12. A LEAD, NO LEAD
1440 Words
{VANCE}
The plan was set in motion.
Money, ready...
Location, secured...
Communication, established.
I had the phone to my ear, listening to Mirabel's abductor as he gave me directions, while Jett followed behind me under the guise of a pregnant lady.
I didn't even know where he got the f*****g costume from, but he looked the part.
"You see the old woman selling seafood?" The abductor asked.
My eyes drifted around until they settled on the woman he described. "Yes."
"Good." He stated. "Follow the narrow path beside her stand, and keep walking."
I followed the route, weaving through traders and shoppers, careful so that Jett wouldn't lose me in the crowd.
As for Kyro and Stevon, they were around somewhere. I wore a wire, feeding everything straight to Jett, who relayed it to Kyro and Stevon.
"Where is my sister?" I asked, hoping he wasn't playing games with me.
"She is safe."
"That's not the question, asshole."
"That's my own answer, Prick." He bit back. "Your sister is safe until I suspect any foul play."
I snarled, gritting my teeth in profound rage but kept walking.
"Now, stop right there."
I halted in my tracks.
"Look to your left, what do you see?"
My eyes followed to the left, and I noticed some children playing catch by the sea. And then, some half-naked ladies twirling the strands of their hair as they flirted with the men patronizing them.
"What do you see, Vance?" He asked again.
"Children, ladies, and men."
"Great, now look ahead of you. You see that palm tree?"
I trailed my gaze ahead and saw a palm tree standing tall a couple of metres away from me. The scorching sun made the yellow sand burn the soles of my feet as I advanced.
Getting to the palm tree, I awaited further instructions, my eyes roaming around in case I noticed any slight, weird movement that'd tip me to this fucker behind the phone.
"Drop the money there," He commanded.
"Where the f**k is my sister?" I queried. "You won't be getting a dime if I don't have my sister."
"Vance?" The voice called. "Don't make me put a silver bullet in her head. Drop the money."
Reluctant, I placed the money at the foot of the palm's trunk with deliberate calm, my expression unreadable as I straightened, already calculating my next move.
And then, I caught a glimpse of someone watching me from a distance.
From his composed posture, I could tell he was either the abductor or a part. But I pretended not to see him and just looked at the back of my hand.
"Turn around, Vance." The abductor commanded.
I slowly turned on my heels in the direction I came from.
"Now, keep walking."
Calculatively, I took three steps forward, and the moment I caught a brief movement behind me, I dashed back and chased after the person who had just taken the money from the trunk.
There were two actually,
Two men in their early thirties.
"What the f**k are you doing, Vance?" The abductor hissed, anger kissing his teeth.
I ended the call with the abductor and spoke through Stevon's phone instead. "I'm on a chase. Two men heading to a secluded cabin settlement."
"We already have the main ones cornered, Vance," Kyro informed. "Jett, toss aside your costume and be here in three minutes."
In a hot pursuit, I continued to chase after those two men. I knew they would have changed their directions, but their options were limited.
After running for nearly ten minutes, they arrived at a secluded cabin settlement deep in the forest, with dozens of wooden cabins spread across the terrain.
Both of them separated. One took to his left, while the other took to his right and disappeared into one of those cabins. But unfortunately for them, we had all day. As long as it would lead to rescuing Mirabel, and ripping their throats out.
Suddenly, several men emerged from various cabins, wielding weapons; axes, clubs, baseball bats, and knives.
I saw Kyro in the distance, sneaking behind them unsuspected. And then, Jett showed up from another angle.
These men must have thought I came alone, so they advanced toward me.
"Here we go," I cracked my knuckles and worked out the stiffness in my neck.
Mirabel had to be in one of these cabins, and I don't mind going through a hundred of them to find her.
They charged at me all at once. And as they came, I slipped into my beastly form and attacked.
Grabbing two at the same time, I twisted their arms letting the weapons fall to the ground as they grunted in pain, and then I plunged my claws into their chests simultaneously and ripped their hearts out.
They dropped dead instantly in front of me.
"Catch!" I said to my next victims and tossed the bloodied, pulsating heart randomly at them. As they momentarily lost focus, I picked up the knives from my first victims and threw them at them.
A knife landed in one's eyes, while the other lodged into another's chest.
Kyro had just ripped three heads off in the blink of an eye. On the other hand, Jett was bashing in one of their skulls with a baseball bat.
Within a few minutes, their corpses lay dead at our feet. Blood tainted the dried leaves, shrubs, and the whole forest was looking like a den of m******e.
Kyro's chest heaved as he gave me a quick nod.
I nodded back and then acknowledged Jett too.
"You should take those cabins in that line," Kyro instructed me. "Jett, you take those. While I'd search through these in the middle."
As for Stevon, he wasn't a fighter. So all he had to do was remain outside and alert us if need be.
Without further ado, we sprinted into those cabins. I for one, scanned the first, second, and third. There were items inside the cabin that proved people had been there, but there was no sight of Mirabel.
Frustrated, I dashed out and saw Kyro running into another cabin. It was obvious he hadn't found Mirabel in the ones he checked.
Thereafter, I raced into the rest, checking them thoroughly, for any sign, any clue. Still, I found nothing of Mirabel.
Done with my search, I returned to the front and found Kyro, and Jett looking dejectedly.
They looked at me and their expression fell.
"You did not find her too?" Kyro asked me.
I shook my head, disappointed.
"f**k!" Jett cussed, his voice grated with anger.
I clenched and unclenched my fist, trying to understand where these motherfuckers could have kept our sister, then my phone beeped.
Irritated, I pulled out my phone from my pocket and stared at the message that popped up on my screen.
'You were asked to come alone, you disobeyed. You didn't deliver the money either. So the deal is off, your sister dies.'
A shaky breath left my lips, as the phone fell from my hand.
Jett rushed forward and picked up the device, when he read the message, color drained from his face.
"Let me see," Kyro took the phone from him and skimmed through it too. "No, he dare not hurt Mirabel. He f*****g dares not."
"How do we get this fucker today?" I asked them.
They all sighed. Stevon was silent because he knew this wasn't the time to give his unsolicited opinion.
"We have to plant spies on this island." Jett declared. "We need to leave first, and try to restrategize, but I know this fucker wouldn't dare to kill Mirabel."
"And what if he does?" Kyro asked. A question none of us wanted an answer to.
"He won't." I supported Jett.
Just as we turned around to leave, Jett and Stevon went back to get the bag of money. At the same moment, Kyro's phone rang and he picked up.
"Whoa, whoa... slow down." He said into the phone, and then put it on loudspeaker.
I instantly recognized the voice on the other end as Ama's. She was sobbing softly. “That girl, Lumira pushed me just because I wanted to ask a question, I nearly fell down the stairs, babe.”
“Lumira pushed you?” He repeated after her while giving me an angry glare.
“Yes, Babe.” She sniffled. “I had to grab on the railings to stop my fall, but I ended up twisting my ankle.”
Kyro bared his teeth, enraged. "Oh, I'm going to kill that wench, Lumira, today. And no one is going to stop me."
- Writer
