Valerie gnashed her teeth in anger and closed her eyes as she tried to calm down. But it became too impossible for her to do so after how Jared had threatened her. She had been unable to control her fury and her hatred for the man got the best of her, making her lose her calm completely. It was only after a few seconds passed that dread started to settle down and her eyes snapped open immediately.

“What did I do?” She exclaimed in terror and her eyes widened as she looked at the man beside her. “No, no, no. What have I done? I put Maggie as well as the other people’s lives in danger.”

Her eyes quivered, unable to believe how her momentary loss of self-control had resulted in her putting a lot of lives in danger. Her hand lost its strength and she let go of her phone immediately, which Ian caught right away.

“Relax, Deputy.” He tried to assure her but Valerie was too petrified to listen to him. She shook her head, still hysterical about what she had done.

“No, no.” She almost yelled. “You are not understanding, Doctor. My lack of self-control has infuriated Jared, and I do not know what he will do next.”

Her sudden outburst not only stunned Ian but even Ryder and Preston were also surprised to hear her yell. It was completely unlike her, and they did not know how to comfort her.

“You did nothing wrong, Val. Jared deserved it. He is a bastard.” Ryder tried to console her but Valerie was having none of it.

“What did I do?” She covered her lips in distress while Ian just stared at her with his eyes narrowed.

“Deputy, this is not the time to think about matters like these. What we should be concentrating on is how to save Maggie and the people whose lives are in danger.”

“Doctor Davis is right, Val. We have other matters to focus on. Get a hold of yourself. Please.” Preston begged, and Valerie gave him a look that changed a moment after.

“You are right. I cannot lose out this way. I need to catch hold of myself. I need to stay strong.”

As soon as they heard Valerie, all the three men nodded in acceptance.

“Stay strong, Deputy. We need you.” Ian added and handed her her phone. “And, don’t worry about Maggie. All we need to focus on is Jared’s target location.”

“What about Maggie? And how was Jared unable to detect any car behind him? Didn’t you say that your friend and his men are keeping an eye on him?” Ryder queried immediately. This matter had been bugging him since the time he had heard Jared. Now that he had got his chance, he questioned it right away.

“There are other ways to keep an eye on someone other than to follow them.” Ian gave them a mysterious smile and the trio understood the meaning behind his words the next instant.

“Joshua is observing him through the CCTV, and it is still considered following if you were to watch someone who is driving behind you. Ain’t it?”

Ian winked at them and the realization hit them at once. Noah’s men were not trailing behind Jared’s car. Instead, they were ahead of him on the roads, making it seem as though it was Jared who was following them.

‘Brilliant.’ That was all Ryder could think of. ‘Jared has no idea about the number of eyes on him. Is this the reason why Maggie was willing to go with him? Did she trust that someone among us would save her for sure?’ He wondered but came out of his thoughts the moment he heard Ian start the car.

“Let’s go. We cannot lose Jared.” Ian started driving. On his way, he passed by the route that led to one of the hospitals that had been caught up in the scandal. A huge crowd had accumulated in front of it, making it impossible to navigate on that road. 

Ian’s face scrunched up on seeing the huge crowd and he wondered how Noah was able to pass by without getting caught in the traffic. But even before he could process more about it, something caught his eye and he focused his gaze on the suspicious man who was carrying a bag with him.

What surprised him more was that among the huge crowd, he was the only one wearing a mask. Although the recent poison attack had made citizens wary about their surroundings, it was not to the extent that they kept wearing masks even after weeks had passed since the incident. The man’s strange actions did not sit well with Ian and he stopped the car by the roadside, realization hitting him hard.

“Oh Lord!!!” He exclaimed out loud and the three people gave him a strange look.

“What’s the matter, Doctor? Why did you stop driving?” Preston enquired.

They were already pressed for time and Ian’s sudden actions only made them frown in displeasure. Not only did they have to find out what Jared’s last location was, they even had to save Maggie. They were already behind, and Ian’s actions were only delaying their time.

Even Ryder was vexed. But unlike Preston, he stayed silent, observing the man closely. 

Valerie was the only one among the three who trusted Ian. Though she did not know why he stopped suddenly, she presumed him to have a reason for it and she gave him a questioning look.

“Is something the matter, Doctor? Why did you stop suddenly?” She too asked him and her voice brought Ian out of his shock.

“I think I discovered what Jared’s last target location is.” He mumbled softly. But all the three people had heard it and they leaned closer to him instinctively.

“Really? What is his last target? How did you find out, Doctor?” Valerie gave him a hopeful look and Ian gestured towards the large crowd nearby them.

“Deputy, Jared is only targeting locations that have a lot of people accumulated at that time.”

“Yes. He wants to strike large and it would only benefit him if a lot of people were to be harmed at once.” She agreed immediately while Ryder and Preston sat still, still wondering where this was going.

“And after the recent scandal, where do you think large crowds have accumulated?” He fired the next instant and realization hit the three people right away.

“Oh my God!!” Preston exclaimed in disbelief and his eyes followed the crowd out their car. A chill ran down his spine and he gave Valerie an incredulous look.

“If my intuitions are right, Jared must be targeting all those hospitals that were involved in the scandal. People are protesting and fighting in front of all these hospitals and the crowd accumulated in no less compared to his target locations.” Ian reasoned and Valerie too followed his line of sight.

“Did you find anyone suspicious?” She understood him clearly. If he had not found anyone suspicious, he would not have come to this conclusion. So, she decided to trust him once again and listen to what he had to say.

“Yes, I found a man wearing a mask in the crowd. If I am not wrong, I presume him to be here on Jared’s orders.. This must be one of the many hospitals in Jared’s last target location.”