The Zetta Sonic
Get Caught's

Alex broke through the crowd. His eyes watched every corner of the room that was getting fuller. He didn't find his target. Naray has disappeared.

[He's missing.]

“I know,” Alex said almost silently to Jayden.

[Not Naray. Cody.]

“Wait! What?” Alex flinched in position while still holding his juice glass. His eyes watched everyone who passed by nearby. He doesn't want Naray or Cody to surprise him.

[His transmitter signal suddenly just disappeared. He may know you put it in and throw it away as soon as the opportunity presents itself. But, that's impossible. Unless she knows you're Zetta Sonic—]

“...and he's the Bug we're looking for.”

Alarm blaring. Alex was flabbergasted with the people around him. Someone shouted that it was a fire alarm and started to trigger panic. Some people tried to run out. Amidst the commotion, there was another shout that called a ghost. Alex knew he was being cheated.

“J! Where is he?” Alex ran away.

[Cody or the jewel?]

Alex broke through the crowd. Errata. He's trying to go against the flow. The men tried to get out of the room while he wanted to head to the location where the black Opal was on display. “He got it?”

[I don't see Cody anywhere. But the jewel is still there. Kite towards you and.] Jayden stopped there.

Alex looked up. He's seen. A round gem of black color was almost the size of a fist. The black color shimmers when exposed to light. Elegant and mystical inviting. Alex was stunned for a moment until the jewel stopped on top of him. As if losing magic or anything that made it float, the black opal fell down just above Alex's hand.

“Pe— Permata—”

[Wait! What the hell is going on?] Jayden is no less astonished than Alex.

“That's it!” There was a scream with feet approaching. A group of people split the crowd and arrived in front of Alex. A large group of men wearing black uniforms. Security officers.

Before Alex whispered softly, Jayden had spoken first. [Don't run, stay calm. Leave the jewel to them.]

Alex likes to be the center of attention but not in the crowd and be stared at by security personnel like that. Everyone was flirting in his position. There were only a few invited guests who retreated slowly as if wanting to keep their distance.

Among them was Cody who was staring at him as well with a gawk. “Alex? What are you doing?”

Alex knows. Cody's involved. He growled unconsciously.

[Alex.] Jayden called again.

Alex managed to recover himself from the frustration. He's better off performing like an eyewitness or a victim there. “This gem hovers in the air and falls just like that. Is this part of the show?” alex asked as he held out the gemstone in his hand to a nearby officer.

Instead of receiving the stone, the officer caught his wrist. “You better come with us.”

Meanwhile, another officer approached. He picked up the stone and handed it to the old man in black with the name tag, the organizer of the exhibition. If he's someone who knows Nadira, Alex believes Nadira will help clear up this misunderstanding.

“What do you need from me, officer sir?” Alex asked. His eyes were fixed on the security guard. He made sure he would memorize the face and name on the uniform, who knows would like to reply to that discouragement one day.

The officer let go of his grip. “Please come with us,” he said softer.

Feeling that it was the best option, Alex nodded. He took the time to glance towards Cody who was smiling knot. Alex leaves the crowd that begins to fade away. The organizers of the exhibition chose to finish their exhibition early.

Alex was taken to a narrow room. One side of the wall was covered in rows of cabinets while there was a large whiteboard opposite it contained a picket schedule. There was also a table in the middle of the room with several iron chairs. An officer told Alex to sit down. This time, Alex did not argue.

The officer sat across from Alex. He's already brought a tablet PC with a guest list and is checking. “Alexander Hill?” ask the officer. “You're the son of actress Alicia Remnant?” His eyes looked back and forth at the guest list and then at Alex's face. “Yes, you guys are pretty similar.”

“Can I know why I was brought here?” Alex asked again. He looked at the man in front of him and then turned to several other officers lined up near the door of the room.

“Good.” The officer turned the tablet PC so Alex could see it. There's surveillance footage. There was a figure in red who was running through the crowd. “Can you explain why you ran towards the podium, against the current, while most people tried to run outside?”

Alex grunts amusedly. “I heard one of the guests yelling about a ghost and wanted to see it.”

“Ghost? You know who yelled or why he yelled?”

Alex shrugged his shoulders. It was a silly question and he was ready to answer it too with a silly answer. “I wish I knew so I could ask. I haven't seen a ghost so far.”

“The Opal stone fell on you. Right into your hands. Did you know that we got a previous threat of theft from a criminal named Bug? She's some kind of witch. I thought maybe you knew him.”

Alex put on a gawking face and fell silent for a while before finally laughing. “Hahaha... What is this joke?” No one retaliated. So, Alex pretended to be wrong and apologized. “Sorry, it's real?”

The officer opposite Alex shook his head. “No jokes here, son. You just became an eyewitness to the attempted theft of a black opal. I need to emphasize that your status as an eyewitness can rise as a suspect.”

“I don't know anything about that. About floating opals or insects. Whatever it is.” Alex raised both hands. “I don't know what's involved. Should I bring a lawyer here?”

His opponent squinted. “Maybe you can start considering it.”

Alex chuckles too. “I just thought that you accused me of stealing it just because the opal fell on me. Waw! Just imagine. I used magic then made the stone float to me. I should've done it outside so I wouldn't get caught on camera. Oh, whoa. Maybe I can trade it for a credit card.”

Alex's words made the security guards throw one another's eyes. The fact that his family was able to buy the gemstone was not a lie. Not to mention the logic that if he was the culprit, he should have made the stone come to him outside the room.

“Alright,” said the security guard again, “there may be a little misunderstanding here.”

Alex was about to retaliate when another man ran into the room. This young man was wearing a suit and wearing a name tag as well. This young man whispered to the security guard and immediately there was a change in countenance. The security officer gawked. Next, replace Alex who gawked when he saw another man enter the room.

Her dad.