The Golden Bond

Chapter 28

"William where the hell are you?!" The Master shouted, totally losing control.

William had never experienced him like this. His stoic calm had vanished and William had no idea why.

"Victor is dead, your team is God knows where and you... you've almost certainly lost your mind!"

William was even more confused. "Dead!? How is it possible that he's dead?" For a while, the phone call was dominated by utter consternation. Then, William began to explain: "My team was supposed to be on site ages ago! I sent them when Mia called to warn me, she gave me an address where she'd followed Adam and Sofia to! You sent her, didn't you?" he asked not even trying to mask the panic in his voice.

On the other end of the line, there was silence. "Mia?" The Master stared into the distance and the cogs in his head began to rotate like the movement in Swiss clockwork. "Mia," he repeated and then his mind replayed a memory from the time when she was giving him a report in his office. It was back then that something about her didn't seem quite right, but he hadn't followed his instinct.

William was hanging patiently on the other end of the line, watching the Master's thoughts. He saw the Master's suspicion from the growing closeness between the two agents. He saw how Mia was suffering since Victor had disappeared. He saw how strange she'd been a few days earlier. Finally, he heard the Master's confirmation that he hadn't sent her anywhere. She went to Rome of her own accord and had more than likely betrayed the Club.

Mia betrayed them.

It was her who sent him away while he was going to the correct place. She must have arranged it with Adam or maybe he blackmailed her somehow. There was only one situation when it became possible to blackmail a trained charismagician – when they were in love. That was exactly why the Code prohibited any kind of relationships. Mia loved Victor and now Victor was dead. Mia was God knows where and Sofia was at a crime scene full of police officers, investigators, journalists and the glare of the public eye.

Suddenly, William felt acute pain in his chest. It flooded through him like a tidal wave and once again, he heard Adam's ice-cold words in his ears. The time will come when it comes back to you...

Without saying a word to the Master, he put the phone down, got into his car and rushed back to the data centre. The Master didn't have time to tell him about the commotion which had manifested there in the meantime. The chaos left William totally stunned. What the hell is going on?There were emergency lights flashing everywhere. Both streets leading to the spa were closed and filled with people. He saw the vehicles of two of Italy's biggest daily newspapers La Repubblica and Corriere della Sera as well as TV transmission vans and police tape. Just he was about to throw himself into the crowd and search for Sofia, he saw her in the hands of two policemen who were currently dragging her to one of the police vehicles. She was handcuffed and covered in blood, totally exhausted and had no shield around her. Thanks to which, William was able to see into her mind without any problems whatsoever. In her mind, she repeatedly called his name, as if in a trance, not knowing what was happening around her or why she was being dragged away like a criminal. Images swirled around her mind – Victor lying dead, the gun in her hands and the inexplicable time gap which frightened her. She couldn't remember anything. It could have been shock or maybe it was real. Maybe she was a murderer... She was trembling with panic and fear.

William was trembled with her, but in anger. A huge wave of anger and hatred towards a man who'd once been like a brother was still growing inside him. In the mixture of energies, he hadn't noticed that Adam was still present, watching him from a ring side seat. This was the achievement of his life, pumping an incredible amount of endorphins into his veins. Filled with bliss, he watched William suffering... William's face twisting under the immense weight of guilt, anger and despair as he lost the most precious thing he desired. Suddenly he was forced to go away and leave Sofia at the worst moment in her life. He wasn't allowed to intervene in public. He could give himself away and jeopardise the entire Club. He couldn't do anything despite the fact she was handcuffed and they were dragging her away.

William felt the same helplessness that Adam had felt a long time before, he felt betrayal how Adam had felt it and he felt loss the same way that Adam had once felt it with his entire existence. He lost William exactly fifteen years ago. He was his only friend, almost a brother. Now, William lost the one he loved and with whom he was connected.The time has come...