“Our top story today: another chilling attack by the notorious vigilante, Doomblade. Last night, Doomblade struck again, this time targeting journalist Kwami Apprey, the host of the acclaimed current affairs TV show, City Watch. This follows attacks on two panelists, Adepa Abaidoo and Mawuli Debrah, both of whom were unfortunately killed. While Apprey survived the attack, it came at a tiny cost, with one officer, Constable Nadine Edusei, sustaining injuries while protecting him.”

With her hands between her knees, as the TV blared with the announcement of Doomblade’s latest attack, Sabrina’s face was pale as could be. “God, I can’t believe he nearly got Nadine!” she gasped.

Denar and Awo, standing behind her as she sat on the couch, were every bit as shaken, watching the news report. The terror that gripped their hearts upon hearing that Doomblade showed up at the Apprey house was overwhelming, knowing she was there. Shadrach was taking a bath, so he wasn’t present to see that another colleague had been attacked, and that was a good thing; this was enough to deal with for the morning.

Awo, covering her mouth with her hands, closed her eyes and shook her head, already tearful with relief. “Oh, thank God,” she whispered. “Thank God, thank God, thank God. I don’t know what I would’ve done if something happened to her…”

“It’s okay, Awo, it’s okay,” Denar mumbled, patting her back. He hadn’t been around long enough, but he knew enough to know how close Awo and Nadine were; they were practically inseparable. And he enjoyed being with them so much; they were his closest colleagues on the force. It would’ve been a horrible day for him as well, had Doomblade’s attack been successful.

Awo nodded, sniffing and wiping her eyes.

“It’s okay, Awo,” Sabrina added, looking up at her. “Let’s be thankful Nadine isn’t too badly injured.” She then shook her head. “Good God, this Doomblade monster is just going haywire now. Yet nobody can talk.”

Indeed, the culture of silence he desired was slowly creeping into the media space. Journalists and news anchors had seen what he had done to their own and were now too scared to speak themselves. Nobody wanted him invading their spaces and silencing them permanently.

“Joining us now for an update is Chief Inspector Daniel Ankrah of the Sima Hills Police Department.”

Everyone’s attention returned to the TV screen as Chief Inspector Ankrah appeared on the screen, ready for the interview.

“Chief Inspector Ankrah, thank you for joining us. Can you tell us more about last night’s attack and the current state of the investigation?”

Ankrah nodded. “Thank you for having me here. Well, last night’s events were another stark reminder of the danger Doomblade poses to our city. He is a ruthless and evil individual who has shown he will go to any lengths to wreak havoc upon this city. Yesterday, in line with his monstrous aim at the City Watch panelists, he went for Kwami Apprey. However, our officers managed to thwart his attempt. I want to take this moment to commend the bravery of Constable Nadine Edusei. Despite being injured during the initial attack, she engaged Doomblade in hand-to-hand combat and protected Kwami Apprey with extraordinary courage. Just enough for Frank Yeboah to drive him out.”

The reporter nodded. “That’s amazing to hear, Chief Inspector. Very heroic move from Constable Edusei. She deserves a lot of praise for that. Can you share more about her condition and the ongoing efforts to apprehend Doomblade?”

“Constable Edusei is currently recovering and receiving medical attention,” Ankrah replied. “We are grateful her injuries were not life-threatening. As for Doomblade, our task force, Operation Shadowfall, is working tirelessly to bring him to justice. We want the public to know that we are committed to ending this reign of terror at all costs.”

The tension in the room switched to one of relief and pride. Sabrina sighed while placing a hand on her chest, a smile on her face. “Oh, Nadine! My girl! Toughest girl in the city!”

Awo giggled, her initial fright gone. “I tell you. The girl is an official hero! Damn! She matched Doomblade boot for boot and lived to tell the tale? Legend!”

Denar grinned and saluted. “Now I have a greater reason not to mess with her!”

The trio laughed.

***

The room buzzed with quiet intensity as the members of Operation Shadowfall gathered around a large digital map of Sima Hills projected onto the wall. It highlighted hotspots linked to Doomblade’s murderous rampage, with blinking red dots indicating the locations of the journalists he had targeted over the past couple of days. After hearing of the latest attack, they had gone into overdrive, working extra hard to put statistics and analysis together to piece up a plan to take down this embodiment of evil.

Action had to be taken quickly; it was only a matter of time until he struck again. And they could not afford to take chances. Nadine might have managed to fend him off, but the next officer probably wouldn’t be so lucky. And they were sick and tired of losing gallant men and women to this monster’s whim; he had to be apprehended expeditiously.

At the moment, however, it looked like a breakthrough was imminent.

Captain Adjei stood at the front of the room, arms crossed, his gaze fixed on the map. “We’re making some progress, team,” he announced, his voice heavy with urgency. “Shadrach Gardiner is likely his next target. He’d prefer to complete a takedown of the remaining journalists before returning to Kwami. Now, we know Doomblade strikes fast and vanishes even faster. He’s made it clear he wants to destroy his critics. However, as we know, he considers himself a fighter for justice, so anything criminal will catch his attention. So Mohamad,  show us how we stop him before Gardiner becomes another red dot on this map.”

Detective Alima Mohamad, dressed in tactical gear, stepped forward and pointed to a lane near Gardiner’s residence. “This street would work in our favour. It’s narrow, and secluded, and there’s an old shack just a few blocks from Gardiner’s house. It’s rundown, isolated, and has a history of being used by criminals. We plant chatter about traffickers planning to kidnap people from other cities, including Gamma and Corsa, and keep them in there. Doomblade won’t be able to resist intervening if it looks real enough.”

Captain Adjei frowned, stroking his chin. “It’s risky, but it could work very well. If we create an ongoing crime and make it loud enough, we might divert him long enough to trap him. But the execution needs to be flawless. He’s sharp, and if anything feels off, he’ll disappear before we can blink. And not only that; he’ll most likely kill our bait before escaping.”

“Agreed,” Lieutenant Mensah, a logistics officer, interjected. “But the setup is just one part of this. We’ll need someone on the ground to sell the story—someone convincing enough to make Doomblade believe it’s genuine. A victim of the trafficking trade. Someone who will engage him long enough to allow us to close in.”

Captain Adjei nodded. “The issue is, he knows most of our faces and tactics. Sending a veteran is out of the question. We need someone fresh. Someone he won’t recognize.”

“Let’s take a look at the newest faces we have. There should be someone in there who can be of use,” Lieutenant Mensah suggested. “We’re running out of time, so we need someone who’s available right away.”

Adjei opened up the police database and scanned the records of the newest recruits.

“Mmmm… I dunno, so far, I’m not feeling very confident about what I’m seeing…”

“Captain, wait!” Mohamad cut in, her expression bright she pointed at a particular name. “Denar Teye. He’s new to Sima Hills, from Gamma. Doomblade won’t know him, since he’s not a native.”

“Denar Teye, huh? Let’s see.”

Captain Adjei pulled up Denar’s profile on a nearby terminal. He scanned the dossier, his brow furrowing. “Hmmm… academy record’s solid. They show he was one of the top scorers in negotiation training. He’s sharp under pressure as well. All good and dandy… but he’s untested in the field. Mohamad, this assignment is dangerous, especially for someone so green.”

“That’s exactly why he might work,” Mohamad countered. “Doomblade won’t expect him. And if we brief him well, he’ll know how to handle himself. Besides, Gamma’s mentioned in the chatter we’ll plant—Denar’s origins will make the setup even more believable.”

Captain Adjei considered this for a moment, walking around, deep in thought.

“Captain, I know it sounds very risky, but remember, we’re running out of time. Doomblade nearly took out one of our best constables last night. There has to be a plan in motion to stop him,” Mohamad urged. “The city needs to see us actively trying to take him down, or they’ll lose more faith.”

The room hummed in agreement. “Fair point, Detective,” one other lieutenant agreed. “He’s already spread fear across the land; he’s winning as it stands. We can’t continue this way.”

Captain Adjei nodded, paced up and down a bit, then straightened, his decision made. “Alright. Bring Teye in for a briefing. We’ll set up the sting operation at the shack on Gardiner’s lane.  We’ll stage a human trafficking operation—something high-stakes and vile enough to draw Doomblade in.”

Lieutenant Mensah nodded. “We’ll use drones and snipers to keep eyes on the area once he’s inside. When the timing is right, undercover units will close the net. But keeping Teye safe has to be our top priority.”

The room came alive with activity as officers began assigning roles and finalizing the plan. As the preparations unfolded, Adjei stared at Denar’s profile on the screen, a grim look of hope in his eyes.

He’s untested. But if this works, he might just be the one to help bring Doomblade’s reign of terror to an end.

***

“Nadine, you are a big woman, wai! A BIIIIGGGG woman!”

Nadine laughed over the phone at Awo’s teasing comment. She and Denar were sitting at the dining table with Shadrach, who was still doing his best to keep his spirits up. The banter between the officers served as a bit of entertainment for him, as he smirked at the excited chatter between Awo and Nadine.

“Sis, I’m still reeling ooo. Chale, the way he swooped in and was ready to punch me up! He’s never done that before. I don’t know, I… I just switched to defense mode, sharp.”

“Well, thank God for that!” Denar declared. “As for him, he picked the wrong officer to combat with.”

“That’s exactly what I said!”

Awo and Denar laughed, provoking another smirk from Shadrach.

“Anyways, how long will you be in the hospital?” Awo asked.

“Oh, by tomorrow, I should be released. I’ll just take my time and rest. Catch up on ‘Juvenile Justice’. Awo, the series is deep oo, herh!”

“It is, it is. And the ending, eh… oh, the way I cried. You’ll understand why Judge Eun-Seok is so tough on young criminals. Ei, speaking of K-dramas, I checked out ‘The Trunk’. You were right oo. Ei, since when did they start doing soft porn scenes in these series?”

“Ah, ask again ooo! Hollywood wants to corrupt our beloved Korean series…”

Denar’s phone buzzed just as he shook his head in amusement. These ladies did not joke with their Korean dramas at all. They loved debating and gushing over the numerous shows they had watched, and it was hilariously cute watching them get passionate about various characters and couples.

He checked. It was Chief Inspector Ankrah.

“Umm, ladies, give me a minute. I need to answer this. Shadrach, all the best listening to their K-drama chatter!” he joked as he walked away, Shadrach laughing lightly.

He answered. “Hello, Chief Inspector, sir.”

“Teye. I need you at the Headquarters as soon as possible. Something’s come up. A replacement will be sent over immediately.”

Mmmm, so Denar’s gonna be used as bait for Doomblade? Sounds really scary. I wonder how he’s gonna feel about it…