Throwing the boy in the air only bought the three mehan half a miime, as Marcus once again gained up on them in his pursuit. This time they did not throw another child, maybe because they already k would not work as expected. So the logical thing for them to do was just to split up - for the simple reason that Marcus was the only ohat could catch up to them right now, and none of the mobilized locals were even close to apprehending them.

  Marcus had his sight fixated on the man who threw the boy earlier, and thus when all three of the men split up, he went after the ohat was running at full speed ay hahis man looked back at Marcus with a terror on his face as he turned and got into another dark and narrow alley. This alley was quite a lot older and messier than the previous ohere was marbage and trash on the ground, more random wires spanning across the space above, and more provocative and even dht vulgar graffiti and posters on the wall.

  “It’s a dead end! You have o run now!” Marcus yelled at the man from the back: “Freeze!”

  The man tried to exert more of his energy in his attempt to escape - the alley became narrower, and there was more and marbage and trash on the ground. The lighting got dimmer, the smell in the air got more pu and more foul. In front of them there was some smoke ing from a couple of dirty and oily metal wall vents, which blocked the sight of both the man and Marcus.

  Just after another half a miime, the man trying to escape almost slipped on a piece of wet, torn pstic bag, and as he fell to the side, the smoke in front of him slowly dissipated and revealed a fee, with a heavy metal log the opening and barbed wires on top.

  “I told you this is a dead end.” Marcus slowed down and stepped forward oep at a time, his breathing pattern barely disturbed, his eyes staring at the man who seemed almost out of breath: “Now, you’re under arrest. Hands above your head.”

  “Please, don’t do this.” The man was still panting, tears were ing out of his eyes, his face was all red and sweaty from all the running: “I - I have to - I don’t have a choice. I just - I just don’t have a choiobody has a choice!”

  “You almost killed a kid.” Marcus swung the make-shift fil with his right hand as he approached the man: “Submit to arrest now is your best ce. Do you know what the local unity does to child snatchers? I heard more than half of them are still missing - and by half I don’t mean just numbers.”

  “No - nonono…”The man tried to stand up straight, but he could only do it halfway by g the fee: “I - I ’t - ”

  “You’re under arrest. Hands above your head, now.” Marcus shook his head and spoke his order once again: “Where are they taking the kids? Why are you taking them?”

  The man did not answer and just wept for a brief moment, then with two shaking legs and shaking arms he stood up, with his hands held up above his head.

  Marcus sighed, slightly disappointed. He then cuffed this man up and started esc him out. Before they left the alley, Marcus requested backup and escort from his prect, hopefully they could be here soon.

  On his way back, expectedly, the locals, with literally pitchforks, shovels and some other rough and make-shift ons, surrouhem.

  “Hand this fucker over! Cop!” One of the locals, a man with a grayed-out eye and a scar across the same side of his face shouted at Marcus, revealing his yellow, crooked teeth: “Let us deal with him!”

  “No.” Marcus shook his head, slowly but sternly making his way through the crowd, with the fil tucked in his belt and his right hand on his holster, the locals were still not willing to get to close to him : “Uhe agreemeweey and the unity collective, severe crime cases, such as murder, arson and child kidnapping and traffig shall be handled by the city w enfort agehis is our jurisdi, but all relevant information will be shared with the unity collective and in turn all residents of the district.”

  “Fuck that! This man tried to snatd kill a kid!” Another man cried.

  “And that kid is fine. I made sure of it.” Marcus responded without much emotion in his tohere are still two of them at rge - and it will be in everyone’s best i if those two are found along with the children. I’d appreciate it if you spend your time and effort finding out where they are and update the PCPD.”

  “Give him to us! He’ll spill!” The man with a grayed-out eye said: “Oh! He’ll spill!”

  The crowd yelled along with him with their pitchforks and shovels raised.

  “We will find out. And torture will not help you find the truth.” Marcus shook his head: “Out of my way, we are heading back to the 17th Prect. Acc to the agreement, you find your representative to audit and participate ierrogation. But he has to go with me.”

  “Fuck it! ” “Fuck you! Pig!” “Where’re the children! You fug scum! Where are they!”

  The man with his hands cuffed behind him wept and whimpered, as tears and snot dripped down on his face.

  “Where’s my baby!?” Just this moment, a woman rushed through the slowly moving wall of locals and came to the man - it was a woman with tear marks on her fad dirt on her clothes, one of the women who cried for help earlier: “Where’s my baby!? Where’s my baby!”

  “e with us to the prect, ma’am, and we find out together.” Marcus sighed and said with a softer tone, as he grabbed the woman’s arms and stopped her from pulling on the man’s shirt too hard or scratg him: “e with us, we’ll find out together.”

  The crowd quieted down for a brief moment, as if everyone was waiting for the woman to respond.

  “I - I - ” The woman wiped off some of her tears, while tinuing staring at the man, trying to make him look into her eyes: “Tell me where my baby is - tell me where he is! Where did you take him!?”

  The man did not answer, and just shook his head, still weeping and whimpering.

  “You scum! You disgusting garbage of a man!” The woman cried: “Give me back my baby! Give me back my baby!”

  Before she could go on, the exhaustion and stress seemed to have got to her, making her lose trol of her legs and arms and fall onto the ground.

  “Ambunce! ” The croed, and some of them immediately called out: “Call an ambunce!”

  The crowd looseheir formation to give the woman some room and to make way for an ambunce, with some of them rushing to her side to che her. Marcus k down by her side as well, and with his limited knowledge and experience, he tried to check the woman’s pulses and breathing. She was still breathing, and her pulses were weak but not to an arming level.

  “Looks like exhaustion, she needs rest.” One of the locals who checked on this desperate mother was a young woman wearing a nurse’s uniform, she also checked her pulse and breathing, and she also checked her pupils as well: “Let’s brio the med ter!”

  “Is she gonna be fine?” Marcus let out a sigh of relief.

  “She should be.” The nurse nodded: “But we ’t take any ces - we should still find a doctor.”

  “Okay.” Marcus sighed and stood up: “Please update me if there’s anything - I am Detective Marcus Cai from the 17th Prect.”

  “Will do.” The nurse nodded.