After his little epiphany, the first thing Blake wanted to do was inform the Chief. However, there was the issue that he hadn't even told him about the Science Wing ordeal. He considered calling up the Chief right then and there to tell him the whole story, but decided against it, as he didn't have the patience for it at the time. As quickly as Blake entered his dorm, he exited it and left the building. He was determined to get answers out of Ryder.
He ran across the campus to the Science Wing, garnering a few watchers as he ran past them. Since it was Tuesday afternoon, there was a high possibility of him being at work in his lab. He pushed open the door with excess force and speed-walked down the hallway toward Ryder's lab. He counted the numbers on the doors until he reached the one he was looking for. He stared at the door for a few moments, thinking of what would happen when Ryder opened the door. The building was heavily populated at this time, and he and Ryder's back and forth arguing would most definitely garner an audience.
None of that mattered to Blake, however. All he wanted was to intimidate the hell out of Ryder and get him to talk, no matter the repercussions he would face. Blake knocked the door, again with unnecessary force, and waited for the little beaver to answer. Stirring could be heard from inside the room. One, then two minutes passed; Blake was growing impatient. After five whole minutes, Blake was more furious than he had ever been. The door handle turned, Blake was ready to release his pent up anger, but the mammal answering the door was not a beaver, it was a wolf. A wolf by the name of Brett Marshall.
"Can I help you?" Brett asked, wiping his paws with a rag. Blake's anger disappeared near instantly.
"Er- have we met?" Blake asked. The wolf raised an eyebrow.
"I don't believe so," Brett answered.
"That's what I thought. I know your name, by the way," Brett sighed.
"Yeah, it appears everyone does. Ever since the attack..." Brett stared solemnly at the floor in between the him and Blake.
"Regardless, when did you get out of the hospital?" Blake asked. Brett leaned on the door frame and looked back up at Blake.
"Yesterday. I went home immediately after to avoid getting swarmed by the media. When my mom and I were walking back to the car, they just wouldn't leave me alone. They were all yelling questions at me, taking pictures of me. It gave me a headache. Worst of all, they followed us home. Thankfully my dad is quite intimidating, and they all kind of fucked off after that," Brett said.
"Ah, at least things ended well. Glad to know you're doing okay, at least," Blake replied. Brett nodded before glancing back into the lab, then back to Blake.
"You never answered my question. Is there something I can help you with?" asked Brett. Blake suddenly remembered why he was there in the first place. The shock of Brett returning out of the blue distracted him from his goal.
"Yeah, there is. Do you know where Ryder is?" Brett's eyes narrowed, and he shook his head.
"Not exactly, but if I had to guess, he'd be at home. I tried texting him and calling him, but either my texts aren't getting through, or he may have blocked my number. I don't know what for if that's the case. Communication is imperative if he still wants to have me as his partner. What did you need him for, anyway?" Brett asked.
"I need to have a little chat with him," Blake replied coolly. Brett nodded. Brett was about to head back into the lab when he turned back to Blake one last time.
"I never got your name, by the way," he said. Blake groaned.
"Sorry, it's a habit of mine. I'm Blake." Brett smiled.
"Sweet, I'll see if I can find you on social media," Brett said, before closing the door. Blake stared at the door for a few seconds before finally turning to walk away. He felt himself cycle through many different emotions as he strolled down the hallway. He was irritated that Ryder wasn't where he expected him to be. He was relieved that Brett had made a full recovery and back doing his thing. Blake sighed loudly as he pushed open the glass door to the Science Wing. The weather was unseasonably warm again that day, especially with it being early April. The snow that once covered the ground was entirely gone, leaving unsightly piles of sand and salt on the paths and walkways. Blake absentmindedly kicked at the pebbles on the path as he thought about what he would do next.
Going off of what Brett told me, Ryder has been off the radar since at yesterday at least. However, Brett's only been out of hospital since yesterday, so there's a possibility that his Science Major buddies have been talking to him and vice-versa. I really hate to talk to interrogate them a third time, but I guess I don't really have a choice at the moment. I want to make sure that he hasn't been around before I make another house visit.
Blake took the nearest detour to the Main Building, where the Science Majors would normally congregate. Blake walked through the open door into the Atrium, where he navigated the swarms of students to the hallway leading to the cafeteria. The cafeteria was oddly full for two in the afternoon, especially since it was a Wednesday. Regardless, Blake was able to find the mammals sitting at their usual table. The group was much smaller today, most likely because they were all either in class, or working on assignments. Occupying the table were Dez, a coyote named Dana, and an otter whose name Blake did not know.
The three mammals sitting at the table took no notice of Blake's approach. Two of the three mammals, Dez and the unnamed otter, had binders spread out across the surface of the table. Dana had a laptop computer set up and was glancing back and forth between the screen and the otter's binder. Blake unceremoniously grabbed a chair from the table behind them and slid it into the open space to the otter's left. The three mammals looked up at Blake, confused. Dez sighed and furrowed his brows.
"To what do I owe the displeasure of seeing your face again?" Dez asked dryly. Dana and the otter both turned to Blake for a reaction. Blake's expression remained neutral as he quickly glanced into the eyes of Dana and the otter, before returning to Dez.
"An age old question, as it seems. I need to know where Ryder is once again. Did you know that Brett got out of the hospital?" Blake said as he leaned back in his chair. Dez blinked once and crossed his arms.
"I don't know where Ryder is at the moment, and I don't know who this 'Brett' character is," Dez replied. Blake nodded as he processed Dez's answer.
"Any ideas?" he asked hopefully. The buck shook his head.
"Nope. Ask Adam, he lives with him,"
The otter's head shot up from his paper when he heard his name. The name had also garnered Dana's attention. Blake held out a paw for Adam to shake. Adam reluctantly returned the gesture and sank down into his seat.
"Don't worry, bud. I don't bite. My name's Blake in case you haven't been paying attention. So this guy behind me says that you live with Ryder?" Blake asked calmly. Adam sat up and shook his head. Dez rolled his eyes.
"That's right...why do you ask?" Adam replied quietly.
"Because I want to know where he is so I can talk to him," Blake stated. The anxiousness that Adam was displaying was quickly melting away.
"Well, I'm just as clueless as these two are. I haven't seen him around since Monday morning. He left in a hurry and didn't come back that night," said Adam. Blake stared at the floor, nodding.
"Do you know where he could have gone? Did he say anything about going out of town?" Blake asked.
"If he was going out of town, he would have told us," said Dana.
"Curiouser and curiouser. Wait. So he's been gone since Monday morning?" Blake asked. Adam nodded. "So... he's missing," The phrase took a few moments to register in Blake's mind.
Ryder is missing. Ryder. Is. Missing.
"That's one way to put it, I guess," Adam said. Blake was no longer paying attention to either of the mammals at the table. A mammal that Blake considered to be a suspect in this whole Night Howler problem had just disappeared into thin air. The realization was setting in.
"Excuse me, guys. I remembered I had a paper to turn in," Blake lied. He got up and ran from the table out into the Atrium. He dodged and weaved between groups of students, careful not to run into anyone. He pushed open the door with the full weight of his body and broke into a sprint toward the residence block. Blake's track and field days were long behind him, and he was gasping for air by the time he reached his dorm. He burst into his room and quickly swiped his car keys from the kitchen table. He hastily locked the door behind him and sprinted out into the parking lot.
Blake shoved the key into the ignition and wrenched it forward. The engine sprang to life and Blake threw the car into reverse. He impatiently navigated the parking lot and made his way to the street. Luckily, traffic was light and he was able to make it from the campus to the freeway in less than five minutes. Once on the freeway, Blake stomped on the gas pedal and the car sped up easily past the speed limit. At that moment, he didn't care about his reckless driving. All he wanted to do was get to Ryder's townhouse as fast as possible.
Blake was well aware that checking the townhouse was a long-shot, but he wanted to be sure that he hadn't mysteriously disappeared and that he was right where he normally was; in his room, working on schoolwork. Blake pulled onto the street that the house was situated on, still going unnecessarily fast. As he drew nearer to the house, he saw a figure pacing back and forth on the lawn in front of the house. It was Josh, the ferret he had met at the party held almost a week prior. Blake stopped the vehicle in front of the house, causing Josh to look up from the ground.
"Hey, Josh. What's going on? Why are you outside?" Blake asked. Josh did not lower the device from his ear. He glanced up at Blake.
"Hey, Blake. I'm glad you showed up. Some fucked up shit just happened while I was gone," Josh replied. Blake raised an eyebrow.
"What? What happened?" Blake asked. Before Josh could answer, whomever he was calling must've finally picked up.
"Yes, someone broke into my house while I was gone. They forced open the front door..." It became apparent that Josh had dialled 9-1-1.
"Wait, wait, hold on. Someone broke into your house?" Blake asked.
"Yes. No, nothing was taken, but one room, my friend's, got tossed up pretty badly," Josh replied, ignoring Blake's question. "Address? Eleven-twenty-five Devonshire Avenue. Ten minutes? Works for me." Josh said before muting the call. He turned off the display and shoved the device back into his pocket. He turned back to face Blake. "Sorry about that. I'm just really freaked right now." Blake nodded sympathetically.
"Understandable," Blake replied. Josh made his way back to the concrete steps and sat down on the lowest one. Blake followed and sat next to him. Josh put his head in his paws and sighed.
"You can go your entire life thinking 'oh, this'll never happen to me.' then it happens to you," Josh said solemnly. All Blake could do was nod. The two sat in silence for a few minutes taking in the events that had just come to pass.
"Hey, Josh, did the room that get ransacked happen to be Ryder's?" Blake asked, breaking the silence. Josh glanced up, astonished.
"Yeah... how'd you know?" he asked.
"I was told by his friends at school that he's been gone a couple days. I wanted to talk to him, and I wanted to make sure that he wasn't missing, like they thought he was. Of course, I hadn't expected there to be a break and enter and possible burglary," Blake refrained from telling Josh the real reason he came to visit, as he was sure he wouldn't understand and would ask a lot of questions he didn't want to answer. Josh didn't respond. Another two minutes passed and silence blanketed them once again. "Is it okay if I go in and have a look around?" Blake asked. Josh glanced up from the ground.
"Well, the cops are coming, so I wouldn't go in there," Josh replied. Blake rolled his eyes.
"Oh, come on, please? I'm pretty much a cop right now, I'm on a co-op program at the BMP," Josh's eyes narrowed as he considered Blake's answer. Eventually, Josh agreed to let Blake into the house. "Thanks a million, dude," said Blake, pushing open the door. He was content with himself, as he had just gotten himself permission to essentially snoop around Ryder's room.
He only had minutes, but he was going to make the most of the time he had received. He sprinted up the stairs two at a time and ran down the hallway. Just like the front door, it had been forced open, leaving splinters of wood on the ground below it. He carefully stepped over the splinters to reveal the extent of the damage. Papers were strewn all over the floor, and random objects were thrown from their original places to join the paper. All the drawers in the room, the ones on Ryder's desk as well as the ones in his dresser, were all pulled open and contents all mixed up. Whomever was in here was looking for something, and they must've wanted it badly enough to absolutely decimate the once neat and tidy space.
Perhaps the most perplexing thing about the mess was that the mattress from Ryder's bed was flipped completely off of it's box spring. Blake turned his attention to the other side of the room. There, the closet doors have been pried off of their hinges and tossed aside, and the contents inside were spilling out into the room. Blake carefully stepped over some stray pieces of glass and glanced into the closet. The space was filled with mundane items, such as clothes, boxes, and bags. Among them, in the centre of the cluttered ground, sat an open briefcase.
The briefcase caught Blake's attention and he picked it up. Blake stepped over to the desk and swept a pile of papers off the surface, watching as they scattered and floated down toward the floor, adding to the mess. Blake then bent lower, searching for the stool that he knew was still in there. Blake found it under the mattress. He flipped it upright and took a seat as he began examining the briefcase.
The briefcase had a gloss black finish, and looked rather ordinary. He closed the lid halfway, revealing that the briefcase had a three-digit locking mechanism on it. The number that the small dials were set to was '473.' Blake made a mental note of the number. The outside had nothing of importance to offer, so Blake turned his attention to the inside. The inside of the case was just as barren as the outside, save for some hard-to-read writing stamped into the bottom portion of the case. Blake squinted hard as he attempted to read the tiny black print. He tilted it so that the light would make it easier to read.
H&H ARMS CO.
H&H Arms Co. Blake repeated. Just as he was about to take another look, Josh had pushed the door to the room open. He was accompanied by a police officer, whom seemed surprised to see someone occupying a crime scene.
"That's Blake, he arrived as I was calling you," Josh said. The officer nodded and stepped into the room. Blake hopped off the stool and was ushered out of the room by the unnamed officer. Josh and Blake both decided that it would be best to allow the officer to conduct an investigation, and walked down the hallway toward the stairs. They stopped in front of the front door and Josh turned to face Blake. "Find anything?" he asked. Blake nodded.
"Yeah. For whatever reason, Ryder was keeping a briefcase hidden in his closet. I looked over the case, and found the print 'H&H Arms Co. stamped into the bottom, leading me to believe he was hiding a firearm," Blake said. Josh's eyes widened.
"Really? Ryder? Firearm? No way. He just doesn't seem like a gun mammal to me," Josh added.
"Well, be that as it may, he was still in possession of a firearm. No doubt about that." The two of them exited the house and walked down the concrete path down to Blake's car. "Look, I'm really sorry this happened to you," Blake said. Josh shook his head.
"Not your fault, besides, nothing you could have done to stop it. What happened, happened, and we just gotta accept that," Josh replied. Blake walked around to the drivers side of the vehicle and got in. He started the engine and rolled down the passenger side window; he still had one last thing to tell Josh.
"Josh, it's been two days since Ryder disappeared, right?" he asked. Josh nodded solemnly. "Okay. I think you should go down to the police station once this officer leaves and file a missing mammals report,"
"Yeah... I suppose that's the right thing to do. I think I'll do that," said the ferret. Blake stepped on the gas pedal and waved as he pulled away from the house. Now that he was alone, he could think. He turned the radio off and concentrated on the road.
Ryder goes missing for two days. During that time, his house is broken into, and something, presumably a firearm, is stolen from a case hidden in his closet. There's no way these aren't related. There's just no way. Ryder was keeping something that someone else wanted hidden, and they finally took matters into their own paws. They needed him out of the way, so it's a possibility that Ryder was kidnapped, or worse...
Blake shook his head.
No, Ryder wasn't murdered. I don't think they'd go that far. Regardless, questions remain. Is Ryder actually missing? If so, was he kidnapped? If not, where is he? What kind of firearm was in that case? And why would someone go as far as to break into his home and steal it? Why does Ryder even own a firearm? He lives in the safest neighbourhood in the city, and he doesn't seem like a gun enthusiast.
Blake groaned. The questions he was asking himself were giving him a headache. He massaged his temple and continued driving. He decided that he would continue thinking about Ryder and the events surrounding him after a nice hot shower and bundling himself up in multiple blankets. Blake activated his turn signal and took the exit that would lead him back to campus.
Hooray! School's out, meaning updates will become more frequent once again. I started writing this chapter as soon as my last exam finished to celebrate. -Prince