Chapter 2
In the dark, smoky underbelly of Chicago's crime syndicate, three men were anxiously awaiting to report to their boss.
Eventually, they were summoned, and led into a dark, candlelit room with wooden floors.
Harnesses, and chains, and various other instruments of torture decorated the cracked stone walls; all of the rusty and caked with blood.
In the centre of the room, was a lounger, bearing a large, man. His finely muscled torso and silk trousers were speckled with blood. He had his head thrown back, and he was panting heavily.
The three men halted, none of them daring to speak.
"News!" the man demanded.
"No sightings in the north of the city, sir."
"None in the east or west, sir."
"We have people on watch at the airport and major train stations. No sign, sir."
The man in the lounger gave a loud, irritated sigh that made all three men flinch.
"It's been six years," he said softly, "six long years! Where is she hiding?"
"V-Veda," one of the men ventured, "it's possible that she left Chicago years ago. We would've found her long ago if she were still in the city."
"Then, extend the search," Veda replied lazily. "Use our contact in the other major cities."
"That'll be difficult, Veda. We send people out, it'll stretch out forces here, and resources are already thin –"
The man was silenced by the motion of Veda's finger.
"Find her," he said in a high, sing song voice. "I don't care hoe long it takes, or how many people you use. No one, abandons Veda, understand?"
He finally raised his head to look at them. Dirty blond locks fell about his shoulders, and emerald eyes flashed from behind his beautiful, porcelain mask.
"I shall get angry," he said softly, "if you don't find her soon."
The three men nodded anxiously, and with promises of success, they backed out the room.
"Take that with you," Veda said, settling back in the lounger. "I'm done with it now."
He motioned to a lump in the corner of the room: a naked woman, barely alive, the skin all over her body savagely flailed.
The men obeyed and took her away. They shut to door behind them, leaving Veda alone in his dark hole.
He hummed a little tune to himself and sighed.
"Where are you, little Faith?" he sang softly. "Where are you?"
