“I am currently sitting next to the little girl you are looking for. She is safe, for now, but if no one comes to save her quick enough, I will be forced to do something unspeakable to her kidnappers.” After saying so, Lucas cut the call without listening to the reply of the help center guide.
He turned to the little girl on his side, who had a cute doll-like face which made him question the kidnappers’ humanity. Resting his cheeks against his palm, he played with a small crystal with another hand while he conversed with the little girl. He patiently replied to her every query, every sentence, every question in a soft voice.
“So you’re saying I should call you big bro?”
Her voice was similarly cute, making him feel it was every bit worth it to dedicate himself to saving children.
“Yes. Why? Do I not look like a big bro?”
There wasn’t a reply, she just began laughing as Lucas joined her. He took the chance to clear off the remaining soot which stuck to her face. She didn’t give him the chance earlier, but making her laugh had clearly gotten her to let down her guard a little. Simple children.
Out of the corner of his eye, he kept track of the time on the clock as he played with the little girl.
“What’s your name?”
“Lisa.”
“Such a cute name. What do you want to be when you grow up?”
Their conversation flowed smoothly as Lisa sometimes answered, sometimes laughed while even ignoring him at times. When he noticed that it was time’s up, he asked the little girl,
“Have you ever played hide and seek?”
A gentle, soft voice for her was akin to that of a devil’s in the ears of kidnappers nearby who were struggling with their backs against each other, all held together by a single rope.
***
In the help center, the lady who had conversed with Lucas took off her headphone and placed it on her desk while thinking,
It’s the same person! There’s a chance again.
She had seen the news where an entire gang of child traffickers had been killed. Coincidentally, the same person had connected to her earlier that exact day with a similar set of words.
I dearly wish you indeed do something unspeakable to the kidnappers of the little girl. I’ll support you as many times as your call connects to me.
It was ironic for someone with her moral compass to be sitting in a help center. Law wasn’t someone just anyone could take into their hands. Killing was punishable even if it was to save children. Isabelle clearly thought differently.
She quickly relayed the information to the manager sitting in a cabin, as only he could directly contact the law enforcement to relay the instruction. But the lack of tension in her body, similarly relaxed facial expression, and monotone voice failed to make an impression of urgency on the manager who dismissed it to be a fake.
Isabelle sat back in the chair of her cubicle and silently muttered, “Hope the kidnappers come to a bad end.”
A book on psychology and body language laid nearby on her table with a few study notes messily poking out of it. There was a reason she could effectively hide her true persona and get the job.
***
When the police got to the place, the little girl had hands over her ears and eyes closed as she loudly counted, “24…23…22…” One of the men moved over to handle her as the rest went deeper in the room. When they finally found them though, there was a clean cut on each kidnapper's neck, their bodies limp.
Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.
***
A tall young man, dressed formally in a white suit, gracefully stepped out of his car and walked towards one of the famous cafes of the city. Even in the hour of setting sun, the young man had gray shades over his eyes. “I should stop showing off.” Lucas muttered after taking a seat in a pre-booked private cabin. It was empty.
Am I the first one here?
He rummaged through the inside of his suit and soon procured a letter as he took a sip of water to soothe his throat. The symbol on it gave him nostalgia but unfortunately, it wasn’t the time for that. He opened and took out the single piece of paper.
“Convene at Broris City, in the Nightingale Cafe by 6th March and enter the pre-booked room of my name. We need to save Aiden and his family from a powerful ghost. Very urgent, don’t head over yourself.
~ Evander Lorensen”
He took out his phone and checked if he was in the right place. The address on the map and letter were the same. He frowned.
It’s already approaching nighttime, shouldn’t everyone be here already? Well, a little wait won’t hurt.
He ordered some food and a wine for himself as he fiddled with his phone and the letter. He didn’t even have the mind to relax in such a situation. The earlier situation was something he could afford to do within the timeframe since he was anyway already in the city.
A few minutes in and he tried to review everything that happened throughout the day in an attempt to distract himself.
Am I worrying needlessly? Even Evander isn’t here yet. No one is. I can wait.
A few minutes later a waiter brought in some refreshments along with ordered wine and appetizers.
Has Evander not joined the Bureau but some other organization? Why is he calling specters as ghosts?
In his stressed mindset even the food felt tasteless to me. It merely served to replenish the energy he had spent throughout the day. Even the wine only served to soothe his throat as he couldn’t help but spiral deeper into worrying.
Almost half an hour later, a phone with a screen which displayed the list of recently made calls lay on the table as Lucas continuously tapped his leg out of restlessness.
Not even one call had managed to connect him to the circle of friends which formed their secret society. The people who were supposed to meet here. It obviously meant he didn’t call Aiden. One had their phone number changed while the other one was out of range. Evander was out of range too.
He checked the map on his phone once more. It was 11pm, only an hour to go for the day to end, but no one had arrived yet.
An hour in, no one had entered yet apart from the waiter who occasionally entered to bring in food.
Lucas called them again. No one picked up.
Two hours in, he was pacing around the room. The food remained mostly untouched, and the wine was still nearly full after his initial sip.
Should I call them again?
Three hours in, half of the plates were empty along with the bottle of wine.
He had begun eating when the hunger became overwhelming. The cold food didn’t suit his taste but he didn’t pay it any mind in such a situation.
Filling your stomach truly feels better.
But the worry crept back in his mind as soon as he was done eating his food. He wasn’t in the mood to finish the rest of the dishes anymore.
I’ll wait one last hour.
An hour passed. No one came. He couldn’t wait any longer.
If my memory is correct and he hasn’t shifted like the rest of us. Aiden should still be in the nearby town, Bluris. Might as well head over myself. A little dangerous, but he was my best buddy. They can easily catch up to me later if they manage to arrive in under an hour.
He left a note and his new phone number, informing he was heading over first and left the cafe. The private cabin should have been booked till the end of day, so if anyone does arrive later they’ll know where he was.
Even till a couple hours later when the day ended, no one entered the private cabin.
***
A few hours later, Lucas was in the vicinity of Bluris, driving his car when he suddenly noticed the moon hanging strangely lower than usual in the sky. He muttered under his breath while softly bobbing his head to the music.
“Huh? Why is the moon red today? Mmm, still looks amazingly beautiful though.”
***
A hideous, grotesque human figure ravenously munched on, crouching in the corner of a certain house in Bluris. Suddenly, it raised its head and turned, its gaze penetrating the walls and all other obstacles to land on a lonely car driving alone at the stroke of midnight, oblivious to the unwelcome scrutiny it had attracted.