his eyes twinkling with a dark amusement.
The words hit Adam like a physical blow. A cold sweat broke out on his forehead. He was caught. His cover was blown. His carefully constructed narrative had crumbled to dust.
He considered his options. Should he kill the commissioner? He could summon a weapon from his inventory. He could end this right now.
But before he could act the commissioner burst into laughter. It was a loud booming laugh that filled the small hospital room. He seemed to be enjoying Adam’s reaction immensely.
"Don’t worry," he said wiping a tear from his eye. "You don’t need to be afraid."
His words only confused Adam more. What was happening? What did this man want?
The commissioner leaned forward his expression turning serious. "The people you’ve made enemies of are very powerful," he said. "They don’t want you to get away with this so easily. That’s why they had me remove the camera footage. No one here knows what you did. But I saw everything. And so did your biggest enemies."
A tremor ran through Adam’s body. They had seen him. They had watched him slaughter their men. They knew what he was capable of. The thought was terrifying.
He had to get out of here. He had to capture this police commissioner. He had to interrogate him find out everything he knew. But he was trapped.
The hospital was surrounded. And more importantly he did not want to die. He did not want to go back to the previous loop. He did not want to relive the moment he had killed his friends. The guilt was a heavy weight a burden he did not want to bear again.