The murder card

Dear diary, two weeks passed when I was able to make contact with Ian, or rather he did with me. I still didn’t feel safe to do so, but I’m glad he did. I don’t know how long it would have taken me to do that. He knew that something must have happened for me to not come the hideout anymore. He was checking the store the entire time, to make sure I was all right. He contacted me only after he felt it was safe. We catch up and he tells me they have lost contact with Stan. “Is he dead? I don’t understand.” I say. “I don’t know. He was kept in his jail cell, when all of a sudden it went black, his chip silent. When it lit back up again, after few minutes, he was gone. We haven’t been able to find him since. That was a week ago.” Ian explains. He could barely catch his breath during his meal. I wondered when was the last time he ate. “Rei feared that the cameras would be found soon, you know since they were able to make in unclear if Stan was alive or dead. Turns out, he was right. Days, maybe even hours after, I’m not sure anymore they were found. Initially we released four, only two remain now.” He tells me news, I was not hoping for. “So here is what we know for now. They enjoy watching people getting killed. Every time it will happen, they receive a notification. They gather on that day and make an event out of it. They dress in fancy evening wear, drink expensive champagne, eat expensive and rare food and they chat. Sometimes about normal things, sometimes about those murders. We recognized some of them, not all. All three world presidents are always there, and many other influential politicians. But not all of them are in politics. Some are in entertainment, like singers or actors. People the public adores. That woman Mary is never there, so she isn’t that important. So she isn’t the one in charge of this company, someone else is. We found all the CEO, CFO, all the top dogs you know, but they also answer to someone. To whom, we don’t know yet, we all know that person is a woman. She hasn’t been seen on cameras so far, only heard over the phone. Rei was able to find the purpose of the second chip.” He takes a pause, to eat, but I was curious and had to know right away. “So, what is it?” I ask. “It’s a trigger. Trigger for murder. Whenever they want or need someone gone, they locate their close ones or anyone who might possess a motive to kill them. They run a program through that second chip, making an innocent person do their dirty work.” My mind was blown, but still I had questions. “If that’s true, then why is it even possible to get pardoned from being killed? Or why that Roman law. It doesn’t make sense; this prevents then for achieving their goal.” I say, interrupting him. “That’s true, that some who plea for life get their wish. But that is only for show. To give people hope. Making them feel like there is a chance. As for the Roman law, we don’t know. They certainly don’t watch the battles.” Surely they have some purpose from that. The battles are very popular, as soon as one of them happens, tickets are sold in seconds and according to statistics, it is one of the most viewed shows. It even aspired people to recreate them, without death at the end. Rei is confident we are very close to solving all the answers and I do not doubt him. But what will those answers be, I fear to learn the truth. and I do not doubt himonto make in unclear if Stan wa in