Kieran ponders in his room for hours. What just happened? It feels like it came straight out of a movie. His love might be part of a gang and is kidnapped. He just heard they kill people... He sits down. He has so many questions, and Caelum will answer them.
He calls Charles.
"Ah, you didn't need time to think," he said.
"I'm in. Let's find the kidnappers," Kieran says while clenching his fist.
They set a time to meet up—not in his house, but somewhere secret.
Kieran gets to work. From the pictures, he sees Caelum with cuffs around his hands and a swollen eye.
"Those bastards," he murmured.
He's looking at the background, the surroundings, but it doesn't ring a bell. The pictures didn't really help either; they were blurry.
He opens his laptop. He's prepared to find the location tonight, but it's not that easy. He's not some hacker, but he's observant and intelligent. He's confident in himself.
He sees a billboard in one of the photos. He zooms in. He recognizes that logo. He calls the boss of the company, but he doesn't answer, so he texts instead. For the first time in a while, he was losing patience.
"Hello sir. I'm texting to ask the locations you have subunits of your company. In the state or not," Kieran types
. He wasn't the one who would beat around the bush.
"I run through several states. My billboard and posters are everywhere, but I can give you a list for the right price," he replies.
Kieran is zoning out again. What does he mean "right price"? If it's money, he's willing to pay any amount, but the man talks like he wants more.
"Let's meet up," he says, breaking the silence, and Kieran didn't hesitate to agree. He wants things to be done fast. He has no time to waste.
He walks into the shower to clear his head. He's going to meet that old man to get the location of his subunits. Is it worth it? This man can try something creepy—he's lost in thoughts.
What's happening to me?
He's dressed and is about to leave home when he notices a figure outside his window. It's just standing there and staring at him. He has no idea if it could see him, but he was terrified at first sight.
He calls Charles, thinking he's the one, but he doesn't pick up. He takes a deep breath and exhales. He picks up his bat—a gift from Caelum—and rushes outside through the back door. The man hears the door and starts running.
He chases him like his life depended on it... it did.
The man tries to run into a car when Kieran throws his bat at his head, and the man collapses. The car zoomed off, leaving him behind.
Kieran runs to him and pulls his head up. He recognizes the face. It was the officer—the one who avoided eye contact during his visit to the station. He had a lot of explaining to do.
He drags him inside the house. He calls Charles to let him know what's going on, but he doesn't pick up.
Kieran asks the officer what he was doing outside his house by this time of the night, but he remains silent. This really annoys him. He tied him up to his chair. The officer was bleeding, so he couldn't fight back much.
"Who are you?" Kieran asks—to no answer.
"What do you want?"
"What do you know?"
"WHERE IS MY CAELUM?" he yelled.
The officer's eyes lit the moment he heard the name, and Kieran noticed.
"Ah... you recognize that name. I'll make sure you never forget it"
Kieran whispered while hitting the bat on his palm. He didn't care what happened. The officer needed to speak.
Charles later arrives at his place but stays outside to enjoy the screams of the officer. It had something it did to him. It gave him an unhealthy rush of energy. Kieran was using his bat to smash into his arms until they broke. The officer was screaming and crying in pain. Kieran kept yelling, "WHERE IS MY CAELUM?" Charles was enjoying the scene.
Charles eventually walks in and holds the bat right before impact. Kieran was crying, and Charles's eyes—beaming with excitement—kept the room lit.
"Don't go around killing our sources. That's my job,"
Charles said while smiling. His smile had something off about it, like a baby getting the candy he pointed to.
His smile was so long it met his ears. Kieran didn't know if he should stay behind or leave.
There was blood everywhere. The officer was only managing to survive, but the way Charles was looking, that was about to end.
"Go on old man," Charles said with a grin.
"Get something to clean here up. Leave the rest to me. He'll talk,"
Charles said softly while cracking his fingers. Those two things shouldn't be together. Kieran was skeptical about leaving Charles alone with him, but he had to get a rag.
He was in his room when he heard the officer scream. Kieran ran back to the living room, but he was already dead. His eyes were plucked out. His toes were gone too.
His face and clothes were covered in blood. Kieran struggles to look at the body. He was shaken and sweating. He suddenly felt cold. Charles towered over the body. He was a monster.
"Let's leave," Charles said.
"I know where they are."
Kieran's heart starts racing. He doesn't know whether to smile or cry.
He didn't want to get into the car with that maniac, but the expression Charles had at the moment wasn't friendly. He wasn't excited anymore.
There was a splash of blood on his cheek and collar. He looked like a wild animal. They both got into the car, and Kieran sat in the back. He wanted nothing to do with Charles.
"Are you scared?" Charles said while driving.
"No, I'm not. I'm just surprised you got it out of him in such short time" Kieran whispered.
"The gang that took boss is called The Bloodmarked. They're a terrible group who kill for fun. I have no idea how boss got involved with them." Charles out in a lot of work into finding them.
Kieran was lost in thoughts. He was going to see Caelum again. He was very happy, but Charles cuts his happiness short.
"Choose your weapon," he said while opening a bag. It sounded like something straight out of a video game.
There were guns and knives. Kieran hasn't been known to be violent, but he needed to be—for his love. Hopefully, his love will do this for him too.
Kieran chooses a bat and a small pistol, and Charles chuckled.
"You're cute," Charles told him while playing with his hair. Kieran was offended.
They were close to the building, and Kieran started panicking. He hadn't thought about it.
"I could die if I get shot," he said, and Charles laughed at him. They went in like they were going on a road trip.