Chapter 17

"Have you found anything?" asked Abby as she entered Kane's office and exhausted plopped on his couch with a heavy sigh. Having a common goal made it easier to be in the same room as him and it was easy to fall back into their old routine of working together. Too easy.

Marcus looked up from his datapad, leaned back in his chair, and ran a hand through his hair pushing it away from his eyes.

"No, we've spent hours going through the whereabouts of every single man in the bunker and we've only done a basic check. It'll be days before we can interview all of them, and make sure all of their alibis hold up.

"Any unaccounted for?"

"A few but their DNA sample was already in your database and it didn't match Leah's attacker. Unless this was a different perpetrator, these men aren't the one we're looking for."

Abby shivered at the thought of two different rapists and murderers running wild in the bunker.

She shook her head trying to clear it. "Did they leave any fingerprints at the scene?"

"Mhm." Marcus played with his stylus pen, twirling it between his fingers. "They match the ones from Leah's stuff."

"So it's the same person." Abby sighed in relief even though she wasn't sure whether she should be happy it's just one person or worried because they were escalating.

"It would seem so." Exhausted, he placed the pen on the desk and closed his eyes. Neither of them slept the night before. After the body was discovered, they jumped straight into work mode and haven't stopped since. Without getting any sleep the night before, they were powered by adrenaline, desperate to solve the case before another person lost their life. "How's the autopsy?" he asked trying to cover his yawn.

"I've collected all the evidence."

He raised his brows at the vagueness of her response.

Abby leaned her head back and focused her gaze on the ceiling.

"She fought him," she mused. "She fought him like crazy. There was a lot of his skin under her nails. She ripped off her own fingernail fighting him, it was hanging by a thread. You're looking for someone with deep scratch marks.

"That's something." He made a note on his datapad.

"I sent you the report, it's highlighted there."

He nodded in reply.

Still looking at the ceiling, she said, "He's escalating."

"I know."

"We have to catch him before he hurts someone else."

"We will… We will catch him." He chewed on his lip as he considered his next words. "Abby?"

"Yes?"

"Promise me that you won't take the hidden corridors on your own until this case is solved."

She looked him straight in the eyes raising her brows. Tempted to reply that it's none of his business where she goes, but her resolve softened as soon as she saw the concern written all over his face.

"I'll be fine—"

"Please, Abby," he begged. "I cannot, loo—. Please, just until we catch him."

Abby chewed on her lip. Not wanting to make a promise she was likely to break she was reluctant to answer. But the look in his eyes… She just couldn't say no.

"Fine," she said. "I'll keep to the main ones."

"Thank you." He breathed in relief.

At precisely 8 pm Marcus walked into the rec room which once again was filled to the brink by their people. So far, they had only heard rumours but those had a tendency to take a life of their own, so he had to make an official statement. Something he hated with passion.

He scanned the room that was filled with people. Packed closely together, they were eyeing each other suspiciously. Some were huddled together, whispering conspiratorially, speculating. Others looked confused and scared, some tapped their feet impatiently. Through the corner of his eyes, he saw a movement. As he turned around and spotted Leanna who stood in the front row, smiling, and waving her hand at him. He returned the smile, but it never reached his eyes. He turned his attention to the council area looking for Abby but her seat was empty. She should've been there, he thought concerned but there was no time to dwell on that as people started to notice that he entered the room. Faces turned towards him; expectant looks everywhere. He straightened his back, took a deep breath, and stepped up to the podium. Miller Senior and Iris followed him in case there were any questions they could help with. Abby was supposed to be with them but his datapad just pinged with a message from her letting him know that there was an emergency, and she couldn't make it. Luckily, she specified it wasn't another murder. He was glad for her foresight.

Looking confident but feeling anything but, he turned to face the people gathered in front of him. It was time. Silence in the room was deafening.

He cleared his throat.

"I am sure that all of you have already heard the rumors about last night. I am here to tell you want happened. You deserve to hear the truth and know what we are faced with." He looked at his hands and took a deep breath trying to steady his voice. When he looked up, everyone stared at him in silence, desperate to hear his next words.

Sleep-deprived, exhausted, and frustrated, Marcus' mind worked on autopilot as he delivered his speech. He had no mental energy left to deviate from his prepared words and there was no need to. His speech was written to be honest and concise, to tell their people as much as possible without sacrificing the integrity of the investigation.

"We appreciate your willingness to help with the investigation. When summoned by Doctor Griffin, the chief of Guard, David Miller, or I, please try to attend your meeting as soon as possible to help with the process. The sooner we catch the perpetrator, the sooner we can go back to living our lives in peace and with no fear. We will increase guard patrols, but this place is huge and there aren't very many of us, we can't be everywhere. Please take this warning seriously and avoid walking alone as much as possible until this case is solved. We don't want anyone else to die." With his throat dry, he took a sip of his water and added, "Are there any questions?"

Immediately, chatter erupted in the room and people started shouting. Only bits and pieces of their questions reached Marcus' ears in this chaos. He raised his hand.

"One question at a time," he said and pointed at a woman in the back.

"You were great," said a voice from behind him as he walked down the podium after the q&a session was over. Exhausted, he dragged his body down desperate to get some sleep.

"I'd rather not have to do it." He turned back to see Leanna who was smiling reassuringly.

"Sure, but considering the circumstances… You did well."

He nodded with a weak smile. His eyes wandered across the room. Most people left by now, only a few lost souls stayed behind. The rest made their way towards the mess hall for dinner; their chatter could be heard from miles away. But the rec room grew quieter, calmer, even if for just a moment.

"Are you going to dinner?" she asked looking him straight in the eyes. With a step forward, she found herself standing just inches away from him, having to look up as he was so much taller than her. Her beautiful hair braided elaborately as always.

"Not tonight," he replied and rubbed his eyes. He couldn't think of a worse place to be than the loud dinner hall. "I'm exhausted, I haven't slept in more than 24 hours. I think I'm going to head straight to bed."

"Same." She nodded. "I've been in medical all day. Abby was doing the autopsy and they needed extra hands to take the DNA samples." She rolled her eyes as she said it.

"I thought you wanted to help in medical?" he asked confused.

"Sure. But I'm a midwife, I don't do other stuff," Leanna spat the last word with disgust.

With how tired he was, Kane just assumed that he imagined it.

"I'm sure it's only temporary. It's an extraordinary situation. Once things calm down, you surely won't be expected to do anything like that." He offered.

"Yeah… It's just, I feel like I can't refuse her, you know."

"I'm positive that if you speak to Abby, she'll adjust your workload."

"It's just that I don't think that I can. I only just started and Abby seems like the type of person who'd tell me not to come back if I complain."

"Abby's many things but she's reasonable." Marcus never known Abby to be unreasonable with her staff, on the contrary, she'd overwork herself if it meant she could give someone else a much-needed time off. If anything, the only person she never gave grace to was herself. Always overworked, always overbooked, and yet, always forcing others to rest, including Marcus himself. He conveniently didn't mention how unreasonable she used to get when they argued. But that was always something reserved only for him.

"You're probably right." Leanna's voice took him out of his thoughts. "Everyone's stressed now."

"Talk to her. I promise you that she'll understand."

Leanna looked around the quiet room.

"Everyone's gone to dinner."

"Mhm."

"Uhm, you mentioned that we shouldn't walk alone."

He nodded in reply.

"I know that you're tired, but everyone's gone and my room is quite far away—" she baited him.

"I'll walk you to your room." Marcus walked right into her trap.

"Thank you." She flashed him a bright smile as they walked toward the door.

"Do you know Abby well?" Leanna prodded, hoping to finally get some answers from him after Abby let her down.

Kane opened his mouth to answer but as they walked through the door, he heard fast approaching footsteps. Their heads snapped in that direction, and he saw Abby sprinting through the halls. She came to a stop right in front of him. Bent over at her waist, her hands on her tights, she tried to catch her breath.

"Thomas. Uva's son. He— Uhm, he, broke his hand," sha panted. "A nasty break, I had to set it." She peered inside the room. "Have I missed it?"

"Just about." Marcus took a long look at her. Dark circles under her eyes matched his own. She was just as exhausted. Up all night just like he was and he wouldn't be surprised if she didn't get much sleep the night before either. With her working in medical, she probably hadn't had much time to sit down either. It hadn't escaped his attention that she had almost fallen asleep on his office couch earlier that day when they were discussing the case.

Abby turned her head towards him and their eyes met. Unable to look away, he wanted to say something more but Leanna noticed the tension between the pair and she reacted before Marcus could get any words out. She let out a huge fake yawn to draw their attention.

"I'm so sorry. I am just sooooo tired." She hid another yawn with her hand.

"Right," said Marcus. "We were just on our way to Leanna's room." His words left his mouth without thinking. He cursed himself as soon as he realized how wrong it sounded.

As soon as she hear his words, Abby appeared to have shrunk. Somehow, she looked even shorter than she was, her face dropped.

Kane tried to correct himself. "I mean—"

"Well then," Abby said. "I won't be keeping you then, I have to go back to medical anyway."

"Abby, you're not meant to walk alone, remember?"

"I'll be fine, medical isn't far away." She smiled but the smile never reached her eyes. "I'll see you tomorrow. Have a great night." She gritted her teeth and turned around. With her shoulders slumped, she slowly made her way towards where she came from.

Marcus watched as she walked. Abby adjusted her cardigan and wrapped it tighter around her small frame. His body ached, wanting to run towards her and hug her, reassuring her that everything was going to be okay. But he couldn't do that.

"Remember about your promise," he said while still within her hearing distance.

Abby turned her head around, her eyes sad as she looked at the couple in front of her. Faking a smile, she reminded herself that it was for the best.

"Of course." With that, she picked up her pace leaving them behind.

"Honestly, what is wrong with her?" Leanna asked once Abby disappeared behind the corner.

Marcus furrowed his brows and pressed his lips together in disapproval of what she'd just said.

"Come on, I'll walk you to your room." He started walking.

Smooth, Leanna thought to herself regretting her choice of words. Real smooth. She had to be more careful in the future.

End of Chapter 17