Part-158

  James and his friends were beginning to lose hope. They had been watg the shopkeeper's apartment for weeks, but they hadn't seen anything suspicious. Just when they were about to give up, a breakthrough came. One evening, a te teehey had never seen before visited the shopkeeper. The teeayed for a long time, and when he left, he looked fidend gd for some reason.

  James and his friends exged excited ghey had finally found a lead.

  "That guy was Alex, huh?" James muttered to himself as the realization hit him like a ton of bricks. He recalled seeing Alex at school—a t figure with a reputation for bullying. This was the same guy who had sent someoo attack him and tried to pressure him into joining their club. It made perfect sehat Alex would be mixed up in something shady.

  Karim, who attended a different school, was fused. "Who's Alex?" he asked.

  Ryan expined, "He's an uppercssman at our school. The captain of the Taekwondo club."

  Karim frowned, his expression filled with disdain. "I'm not surprised," he said. "Those jocks are always getting into trouble."

  Sourov nodded in agreement. "But why was he visiting the shopkeeper?" he asked, his voice filled with curiosity. "Could he be one of the scammers' aplices?"

  James thought about it for a moment. "It's possible," he said. "Maybe he's w for them as a muscle."

  The trio discussed the possibility for a while, their minds rag with theories. They khey o gather more information about Alex. But how?

  "We could try talking to him," Ryan suggested. "See if we get him to talk."

  James shook his head. "That's too risky," he said. "He's a bully. He won't hesitate to gather his goon and use violence."

  "Then what do we do?" Sourov asked, his frustration evident.

  Just as they were about to give up, James had an idea. "We could try to hato his phone," he said. "If we find any evidence of his involvement, we use it to bckmail him."

  Karim showed worried gnces. "Isn't that illegal?" Karim asked.

  "It is," James admitted. "But it's the only way we're going to get any information."

  After much deliberation, they decided to go ahead with the pn. They would o be careful, but the stakes were high. If they could prove Alex's involvement, they could take a signifit step towards dismantling the scam operation.

  As they left Karim's apartment, James couldn't shake the feeling that they were pying a dangerous game. But he khey had no other choice. They had to stop these scammers, no matter the cost.

  As they sat in the cafeteria, discussing their move, James's mind wao Karim's school. He had always thought of Karim's school as a retively safe and sheltered enviro. But now, with the discovery of Alex's involvement, he was beginning to question that assumption.

  "Now that I think about it," James said, breaking the silence, "scams seem to be pretty rare at Karim's school. Could it be that we're seeing more scams because kids from our school are involved?"