Mark ran with his heart sinking further into his stomach, while Karen was somewhere behind running as fast as her heels would let her. All Mark could think of was his father.But just as he approached the elevator door, he spotted a faint movement from the corner of his eyes. Didn’t that suit look familiar?He approached the scene cautiously, praying with all the faith he had within him.“Mark?” The figure lying on the floor stuttered weakly.“Dad!” Mark screamed in alarm and dashed for his father, falling to his knees beside him.“Mark. I think they’ve got me, son,” Gabriel muttered weakly.“Who got you, dad? Stay with me, please!” Mark couldn’t keep the tears from flowing down. He had to act fast. Mark slipped one hand into his pocket and pulled out his smartphone, while the other gently cradled his father’s head. He took in the situation again. It didn’t look any pleasant. His father had sustained a gunshot wound to the upper chest, just above his heart. There was no doubt that th
Brown was in a fit of panic, running in circles around the hotel lobby and its unending corridors. He had no recollection of how he had gotten where he was or what he had been looking for.Why the hell do they have these many bloody corridors?How would an adult be lost inside a building, whether or not the building was as large as the Red Panda Hotel? As much as Brown wanted to feel stupid for letting his guard down in foreign territory, he had bigger fish to fry. Where had the gunshot sounds come from?Brown walked with the staggering grace of a drunk goat and barely saw more than a few feet in front of him. He cursed every single time he bumped into a flower pot along the corridors.The distant blaring of a siren cut a shallow hole through his drunken stupor and plunged him deeper into panic. He ran any which way, as long as it was away from the sirens.An angry man bumped into Brown on his way in the opposite direction and sent him staggering back a few meters.“Hey watch where yo
Jennet had run in the direction of the fracas just from a pure mother’s instinct. She could have sworn that she heard her son screaming.“Would you slow down already?” Margaret struggled to keep up with the rest of the group, stopping every now and then to catch her breath.Brown walked in his own space, steady but not in a mad sprint like someone who had gone round a bend.There was a fleet of police cars blocking off the exit point in the direction they were going. An ambulance backed out and drove off into the street.“Let me go, would you!” Brown’s voice caught their attention.Jennet watched in horror as Brown was forcefully shoved into a police car. She rushed off to the scene to save her son.“Hold on! Where are you taking my son?” she asked anyone who cared to listen among the officers.“Mum! Mum, he’s framed me! The bloody bastard has set me up!” Brown cried, straining his neck backwards to look at Jennet.“Where are you taking my son?” Jennet asked again.None of them paid a
The limousine jetted through the night, and it would have been a peaceful ride, a nice ride around the city, if Bennet didn’t have to sit beside Jennet.She was going on another round of her murmurings about Brown’s plight, and how he wasn’t built for a prison cell.Who is ever built for a prison cell from birth? He rolled his eyes and reclined in his seat.“If you would only try and calm down, Jennet. We would find a way to get him out”. Margaret snapped, her face scrunched up into an impatient scowl.“Easy for you to say, huh. I suppose you have no idea what it feels like to have a son incarcerated for a crime he’s innocent of”. Jennet fired back, venomous hatred oozing from her words.“Well, at least, my child doesn’t go about shooting his stepfather”. Margaret rolled her eyes, and settled into her seat as though she had not just made Jennet’s problems even worse by her mean statement.“You old witch! How dare you?” Jennet roasted indignantly, and Bennet was glad he had sat between
“Please let me know when you get a lead”. Mark implored inspector Conrad over the phone before placing the phone back in his pocket. He let out a sigh and felt the weight on his shoulders bear down on him with more gravity. Cornelius Shapiro was still nowhere to be found and the police had spared every officer available to comb the city in search of him.Mark shook his head to gain composure and walked back into the hospital’s waiting room where he and Karen had been for over an hour. Neither the doctors nor the nurses had anything to share with them yet, and all Mark could do was pray that his father made it through the surgery alive.Karen looked up to him, with a glimmer of hope shining through her tear filled eyes. When Mark shook his head in the negative, she simply nodded, and broke down in a fit chest racking sobs.“It’s okay, Karen. They’ll find him soon. And whoever is responsible for his disappearance is going to pay dearly. You have my word”. Mark assured her, putting an ar
“The bloody nerve of these bastards? Ten million dollars in cash?” Karen cried out in despair, pacing about Gabriel’s hospital room. The kidnappers has been very plain about their demands: the money or he dies.Phoning the police was completely out of the question, because they had made it clear that any attempt to contact the authorities over the matter would also lead to the same result; death.“It’s okay, Karen. As long as he’s gonna come back alive, nothing’s too much.“You don’t understand. My uncle has incurred a trailer load of debt in the last few years. From insurance companies, to salary rebates, and taxes. I run the accounts so I’ll tell you, it’s really bad”. Karen cried in despair.“Cornelius never mentioned any of this to me”. Gabriel mused quietly to himself.“I’ll pay”. Mark suddenly blurted out. “I’ll take care of the ransom. As long as Mr. Shapiro gets out well and alive. That’s really all that matters now.”“Are you sure? I mean, that’s a lot of money”. Karen began
Jennet sat in tears as she watched the officers haul her son away and into the prison. How did they get here? A pang of guilt stung her heart because she knew the real truth; her son was indeed innocent. Every time he screamed in frustration and anger, it rented a fresh piece of her heart from the seams.But how could she admit to it, especially after she had spoken with the real mastermind behind the crime? The police would be quick to label her as an accomplice.I’m sorry son. Jennet pulled out a handkerchief from her purse and wiped the corners of her eyes.“Get my son out of there, please”. She turned to Devon, who responded with a solemn nod.“I’ll do everything within my power to get him out, starting with gathering the right evidence.”Of course. Jennet broke down into tears at the realization. Bennet clearly hadn’t informed Devon about the peculiarity of the case. Number One was never going to let any evidence point back to him. While Devon consoled her, Jennet’s phone rang f
The car came to a stop before a construction site in a location Mark suspected to be on the other side of town. The driver didn’t make it any easy to memorize any landmarks, as he made sure to drive in circles until Mark lost track of how many turns they had taken.All through the journey, a man had sat quietly in the passenger seat, never turning back for once to regard them.“We’ll be okay”. Mark promised, holding Karen’s hand in his. He silently prayed that they would be okay eventually. The man sitting in the passenger seat climbed down and held Karen’s side door open.“You both get down from here”. The man said in a gruff voice.He had on a black sleeveless shirt, and looked as thick and large as a rock. His skin was crawling with multiple tattoos and his face had a long scar running down from his forehead, down to the side of his chin.Mark swallowed down his fear and walked in the direction the man nodded towards with his head.“Uncle!” Karen cried out in terror when they arriv