Take my hand; you know I'll be there.

If you can I'll cross the sky for your love

For I have promised, for to be with you tonight and for the time that will come.

Take my hand you know I'll be there

If you can I'll cross the sky for your love.

And I understand these winds and tides,

This change of times won't drag you away.

Hold on, and hold on tightly.

Hold on, and don't let go of my love.

The storms will pass, it won't be long now.

This love will last, this love will last forever.

And take my hand, you know I'll be there.

If you can I'll cross the sky for your love.

Give you what I hold dear.

Hold on, hold on tightly.

Hold on, and hold on tightly.

Rise up, rise up with wings like eagles.

You run, you run.

You run and not grow weary.

Hold on, and hold on tightly.

This love, lasts forever.

Now this love lasts forever.

When the song ended the public cheered and clapped furiously. Even H looked fairly surprised after the soft and hypnotizing voice of the singer filled the atmosphere with touching lyrics.

However, he was still a bit off. He kept his usual stiff and guarded posture even though the people were chatting happily and dancing on the floor. The gift had rung the alarm, and he didn't have a doubt something was going to happen despite he tried not to slip and let Flora know.

"You had a presentiment, right?"

H winced internally. She was too smart to ignore his traitorous body signals. And because he secretly admired her ability to decipher his feelings, he nodded.

"I have been sensing something since my memories came back, but you don't have to worry. It has always been this way, you know? These feelings come and go as they please and I don't have power over them".

Flora wasn't convinced after hearing his poor excuse.

"Tell me the truth, please…"

But her words died because of a sudden loud noise. The bar's door slammed against the wall and a group of rough men made their entrance.

He had seen them before. At the Dominus.

"Don't move!" screamed one of them. The three had shaved heads and tattoos all over their muscled arms. Everybody fell silent when they saw the men were carrying knives and guns.

"Stay here" H whispered "I have to go".

Flora could not even answer, for he had disappeared among the crowds. Dread assaulted her stomach all of a sudden. She was alone, defenseless and one of the assailants was approaching dangerously.

"Hey, beautiful" he said, caressing her cheek mischievously "You are coming with us"

His thick French accent left her startled.

"Let me go!" she shouted when he grabbed her arm and forced her to stand up.

"Move and I'll shoot" the man threatened; then he checked the room and ordered all the women to align on the left wall.


Outside the bar, H kept on waiting for the Police to arrive. He had managed to get out through the emergency exit and called the agents to start an operation. Under normal circumstances, he would have solved the problem on his own, but he wasn't completely recovered from the beating and too many lives were at stake.

He regretted having agreed to go out with Flora. He should have known better: every single move he made had consequences in the great scheme of things. That was why he purposely avoided human contact. After the events in the Police Station, he had learned those men belonged to a crime syndicate that kidnapped young women in order to sell them to brothels all around the world as if they were cattle. They had been charged with murder and human trafficking.

Several Police cars skidded over the pavement a few minutes after. The policemen arrested the men who were in charge of the main door, but they could not get in because it had been locked from the inside.

Sommers simply went crazy when they told him his daughter had been kidnapped. His wrath and anguish fell upon the agents when he began barking orders and inspecting the streets, though the worst was directed to H, who had been supposed to take care of her in his absence.

"You have left her at the mercy of those criminals" he stated "If she has a single scratch I will rip your head off".


Flora's phone buzzed insistently. It was her father.

"Answer it!" the French man shouted while he took the phone away.

"Flora? Are you okay?"

"La police, eh? Je vais tuer cette femme si vous ne me laissez pas s'échapper avec l'argent. Vous avez quatre-vingt-dix secondes pour prendre une désistion".


The Inspector was desperate.

"What the hell is that bastard saying?" he asked one of the arrested men "Tell me right now what the fuck he is saying!"

But the other man remained silent.

"If you don't want to speak I swear I will put a bullet in that bloody head!"

H stopped Sommer's hand in one swift movement. "He said he'd kill Flora unless we give him enough money to escape" he explained.

Then, the kidnapper's voice came up again.

"Quatre-vingt-dix, quatre-vingt-neuf, quatre-vingt-huit..."

H informed he was counting backwards. They had eighty-eight seconds left. The Inspector sighed and gave him a pleading look. Defeated and afraid, he put his gun in H's hands.

"You are my last hope. Do something, please"

Both men shared a nod, like an unspoken agreement. Sommers ordered his men to lay down their weapons.

"Trente-cinq, trente-quatre..."

H studied the building with rehearsed carefulness. He could feel the kidnapper running up and down the room, gun in hand and anxious. His hearing sense sharpened and he aimed the gun at the right side of the bar.

"Dix- neuf, dix-huit, dix-sept, seize…"

He closed his eyes and focused. He could practically see what was happening inside the Frutti Music Bar. The women screamed and whined while the French continued the countdown. Flora was frozen in front of the gun.

"Cinq, quatre, trois, deux, un…"

They had run out of time. H shot.

"Get in!" Sommers ordered.


When the people started leaving, the heavy rain had soaked the crime scene. A black cloud of sheer distress had wrapped the bar and its surroundings. The Inspector stayed motionless beside the door, waiting for his daughter to come out. She was white as snow but safe and sound. He gave her a bone crashing hug and kissed the top of her head tenderly. He had thought he would never hold her in his arms.

Nevertheless, she only had eyes for H. At first she had blamed him for abandoning her; now she understood he only wished to save them all. And he had saved her with that shot.

She was about to turn around to talk to him when she saw him returning the gun to one of the agents. His shoulders were hunched and his face was the acute reflectIion of weariness and grief.

Then he turned around and left, his elegant dark figure lost in the dense ran curtain.


The amazing song I used for the story is Drowning man by U2 (in case you do not remeber from one of the previous chapters). Regarding the French words, they are just numbers, so I suppose they do not need to be translated to understant the context.

By the way, I would like to thank you all for the reviews, because they encourage me to continue the fic.