Hunt Down Rose

Chapter 6: Shattered Memories (Part IV)

I felt useless although I have no excuse this time since this is an important matter. Sabie understood that as she covered for me in taking care of Elise. I somehow managed to let go of her and immediately left the place towards the ground floor of the mansion. There, I was met with an operative from the NBI.

“It’s a pleasure to meet you Thomas.” The NBI operative said, as I took a closer look appears to be a woman in her mid-twenties. She extended her hand to give a handshake.

I appreciated the gesture and shook hands, “So you’re the one they sent for me?”

“Not just me, the entire squad is waiting for your disposal outside.” Galvez is desperate to find them.

“Let’s go!” I said to her as she directed me towards an armored van containing four people with the back trunk containing a small room for communication. It’s filled with screens and surveillance cameras similar to Carlos’ setup.

“Hello Mr. Thomas, I already have visuals of the target.” The I.T. in charge of the screen says, drinking a can of soda.

“Is this the latest one or several minutes ago?” I asked.

“We both have them sir. As of now they are in EDSA caught up in traffic.” He replied.

“How’d you know it’s their vehicle?”

“The records from the cameras all over the place tells us everything. It’s a gray Montero sport with thick mountaineering wheels. The plate has been removed and replaced by a mock for registration plate”.

I went away from the van for a bit and called Galvez. After a few beeps I was able to contact him. “Hey, I want you to get my stuff in the crypt. You know how to access my room right?”

“Your room? What exactly do you want me to get there?”

“There’s a weapon case in my storage room, similar to the size of a luggage bag. I want you to bring it and rendezvous with me in a location I’ll designate later.”

“I’ll be on it. Mark the place and I’ll be there as fast as I can.” Galvez replied before cutting the conversation.

I went back to the van, “Give me access to the cameras and I need to have a direct link with you guys ASAP. We’re leaving now!”

After gaining access to the communication lines, we went inside our respective vehicles and tried to look for routes to cut the hostage taker’s path. Looking at the camera records from twenty minutes ago, they’re been going round and round Kalayaan until reaching a street near Cembo. From there, they took a turn and surprisingly a white Toyota with the plate “V0KKIO” also went out. Trying to monitor where it went, it’s already bound for Pasig city.

“We need to make a quick turn!” I said to the driver.

“But sir we are trying to cut em down.” The driver replied, looking at the mirror.

“We’re chasing the wrong car… They must’ve switched the passengers on a certain blind spot near Makati!” They were surprised with such a possibility, however, orders are orders.

Immediately the vehicle turned around and went to the direction I want them to. Afterward, I called Galvez again and told him to bring my case near Jenny’s (Pasig Bridge). I also asked him to bring my motorcycle along with him since I’ll have to chase them down.

After twenty minutes of monitoring and tracking, the vehicle is now within the borders of Marikina. From there, we initiated several checkpoints in the vicinity of the Toyota to lock them down. My motorcycle arrived in a tow truck and Galvez was the one driving it. As soon as he gave me the keys to my ride, I pulled out the crossbow from the weapons case along with the five cylindrically tipped bolts.

“Don’t tell me you’re gonna shoot that thing?” Galvez asked.

“Yes I am… This thing ain’t directly lethal to be honest. The very tip itself contains acid that explodes on contact. One of the best things to use against thick rims.”

Before I leave, I gave the order to make the information public regarding the hostage-taking. But instead of highlighting the white Toyota, I wanted them to focus on the black Montero in EDSA. This will give the hostage-takers some complacency since they thought the redirection worked well on their part. It will give me ample time to catch up while having the white vehicle monitored for further movements.

I had the crossbow fixed on a strap along with the bolts attached to a holder. I left the scene and went full speed on my motorcycle, using my GPS to give the best possible routes to simplify my travel. So far the vehicle stopped on a nearby compound in “Parang” as I was halfway through. It wasn’t too long when it began to move again towards the mountains near Fortune. What they didn’t know is that I was already on their tail. I pulled my crossbow out as soon as I got the visual of them, approaching them at full speed.

I fired a bolt straight at the back left tire. The bolt tip exploded as traces of the acid immediately corroded the rubber of the tires. This was supposed to be for the Montero, making the usage of a single bolt overkill for standard tires. The white vehicle slid down the slope near a factory, bound towards the surrounding areas where open fields are located. I chased them down after stopping and reloading the crossbow with another bolt.

An estimated time of two minutes have passed, I saw the white Toyota parked inside an abandoned building. I entered the place and parked my motorcycle inside. One of the hostage-takers emerged and pointed a gun at me. However, I already had my crossbow pointed in his direction. I shot the bolt straight at his chest. The acid instantly ate through his clothes as his front upper body was being smothered like roasted marshmallows. He fell on the floor with blood splashing out of his exposed ribs. It wasn’t too long before the screams of pain ended in a quiet whisper.

I entered the abandoned building and saw two of the remaining hostage takers inside a large room with no windows, just a chair, and a table. One of them is pointing a revolver towards the tightly tied president’s daughter. I hid behind a wall, although I am certain they know I’m here.

“I thought we managed to shake the police off! I didn’t expect a rat to come out of nowhere!” The person pointing the gun said.

“I want to see your hands now!? You don’t want to know what would happen to her right?!” Their demands are pretty common.

I threw the crossbow to the sides although as an extra I have a handgun at the back of my waist. I showed myself in front of them, with my hands up in the air.

“So you’re the fucker that killed the rest of us!!!” the other hostage taker said.

I was able to take a good look at Alecia as she was looking at me with eyes of determination. It appears to me that she’s just waiting for an opportunity to escape their grasp. Immediately after their eyes were fixed on me, Alecia dropped down to get out of the line of fire. The hostage-taker managed to shoot a bullet due to surprise, luckily it missed her body. She gave me enough time to pull my Glock out and hip fire the two hostage-takers down. I pressed forward and shot them several times on their limbs to prevent them from shooting just to be sure. The one holding Alecia was already dead when he fell down while the other one is struggling to prevent blood loss. 

I picked her up and sat her down the chair, removing the plaster on her mouth. Then using my multi-tool knife, I sliced my way out of the several layers of packaging tape wrapped around her. It took me quite a while since she insists that I should take it slow and be careful.

“That was a close call,” Alecia said smiling as if the hostage-taking was just another scene in a book.

Having her limbs free, Alecia stretched for a bit, unfazed with what’s going on.

“Looks like this isn’t your first time getting kidnapped,” I said, going near the living hostage-taker for a short interview.

“Not really. Since my dad is a former spy, he taught me how to remain calm in such situations. Besides, I knew someone would go after me.” That’s one heck of a training I you ask me…

I faced the hostage-taker, with his face filled with anger and torment.

“You fucker…” the hostage-taker said, smirking.

“I’m happy you still have the energy,” I replied as I held one of his limbs tight. Massaging it to stimulate more blood flow and to make his bleeding faster.

“I don’t want to spend more time here so I’ll make this quick. Why’d you kidnap her?”

The man remained silent, looking at me with disgusted eyes. “You’ll never squeeze anything out of me peasant!” He's practically useless for me. 

Suddenly I had a great idea. I had Alecia pick up my crossbow and give me one of the bolts. I showed the bolt to him specifically the tip.

“This is going to hurt reaaaaally bad. From a scale of one to ten it’s going to be a million. I hope you enjoy our parting gift.” After those lines, I advised Alecia to call the police using my phone outside. I don’t want her to see the next series of events.

Gaining a bit of distance, using the crossbow I shot one of his legs until the entire thing is soaked in acid. The man was trying his best to move away but the potency is strong enough to stick and consume even the concrete. I left the room as it was filled with screams of pain, the stench of molten flesh, and boiling blood lingering in the air.

I waited outside as the police were able to catch up to us within a short period of time. The military seems to have been summoned too to ensure her safety. I decided to leave the place to prevent any interviews or reports. I wore the crossbow on its strap and went on my motorcycle. Alecia approached me as the rest of the police were securing the area. Just as I was about to wear my helmet, Alecia went extremely close and gave me a kiss on my cheek. 

“What was that for?” I asked. My face is partially covered in blood and sweat but she still did that regardless.

“Nothing, a knight deserves a small reward after saving a princess right? I hope we can meet more next time!” She replied with a smile. Her actions are hard to decipher and personally I find it dangerous. Ever since the kidnapping I felt something odd about her but cannot pinpoint what exactly.

(To Be Continued)