Chapter 30
He pressed a button, and the screen lit up. After a few seconds had elapsed, the screen went black. Again, he pressed a button, and again the screen lit up. He had been repeating this action most of the time that he was awake and without a visitor by his side. He was grateful that the cop who had recorded his statement the previous day had managed to bring him his phone last evening after it was concluded that it did not hold a key to cracking the case. Just then the door opened quietly and he saw a face peek in at him. He smiled and beckoned his mom to come in as he quickly placed the mobile phone he was holding under his pillow. He watched as his mom walked in followed by his brother and grandmother.
"How are you feeling this morning, dear?" Betty Gilligan asked when she got to her son's bedside, stroking his hair.
Hoagie inclined his head towards his mother and gave a small lopsided smile. "I'm ok, mom."
"Good!" his grandmother said instantaneously. "So you should get your behind out of that bed and come home. You're holding up the bed for someone sicker, Tommy."
Hoagie gave her a scoff. "Yeah, try telling that to my doctor," he said quietly.
The fact that her grandson did not correct her for addressing him as Tommy did not go unnoticed. She immediately felt guilty for speaking to him in such a manner. Hoagie was smiling up at them, but his eyes were so sad. "I'm going to do just that," Lydia said gruffly. "You need to be at home with your family so that you can recover faster." With that she turned around and headed for the door in search of her grandson's doctor. Hoagie did not envy him. An encounter with his grandma was like going head first into a hurricane.
Turning his gaze to his brother, Hoagie held out his hand to him. Tommy slapped his hand into his and asked, "You alright, man?"
"Of course," the older of the Gilligan siblings responded, and he could see a wave of relief spread throughout his little brother's face.
The three family members made small talk for twenty minutes as the waited for Lydia to return. Looking at her watch, Mrs. Gilligan turned to Hoagie. "I'm sorry, dear, but we have to go. I've got to run to the office for a while. Aaand, it seems I have to find your grandmother," she said with a smile and a slight roll of the eyes. "We'll see you soon, ok?"
Hoagie nodded and his mother planted a kiss on his forehead. "The police will find Abby, don't you worry," she encouraged before turning and gently tugging on Tommy's jumper. Betty was really fond of her son's girlfriend, and she hoped against hope that her words would ring true.
"Drive safely," the boy in the sickbed called out to their retreating backs, and they waved over their shoulders in response.
When the door clicked shut and he was once again left in his solitude, Hoagie removed the phone from under his pillow and once again pressed a button so as to light the screen. His eyes were fixated on the image that was displayed: two pairs of eyes were looking joyfully up at him. Abby's beautiful smile lit up the screen in a way that the phone's background lighting never could. Next to her was Hoagie who had angled his head in such a way that he could plant a kiss on her cheek and still look up at the camera phone. Black went the screen, down went a button and back came the picture. Hoagie felt the corners of his lips tremble into a soft smile.
His heart was bleeding.
He missed his girlfriend.
He feared for his girlfriend.
He loved his girlfriend.
And he had been unable to protect his girlfriend.
He put the phone back under his pillow and turned to his side in an effort to sleep, as bright as it was in the room. He would much rather be in dream land, or just full-fledged unconscious with no mental images than to be awake and know that he had failed her.
xxx
Kensei was like an animal. If he was threatened, he would not hesitate to protect himself. He reacted out of pure instinct. It was not often that he resolved to the aforementioned animalistic behavior, but when he did, it could be over in a flash. Or like a cat of prey, he could drag out the torture until boredom got the best of him.
Last time, Greg was his prey. Greg the predator, turned prey before Kensei, the ultimate opportunist. Greg had threatened him by threatening the happiness of his sister, and so he took him out. He had a bit of a dilemma what with the extra security guard who was keeping watch outside the door. That particular man was exceptionally loyal to Greg, and Kensei knew that he would pose a problem for him. How was the caramel-skinned man supposed to leave that room without being found out? Well, he found a way.
Running to the door, Kensei had burst open the door in a frantic manner. His eyes met the bewildered ones of the security guard, and he began to speak in a slightly raised voice, his demeanor not as cool and casual as usual. "Come quick. Something's wrong with Greg!"
The security personnel did not waste a second. He ran into the room at lightning speed as he saw his boss lying on the ground. "Sir," he called as he shook the pale man's limp body. He placed two fingers on Greg's neck, next to his carotid artery. Nothing. By the time the security guard realized it was a trap it was too late.
"Up!" Kensei commanded as he pointed a gun at the man.
The guard rose slowly, his hands up in surrender. He looked at the gun, and then up at Kensei's face. "What did you do to him?" he asked in controlled anger.
"Cyanide."
"You son-of –"
"Mind your language," Kensei interjected. "I wouldn't appreciate it if you insulted my mother. Guns on the floor, NOW!"
The man slowly removed the gun at his waist and put it down on the floor, followed by the gun at his ankle before kicking them away like Kensei gestured.
"Good," Kensei said pleasantly. "Now, carry your boss. The three of us are going for a little trip."
They exited the building through back entrance. It was always unmanned. Kensei had never understood how Greg could make such a colossal security error, but on that particular night, he wasn't complaining. It was working in his favour.
"Put him down," Kensei commanded when they had reached the outer wall. There was a mesh gate with a big padlock. "Hands on the gate."
The guard did has he was told.
"Closer!"
The man moved closer, his body flat against the gate. "Look to your right." He did so. Kensei had been standing to his left, and thus by looking to the right the guard was unable to see him in his peripheral vision. Kensei then removed his dress jacket and rolled it up a bit. He covered the nozzle of his gun before aiming for the padlock. He pressed the trigger, and the shot was muzzled. The padlock was now broken, and the guard was ordered to carry Greg's body and open the gate. They walked down the alley where Kensei's Mercedes was parked.
He opened the trunk and gestured for the guard to get inside. Again, he did as he was told. "Get yourself further inside."
"There's nowhere else to go," the security personnel retorted, his eyes harsh.
Kensei smirked, and shut the trunk, deciding it would be safer for him to put Greg's body into his car behind his seat. He opened the back door and unceremoniously threw the corpse onto the floor. He smiled. Phase one complete.
Kensei drove for close to forty minutes out on a major highway. He turned right onto a dirt road and drove another four kilometers before turning left into a wooded area. He got out of his vehicle and looked around him. It was dark before him, even with his headlights on. He grabbed a huge flashlight from the back seat and left on phase two of his mission: to find a nice clearing in which to dig a grave. He came back to his car five minutes later. Opening the back door of his car, he picked the brand new spade that was lying on the seat. Next he unlocked the trunk, his gun trained on the guard. "Out!"
The two men walked out to the clearing that Kensei had found. Shoving the spade into the guard's hands, he cocked the gun at the ground and waited for the man to get to work. Instead, the guard looked at him. "Will you let me go if I dig this damn grave?"
"No."
"Then I'm not doing shit."
"I thought you'd say that." Kensei raised his gun and fired two precise shots. The guard was dead long before he hit the ground. The last man standing put the gun in his waistband and removed his shirt which he hang on a low tree branch before picking up the spade and engaging in manual labour.
xxx
Kuki was home, drinking green tea with her aunt. "So you don't know where he might be?" she asked, despair ready to take over.
Shaking her head slowly, her aunt replied, "Unfortunately, I don't. I just can't believe he could do something like this. Any word about the girl?"
"No, not that I know of." Kuki put her little mug on the table and crossed her arms. "They might put her picture on TV, along with Kensei's."
"Mmm," Suzuka hummed reflectively. "That would help. I wonder who the girl he targeted is. The police hardly told me anything about her when they were here yesterday."
"What? You don't know? It's Abby. My friend Abby from when I was a child." When there was no sign of recollection on her aunt's face, Kuki continued, "Surely you remember the little girl I used to play with back when you still lived with us…she wore a red cap…?"
"Ahh yes, of course," Suzuka said, her eyes somewhat distant. "Oh no, that sweet little girl?" Kuki nodded and she hang her head. Suzuka extended her hand toward her niece and placed it on Kuki's dainty arm. "I'm sorry, sweetheart. If I could I'd call him and talk him back to his senses. That boy, sometimes…" she trailed off, disappointment heavy in her heart.
Kuki's head shot up. "Why can't you call him?"
"I tried yesterday, when the police were here. They wanted me to call him, and then they would triangulate his coordinates or something like that," Kensei's mom said as she rolled her hands, a confused look on her face. "But when I called he didn't pick up. And when I tried again, his phone was off, and it's been off ever since."
Kuki let out a defeated sigh and rolled her eyes back as she reclined further in her seat. She lifted her hair off her neck before resting her interlocked hands at its nape. Every avenue that might lead to Kensei and Abby would always end up blocked.
xxx
"Are you sure you don't want me to drop you?" Kev asked as he stood by the door with his girlfriend, her foot already out in the corridor. "I don't mind," he added, his voice gentle.
"No, but thank you sweetie," she said as she wrapped her arms around his waist and gave him a kiss on the lips. "I need time to just…think. If you drop me I'll get to the mall a whole lot faster. So I'll just take the bus."
Kev let out a small sigh and hugged Pauline warmly. "Ok," he said quietly, and she tiptoed to give him one more kiss. He understood. She was worried about her friend, and she just needed time to sort out her thoughts before she got to work. He held on to her hand as she walked away, their arms extending and adjusting in length until they finally broke apart. He watched her till she rounded the corner of the corridor before going back into his apartment.
Pauline walked out of the building into the morning chill. She let out her breath and saw its smoky incarnation slowly rise and dissipate into the air. She pulled her collar up and tugged on it as she headed for the bus stop. Damn that bastard. Where's Abby? The Kenyan girl wondered as she stood at the bus stop for ten minutes as she waited for a vehicle. When it arrived, it came to a halt at her feet and she boarded it before choosing a seat not too far behind the driver. The bus waited for more passengers for another five minutes before it began its journey into town.
Oh God, please let her be ok. The African looked out the window as they went. She looked but she wasn't really seeing anything. The buildings, the trees, the pedestrians, everything was a blur. And let Hoagie be ok. Let him get better real fast, she prayed. In her absent-minded state, Pauline almost missed her stop when it was time to alight. She hurriedly got off the bus and looked around her. The road was clear. Nah, she'll be ok. Abby's ok. I know she is. And the cops are gonna find her. In fact they'll find her today, she predicted. They'll find her, and they'll throw that bastard Kensei in prison.
Pauline got off the side walk.
And when they throw him in prison, they'll throw away the key.
She began to cross the street.
Nah, they'll grind up the key and scatter the ashes along the open sea, she thought with a chuckle.
And then she heard it; that horrid screeching sound of a car. The sound was so loud it caused her to come back to her senses. But her feet were stuck. They were rooted to the ground and her heart practically stopped as she turned her head in the direction of the screeching vehicle.
Crash!