George was outside Eric's room knocking on the locked door as he was doing for the past 15 minutes or so.The try with the soup, bread and small salad on it has been carefully placed on the floor but George was starting to worry that the soup was getting cold. This was the third time he was reheating the soup as Eric simply refused to open the door.
-Eric! Come on,open the door. You have been in there for the past six hours.You need to eat something with your body and energy system in that condition.I cooked your favourite.Fish soup with curry and lemon. Let me in,brother.
After that word George felt a wave of pain dominating his being as a splitting headache forced him to sit down quickly before he collapsed from the pain.Of course he was careful not to fall on the tray.
It seemed Eric was still very angry at him to use their bond in such a way, to attack him physically.And that ,as George perceives it, was actually a good sign.It meant that Eric was directing his anger at others and not at himself.But there wasn't much time before Eric started blaming himself for George's outburst so George had to take advantage of the time he had to prevent it from happening and he would use any approach necessary to achieve it.
With great difficulty he standed up and looked at the direction of the door.
-I am not leaving,Eric.No matter how many times you send powerful energy waves to try and fry my brain,no matter how much you ignore me,I am not going anywhere.The thought of you hating me,kills me inside but if hating me means harming yourself then I will always find new life inside of me even if it enough only for a healing talk. So please Eric, open the door.I won't step in if you don't want to see me but at least take the food and be careful with how you use your energy system for awhile.After you are well again we can talk about what happened.
At that moment George's phone started ringing but he ignored it until the noise stopped only to start again after a few seconds.George seriously thought about breaking it but he changed his mind when he saw the name of the caller.
-Eric.I have to take this phone call but we are not done yet.
He climbed down the stairs,leaving the tray with the food outside of the room,and picked up the phone when he reached the living room.
-Yes?
-Boss.I have some good news for you.
-Good I could use some.
-I found him.The one you ordered us to find.
This book was originally published on Royal Road. Check it out there for the real experience.
-Excellent. Bring him here and I will have the money ready by the time you arrive.
-Not so fast,boss.I am afraid that the price just became higher.
-I am not in a bargaining mood.Bring him to me or I will place it on your head.
-The thing is,boss,that he wasn't captured alone.
-What do you mean?
-We were also forced to capture a young girl and her friend.So in truth you have to pay for three persons.
-I only asked you for a specific person.Now,if you were too incompetent at kidnapping him alone and you simply had to tie up all of his friends too thats your problem,not mine.But,okay.If I manage to extract valuable information from them then you will get paid for every piece of information I get.Sounds fair? Now bring them to me
A few minutes later at George's apartment
Having one small child and two men in his living room on their knees with their hands tied behind their back wasnt how how he was planning on spending his day.He recognised the red haired man from the party,he was the one who pulled the trigger, the one who almost sent Eric to his grave.Besides him was a blond man in his mid-thirties who George considers equally responsible for his soul brother's injury because he was the reason Eric got mixed up in all this in the first place
The little girl was an inconvenience.George recognised her from the party as he was accompanying the red-haired man but he didn't have anything against her and even tried to free her but she stubbornly refused to leave which was odd but he didnt time to question a child's point of view.He did give however explicit instructions to treat her as gently as possible.
-What are your names?
-Why should you tell me? Are you interested in becoming friends?
-Anthony! Stop. The man is obviously very angry and there is no need to provoke him any further.My name is Raphael and he is Anthony.Why are you holding us against our will?
George was looking at them stunned.This wasn't what he was expecting at all.In front of him there was a man with a poor sarcasm skills,who considered himself clever nonetheless,and who seemed to have abolished any sense of danger a long time ago.On the other hand,the man named Raphael belonged to a typical kind of men who hide their pain with kindness and compassion.George hated both of these kinds but knew they were harmless.So how did these happen that these two clowns threaten to turn his life upside down?
-You know why.All of you do.
-Oh right.Its because I almost killed your buddy at that "party" right after your mate nearly leady best friend to suicide.
George couldnt contain himself any longer.He grabbed him by the collar of his jacket and looked him dead in the eye with a murderous look.
-If my "buddy" hadnt made it out of this alive then I guarantee it that you would be the first one in centuries to live methods of torture that havent been used in centuries.
Right after he had said that the lamps in the ceiling started moving,like during an earthquake and a strong aura dominated the room that made Anthony feel like this man knew ways to make him suffer that Anthony never even considered possible.But he still refused to show the fear he was feeling.
George stopped looking at him threateningly only after he noticed out of the corner of his eye Anna who was now pale.At first George thought that she simply was scared by what she just saw but he suddenly realized that she had lost a bit of her color ever since they brought her to the apartment but now she was literally frightened.
He stood up, moved to her direction and kneeled in front of her and he noticed how he diverted his gaze.It may seem the normal response of a kidnapped child but George couldn't get out of his mind the thought that this girl knew more than she let on.
He turned to speak to the hitman who was still waiting by the door,for his reward no doubt.
-Take these two men down to the basement and leave me alone with his child.After I finish talking with her, come to collect your money.
The kidnapper obeyed, obviously displeased and angry that his payment has been delayed. When the three men were out of the room George turned to the girl,who was now more anxious than ever.
-Dont worry.I am not going to hurt you.Here,I will untie you.
When Anna's binds have been removed she slowly stood up,taking the hand he offered and sat besides him on the couch.She was obedient because she knew that trying to escape now would be pointless and idiotic.Besides he was a man who nearly lost his soul brother and she knew,from the history books,how dangerous and ruthless these men can become.
-I have a feeling you and I will be able to talk more in depth.But first of all,what is your name?
-...Anna