Enjoy ˚₊·➳❥
...
"Celine, oh my god." He muttered before quickly pulling his phone out of his jacket pocket and searching for his friend's number. He waited nervously for an answer as the girl looked at him, unable to understand what was going on around her.
"What's wrong? " She asked, then got startled when he suddenly yelled into the speaker and threw the phone on the seat next to him. "Shit, Aiden!"
He grumbled, wiping his face with both hands as he exhaled angrily, before turning to the girl, who continued to stare at him in confusion.
"Do you have any idea where he is? Tell me anything you know."
The girl's features stiffened at his intimidating tone, and she swallowed hard, staring into his sharp eyes that pierced her like an arrow.
She flinched as his voice grew louder and more impatient.
"Speak up! Are you deaf?"
"Why are you yelling at me? You're scaring me. Stop it. And why are you asking me about him? " Her voice shook as she covered her face with her hands. He said in a calm tone, "I'm sorry. I just needed to calm down for a minute."
He was staring at the windshield, lost in thought. His mind was trying to come up with a solution to the crisis that was about to happen if he didn't move, or maybe it had already happened and it was over.
"Eric's kidnapped a girl I know, and we're trying to figure out where she is."
He paused for a moment before continuing, looking disappointed. "And it seems we have failed."
She suddenly spoke as she looked into the rearview mirror to lock her gaze with his. "I remember when my husband used to do business with him. He was making deals with him in the clubs."
She didn't even realize how long it took for Taylor to turn back to her, blinking a few times as she stared at his face, which was almost glued to hers. "That means he's, uh."
"Yeah, it's totally possible that he could be in places like that." She nodded quietly while staring at his hands clenching the back of the seat. "And these places are the perfect environment for him to freely do his business amidst all those corrupted men."
She added, "And that means if we don't act quickly, that girl will meet the same fate as those girls. " He quickly turned the key to get ready to drive off, then got surprised when the girl jumped into the seat next to him.
"What are you doing?"
She gave a slight smile and turned her head toward the young man who kept watching her out of the corner of his eye.
"What? I'll help you; just call me Hiromi."
...
He was sitting on the floor of what looked like a bedroom for two, his back against the wall in the corner, his knees pressed to his chest, his body unable to move because of the thick rope wrapped around his legs and wrists.
He slowly lifted his eyes and looked at the uniformed man sitting in a chair by the door. His face had no expression, and he never lingered for a second on any suspicious movement Aiden might make.
He let out a sigh, rolling his eyes at the other person, who just kept staring at him. Then he lowered his head again and stared at the wooden floor, trying to figure out how to get out of this mess.
Even though the odds of success were pretty slim. He decided to give it a shot instead of sitting on his hands because he didn't want to waste any more time.
"Hey, I need to use the bathroom." Aiden said as he pointed to the bathroom door and waited for the guard's reaction, who didn't budge from his seat.
He cursed under his breath and said with an annoyed look on his face, "You want me to pee in here or what?"
He smiled a little, staring at the other person, who sighed, then got up from his chair and went to the bathroom. He opened the door and waved for Aiden to come in. "Go ahead."
The young man raised his left eyebrow and gave the guard a look that made him realize what he was trying to say, then approached him and untied the rope around his legs to get him up off the floor.
"What? I need two hands to use the toilet paper."
"Or do you want to help me?"
The guard choked, looking disgusted, and untied his wrists, pushing him inside and slamming the door with enough force that Aiden couldn't help but giggle. Then he whispered under his breath. "Stupid..."
He heard the guard's voice from behind the door, "If you think you can escape from the window, I'm sorry to tell you that it's smaller than you think. Even mice can't get out!"
"Even mice can't get out!" Aiden mimicked the guard's sentence in a sarcastic tone while looking at the high window, "That was not my idea, you idiot," he added.
He warmed up, exercising his vocal cords and screaming at the top of his lungs, startling the guard, who stood up and opened the door wide, staring wide-eyed at Aiden, who had spread his butt out on the bathroom floor and was pointing his index finger at the sink, stuttering as he faked the terrified expression on his face.
"Over there! Over there!"
He furrowed his eyebrows, then looked over where Aiden was pointing, swallowed, and took slow steps toward the sink to look at the bottom, which had nothing in it.
"There's nothing in there. What's wrong with you?"
The guard realized he was being tricked right away and quickly turned to Aiden, grabbing him tightly. He squeezed Aiden's wrists so hard that Aiden let out a pained groan. The guard dropped the glass bottle on the floor, scattering its pieces everywhere.
A tense stare and a silence where the only sound to be heard was the sound of Aiden's disturbed breathing. "You think you're so smart?" the guard said, smirking as he looked at him.
"Yeah."
Aiden's confident answer made the guard's smile fade and his eyes widen before he felt a huge pain as Aiden kicked him in the stomach with such force that his body was thrown backwards towards the bathtub, and his head hit the wall so hard that a black curtain fell in front of his eyes.
"Yeah, and smarter than you think, asshole."
He took the guard's gun and shoved it into his own. Then he started searching the guard's other pocket for his phone. He took it and started checking the contact file. He bit his lip when he saw a missed call from Taylor. He tapped on the screen to write a message, then sighed before hitting send.
...
"Do you think we'll find him in this place? Why is it so far from the city center? It looks like a dive." The man with the hazel eyes was thinking about it as he looked through the car window at the entrance of the club. The loud music barely penetrated the walls, and he silently looked at the shapes of the people who entered, which in turn gave him an idea of how dirty the place was.
"I'm not sure, but I remember very well where he and his friend sold me as a commodity to another rich guy."
"I see."
He nodded quietly before he felt a vibration in his pants pocket, telling him that a message had arrived. He sighed in relief when he found out who sent it and checked the content of the message...
(Where are you?)
He quickly clicked on the number, not giving Aiden a chance to explain why he was suddenly absent, and growled into the phone in a way that struck fear into the heart of the woman sitting next to him.
"Where have you been, Aiden? Why haven't you been answering my calls, you idiot?"
"I just got past the palace. I took advantage of the chaos in the halls while the dragonfly's men were busy searching for his half-kidnapped wife. Tell me, where are you?" He said.
"I'm sending you the location," Taylor replied.
...
"What's on your mind?"
Hiromi said with a sigh as she stared at Taylor's fingers tapping on the steering wheel. His eyes were fixed on the windshield, and he was clearly lost in thought.
"Just stay in the car and don't move until I get back, okay?" He said, not even looking at her.
"Not everyone is allowed to enter." Her lips lifted into a wide smile as she slowly nodded her head.
This made Taylor sigh in annoyance before slamming the steering wheel with both hands angrily, his mouth mumbling every kind of insult on the planet.
After a few seconds of silence, she added, looking at him out of the corner of her eye. "Maybe the dragonfly's wife is allowed in."
...
He narrowed his eyes and raised his arm to shield his vision from the strobe lights, which were too bright to see clearly.
All he could see were bodies stuck to each other in a sloppy way, swaying drunk, and random movements that weren't worth calling a dance. It was just like how men use seduction to lure their prey and then end up in private rooms where they go about their business.
"Stay behind me and don't get out of my sight, got it? " Taylor spoke in a commanding tone while moving his eyes to all corners of the club, addressing the one standing next to him who stood on her toes to reach him despite wearing high heels due to her short height, bringing her lips to his ear and saying loudly so that he could hear her over the deafening music.
"Your orders are orders, my bodyguard."
She smiled at him, and he just remained silent, looking at her out of the corner of his eye.
His ears picked up the male voice, which seemed to be coming from the loudspeaker in the club. He nodded to Hiromi and started moving his legs towards the voice.
He was shocked as he stared at the guy with the round glasses, who had grabbed a girl who looked like she was still in her teens. Her terrified expression showed just how scared she was. The man grabbed her by the arm and dragged her behind him to the stage, pushing her roughly to her knees. She lowered her head, muffling her sobs, as she listened to the customers' laughter echoing through the hall.
To put it simply, the bidding hall, where all he could hear at that moment were the voices of men bidding for the girl. Some of them were offering huge sums of money to get her, and others were making fun of her by offering amounts that weren't even enough to buy a small doughnut.
"Come on, she deserves more than what you're offering me." The man with the round glasses spoke in a sarcastic tone through the microphone before he approached the girl, who winced in pain as she felt his fingers tugging at her long hair from behind, and she closed her eyes in fear, her body shaking as the man's breath blew across her bare neck as he hissed into her ear.
"Seduce them, stupid, or do you want to impress them while sitting on the floor like a statue?"
He shoved her at the back of her head so hard that her head bounced forward and her tears flowed, covering her mouth weakly.
She was horrified when a man's voice suddenly rang out from the crowd. She widened her eyes as she listened to his sentence, realizing that her honor, all that she had left, was about to be trampled on tonight.
"One million dollars."
The guy's offer got everyone in the club looking at him, some whispering about how bad his taste in girls was, and others just staying silent. He was sitting on a chair in the corner, arms crossed, staring silently at the bald man. The bald man smiled as soon as he spotted him through the crowd and raised his arm to show that the bidding was over.
"Sold!"
"What's on your mind?" Hiromi whispered in Taylor's ear, but he ignored her question and carefully pulled one of the two guns out of his jacket pocket and pushed it into Hiromi's hand, who had just realized what he was up to.
He got up from his chair, shoved his hands into the pockets of his pants, and strolled over to the girl who was still looking at the floor, totally avoiding looking at the person who had just taken possession of her, her heart pounding as he approached the steps leading up to the platform where she was still kneeling, until he stopped in front of her.
All she could see at that moment was a blurry image of two pairs of black shoes.
She was startled when he bent down in front of her, and then she felt his forefinger touch her chin, trying to lift her head; she closed her eyes tightly, refusing to look at his face.
As she listened to his calm voice, she felt her features relax. She had never felt such a strange feeling in her heart.
"Open your eyes and look at me. I'm not going to hurt you."
She slowly opened her eyes and saw a soft smile on his face. She looked at him, contemplating his details and his pleasant features in silence.
She jumped when he put his lips close to her ear to whisper words that made her features freeze, not understanding what was going on around her. "Don't worry, just get up and follow me."
She didn't even realize it until she surrendered to him and grabbed his outstretched hand. He helped her stand in front of the round glasses, who was almost bursting with glee as he imagined the huge amount of money between his eyes.
...
"Please, have a seat." The round-glasses guy enthusiastically addressed Taylor as he closed the door to one of the rooms in the club where he always made his most lucrative deals.
He pointed his arm toward a chair across the desk. Taylor sat down, and then the other one sat down in his office chair and stared with a big smile at the teenage girl behind the chair where Taylor was sitting with her head down and nervously rubbing her hands together.
"I only take cash, Mr." The man said in a playful tone as he leaned back in the chair, arms crossed, while scanning up and down Taylor's body. Suddenly, he got startled as Taylor pulled his gun out of his jacket pocket so quickly that it made the man's eyes widen as he stared at the gun pointing directly at his head.
"People like you should be extinct, don't you think? You're just taking up space, you piece of shit."
The man gritted his teeth in rage, staring furiously at the young man who kept testing his patience with a provocative smile. Meanwhile, the girl watched, her eyes darting back and forth between the two men, unable to comprehend what was happening in front of her eyes.
"What do you want, asshole?"
"What do I want? I'll tell you what I want." The guy with the hazel hair slowly walked up to where the other person was sitting, then put the gun barrel against his temple and whispered in his ear, making his eyes go wide. "I want to see your dear friend right now."
"I don't know what you're talking about."
The only thing the man could feel was the gun pressed against his temple, and he closed his eyes as he listened to the other's impatient response.
"Run!" Taylor said, keeping his eyes on the man. She stood there, frozen, until he yelled, "I said run!" Then he heard the door closing behind him.
"Don't be dumb. You know what I'm talking about. You both kidnap girls and trade them in these cheap places like you, and you want me to believe you don't have anything to do with him?"
"I don't have anything to do with him, I swear."
The man only felt his back hit the wall hard, followed by the feeling of his body being lifted off the floor by the other man, who pressed on the collar of his shirt and added furiously as he brought his face closer to his own. Then he felt his stomach shrink as the barrel of the gun was about to be inserted into his stomach.
"You're not moving from here until you tell me where he is, or I'm going to empty this gun into your stomach."
The man fell silent, only staring at Taylor's eyes as they pierced him, and said coldly. "Okay, I'll tell you; just get that gun away from me."
The man smiled slyly as Taylor loosened his grip, then took the opportunity to kick him in the stomach with such force that Taylor's body bounced back and fell, his back hitting the chair behind him and the gun slipping from his hand.
He quickly grabbed the gun from the floor and aimed it at Taylor's chest. Then, the door suddenly opened, and a rough voice almost scared him out of his wits. As he pulled the trigger, the bullet missed the target and just scratched Taylor's arm.
"Where to, sweetie?" Said Hiromi, smiling, as she stepped into the room, his eyes widening in disbelief as he stared at the weapon his bodyguard was holding in his hand, pointing it directly at him.
"Dragonfly's wife?"
She crossed her arms and added, trying to make him afraid.
"Don't even think about resisting. My men are all around you, so don't even think about running away." She let out a fake laugh at the end, and she had him believing her lie. She just let her bodyguard out of the trunk of the car.
"So, your business is growing. Congrats." She said, and at the same time she was trying to distract him from the hazel-haired man who'd slowly crept up behind him, he quickly took a chair and used it to hit him in the head from behind, and then he fell to the ground, eyes closed.
She went up to the guy and lowered herself down in front of him. "I hope you didn't kill him. I'm not done with him yet," she said, and then looked up at Taylor's arm. He took out his jacket to check the wound, which wasn't too bad.
"Are you okay?" She asked; he smiled a little when he noticed her worried face. He replied, "I'm fine."
"I never thought you would worry about someone who kidnapped you," he added, still smiling despite the pain he was suffering. She rolled her eyes in annoyance and ignored him. She stood up again and addressed her bodyguard, "Take him to the hospital, and..."
She got closer to the man she was addressing and continued as she grabbed his black tie with one hand, "Never tell my husband about Taylor; I want him to be safe. I owe him for helping me hunt one of the two hyenas, got it?"
The man nodded slowly as he looked at Taylor, who didn't say anything. He just kept looking at her until he was startled when he recognized Aiden's voice, who rushed into the room and stopped as soon as he saw Hiromi; he swallowed hard and remained silent.
"Oh, shit," he muttered. Hiromi asked, "I guess you're Taylor's friend, right?"
Aiden nodded slowly, still trying to figure out what was going on. Was he surrounded by friends or enemies?
"This asshole knows where Eric Turner is." She said as she pointed her index finger at the man still sleeping on the ground, then she sat on the edge of the desk. "But we have to wait for him to wake up so he can tell us."
Aiden immediately went on the attack, grabbing his collar and pushing him into the desk chair. He let out a groan of pain as his fingers dug into the skin of his neck. "Tell me where Celine is. What did you do to her?"
He remained silent, turning his head in all directions, staring helplessly at the eyes that pierced him from every angle, and then realized that it was useless to resist. He spoke in a low voice after slowly lowering his gaze to the table, staring blankly into the void.
"Last night, Eric offered me a lot of money to help him kidnap your girl."
"You didn't answer my question, you bastard! Where did you take her?"
The man was dazed as Aiden kept punching him in the face, which got swollen. He yelled back, knowing Aiden wouldn't leave him alone until he got what he wanted and wouldn't care if he killed him.
"The forest of willow trees!"
He arched his eyebrows, confused, and stared blankly at the other guy, who had spit out his front tooth. That tooth had been knocked out by the last punch, which was way more powerful than the previous ones.
"Are you talking about that forest in the east with all the willow trees?" Aiden asked.
The man nodded in confirmation. "Yes, we hid her in an abandoned place that looks like an old school or something, and it's in the middle of the forest."
Everyone in the room went quiet and looked at each other, confused.
"Do you know where it is? The school?" Aiden said, looking at Taylor, who shook his head and said, "I don't think so."
"In this case, you have to come with me," Aiden said, grabbing the man's hands and putting them behind his back. He put the handcuffs around the man's wrist and forced him to stand, pushing him from his back harshly.
When Aiden was about to head out of the room, Taylor followed him and said, "Wait, I'll come with you."
"No, Taylor, you've already helped me enough. I don't want to put your life in danger again. Just go to the hospital and take care of your injury." Aiden answered, standing up in the middle of the corridor and grabbing the man's arm.
"Do you think you can handle everything on your own?" Taylor kept insisting, but Aiden was more stubborn than him. He put on a faint smile. "Don't worry about me. I'm used to these things. I forgot to mention that I'm a cop."
"What?" Taylor said, standing in the middle of the hallway as he looked at Aiden's body one last time before he lost sight of him. "
He heard a sigh behind him, and when he turned around, he saw Hiromi leaning against the wall with her arms crossed. She had a little smile on her face as she said, "Eric and my husband were friends until he found out what Eric did to me in the past. Then he put it between his eyes, still wanting to put a gun in his mouth."
She looked at Taylor and said, "I'm watching the same movie, but with a few changes to the characters and events."
...