The Second Chance [Kongpob/Arthit]

Chapter 21 : Sins of the Son

P'Somchai smirked his head swivelling between Arthit and Gun.

"Do you even have to ask?"

Arthit interjected, he thrashed against the ropes.

"You won't succeed, Kongpob and the others, they will track you down."

"Oh, I think I will. By the time they find me, your boyfriend will have your dead body to take care of. I must admit, I was thrown off for a bit, I thought you were dating Gun. But that day, when I left the note, your knight in shining armour gave me a good chase. Almost caught me too."

Arthit realised he had to keep P'Somchai talking, buying Kongpob some time.

"You paid off Kiet to spy on me and P'Gun?"

"Yes, it was so easy. People all pretend to be so decent, dangle a little bit of money in front of them, and you can see the animals they become. Even Sutthiluk's subordinates, the police, meant to serve and protect, were so easy to bribe."

"And -"

"Enough! I'm done talking."

P'Somchai took out his gun, running his hands almost reverently over the muzzle.

"Who wants to go first?"

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Kongpob was antsy, he had gone back to the apartment, only to have his fears confirmed. He found the broken remnants of Arthit's phone. He had allowed himself to shed a tear, for a moment, before determinedly barking orders at the officers who had accompanied him. There was no time to waste.

"P'Ran, arrange another interrogation with Mr. Chaiprasit, he must know something. It is his son after all."

Back at the station, Kongpob made his way through the corridors, stopping at the ever familiar interrogation room. He didn't bother with any niceties, getting straight to the point.

"Mr. Chaiprasit, save your breath, we already know your son is behind everything. He has taken two civilians hostage, you have to tell us, where could he take them? Do you have a family house or some private establishment he could take them?"

"Um - y-yes well, we have a house in the countryside which belonged to my wife's family -"

"Excellent, give me the address."

Kongpob jotted down the address, he had been about to exit the room.

"What will happen to him - my son?"

"Right now, he's already looking at prison time, if he adds manslaughter to those charges, well then -"

Kongpob didn't need to continue, he strode out, P'Ran watched as the old man buried his face in his hands, weeping uncontrollably.

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Knott had been waiting outside the station, he rushed forward when he saw Kongpob.

"Where's Ai'Arthit? I think he might be in danger - he hasn't been answering my calls, we were supposed to meet Ai'Prem for breakfast -"

"P'Knott, I don't have time to explain, just get in."

Knott jumped in the police van, he watched as Kongpob loaded his gun. He listened with rapt attention as Kongpob filled him in.

"And after all this, why did you leave him alone?"

Kongpob hung his head, Knott had never seen him look so defeated.

"Yes, I should have been there with him."

Knott placed a large hand on his knee, squeezing gently.

"He will be fine, we'll find him in time."

Neither of them voiced the thoughts which were coursing through their heads we have to, or else ...

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Arthit's screams echoed in the large room, he watched in horror as P'Somchai pointed his gun at P'Gun. He closed his eyes when he heard the gun go off. A deadly silence followed, Arthit opened his eyes slowly.

P'Gun was howling in pain , a large gaping wound on his leg, P'Somchai stood over him, a malevolent expression on his face. P'Gun's leg was bleeding profusely, his face was losing colour already.

P'Somchai stepped over him, turning his attention to Arthit. He bent down, kneeling next to him. Arthit's voice was barely a whisper.

"Please, no -"

"Since you begged so nicely, I have a special punishment for you."

Arthit's stomach sunk when he saw P'Somchai pull out a knife, he ran it along Arthit's jaw smirking at his discomfort. Arthit held his breath, he closed his eyes, breathing heavily.

"Anything you want me to tell your honey?"

"Fuck you!"

P'Somchai chortled, holding on to his stomach as he guffawed.

"That's not very nice, I'm sure he'll be heartbroken."

Arthit screamed till his voice was hoarse, as P'Somchai brought the knife down, digging it into his stomach. He had never felt pain like this before. He braced himself as P'Somchai brought down the knife again, it never came, because right at that moment, the door came crashing down.

Kongpob had pulled P'Somchai off him, his face livid, he threw him across the room before pummelling him into the ground. Knott untied his hands, trying to help him sit up, Arthit felt groggy, he could feel himself losing consciousness. He pointed at P'Gun weakly.

"Help him, Ai'Knott - help him first."

Knott looked between them, Kongpob who had cuffed P'Somchai ushered Knott to take care of P'Gun. Kongpob's knuckles were bruised and bleeding from where he had punched P'Somchai relentlessly. He cupped Arthit's face into his hand.

"You're going to be okay, P'Arthit."

Arthit smiled briefly, now that Kongpob was here, he didn't have to worry anymore, he let himself succumb to the darkness.

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A/N : So, first off, if anyone guessed the suspect and the motive correctly, give yourself a pat on the back, you're amazing!

I would like to dedicate this chapter to my friend Nathan (@MailmanPilot) who mentioned briefly to me, a few months ago, that I should consider writing a mystery SOTUS fic. I treasure your words of encouragement, thank you :)

I'm considering doing a Q/A session for any questions you may have as a separate chapter, let me know if this is something you'd like.

And finally, thank you all for reading, voting and your comments, always encouraging me to go on.