Author's Notes: And onward to chapter three~ Hello again, my dear friends. Thank you for the kind words from last chapter. I can't tell you how helpful they are in encouraging me to continue this little story. I hope you all have great holidays~ Enjoy this season of giving.
Disclaimer: Nope, I still don't own anything.
Chapter III: The Chase
"Sometimes, running away means you're headed in the exact right direction."
—Alice Hoffman, Practical Magic
Amidst the loud snores of their intoxicated comrades, two of the most serious members in the group stood guard as the clock struck four o'clock in the morning.
"When will they come for those two?" uttered the bulkier one, a hint of impatience in his tone.
"They will come before that timer runs out. The boss said he'll even send one of his personal guards to get them."
Some shuffling was heard as the man shifted his weight from one foot to another. His movements indicated the discomfort he felt being so close to a ticking timed bomb. "What if they don't come during that time? Even we don't know how to diffuse that bomb! We'll all be burned little globs of flesh in no time!"
The leaner group member was quiet, but the slight frown that marred his forehead indicated that he shared his comrade's worry. Only he and his partner, the leaders of this group of ruffians, knew about the bomb attached to the handcuffs of their prisoners.
It was the boss who sent them the package with the equipment and a letter. The instructions he received in the letter were very succinct. They were to put the handcuffs on their prisoners, one on the left hand of the boy and the other on the girl's right hand. A timer will start to count down as soon as the handcuffs were placed. The boss will send for a guard to retrieve the two before the timer runs out. They were to neither touch the prisoners nor harm them in any way until that time.
The lean goon understood the logic behind handcuffing the girl to the boy. In that way, the boy wouldn't be able to freely move, having the girl as a handicap. Based on the skills they witnessed the boy perform back in that old apartment, they were sure it would be an easy feat for him to figure out a way to escape that cell in no time. But with the girl tagging along, they know that he wouldn't be able to move with as much freedom. He would have to drag the girl everywhere with him, lest he risk setting off the bomb, specially since its mode of operation remains as a mystery—even to the goons—at this time.
His thoughts were then turned to the timed bomb. It was most likely added as a form of insurance so the boy will comply to remain in the cell and not mess with picking the lock of the handcuff until the boss retrieves them. After all, the boss is the only one who knows how the bomb operates. Their prisoner should be smart enough not to foolishly attempt to mess with their restraint. In other words, the boy would have no choice but to obediently wait in the cell unless he wants to risk his life and the life of the girl beside him.
Though the boss implied that he wanted them both alive...
That's what he doesn't understand. Is their boss gambling his chance of winning? He wouldn't put it past his sadistic boss to do that. Sometimes, he doesn't understand how the mind of such a man works. Maybe he was just looking for some entertainment like he usually does, in his own twisted kind of way.
His answer to his comrade came belatedly. "They'll come," he reassured both himself and his partner. "We'll just have to wait until—"
Booom!
The ruffian leader didn't get to finish his sentence as a loud explosive noise almost deafened them. Dust and small chunky parts of cement that used to be the wall were thrown their way and they had to duck under the table for cover. Their drunken comrades were suddenly woken up, disoriented, as they tried to figure out in their intoxicated state of mind what in the world just happened.
In contrast to them, the lean goon instantly recognized the cause of the explosion. The first thought that came to his mind was that the timed bomb had prematurely exploded. However, his gut instinct was telling him that it was worse than that.
Once their surroundings had stabilized a little, he scrambled up from under the table and rushed to the remnants of the small room where they kept their prisoners. His instinct was proven right when he found no traces of their prisoners anywhere in the ruined cell.
Instead, a gaping hole in the wall was staring at him as he stood there stupefied.
'Damn that brat!'
The poor brunette was struggling to catch her breath as she tried with all her might to catch up to Ryoma. Everything was happening too fast that she's barely getting the time to process anything.
She vaguely remembered Ryoma dragging her to a far corner of their cell before the green-eyed lad started messing with his wristwatch. To Sakuno, it seemed like he was winding up the dial as if he was simply adjusting the time. Then, he threw the watch against the far wall on their opposite side.
The next thing she encountered was a blinding flash and a booming sound. She felt her neighbor's warm arms around her as he turned his back to the explosion and shielded her with his body from the tiny bits of concrete that flew around them.
Once everything settled, he then grabbed her arm and sprinted to an unknown direction.
"R-Ryoma-san...w-where are we going?" she couldn't help but ask the man as they continued to run.
Her obvious question was met with silence. Once they reached a good hiding spot behind a pile of crates in the area, her companion threw a quick glance at their surroundings.
From Sakuno's left side, she can see a good view of the ocean in the dark. The cool breeze coming from the ocean was a nice refresher after being cooped up in the cell and she couldn't help but take a few deep breaths of the fresh air. It would seem as if they were in some sort of harbor as she can also discern a few large ships moored in the area, as well as crates that littered the ground.
"Good, we're still in France," Ryoma finally spoke.
"W-we are?" she questioned hesitantly. How he was able to discern their location from their dim surroundings was beyond her. He either has a really good knowledge of geography or he's very familiar with shady locations such as this. She didn't want to dwell too much over the possibility of that latter part.
Luckily, Ryoma didn't give her the luxury of time to think.
"We need to keep moving," were his quiet words to her before he dragged her off to another direction. She instinctively glanced at the little box in the middle of the chain connecting them as they were running.
How will they be able to get these chains off before the timer runs out if they're barely getting enough time to catch their breaths?
"R-Ryoma-san, please, please don't tell me that we're stealing a car."
Sakuno stood uncomfortably next to Ryoma as he was jamming a wedge of angled wood into the top part of the driver's side window to make a slight opening. He then used a crow bar and slid it into the opening to reach and press the unlock button on the driver's side. Sakuno stiffened when she heard the distinct sound of the car door being unlocked then Ryoma threw away the materials he found in the area—which was nice and convenient since they were in a shipping harbor where hardware tools were left lying around to be used in opening and sealing crates.
"Okay, I won't," was his sarcastic reply to her as he dragged Sakuno to the other side of the car and opened the now unlocked passenger door. Ryoma proceeded to climb into the passenger side then jump over to the driver's side. He then reached out to grab Sakuno's arm and pulled the hesitant brunette into the passenger side before closing the door after her. It was one of those European cars in which the driver's side is on the right side, instead of the other way around. This way, he'll be able to drive the car even while his left hand remained linked to the brunette.
Ryoma had chosen a black 1990 Mercedes Benz parked among other cars in the harbor. He thought it was old enough to easily hot wire. Not to mention, it looked like one of those goons' trademark vehicle. If that's the case, he's bound to find hidden weapons inside the car that he'll be able to use in case of an emergency.
Bingo.
A quick search in the glove's compartment revealed a silver .357 Magnum handgun. It glinted in the dim light as Ryoma checked to make sure that it's loaded with bullets before tucking it in the waistband of his pants for safe retrieval later. Wasting no time, he then began the process of hot wiring the car. Within minutes, they heard the car's engine roar back to life.
Beside the hazel-eyed boy, the nervous brunette was still completely flustered over the idea of actually stealing someone else's property.
"Ryoma-san, we can't be doing this. This is against the law. We can't—" she suddenly stopped short when she heard the noisy metal rattling of their chain and felt Ryoma lean over toward her from the driver's side. He was dangerously close to her, their faces only inches apart as they stared at each other.
Sakuno's fight or flight response was activated in no time. She tried to lean back against her own seat and slide down slightly to get as much space in between them as possible.
Golden hazel eyes didn't leave her as their owner leaned even closer to decrease the little space she created between them. Sakuno's heart was pounding so loud and so fast that she felt like even Ryoma could hear its violent thumping.
"We can't what?" he whispered in a low voice, completely devoid of emotions.
Sakuno swallowed as her treacherous eyes involuntarily slid down from Ryoma's eyes to his perfect lips. Her own lips quivered, trying to come up with a response to his question—wait, what did he even ask her again?—when he decided to move.
She couldn't help but shut her eyes in instinct as she saw Ryoma closing in the distance between them.
Oh god...is he going to k—?
Click.
'Eh?'
By the time she opened her eyes, Ryoma was safely back in the driver's seat, his face looking forward as he maneuvered the wheel with one hand and the gear switch knob with the other.
"Your seat belt was undone."
That was his simple explanation as she belatedly glanced down and found that he had deftly put the offending strap across her upper body and on her lap during the time she spent fantasizing about him. She didn't even notice his movements as she was so busy being sucked into his eyes.
Sakuno was completely embarrassed that she wanted the ground to open up, swallow her, and never return her to the face of the earth again.
The hazel-eyed lad stole a glance at the brunette as the car sped into the highway. She kept her still-flushed face turned to the window, desperately avoiding his eyes.
'Good, that shut her up.'
They had just entered the outskirts of Paris when Ryoma spotted three black cars from the rear view mirror tailing them a few meters away.
'Tch, already?' he thought in annoyance as he mentally visualized the streets of Paris, quickly formulating a plan on how to lose their pursuers.
Sakuno threw a questioning glance at Ryoma as he stepped on the gas pedal, urging the car to move faster than it already was traveling.
"Hang on tight, we've got company," he warned her before he made an unexpected swerve into an alley.
The sound of the cars zooming in the high-speed chase resounded in the empty Parisian streets at dawn. It didn't take long before one of the pursuers got impatient and started firing shots at the car they were following.
Ryoma managed to swerve the car in time to avoid the hit, however the succeeding fires were too much for a car to avoid and some bullets managed to hit the rear windshield, successfully shattering the glass window into shards.
The brunette let out a scream when the glass broke. Ryoma placed a hand on top of her head and instructed her to duck and keep her head low as he tried to turn to another side street to prevent further direct hits.
Those thugs must be getting angrier and more desperate if they were willing to hit their targets for the sake of recapturing them. He needed a way to lose them now.
When they got back to one of the main streets and were still relentlessly being pursued, Ryoma suddenly swerved to the left, directly crossing the opposing traffic where a large truck was quickly approaching them. The loud desperate honk of the truck reverberated followed by the ear-splitting screeching of the break. A loud collision occurred within a second, followed by a huge explosion.
The black Mercedes barely dodged the collision and Ryoma was relieved to see from the rear view mirror that one of other cars following them is now being consumed by fire and smoke.
The hazel-eyed lad then guided the car down a set of stairs to put more distance between him and the remaining cars. Sakuno tried her best to hold on to her seat and the side handle to keep herself in place as the car mercilessly juggled them inside.
"R-Ryoma-san!" she couldn't help but shout out in desperation. She doesn't know how much more she could take. She only has one heart to spare and it has been constantly driven to overwork mode since the time she met the handsome man beside her.
"Listen, I need you to grab the wheel for a few seconds," he told her calmly, shooting her a quick glance from the sides of his eyes. The car entered the highway again after turning right from another street.
"W-what?" she questioned in a high-pitched tone right away. "But Ryoma-san, I've never driven before, there's no way I can!"
Not even a minute after they reappeared in the highway, the remaining black cars were seen tailing them from a few feet behind.
"I just need five seconds. You just need to hold the wheel and keep it steady. I'll handle the rest," this time, Ryoma allowed her a full view of his gorgeous face as he turned to look at her. His silky green-tinted black hair fluttering in the strong wind made him look even more dashing. "Can you do that?"
Her shaky auburn eyes sought courage from his confident hazel ones and she found herself giving him a hesitant nod in no time. "I trust you," she mumbled quietly, but it was loud enough for him to hear.
Ryoma's eyes widened a fraction, slightly taken aback by the words. In his entire life, only a few individuals had uttered those specific words to him. He found that he needed to turn away from those chocolate eyes to lessen the intensity of the sudden tight feeling in his chest.
He didn't have time to deal with that right now.
There are two cars left and they had started firing again, this time, managing to shatter the glass window on the driver's side. He held up an arm to block the shards from hitting his face.
'Damn it, we're running out of time. Here goes nothing.' The lad then stepped on the gas pedal, pushing it down all the way to the floor of the car.
When their car gained the most distance as it could gain from the pursuing vehicles, Ryoma suddenly turned the wheel all the way around, maneuvering the car to do a complete 180 degrees turn. The sound of the tires screeching almost deafening him and the brunette.
When the car had completed its turn, they were directly heading into the two vehicles, coming at them at full speed.
"Grab the wheel now," were Ryoma's words to her, as he put the car in cruise control to keep the speed. He then grabbed the gun at his waistband and slid half of his body out the window, facing the other cars.
Sakuno swallowed as her trembling hands tried to keep the wheel steady. She couldn't help but wince as the oncoming bullets from the thugs continued to rain, now hitting their front windshield, though not managing to shatter it completely.
Steadying his new found weapon in his grip, Ryoma aimed the handgun at one of the coming cars. It was fortunate that the metal chain was long enough to allow him this much movement. He needed both hands for this, specially since he only has time for one shot.
One shot...
Only one shot, so he had to make it count.
The wind relentlessly attacked his hair and his face as the speed of the car remained unchanged.
As soon as his hazel eyes locked in the target, he pressed the trigger of the gun with his forefinger and fired.
The golden bullet zipped through the air until it landed and embedded itself in the right front tire of one of the cars. The damaged car sped out of control, managing to hit the other car beside it.
In a matter of seconds, both cars skidded to the side of the road before their engines exploded in smoldering fire and smoke.
Ryoma returned to the driver's seat. He regained control of the wheel from a shaken Sakuno, and turned their car back the other way again.
Under the breaking dawn, the black Mercedes sped away from the collision until it completely disappeared from view.
"As we predicted, the boy managed to escape unharmed with the girl," a man with brown hair and straight across bangs reported to the man sitting at the mansion's porch, clad in a white formal business suit, as he calmly sipped tea from a cup.
The reporter's eyes were mysteriously kept closed, even as he faced his close friend and their organization's leader.
"Is that so?" were their leader's words, uttered with a hint of amusement as he gave his friend an ethereal smile. His chin-length, navy blue wavy hair shone under the early sun's light rays.
"Where are they now?"
At this prompting, the man with the brown hair set a portable GPS tracking device on top of the table before their leader. It emitted a constant light beeping noise as it displayed a red dot that was slowly moving in the map on its screen.
"Based on their recent course of movements, it is most probable to assume that they are heading to the hills," the brunette man softly replied.
The leader watched the blinking red dot on the screen in silence.
Switzerland. Of course, they would head there. They had also predicted that.
Having most of their assumptions proven correct confirmed another suspicion that he had. Some powerful people must indeed be protecting the girl and that's why it has taken this long for clues about her whereabouts to get in their hands.
His light musing was interrupted by his companion. "What's your next move, Seiichi?"
Seiichi Yukimura turned his eyes to glance at the garden beyond the porch. In the distance, two birds flew down and settled on a branch of a parasol pine tree, resting their tired wings from the flight.
"You should give him a call," Yukimura responded before taking another sip from his tea cup. "Tell him that he'll be receiving visitors soon and it's only proper to prepare a warm welcome for his guests."
Renji Yanagi, the brown-haired man, bowed before the leader, acknowledging the order. A passing glance was sent to the digital timer located at the bottom right of the GPS screen.
39:15...
39 hours left before the fireworks.
Author's Notes: So that's the third chapter. Did I mention how much I hate writing action scenes? They're the bane of my existence. Hahah~ I hope I didn't butcher them so bad. Also, that forced car opening scene is included in here for the sake of the story only. It's from the lifehacker website, but please don't use it for unlawful purposes.
In any case, to answer some of your questions. I really have no idea how long this story will end up being, but I do know how I want it to end. So I hope you continue to support me for the rest of the story.
I also hope the purpose of the timed bomb is explained a little more in this chapter, for that one wonderful reader who wanted a little more clarification on that.
Hasta la vista, babies~ Please read and review.