Anarameha

Chapter 22

After thinking about the predicament, Ana came up with a solution. It was the only one that she could think of, and she wasn't sure if it would work or if he could help. Ana hoped that Garlet would have the answers for them. He helped her so much in the past. Not just with the job or the false identity but hiding the truth, giving her freedom to pick and choose what jobs she wanted before anyone else was given a look in.

There was a problem, though. She could not get through on the phone and figured that to speak with Garlet, they had to go to his restaurant. To do that, Keoni had to get dressed. The poorly fitting sweatpants and the clothes with holes burnt into them were not ideal. Garlet wouldn't care what they turned up in, but the city with an odd fascination with fashion would. Ana didn't want to stand out in the crowd.

"Okay, I have a plan, but it means that we have to go outside."

"Is that wise?"

"The path is quick, and I can take us through the back way, which has less foot traffic. You need clothes, though."

Keoni was still sitting up in the bed with his back against the half wall. The sheets were pooled around his waist, but underneath he was naked.

"So, write down your sizes, and I'll go out and get some clothes for you."

Taking the notepad and pen, Keoni wrote down everything he thought Ana would get for him. Ana was dressed and ready in seconds. As she took the notepad and removed the piece of paper, Ana gave Keoni a stern look.

"Do not open the door or windows for anyone. I'm not going to send anyone here to get you and if I'm in trouble, then so be it."

"But you won't get into trouble, will you?"

"No."

Before she could move, Keoni pulled Ana down and kissed her. She couldn't resist and wished that their day could be spent alone and in bed together.

As she closed the door, Ana smiled. She didn't think that this would happen. Keoni, of all the people to survive.

Racing down the stairs, Ana emerged from the building and quickly moved through the walkways to the nearest department store. She didn't want to spend all night deciding on clothing. Much better use of her time was talking to Garlet and figuring out how to get Keoni's memory back.

With an armload of things, Ana made her way to the counter. Huffing as she dumped them onto the glass, she gave the woman a tired smile. The woman didn't seem to pay much attention. Instead, she went through her usual greeting and banter as she scanned the items. It was the end of a long day, and the sooner the customers were out of the store, the sooner they could shut the doors and go home.

As the woman counted the credits into the till the watch on Ana's arm began buzzing madly. She pretended that everything was fine. Once she was out of the place, she could pull back her sleeve and figure out what was making the stupid thing go crazy.

Bags in hand, she offered her gratitude before quickly leaving the store. Ana was barely around the corner before she dumped the bags and pulled back the material. The lights flicked up, and the security alarm began detailing the breaches.

"Damn it." Ana hissed.

Picking up the bags, Ana raced back to the apartment. She figured that Keoni had heard the cat and decided to open the window, ignoring everything that she'd said, but a part of her worried that it was far from that. She feared that he'd been found.

Ana knew that the windows were still open, so she climbed the stairs to the tenth level and made her way to them.

Warily she approached, fearing the worst.

"Hello?"

Nothing. Dread began to rise inside of her.

The shutters were up, and she could see everything. Keoni was not in the apartment that was now a mess. Linen was strewn across the floor. Her laptop was hanging off the edge of the desk, saved only by the cord and the chair. The cabinets looked like someone had been thrown into them, and the stools were knocked down.

Climbing into the apartment, Ana dumped the bags and felt the sickness rise inside her. Keoni would not leave the place open like this. She knew that he wouldn't leave and risk his life either.

Sitting down at her computer, Ana rewound the security footage and saw the horrible truth. Two men that she assumed were goons approached the apartment from the windows. One of them put something against the panel between the units, and the shutters rose instantly.

"Unbelievable," Ana whispered.

Then the other opened the window and climbed in. She couldn't see what happened inside the apartment, but given the disarray around her, Ana knew that there had been a serious struggle in here.

Keoni was dragged out. It looked like he'd been knocked out or possibly injected with something because his body was limp. The two goons walked away with him.

Taking a screenshot of the two men, Ana emailed them and the footage to Garlet and asked him to call if he knew who they were. She didn't know how frequently he checked his email, but Ana figured he'd call soon if he knew who they were.

Sighing heavily, Ana sat back in her chair. She resolved to not waste time and got up, dragging out her Kevlar. She was going to find Keoni, and she was going to save him from whoever had taken him away.

Dressed and packing all of her pieces of gadgetry and weapons, Ana stepped out and closed the window. With a press of the button on her watch, she lowered the shutters and began to walk away.

Ana was always careful in how she left and approached the building. She didn't want anyone to link her and the place that she lived in. Once out of sight, she put on the mask and pulled up the hood. Then she ran.

In the depths of level four, Ana's watch started to vibrate, and a soft ringing echoed in her earpiece. She tapped the side of it, and the call connected.

"Ana, my dear. Why do you want to know who they are?"

She stopped running and sighed heavily.

"They broke into my apartment and took something. Do you know them?"

"I do, and the fact that they broke into your apartment causes me a lot of distress. Come to my restaurant at once."

"But I'm tracking them."

"I know, but I have a much better answer for you. Please come here."

"Alright, but if I lose them."

"Trust me on this one."

Ana rolled her eyes, desperately wanting to vocalise how frustrating Garlet was at the moment.

"Okay. I'll be there in five."

"Thank you, my dear."

Ending the call, Garlet handed the image to the guard in front of him.

"Please go to Bran Malakeni's office and ask that he presents himself here immediately. You can also tell him to bring those two goons seen in that email with him and whatever they stole from one of my employee's apartments this evening. Also, remind him that if he does not comply with returning the stolen item, then there will be consequences."

The guard nodded and turned out of the room. Neither of them had any idea what the vampires had stolen from Ana, but whatever it was, it must be important for them to want it so badly that they'd steal from one of Garlet's protected people.