Code Collector

Jeremy lost his parents when he was nineteen. Just before he graduated from the police academy, they died from a car accident.

That's when John Smith entered the fray. He adopted Jeremy, but was never close to him. He also hid the fact that Jeremy was his son, making him stay at a different house and have his own identity.

The only time that the two would have any sort of interaction was when John would come to the weekly assessment of Jeremy. He trained the boy non-stop so that Jeremy could become his successor in the future.

As years passed, Jeremy became more and more distant to his adopted father. He became a man with different values and different principles, even denying that John was his father.

When Jeremy graduated in the academy, he moved to Lancaster to become a Hunter. This angered John because he had other plans for the boy. He was trying to win over San Antonio's camps through Jeremy, and since his son moved to another country, his plans became a wreck.

Meanwhile in Lancaster, six months of training had passed and Jeremy became a police officer. He rose through the ranks without anyone knowing of his identity. He became a a Hunter with the Assassin role as well as a senior police officer in Camp Twyla.

However, John didn't accept defeat. He framed Jeremy and made him play in his palms. He made his son fall into a pit but he reached out for a rope that was the only way out. He was trying to swallow Jeremy so he could achieve his own goal.

Allen gulped after reading the full timeline of Jeremy's files. The fact that the information gathered by Jake was spot on made him even wonder how powerful Verta Carta actually was. Soon, he wanted to make them his client so he can ascend to higher grounds.

Meanwhile, he has to go back to reality and search for clues. Since Jeremy used his identity, allegedly, he will make use of the police officer's asset— the Minister of Defense.

Once he will get acquainted with John Smith, Allen will have more power in his arsenal. Though, the only problem he was facing now was how to get close to John.

"Am I going to sell Jeremy out?" Allen asked himself. He laid himself on the floor and stared at the ceiling. 

He don't have anything of value that would interest John Smith at the moment. And the fact that he even framed his own adopted son so he could get what he want was a red flag. Allen was sure enough that once he finishes his end of the deal, John will frame him too.

After all, he was at a dangerous spot. He was the true persona behind the Wandering Trader and the one who attacked the twins. If he would partner up with John, when things go good or bad, he'll surely get the shorter end of the stick.

The boy closed his eyes and thought for a moment. He opened them instantly and he sat up, grinning to himself after realizing something.

"I could use Jeremy instead!"

-

The market slowly recovered from the impact of food poisoning. People started to gather again, and the vendors opened their stalls once more. The slaughterhouses also reopened after the government issued a stricter health protocols.

Allen wandered in the bustling streets to look for Jeremy. If he could have a chance to talk to him as the Wandering Trader, that would be good for him.

He had already prepared his deal and he was sure enough that Jeremy would accept it. He also prepared a landmine for his client just in case things would go south.

A couple of minutes of walking and he had found his target. The man wearing his blue uniform with a large dagger on his back was walking around the street and was checking every alley he could find.

They were still not done searching for the alleys in case the Wandering Trader comes back. When the suspect isn't caught, no one was safe. That was what the police office told the Hunters in the camp.

For Allen, it was a pile of BS. The police aren't doing their absolute best to catch the criminal, even when they have strong personnel with them. They are just trying to make way for more crimes to arise.

And for Jeremy, someone who is one of them, to have the audacity to do such heinous crimes, it was a whole level of bullsh*t. He was the biggest clown of them all.

Yet he's the key for Allen to clear his name.

"Hello."

Allen woke up from his thoughts. He looked to where the voice came from and it was Jeremy himself. He was grinning at him while looking like a fool.

"You're Gwen's little friend, right?" Jeremy asked. "I know you remember me."

"I do," Allen said with a smile. "You're here for your duty?"

"Yes, actually. I'm looking for the alleys in case the Wandering Trader would come," Jeremy said while looking around. "Do you have anything to buy here? I could recommend you the best stores around here. I was stationed here for two years now."

Come to think of it, Allen looked around and realized that this was near the place where he attacked the twins. This particular street was focused on selling seafood as well as raw ingredients for cooking.

"I'm looking for a place to buy the best crawfish," Allen lied.

Jeremy grinned at this, "Ohh. I love crawfish."

The man pointed at the store a few blocks away from them. "That store sells the best of the best. They have their crawfish imported from the other camps near the sea. And their products are always fresh, so you don't have to worry about quality."

"That's amazing," Allen said with a fake smile. "I'm going to go there right now. Do you want to eat dinner at my place tonight? We can have a dinner party."

"I would love to," Jeremy sighed. "But I'm on duty until tomorrow midnight. We're short on staff these days due to the Phantom Cunt's food poisoning."

Allen wanted to scoff in Jeremy's face after he put the blame on his crimes to someone else. He really had the audacity to do so. No wonder John Smith chose him as his adopted son, they have the same quality with them.

"That's too bad," Allen fake frowned. He gave a few seconds of silence before he sighed. "Well, I have to go now. My crawfish is waiting."

"Okay," Jeremy said. "Take care on your way. And please don't go to any alleyway. We can't have the Phantom Cunt chase you down or attack you."

"I'll stay on the streets," Allen reassured. He waved his hand goodbye before walking to the store where Jeremy recommended. Now, he knew where the police officer would be at tonight.

He just have to cook this to prepare to go out and make a deal with Jeremy as the Wandering Trader. In any case he would be in their radar as one of the suspects, he would have the perfect alibi. 

"I was making crawfish stew."

-

It was nighttime. The crawfish stew was done, and the time for Allen to make his deal with Jeremy was getting closer. He got out of his apartment room and leaped to the roofs of the buildings to get to where Jeremy was. He looked at the alleys, one by one searching them for any sign of the man he was looking for.

A few minutes later, he saw Jeremy looking bothered while looking around him. He looked panicked as he entered one of the alleys. There was something that's going on with him and this made Allen's interest peak.

He went to the building of the alley Jeremy entered and prepared his disguise. Allen was about to leap down and make the deal when he saw that Jeremy wasn't there to search.

He was waiting for someone.

Not a minute later, a man came to the other side of the alley. He was wearing a black suit paired with a pair of dark shared that covered his eyes. He had a buzzcut hair paired with scars of his face and neck.

Three more men followed him, although they weren't as big and as intimidating as him, they still looked dangerous. They were all wearing dark shades and they have scars all over their faces.

"You have successfully made Verta Carta pull out," the man said. He clapped his hands a couple of time and suddenly, Jeremy was on the ground. He had landed a fist on the police officer's stomach in a flash— even Allen almost missed it.

"But that's not enough," the man said. "There's still one more wall for us, the Scarrs, to achieve our ultimate goal."

"Chen," Jeremy recovered himself and stood. "I know you have a grudge against my father, but please leave him out of this."

Another punch landed straight to Jeremy's stomach. This time, he was prepared and he only flinched after being hit.

"He had already abandoned you," Chen said. "Why still protect him?"

"He's my mother's first lover," Jeremy said. "And my biological father."