NOVPUB
Chapter 70: Chapter 70: The footage
[Mass Released]
After collecting the metadata and logs, Jeff launched RAZi in terminal mode, his personal AI core trained on everything from system logs to deep filesystem behavior.
Jeff stared at the entropy-wiped sectors which is data overwritten, frames scattered, headers scrubbed clean.
Any expert would’ve declared it unrecoverable. But Jeff wasn’t an expert. He was the very god of all programmers.
With RAZi parsing the memory map and highlighting irregular echo clusters in the unallocated sectors.
Jeff opened his terminal and began typing line by line, building a new script from scratch.
He named it DeadTrace.py, a tool designed not to find full files, but to reconstruct fragments from memory bleed, residual buffers, and overlooked swap caches.
It was a long shot, but Jeff knew that if anyone could pull it off, it was him.
No backups and no logs. Just raw data and instinct, in just less than eight minutes, the script was ready.
It’s something that would’ve taken most programmers a week just to plan. And even if they had planned it, could they make it without any errors?
RAZi then fed it metadata cues, helping align the timecodes. Every fragment, every piece of residual data was slowly coming together.
Jeff’s eyes glinted with focus as the process began to unfold, the script working like a well-oiled machine.
Then, movement. The frame returned, corrupted, grainy, but undeniable. Despite the damage, the CCTV’s clarity was enough to catch the figure.
It was the thug, caught in the act, his actions now preserved in the fragmented footage he had painstakingly reconstructed.
AlleyCam_04. Timecode: 9:12 PM.
Jeff watched the footage, his eyes narrowing as he saw the thug cover her mouth with a towel, rendering her unconscious. Then, he carried her to the car.
The footage continued, showing her shaking inside the car, a helpless victim to the thug’s actions.
The sight filled Jeff with anger. He clenched his fists, unable to shake the feeling that an innocent girl’s life had been irrevocably tarnished by such a brutal act.
But it did not end there, after 30 minutes that thug opened the car door carried her up and this time, he can fully see that some of her clothes were in ruins.
He put her in front the bumpers of the car and continued his acts, which made Jeff hissed, his eyes turned bloodshot.
He can also see that he was not only doing sex, but he was also slapping her in the face, she turned her around and continued delivering some violent strikes.
The camera could only capture their backs, but Jeff knew that if the view had been from the front, the scene would have been even more gruesome and painful.
"Scum like this doesn’t deserve to go to prison, they deserve to die," he muttered coldly, his voice full of disgust.
But he also wondered why he watched the full video, then he remembered something that is a bad side of him.
He loves watching Hanime typically some genre related to NTR, Rape, and Torture. So, this must have given him some strong will power.
It’s just an anime, he reminded himself, but the anger still burned within him. Since he didn’t want any of this in real life.
Seeing both the rape and torture unfold on screen stirred something deep within him, it was anger not only at the criminal but at himself for ever having entertained such genres.
It was a harsh realization. Watching such things, even in fiction, was a mistake. It wasn’t just wrong, it was damaging.
With that, Jeff hacked into and gained access to additional CCTV footage, tracing the thug’s movements.
Like where he came from and how he ended up at the crime scene.
He saw that the thug first went to a bar, drinking with some thug friends. Afterward, as he left, he harassed a few people, especially girls.
But no one spoke up. They were intimidated by the thug’s dangerous demeanor, too scared to confront him.
After some walking, it was clear from the footage that the thug saw Claire and, without hesitation, decided to act on his twisted impulses.
Jeff clenched his jaw, anger rising as the full extent of the thug’s actions unfolded before him.
"Due to your overconfidence, you are finally caught. Now, no more girls will suffer for this same reason," Jeff said, his voice cold, as if he was sentencing him.
With that, Jeff downloaded the videos, ensuring to capture every moment, including where the thug, named Angelo Rivas, had been first.
He made sure the footage was clear, with his face visible, leaving no room for them to deny it was someone else.
For this the evidence would be irrefutable.
With that, Jeff compiled all the evidence into one file. The work was done. With this evidence in his hand, that guy better run to avoid getting caught.
Jeff then closed his laptop and made his way back to his classroom.
Two hours had already passed, and recovering the footage had been no easy task.
When he arrived at his classroom, his mood was dark and gloomy.
Mark and Lester, noticing his demeanor, asked what was wrong, but Jeff remained silent.
Understanding that he wasn’t in the mood to talk, they didn’t press him any further, sensing that the weight of whatever was bothering him was not something they could easily pry into.
Jeff then wandered his gaze and saw that Andre was nowhere to be found, after some time the class ended.
He then went up the school roof without even asking any permission for the teachers, as he waited for a while Jasmine arrived.
"So how was it?" she asked casually, seeing him standing close to the railings.
"What’s your Messenger?" Jeff asked, turning around.
She raised an eyebrow at his question, "Is he interested in me? What a wishful guy"
But despite her thoughts, she still gave him her account.
Jeff quickly searched for the account and, after finding it, he transferred the file onto it. Jasmine felt her phone vibrate in her skirt, the sensation pulling her attention.
She took her phone out, noticing an unread message. As she checked it, she saw a video that required some network data to access.
"Before you check it, prepare yourself for what you’re going to see," Jeff said, already standing beside her.
With that, he left, leaving her alone with the video.
As she stood there, her heart pounded. Hearing Jeff’s words, a sense of realization hit her.
"Don’t tell me, did he? No, that’s impossible," she muttered to herself, staring at her phone.
She couldn’t believe it. Part of her wanted to watch it for some clarification, but she was also a little scared of what she might see.
Yet, she strengthened her resolve and tapped on the video. As it began to play, what she saw made the blood drain from her face.
Her face turned pale, and the tears in her eyes began to gush out, streaming down her cheeks like a river in full flow.
Her voice was shaky as she kneeled down, her eyes still glued to the screen. Deep in her eyes, endless resentment began to form.
After empathizing with her friend, she hid her phone securely in her pockets, making sure nothing bad would happen to it.
With that, she took a ride on a public motorcycle and headed to the nearest police station.
Upon arriving, she wandered around the station, her mind still reeling. Eventually, she caught sight of a figure.
"Uncle Gabriel, is my father here?" she asked, her voice a mix of urgency.
Being called by his name, the police officer turned around and saw Jasmine.
"Oh, it’s actually little missy. The chief is in his office right now. Just go there since he’s free currently," Gabriel responded with a friendly smile.
Jasmine nodded, her voice filled with gratitude, "Thank you, Uncle," she said, then quickly ran toward her father’s office, which was located in the heart of the station.
As the police chief, her father was a high-ranking law enforcement official, typically the top leader of the entire police department.
Slamming the door open wildly, the middle-aged man, looking imposing and sharp, was about to take a sip of his hot coffee when the sudden intrusion caused him to spill it.
In a quick reflex, he kicked the table, sending his chair, which had wheels on its legs, dashing back just in time to avoid the spilled coffee.
He was fuming, his face twisted in anger, as he turned to look at the culprit. But the anger written on his face quickly disappeared when he saw who it was.
"My daughter, why are you barging in so hard? Look what you did," he said, pointing at the floor where the spilled coffee sat.
"You almost hurt your father and..." He didn’t finish his words as Jasmine slid a phone across the table toward him.
"Father, hurry and check the video. It’s evidence related to Claire’s case," Jasmine said with excitement and haste.
After three days of constant worry, the case that had been left unsolved was finally about to be resolved.
The man who’s the police chief is named Michael Reyes and Jasmine last name is Reyes. He did not say anything as he clicked the video and played it.
His face turned colder and colder as he watched every scene unfold in the video.
After watching about half of it, he couldn’t handle it anymore and abruptly stopped.
"Go back and stay at the house for now," Michael said in a low, serious voice.
Seeing the seriousness in her father’s face, Jasmine nodded and left the police station. A car, one of her father’s people, was waiting to assist her and take her back home.
He then called the Deputy Chief of Police, his serious expression shifting into a smirk colder than the ice as he stared out the window.
"Alonzo... oh, Alonzo," he whispered, a quiet laugh escaping his lips.
"You were strutting around this station like a king just a few days ago. Now, let’s see if your mouth still works after this."
He didn’t even ask where Jasmine got the footage, as that part could wait.
For now, his daughter had delivered what the entire department couldn’t, the missing proof. And that was enough.
After some time, the door swung open. It was Gabriel, stepping in, his most trusted operations officer.
"Chief, you called for me?" he asked, standing at attention.
Michael turned, voice razor-sharp, "Mobilize our unit. Send them to Alonzo’s residence. I want his son arrested before the stroke of midnight."
Gabriel stiffened after hearing this, "But sir we still don’t have official clearance. There’s no..."
"We do now." Michael cut in, holding up the recovered footage from her daughter’s phone.
Gabriel’s eyes widened after seeing the video. That was all he needed to hear. The weariness in his body vanished, replaced by a sudden fire.
"Finally," Gabriel muttered
"We’re going to clean this up." he finished.
A comeback was finally happening, and Gabriel, too, felt disgusted by that thug.
Without wasting another second, they mobilized the troops and went out, ready to take action.
...
Special thanks to ’Meiwa_Blank👑’ – the GOAT for this month, for the Golden Tickets! Love you, brotha!
Special thanks to ’Devon1234👑’ – the GOAT for this month, for the Gifts! Love you, brotha!
