His Conundrums

Chapter 13

Goodbye, My Old Friend

It was around 4 p.m. when the cocktail-blue sky turns to tar-black, the clouds shadowed the entire city, and the wind threatening for a long rainy night. The rain lashed down on the rooftops. People rushed for cover, and umbrellas were opened as the clouds spat out their beads of water.

"What a cold afternoon," Joe said, staring at the rain tapping the window.

Sirius looked outside as he sipped his own coffee.

"By the way, how did you know it was Mr. Lauve's place?" Joe asked him.

Three days had passed, and it seems like Mr. Lauve looked like he already moved on, seeing him prepared these two young men's perfect espresso on a rainy afternoon. Well, no one knows the real pain of seeing your friend die or how fast he could recover himself from grieving aside from Mr. Lauve.

"He was once a man with dignity..." Sirius said, taking a glance at Mr. Lauve, who was about to sleep in his chair.

"...and still, he is." He said, fixing his eyes to a picture displayed on the wall. It was an old picture of The Notchers.

"What? He's a gang leader with dignity?" Joe asked him.

"If your life went astray and you could do nothing about it, what would you do to save a friend's life?" Sirius asked him back, which makes Joe think in silence.

Mario Jagneer is a good man. He left a message in that cup saying 'save the files.' It was written inside the cup out of a black pen, which is dark and small enough to be covered by espresso. He made Mr. Lauve drink it while they're having a short conversation. He has to be careful because Lucas was with them.

During their conversation, he asked Mr. Lauve, 'where's the best way to die?' that's a question they used to ask before when they were in the army, and Mario knew his answer. Lucas let the old man wish to be granted since it'll be his last, and he was a bit short-tempered. Mario knew Redmund was being acquainted by a detective and a smart thief and will solve the trails he left behind. Mario bought them enough time to call the police but short enough to see him cold dead on the floor.

Mario's name was used as the gang leader called Xi, but Lucas leads the group. They rather use an ex-military man's name rather than a short-tempered dull-witted man.

"I know!" Joe said when he thought about an answer.

"What?" Sirius asked him.

"Give him a hug." He said.

"I thought you were smart." He stated.

"But I really want to give you a hug right now," Joe said, copying Sirius' straight face.

"I guess Mario was wrong about you," Sirius said. Joe furrowed his brows and narrowed his eyes. He seriously thought about hugging Sirius for what he did.

"I think it is essential." He said and was about to move from his place.

"No," Sirius said quickly.

"No?" He asked.

"No." He replied.

"Okay..." Joe rested his back on his chair, putting his hands on his chin, thinking for a minute. "But my life did go astray, and I have nothing to give you."- He added.

"Just give me peace of mind and let me enjoy my coffee," Sirius said. He sipped his coffee. Joe did obey and nodded his head, saying, "Okay."

Joe gave the mug right before Mr. Lauve's birthday ends. The old man was surprised to see it at Joe's hands. He broke the mug and saw the microchip where the files were, the files they were dying to have. Mr. Lauve took and broke it, throwing it away like how it threw a precious friend's life.

-0-0-0-

"Sir! We've found Lucia Porter's body." George said as he entered Alex's office

"Good job," Alex said, patting his shoulder as he left the room. No one can explain the joy he felt hearing those two words the first time in a while.

"You look happy." Audrey smiled at him as she followed her father outside, making a quick stop at the door. George looked at her but suddenly looked down, fixing his eyeglasses.

"Are you not coming?" She said.

"Oh!" He exclaimed made Audrey chuckled.

-0-0-0-

The night was still young, but the clouds showed the opposite. It was not a while ago when the heavy rain showered the entire city, trying to make their sin washed away by the rainwater, making every street wet and slippery.

The smell of the dampened alley mixed with smoke and weed clogged his nose as he passed through some old men, sending him daggers by the way they look. A path no one dared to cross even in broad daylight but a perfect place for some homeless man with nothing to lose. Sirius was walking without making a sound, hugging himself in the cold with his coat until he saw a squatter area down in that narrow street. He paused for a moment seeing it was dark and lonely to look at. A place that tells what comes next after the end.

He was about to go around the corner when he heard a lady screaming and crying at the top of her lungs, not too far away from where he was.

"Dead!... Dead!..." It was coming from the narrow street he passed by a while ago. The scream caught people's attention nearby and gathered around at the door. No one seems to notice.