Disclaimer: I do not own Darker than BLACK or any of its characters.
Rated M: Future Sexual Themes and Obscene Language
Chapter One
He walked briskly. He was completely unbothered by his soaked clothes or the rain that dripped from his soaked locks down his slender nose. The old Hei would have taken off running, but there were too many people around to cause a scene. They have been doing well at staying undercover and he was not about to ruin their very domestic lifestyle.
He'd called Yin's cellphone twelve times today with no success. It was not like her to leave his calls unanswered. The project he was working on at work ate up his lunch break so he was not allowed time to swing home and check up on her as he usually would. As absentminded as she is, it could just be that she misplaced her phone. Set it somewhere in their living room and forgot about it. He hoped it was something as simple as that. There was this nagging feeling in the back of his mind that something was very wrong. It didn't help that his commute home was taking longer than necessary due to the bad weather.
He rounded the corner of his quiet block and instantly took off running. Their modern condo was straight ahead, just beyond his reach. As he ran up the steps he noticed that all the window blinds were closed. Not a single window was open. That's odd. It was definitely alarming since this type of weather was her favorite. He had to nag at her to get her to close the windows, mind she catch a cold. His heart dropped when he pushed the key into the keyhole only to find it unlocked.
"Yin!" He screamed as he burst the door open, and flung inside. It was pitch black. He flipped every switch as he made his way through their condo, searching everywhere he thought she could possibly be.
Fuck! She's not here. He cursed to himself as he took a second to collect his thoughts. It was against his nature to be emotional in times like this, but he found it hard not to panic with Yin involved. They have taken her away from him before. He was not thrilled at the thought that maybe they had done it again.
She knew better than to leave the house when he wasn't home. He'd taken every precaution he could think of to make sure she was safe while he was away.
He dropped down on his knees as he scrambled to find her cellphone. He found it near the base of the toilet. He turned it on and sure enough, there were the notifications for all twelve of his phone calls and all five of his text messages. He clicked on the last messages she sent him:
10:03 AM
Hei
I sure you're already at work by now. Be safe. Weather is supped to be terrible today. There is a letter that I tucked in your briefcase last night. It came in the mail yesterday while you were at work. Make sure you read it. The address said that it was from Huang. If you take the blue train home and you happen to pass by that shop that I like, can you pick up some candy? My jar is getting empty.
I Love you and I love you
Yin
10:06 AM
Yin
Yes, love, I will get you the candy. Be sure to bring in the laundry from the clothes line. I know how much you hate when the rain ruins your favorite dresses. Thanks, I will open it when I'm less busy. I will be there for my lunch break. Be sure to eat breakfast. I left it in the microwave….and no, 30 secs will not be enough time. Try one minute.
I love you too
Hei
14:13 PM
Hei,
Did you schedule for the maintenance man to come look at the dishwasher? There is a strange man outside our front door.
I love you and I love you
Yin
*Message Not Delivered*
14:14 PM
Hei
I'm scared. Please come home.
I love you and I love you
Yin
*Message Not Delivered*
14:15 PM
Hei
I think he's in the house. I'm hiding in the bathroom. Please hurry.
I love you and I love you
Yin
*Message Not Delivered*
He groaned when he thought of how terrified she must have been. The life of fear that they once lived was so long ago. There was no way she could still be accustomed to coping with that type of fear and pain. I should have been there. If only I had gone home as I should have…. I'm supposed to protect her. How will she ever trust me after this? God Dammit, man!
Hei slipped her phone into his pocket and checked the bathroom for any clue. When he got nothing, he checked the rest of the house—Still nothing. He opened the balcony door and looked down over the rail into their tiny square of a back yard. He thought he saw something shimmer in the grass and jumped down. There in the glass laid his wife's wedding ring.
"…"
He fingered her ring in horror before his resolve crumbled and he fell on his knees in the wet grass.
"YINNNNNNNNNNNNN"
He cried out in pain as he ripped some of their roots from the wet soil. I will find whoever took you from me. And then I'm going to kill them. He made his way back into the house, to the closet all the way at the end of the hallway and pulled apart the creaky floorboard. Inside of the crevasse, was a duffle bag full of essentials: fake passports and various other illegal travel documents, wards of cash (that he suspected could last them for a good two years) emergency contacts of old friends he's made in his past life, spare clothes, and of course, his mask.
Quickly, he changed out of his day clothes and into his old uniform. He slipped the mask between the folds of his long black trench coat as he walked out of their condo. He was going find his wife. He was going to bring Yin home.
He had to end these ties with the syndicate once and for all.
Author Note: If you want to understand more of the time frame of this story read Licentious. Review, don't review. You can do whatever you like.