[Good and bad news, Mr. Hayes. Mr. Whitman found evidence that Mr. Martinez was the person who gave information about you to the Los Angeles police. Martinez escaped before he was caught, though.
It's currently unknown where he went, but the entire gang is searching for him at the moment.]
Tristan frowned. Then he frowned deeper.
'That Martinez escaped is bad enough, but... Why was Whitman the one to find info on Martinez if the investigation was led by Clavon himself? This entire thing stinks!'
And just to add to this, Sam sent Tristan a report, too.
Ever since the attack on them, the entire group of gangsters has been lying low, not even leaving their hideout apartment to buy food and ordering a delivery to the door instead.
At the moment, Tristan just wanted to go through the CYS contest without police giving them, and by that virtue him, trouble.
[Boss, we saw some plainclothes cops sniffing around under the windows of our building. I don't think they caught on us, though.]
'Damned police... Can't they be less competent, for once?'
To both people, Tristan responded the same.
[Keep waiting.]
He was as ready as could be at the moment and had no more time.
When he had a few free hours before, he tried to send a computer virus to the LAPD police, but their inner offices were too isolated from the public. The most Tristan had achieved was putting a trojan onto a computer of a random clerk who filtered endless spam that went to the public email of LAPD every day.
Maybe with more time Tristan could've got more. But the Californian Young Star contest's final round was going to happen tomorrow.
All Tristan had were his hours of rehearsals, support of old and new acquaintances, and a massive supply of points.
'I will check the shop, too, since I didn't do it today yet.'
[===Shop===]
['Bilingual' talent: 3000 points]
[A dose of truth serum: 1500 Criminal Points]
[A foreign bank deposit card: 3000 Criminal Points]
[======]
Tristan's eyes lit up. Just in case, he checked that the talent made what he thought it did.
[Bilingual: you can understand the language of your choosing at the same level as your native language. The second language is chosen once and can't be changed.]
'This one definitely will be useful in the future,' he thought, buying the talent immediately.
[Ding!]
['Bilingual' talent is purchased for 1500 PP and 1500 CP. Please choose your language to activate it.]
There were no new buttons or lists to choose from.
'Does this mean I should just think about whatever language I want? Would it work on dead languages, too? Well, there's no point in risking it, anyway. I want to learn Spanish!'
[Ding!]
['Bilingual (Spanish)' talent is activated successfully!]
Tristan felt information flood his mind. When it was over, he grinned to himself.
<Now I can finally read all the business dealings of that bastard who rules Four Angles without having to put into an online translator!> Tristan said in perfect Spanish. There wasn't even a hint of an accent.
[Styling: 506]
[Playing flute: 1]
[Playing violin: 1]
[Sneaking: 844]
[Close-quarters combat: 1224]
[Observation: 2076]
[Driving: 618]
[Pickpocketing: 533]
[Firearms shooting: 816]
[Athletics: 419]
[Treating injuries: 201]
[Lockpicking: 1]
[Combat analysis: 505]
[Hacking: 2431]
[Governing: 454]
[Torture: 2]
[Logistics: 4]
[Forgery: 1]
[===Talents===]
[Clark Kent Effect] [Sleepless] [Clean Hands] [Bullet Time] [Hypnotic Voice] [Sight Awareness] [Electronic Sight Awareness] [Ambidextrous] [Bilingual (Spanish)]
[======]
Good stats all around, enough points for an emergency dump into several skills at once, and skills and talents that already let Tristan avoid what would've been inevitable death for someone else.
Tristan nodded in satisfaction.
'Even if Martinez and the police attack me together while I'm singing on the stage, at the very least, I'd be able to run away.'
***
Next day.
"Time sure flies, Mr. Gemello... Hard to imagine that it's December already. But I know you are ready to win this contest!" Derek cheered for Tristan while they drove toward the contest's music hall.
Tristan was at the wheel, despite Derek's initial protests, with Nelson in front and Derek in the back seat.
"You are going to slay them all with your song, no matter what others cook up, Tris," Nelson added.
Tristan smiled.
"Thanks. I definitely will."
In front of the car, a majestic music theater, much larger than that from his city, came into view.