216 Chapter 216: Aftermath.

(I MADE IT!! HAD TO RUSH HOME AT 160 KM/H lol)

[General POV]

After being safely escorted out of the warehouse, Edward was immediately taken to an ambulance where he received medical attention for his bleeding right arm. 

He required two stitches to close the wound. Edward sighed before he reminded the police, "Oh, right, there's a laptop with an encrypted file on it. I don't know what's on there yet, but those guys seemed anxious to want me to break it for them."

"Now, there's important data involved? What's on there? Some National Secret? Blueprints of Alcatraz? –" Jake Peralta tried to guess without even hiding his excitement.

Amy rolled her eyes at Jake and said, "Shouldn't we recover them first before you try to guess what it is? Here. Your phone." Amy handed over Edward's phone back to him. 

"Right. Let's go Amy." Jake said before both of them reenter the warehouse. 

Meanwhile, the police continued their operations inside the warehouse, apprehending the individuals on the ship who were identified as accomplices. However, the arrest did not come without a major shootout between the police and the criminals.

As news of the incident spread, the surrounding area quickly became chaotic, with reporters swarming in to cover the story. Footage of Edward with a bruised face and a bloody arm was swiftly broadcasted worldwide, capturing the attention of the public. However, what shocked the public even more was learning about the fate of the kidnappers.

Eleven men were taken down by a lone teenage pop star, a detail that was accidentally leaked by Detective Jake Peralta during a lively phone conversation with his best friend, Charles Boyle.

The reporters tried to pass over the police line to interview Edward who was drinking a calming tea the police had given to him while sitting at the back of the ambulance.

"EDWARD! EDWARD! LOOK HERE!" The reporter shouted.

Edward slowly turned to them and then suddenly thought of something. He then took out his phone and called someone. 

Startled by the unexpected phone call, Ted hastily answered his phone, his heart racing with concern. "Edward? Is that you? Are you alright?" His shout made everyone at the airport stare at him. 

Edward's voice came through the line, filled with relief and a hint of exhaustion. "Hey, Dad. Yeah, I'm okay. It's been quite a day, but I made it out safely. I just wanted to let you know–"

"EDWARD! HOW DID YOU GET OUT OF THERE!?" A reporter shouted.

"EDWARD! HOW ARE YOU FEELING RIGHT NOW?!" 

"ANSWER US!"

"IS IT TRUE YOU BROKE A GUY'S NECK?!"

Ted let out a sigh of relief. "Thank goodness! I've been so worried. What happened? Are you hurt?"

Edward paused for a moment before responding. "I'm a bit bruised and have a cut on my arm, but nothing serious. The police are taking care of me, and they're doing their best to make sure everything is under control."

"WHAT. HAPPENED?" Ted asked again, sternly this time.

Edward sighed and said, "I broke off a guy's neck, fought off a couple of them, and broke free of the warehouse. Can you wait a sec." He gazed at the reporters with irritation and spewed, "I'm talking to my dad right now to tell him that I am safe. Can you guys at least have the human decency to let me do that?"

His warning startled the reporters, however they soon took his warning as a challenge and kept shouting their questions at him, this time laced with provocations.

"DID YOU PLAN THE WHOLE THING FOR PUBLICITY?"

"DID YOU PAY OFF THE SHOOTERS?"

"ARE YOU A RACIST?!"

"WERE YOU PURPOSELY TRYING TO GET K DESTROYED?"

Edward ignored all of them and waited for his dad to answer, "Dad…Are you angry–"

"HOT DAMN!!!" Ted shouted, causing Ed to move his phone for a bit because of the loudness. In the airport, Ted pumped his fist in excitement. The rest of the ship crew was confused, but as Ted told them Ed was safe and had fought off 11 men, all of them cheered.

"Sir. You're causing a disturbance. Please come with us." A few airport security came to Ted to escort him away. Ted stammered as he spoke to Ed, "Come back home as soon as you can. Alright? I got to go."

"Okay. Make sure to get a refund for the ticket!" Edward said before he cut the call. However at this moment, one of the photographers jumped through the police barricade in an attempt to get a closer video of Edward. He was blocked by the police, but he could still snap the photos of Ed from right in front of him.

Jake Peralta saw Edward's dangerous gazes and then exclaimed while standing in between the reporters and Edward, "This entire area is closed off by the police. Please stay clear or you will be arrested for obstruction of justice."

"SHUT UP PIG!" The photographer cursed at Jake.

"YOU KNOW WHAT? You ARE ARRESTED!" Jake said as he took out his handcuff and cuffed the resisting photographer. 

Rosa quickly went to Edward and said, "Let's go. We will take you back to the precinct. You don't need to stay here anymore."

Amy held a laptop and joined Rosa, "We will contact your guardian to come pick you up at the precinct."

"Can't you guys just drop me off at the hotel?" Edward asked in a tired manner.

Amy shook her head guiltily and said, "Procedure–"

"Screw it. Do you know how many of these hyenas will camp out in front of the precinct? Let's just get him back to the hotel." Terry interjected quickly. As he was top in the command line in the precinct right now, he could make his own decisions about the matter.

Rosa smiled and teased Terry, "You're just grateful that he tackled you away from the line of fire."

"HE SAVED ME ROSA!" Terry exclaimed, making Edward smile. Suddenly, his stomach growled, and it was heard by the detectives there. Amy smiled while Rosa grimaced and asked, "You just ate. How are you still hungry?"

"Well being in a high pressure situation does help with one's appetite." Edward replied with a shrug. 

The revelation that a well-known pop star had single-handedly defeated a group of kidnappers added a sensational twist to the story, garnering widespread interest. 

The media coverage intensified, with news outlets globally picking up the remarkable tale. Social media platforms buzzed with discussions, debates, and support for the brave actions of the young pop star. Memes, fan art, and trending hashtags flooded the internet, further fueling public fascination.

A meme about Edward breaking someone's neck especially gained the most attention on social media. Him being a disciple of Chuck Norris, ObiWan, and even Anakin Skywalker all popped out. 

In California, all of Edward's friends finally breathed a sigh of relief when they heard the news that Edward was safe and sound. However, most of them didn't go about their day and were still waiting for Edward to get back home. Especially the 3 siblings who were extremely close to him.

[Edward POV]

The detectives sent me straight back to the hotel after the whole incident. I could see some reporters were camping out in front of the hotel which made me feel even more tired. I was sitting in the back of the police car with Terry, and the woman detectives were sitting in the front. 

"What's in it?" Rosa asked as she saw me breaking down the encryption on the laptop, just for fun. Amy was objecting to giving me the laptop before as it could be evidence, but I convinced her that my fingerprints were already on the laptop, so it doesn't matter if I unlock the passwords before they filed the laptop in.

"A bunch of names…of US espionage agents…" I replied to Rosa. 

"Wait. So you recover the names of our agents too? This is a matter of national security! You can get a medal for this!" Amy said in excitement. 

I looked at her in disbelief before she calmed down consciously and said, "Whatever you want to do with it. I'm cool."

"Please, I don't need any more attention on me." I said with a sigh. "Right now, all I want is some meat."

"Meat?" Rosa asked, intrigued.

Edward drooled and said, "Huge chunk of meat, on top of a bone, like in anime."

"Oh, you like to watch Anime too?" Terry asked, excited.

Edward turned towards him, and his lips slowly curled from meeting the same people, "You like them too? What did you watch?"

"I like the old stuff. Gundam. Cowboy Bepop." Terry replied. 

Edward nodded and said, "Even if I recommend you some new ones, you'd probably, couldn't take the time to watch it huh?"

"I can watch it…Sometimes." Terry replied with hesitation. 

Edward chuckled. They walked to the hotel suite, and when the detectives saw the guards there, they were astonished. Rosa exclaimed, "Damn, I thought you had no protection at all."

"I have you guys, so I let the guards protect my friends." I replied.

"That's…incredibly selfless…or stupid… I don't know where I'm leaning at." Rosa replied with confusion.

Edward shrugged and said, "Besides, it's all happening in such a short time frame."

Before I could knock on the door, Pepper opened the door dramatically, with tears in his eyes, "WHERE IS HE?! WHERE IS MY CHILD?!"

"I'm here." I replied while raising my arms weakly. Pepper was aghast as he saw my bandaged arm and bruised face that he almost fell down. Luckily for him, Terry was there to hold him from falling.

He stood back on his feet, "How- Uhhh-" He then rolled his eyes and almost fainted again.

"Get yourself together man." Terry exclaimed as he caught Pepper for the second time.

I held back my laughter and said, "Peps. You didn't do that just to get a touch of his muscles right?"

I caught his hand brushing on Terry's bicep as he rested the back of his head on his abdomen. Pepper suddenly turned serious and said, "Not at all– I mean, Uhhh…" He pretended to be weak again so that Terry would help him stay up.

Max burst out of the room, rushed towards me, and then hugged me forcefully, "Thank god! You're still in one piece."

"For now." I replied before she separated and slapped me right in the wound.

"OWW! Why did you do that?" I asked in astonishment.

"That's for being stupid! I know I made fighting bad guys look cool, but I have nothing to lose. You have."

"We'll go back home, right now." Pepper added solemnly.

"Alright." I replied after I was bewildered for a bit. Then, I turned to the detectives and asked, "If I just left right now, will it be bad for you guys?"

"No. Not at all." Terry replied with a smile. "You should go back. Your family must be worried for you."

I sighed, knowing fully well that they were lying. "Alright then, I will go home right now."

I waved goodbyes to the detectives before entering the suite. "Where's Selena and Vanessa?" I asked.

"Huh? I completely forgot about them." Max replied.

As I went to check on them, it turned out that the both of them were still sleeping. It shook them to the core when they heard about the full story on our way to the airport. And this time, I brought Max back with me. Randall was stranded in New York again, which made him want to cry. 

Pepper tried not to talk to me about anything, but I could see how many people were calling him during our flight home. 

"Oh, Detective Rosa is calling me. Um? Is she the primary in the investigation?" I muttered, confused as to why Rosa was the one contacting me, especially since Jake and Amy were the ones who have my number.

"Hola." I picked up the phone.

"..." Rosa was silent for a while, and then decided to ignore my greeting. "Your blood results come back. Were you drugged by those men while you were captured?"

"Hmm?" I was confused, and then I suddenly remembered that I had smoked some at the party last night. Even if the effects had worn off shortly, those chemicals would still show up 2-3 days later.

"Oh yeah yeah. They totally drugged me." I said to Rosa, causing Pepper to panic and almost fainted again. Selena exclaimed, "You were drugged!?" while Vanessa looked at me with concern. Max grinned and asked, "Did they give you the good stuff?"

I mouthed the word, 'last night blunt' to the girls, and all of them caught the meaning instantly. Rosa was silent and then she said, "Alright then. I'll call you if we have more information."

"Wait. Are you guys okay? If you guys want, I could put in a few words to the commissioner's office."

"No. We're not in trouble at all. Get home safe. Put your phone into flight more." Rosa replied curtly before she cut the call in a hurry.

…

[General POV]

In the 99 precinct, the deputy commissioner was fuming as he sat at the Captain's desk. The 4 detectives involved in the case were standing in front of him, and were disciplined.

"But Sir, he's a minor, and a victim of a traumatic experience. We feel strongly that he needs to be with his guardian–" Sergeant Terry Jeffords tried to explained, but the deputy commissioner John Kelly stood up and shouted to his face, "He's a celebrity first before he's a child! If you know how much fire there is cooking the entire NYPD police department, then you might understand me!"

"His crazy fans are lodging complaints! People are asking why didn't we give him a security escort even knowing about the threat to his life?! How in the hell did he manage to get kidnapped underneath our nose? And people are campaigning for you four to get fired! Now tell me! How should I settle all of this, WHEN THE KID IS NOT RIGHT HERE RIGHT NOW?!"

Jake sighed in frustration, barely hiding back his retort. Suddenly, Captain Raymond Holt entered the office, "Pardon me for interrupting, but I have been listening to the reprimand, and I have to step in and speak up for these detectives here."

"What?" The deputy commissioner furrowed his brows in disbelief. Even the rest of the detectives couldn't believe their ears. 

"What they did, although it was impractical for the NYPD, was acted with the citizen's interest in their mind. They said it before, the kid is just a minor. He's a barely 15 years old kid, who was drugged, kidnapped, shot at, physically and emotionally abused by a group of highly violent men." Holt explained calmly to the deputy.

"What he needed wasn't to be thrown into the political arena, or to be placed with the responsibility of saving the NYPD, right after undergoing a traumatic event. He needs to go home, and the detectives here saw that." He added.

The deputy sighed and then yelled again, "So, what are we supposed to do right now?"

"Tell the public the truth." Raymond replied, shocking the deputy.

"Are you crazy?!" 

"I believe, that is our best course of action at the moment. The attack happened in a short span of time. We had worked with the little information we have–"

"And then what? We lost the kid because we let some intern kid dig around the evidence phone?" The deputy interjected in anger.

Amy spoke up instinctively, "Sir, if I may say something. Although Abby was an intern, she had worked very professionally."

"And she managed to do a job that would take the other specialist half a day to finish, in just half an hour." Jake added too as he wanted to back up Amy.

"Silent. I don't want to hear one more word from you guys." The deputy said. "All of you have to get yourself ready for a disciplinary review–"

"But sir!" Terry stopped him. "Look, I am at the top of the command line in the precinct right now when our captain falls into a coma. Let me take responsibility for all of these."

"Sarge-" Rosa, Jake and Amy called out.

"Enough. All of you guys were only working under my order, and you have nothing to do with it–"

"JAKE!!" Suddenly, a shrill voice called out to Jake from outside of the office. "Gina?" Jake turned in confusion. As he saw her, he asked, "What are you doing here?"

"Citizens aren't allowed–" The deputy spoke, but Gina held her palm to him, stopping him from saying anything. "Shhh Old Dinosaur. I have an important question to ask the detectives here. How are you guys feeling? When you are now hailed as heroes, for saving a helpless, hot teenager from the clutches of the terrorists?"

"Gina what are you talking about?" Jake asked in confusion, and at the same time he tried to push Gina out of the room. "I know I said the interview is today, but we are in the middle of something serious right now."

"Interview for what?" Raymond asked.

Jake was a bit hesitant and he mumbled, "Interview for a desk receptionist."

"Hold on. You–"

"Gina." She corrected the deputy's words instantly, causing Raymond to be impressed.

"Yeah. Gina. What did you say before? They are being hailed as a hero?"

Gina chuckled derisively as if insulting the deputy, "Yes. Edward Newgate, the kid you were so worried about, tweeted about it all. He said that without Sergeant Terry Jeffords and Detective Rosa Diaz, he would've died before he got kidnapped. He also asked his fans to call off the witch hunt on those detectives as they are his savior and the only reason he's still alive today."

"He's calling for a press conference to explain about the matter at 6 o'clock today, in his company building in California. Jake, you need to get me a ticket and let me enter the press conference so that I can give him a hug, telling him that he has been very strong in dealing with the snowball life had thrown at him." Gina added.

The deputy was speechless when he heard about Edward's decision. "I don't know whether this is a good thing, or a bad thing for us."

Raymond said, "He managed to get me to watch Music Television, (MTV) for the first time in my life last night when he invited the Philharmonics with him, and managed to concoct a beautiful orchestra rendition of his mainstream song."

"So I strongly believe that if he decided to conduct a press conference, it would've been meticulously planned out, and it would be nothing but beneficials to these detectives." Raymond turned to the four detectives and said, "Seeing how he regards you guys as his savior, and wants to get the heat away from you, he's holding you guys in a positive light. Do you guys have a good rapport."

Jake was confused, but still replied, "Well, we did vibe out when we were discussing about the Die Hard films, a legendary masterpiece of all times–"

"Jake!" Rosa stopped him.

"Right. Sorry. We do have a rapport." Jake replied simply.

…

The media coverage about the entire incident was still going strong even when Edward had already returned to California. The surrounding Entertain buildings were covered with fans, holding up banners to support Edward and to cheer him up from his traumatic event.

Rosa saw the news coverage of the event and muttered, "I don't like this at all. I feel like we're using him."

Terry nodded and said, "I feel the same way. I feel all dirty inside."

Jake smiled, "Why are you guys feeling so dumps in the dumps? We're practically heroes! I mean, we are heroes every day, but it's not a usual thing to get people asking if we want to sell our movie rights! And to answer that question, not if–"

"Did you just say dumps in the dumps?" Amy interjected.

"Don't ruin my vibe Amy. Come on!" Jake protested. He then mumbled, "I miss Charles."

The room fell into a hushed silence as Edward approached the podium, his bandaged arm and bruised face evident to everyone present. The flashes of cameras filled the air, capturing the image of a resilient young man.

"You know, earlier in the day, I was thinking that if I needed to hold a press conference, it would be to talk about my achievement in the 2009 MTV awards, how me, a newcomer, managed to snatch up 3 of the awards. But life does have a certain way to make your day even more special." Edward said with a chuckle as he spoke to the microphone.

He pointed to the reporter who was raising her arms up, "Yes. You."

The blonde reporter with thick glasses and curly hair asked, "Can you explain to us what happened?"

"I mean, it's all covered up in the news. Is that really the question you want to ask?" Edward joked, pretending to be confused, which made the reporters laugh. 

The reporters there were vetted by the company and were all professionals, therefore there weren't any questions that were damaging to his reputation or were too much for him to answer. Edward talked about the detectives, how Terry and Rosa laid down their lives to save him, Jake and Amy who investigated who he was and saved him from the kidnappers.

"A lot of you guys keep saying that they need to be held accountable. But they submitted their hunch to their captain, and when they didn't get any support, they still went on and tried to save me on their own."

"They are good guys, and good cops. TV and Movies made us believe that all police are bad, but there are still cops who keep true to the words 'Serve and Protect' out there. I am really glad that I have met them."

"So for Captain Raymond Holt of the 99 precinct, Sergeant Terry Jeffords of the 99 precinct, Detective Rosa Diaz of the 99 precinct, Detective Jake Peralta of the 99 precinct, and lastly, Detective Amy Santiago of the 99 precinct, and all of the other police officers involved,…Thank you, for saving my life. "

Numerous camera flashes illuminated the entire room as Edward thanked the detectives. In New York, the detectives were confused." Jake muttered, "Captain Raymond Holt of the 99 precinct?" 

Edward was tired at this moment and had forgotten the tiny detail. But his words would soon come true because the NYPD decided to make Raymond Holt the replacement captain because of the high numbers of commendation from the fans, just a few hours later. 

The press conference continued, "Rumor has it that you had fought off 11 men on your own and could make it out from the kidnappers by yourself. Is that true?"

Edward responded jokingly, "Actually, I ambushed 2, knocked out 7 others with sleeping gas, and kicked one guy in the nuts. So, I only fought off one guy who wanted to kill me. I'm not THAT awesome."

He added, "That guy also said that he wants to sell me off to an island where I would be the rich and wealthy people's sex slave, but he didn't tell me all of the details. I knew I had to break out of there before the ship came, which was 5 minutes later when the cops came to rescue me."

"Where is the island?" One of the reporters asked curiously.

Edward shrugged and said convincingly, "I only heard they said it's in the Caribbean Sea, Little Saint James Island if I'm not mistaken. (Epstein Island). Who knows what's going on at the island there. Any other questions?" 

The island would soon be investigated by the media, and the expose would come out sooner in this world. 

"Are you sure that K didn't have anything to do with this?" A fat reporter asked.

Edward shook his head and replied, "I'm sure. To do such a thing, the perpetrators needed to have basic cognitive skills. K doesn't have that kind of ability."

The reporters laughed at Edward's snide. His words did take a lot of the flames away from K, which made the guy secretly grateful that he decided to let go of the insult at the press conference..

"Will you sell this experience as a movie right?" One reporter asked jokingly.

"No. Unless I could be played by Ryan Gosling, I wouldn't sell my experience as a movie right." Edward replied playfully, which made the reporters laugh again.

One of the reporters, who was the asian reporter who interviewed Edward before asked, "You're smiling and joking around, so does the experience don't bother you that much?"

"Honestly, it does bother me. I don't think that I've been that scared in my life before." Edward said with a serious tone after thinking for a while.

"Oh, but you've been so brave in surviving this ordeal." She added.

Edward nodded and said, "Personally, I believe that Bravery isn't about the absence of fear. You could be fearful, and be brave at the same time. If you have fear, and you do it anyway, that's bravery for me."

The quote would soon be ingrained into a lot of people's minds. 

"You let your fans evacuate first before you do. Why?" Another reporter asked. 

"They are my cuties. I don't want anything to happen to them because of me." Edward replied with a chuckle. The fans who were watching the press conference started swooning, and became obsessively in love with him.

He answered all of the questions and made things clear for the public. He could keep his silence about the whole matter, but in doing so, it would make his life tiring from all of the public attention. 

Ironically after he explained about the matter and stood in front of the media, the attention people have on the matter slowly disappeared. 

"Are your injuries serious?" 

"No, it's just a scratch. But I did have to get 2 stitches. So hopefully it doesn't leave a scar." 

"What did Taylor respond when she knew you were kidnapped?"

"How should I know? I was…Kidnapped?" Edward looked at the reporter asking the question like he was stupid.

"What does Vanessa Hudgen have to do with all of this?"

"She's sleeping the entire time, so I don't think she had anything much to do in this."

"What did your dad say after you were kidnapped?"

"He told me to break off the neck of others who wanted to do the same."

"Can you?"

"Try, and you shall find out."

The press conference went on for another half hour before it ended. That same night, Taylor's new album, "FEARLESS" was released according to the schedule. The sales were explosive, and people kept relating the album's name to Edward.

As Edward went back to the office, Ted and Camila gave him a huge hug as soon as he walked through the door. The Dunphys, Mitch, Cam and Lily, Jay, Gloria and Manny, his friends, the ship's crew and employees, Entertain employees, Harvey, Pepper, Max, Selena and Vanessa, even RDJ, were all there at the office and they shouted, "Congrats on winning the awards!"

They blew off the party poppers, and whistled for Edward as they brought 4 cakes to him. 

"One cake for each award, and Oh, this one, is a special cake that the children had made for you." Cam explained.

The last cake was a green frosting cake. It was clear that it was made by unskilled bakers, and there was a drawing of a stickman Hulk, choking the bad guy on top of it.

"I drew this." Luke took credit confidently despite Alex and Haley looking hesitant. 

Edward was in disbelief before he smiled softly. He looked at the people all around and said, "Thank you everyone. I love it."