“We must contact the authorities at once,” Felzein said under his breath, his tone clipped and resolute. “And Heru... I’ll ring him now as well.”
Rosa and Melati merely nodded, the shadows of unease still etched across their faces.
At the far side of the room, Cherlyn, still bent over Dewi’s unconscious form, called out, her voice edged with urgency.
“Doctor Vradistza! Please... I need your assistance!”
Without a moment’s pause, Felzein strode swiftly to her side, his stride no longer that of a warrior, but of a healer.
His expression sharpened, not with anger, but with calm, clinical focus.
He knelt beside Dewi, brushing back the loose strands of hair that veiled her neck, revealing the delicate curve beneath.
With the index and middle fingers of his right hand, he located a precise point beneath the angle of her jaw, just where the carotid sinus lies, at the juncture of the carotid artery and the glossopharyngeal nerve.
His touch was firm but measured, applying a rhythmic pressure to the sensitive spot.
In the world of medicine, it was a subtle manoeuvre, often overlooked.
The stimulation of baroreceptors microscopic sentinels attuned to shifts in blood pressure.
When engaged correctly, they could temper the vagus response, restore vascular tone, and coax the body back from the edge of faint.
It was not magic. It was knowledge, wielded with precision.
And in that moment, Felzein became not a mystery, not a fighter, not a man surrounded by questions.
He became what he truly was, the hand between life and oblivion.
Before long, Dewi’s lashes stirred with the faintest tremor.
A shiver coursed through her limbs as she drew a long, ragged breath, her eyes fluttering open at last.
“Doctor Vradistza…” she whispered, barely audible. Her voice fragile, yet unmistakably lucid.
Felzein inclined his head slowly, “Thank God... At last, you’ve come to.”
Rosa and Melati exchanged wide-eyed glances, their astonishment palpable.
Even Rasya and Wina stood frozen, mouths agape, utterly unprepared for yet another display of Felzein’s uncanny abilities.
Cherlyn, ever composed, retained her clinical expression, though a flicker of disbelief crossed her gaze.
Deep within, she murmured to herself, “Doctor Vradistza… Has his knowledge truly evolved even further? After all these years?”
Suddenly, Dewi sat upright in a burst of urgency, panic flickering in her eyes, “Where is he?! That man?!”
Cherlyn leaned closer, brows furrowed, “Who do you mean?”
“The one who stormed into the pharmacy!” Dewi replied, her voice gaining strength, her face taut with conviction.
Felzein let out a soft chuckle, a glint of dry amusement in his eyes, “Ah… you mean them?” he said, gesturing casually toward the far corner.
There, sprawled in a heap beneath the wall, were five unconscious figures, bound in a meticulously woven lattice of cordage.
The knots were intricate, almost artistic, an enigmatic pattern that defied comprehension.
Dewi stared in disbelief, “Oh? It’s… already dealt with?” she said, wincing slightly as she tried to sit straighter, still astonished, yet visibly relieved.
The sight of those immobilised men, trussed like captured beasts in an elaborate snare, left no further question in her mind.
whatever or whoever Felzein truly was, he was no ordinary man.
Felzein merely inclined his head in silent resignation before swiftly dialling Sergeant Bowo’s number.
At that very moment, Sergeant Bowo was enjoying a brief respite during the lunch hour, seated with his colleague, Mr Jarwo, over modest plates of rice and sambal.
Their conversation meandered around recent local disturbances, the theft at Felzein’s grocery shop, and the mysterious carcass of a rat discovered within the premises of Koba Baru Pharmacy.
As Bowo reached for his glass of tea, his phone buzzed sharply on the table. He glanced at the screen and chuckled.
“Would you believe it, Mr Jarwo? The very man we were just speaking of is calling.”
He answered the call with his usual genial tone, “Good afternoon, Mr Felzein. How may I be of service?”
A beat. Then...
“What?!”
The word tore from him with such force that the entire table froze, spoons hovering mid-air. Faces turned toward him, alarmed.
“We’ll be there at once!” Bowo barked, his expression transforming into something cold and official.
He ended the call, already on his feet.
“What on earth’s happened?” Jarwo asked, as others leaned in, bracing themselves.
Bowo’s lips twitched into an incredulous smile, “Mr Felzein has done something extraordinary. The suspects, the very ones behind the theft at his shop and the strange goings-on at the pharmacy. He’s apprehended them. All five.”
“Five?” one officer echoed.
“Yes. Five grown men. Found unconscious and bound. At the Koba Baru Pharmacy.”
He paused for effect, then said, with the gleam of awe in his eyes, “And the most astonishing part? Mr Felzein subdued them all. Alone.”
There was a collective gasp.
“No way... in this day and age?” Jarwo whispered, utterly stunned.
Bowo nodded solemnly, “I suspected from the beginning. He was never just a grocer. And today, that suspicion has been vindicated.”
He looked around at his colleagues, voice firm and resolute, “Right then. We’ve no time to waste. To the Koba Baru Pharmacy immediately.”
All present gave a solemn nod, their curiosity now ignited into a fire of urgency.
Lunch, still half-eaten and steaming, was left to grow cold as officers rose from their seats.
Forks and spoons clattered softly onto tin plates, abandoned without a second thought.
The room, once filled with idle chatter and the clinking of cutlery, now buzzed with the silent tension of duty rekindled.
Their singular focus : Koba Baru Pharmacy.
Sergeant Bowo strode to the centre of the courtyard with a practised authority, his boots striking the concrete with sharp, resolute taps.
He drew a breath and raised his voice, firm and unwavering.
“All personnel, to central formation immediately!”
Within moments, a neat line of officers had assembled before him, eyes sharp, shoulders squared.
“We’ve received direct intel from Mr Felzein,” Bowo announced, his voice cutting through the midday air.
“Five suspects, linked to recent thefts and a potential assault, have been subdued. They are currently unconscious and securely bound at the scene, Koba Baru Pharmacy.”
A collective murmur of disbelief rippled through the ranks, quickly stilled by Bowo’s raised hand.
“Unit One, with me! We go straight to the scene. Unit Two, secure the route from here to the pharmacy. Block all escape points. No one in or out unless authorised.”
“Unit Three, prepare medical support. We’ve no certainty of their condition, injuries may be present. Treat this as both a rescue and a containment mission.”
He paused, allowing the weight of the moment to settle over his team.
“This is not merely a deployment. This is the first domino in what may be a wider chain. Check your gear! Handcuffs, arms, tactical vests, bodycams. We’re not just securing suspects. We’re preserving evidence.”
Then, with a clenched fist and a fire in his voice, he barked the final command.
“Are you ready?!”
“READY, SIR!” came the thunderous reply.
Sergeant Bowo gave a curt nod, eyes burning with purpose.
“Move out. Destination... Koba Baru Pharmacy!”
The sirens of the patrol cars howled once more, slicing through the air like a warning to the wind, as the convoy of vehicles carved a clean path through the streets of Puro City.
At its helm sat Sergeant Bowo, his jaw set, expression steely, a man resolute, driven by purpose and certainty.
Elsewhere, across the city’s muted chaos, Felzein stood in a quiet corner of the pharmacy.
His eyes, sharp and unwavering, were fixed on the glowing screen of his phone.
With a steady finger, he selected a familiar name, Heru, a long-time friend, and a journalist whose pen carried weight in the realm of Koba’s local news.
The line rang once. Twice. Then, a click.
“Heru… Can you come to Koba Baru Pharmacy? Right now,” Felzein’s voice was low, composed, but beneath the stillness lay a storm of urgency.
On the other end, Heru sat in the editorial conference room, mid-conversation.
The usual clamour of newsroom banter and scribbled ideas faded the moment he recognised the voice.
Silence fell, sharp and sudden.
“Mate?! I’ve only just stepped into the office. What now? Something’s happened at the pharmacy again?” he asked, curiosity instantly piqued.
Felzein’s lips curved into a restrained smile, though his voice remained deliberate, almost solemn.
“It’s over. They’re caught. All five of them walked straight into the lion’s den. And I brought them down. Alone.”
There was a breathless pause, the kind that lingered before a storm.
Then Heru’s voice, almost incredulous, rang through the receiver, “You’re serious?!”
Felzein’s eyes gleamed, the glint of quiet victory dancing behind them, “Want the biggest headline you’ll write this year? Then come. Now.”
There was no reply, not in words, at least.
Only the scrape of a chair being shoved aside, and hurried footsteps vanishing into the distance.
Seconds later, one single word echoed into Felzein’s ear, full of fire and velocity.
“On my way!”