Louis' POV
"Ana? Can you spot the exact location?" I ask over the phone while adjusting myself in the air duct.
FLASHBACK
After Zayn and I parted, I waited for the plane to take off. Zayn was being adamant. Without a proof in hand we can't just fly to any country. Time is precious. But again, we need to dig deeper into every possibility. Italy might be a possibility if that bracelet hint is real. So, thinking wisely I let Zayn choose his path but I couldn't cancel my visit to Abu Dhabi. Mom heard master talking about Abu Dhabi so there must be something.
Me and my men went aboard the plane after one and a half hour. I could have opted for the department jet but I wanted to keep the mission aloof. Once I confirm the location where master exactly is, I'll call it out to public and will use every possible facility the department provides, without caring about media coverage and all. Moreover, with all the formalities I need to do to take the jet to Abu Dhabi, it will take me two hours and more, so better to choose the plane which is going to take off soon.
I wanted some of my force to go with Zayn but I couldn't do so, my department doesn't allow me to. I pray for his well being.
The plane takes off.
I'm waiting for Ana's response. Ana. She's my subordinate working with me as a hacker. She is the next generation Felicity. Felicity you know? The character in that show called Arrow. She is mind-blowing. It takes seconds for her to hack a computer or any smart device. When me and mom escaped from Austere Villa, I intentionally let some of the men go. I knew they would communicate with master to inform him about mom's escape. Deputing two of my men on this mission, I asked them to follow the men secretly until they make a contact.
Informing Ana about it, I assigned her the task to hack the communication source and trace the route. It will take me to the exact location where the master is. On cue, my phone rings. I quickly take it out to answer.
"Ana."
"Good morning, Sir."
"Good morning. Any progress?" I ask hoping that I have chosen the right place to fly.
"The route has been traced, Sir. It's 'The leaf' in Abu Dhabi where the call had been made." She informs and I relax in my seat that I'm going in a right direction. The leaf...it's one of the tallest buildings in Abu Dhabi.
"Isn't it the place where flats are given on rent?" I ask her and I know she's already on it, searching.
"Yes Sir. And as per the records till date, the whole building has been taken on rent by only one person."
"The name?"
"It's James. Nothing else is mentioned, no photo. I'm on it though, I'll let you know soon."
"Good Job." I cut the call.
James. So the whole building is taken.
We reach at The Leaf at 11:00 am. I look up at the building and the sun over our heads. Me and my men are in casuals to hide our identity. I command all of them to hide in pairs and wait for my signal. Covering the building from all directions, they hide themselves while I remain in front. I watch two men getting out of the building. They are chewing something, may be a drug. My eyes fall on the hidden knife in his arm.
"We need to be careful, they can attack us any minute they get to know about us. They are already prepared." I convey to my men over molar mic and make my way inside.
"Hello." I greet to a boy at reception. I observe his body language which is subtle but alert. There's no register on table and no laptop for registration or to keep the record of who comes and goes. My eyes fall on a typewriter. Nobody uses it these days. I bet it is not a typewriter in real, it just looks like one.
"Yes?" He furrows his eyes and then smile.
"I've heard you give flats at rent? I want one." I say while scanning the hall. It's quiet. No one is around except one guard at lift who is looking at me murderously.
"Sorry, all are already occupied. You may try at some other place." He informs.
"Please check again? I really need one." I requests buying the time to scrutinize the area for loopholes. There's an air conditioner vent cover on the wall beside staircase. A backdoor just behind the reception.
"Sorry, I have already checked." He says wearily. I look back at him and smile before moving out.
"Two men in the reception hall. I'm going up through the air duct. Billy and Panther, back me up and be alert everyone." I inform my men while checking the bullets in my pistol. Billy and Panther follow me as I go inside again.
"Hello again. I forgot to ask your name." I ask the boy and observe him getting irritated. He notices Billy and Panther and the next moment his hand is inside the typewriter. He takes out the gun and point it at me. With a flex moment I twist his wrist to let the gun fall down and grab his neck to press the point behind his ear. But before he falls unconscious, he pressed a button on the typewriter and the siren blares inside the building. It happens in just seconds that the guard at lift couldn't do anything. I move ahead towards the vent while my men take care of the guard. I know the siren is high alert for the rest to be in action. I quickly get inside the vent and ask my men to get ready for the unknown.
I call Ana.
FLASHBACK ENDS
"Exact location...as in The Leaf itself?"
"Yes, on which floor?" I ask while adjusting my feet on either side of the wall. I look down. If I lose my grip I would fall 10 floors down.
"Number 44." I close my eyes at her reply. 34 more, yeah you can do it.
I climb up and in parallel, I convey a message to my men. "It's floor number 44. Reach there and be careful on the way. Every floor is guarded by his men and some are rushing down. Be alert while waiting for the lift."
They respond in unison.
Reaching at floor number 44, I peek through the vent cover. "There are five men with guns standing near the stairs and two near lift. One at each room. Total twenty and we are eight." I inform my force while thinking of a plan to cut them down.
"What do we do Sir?" Billy asks.
"Your locations?" I ask.
"Vane, Maddy and I are in lift, Forrey is after you in vent and Glider, Brew and Panther in stairs." Billy informs while I run my brain to adjust things in my favor.
"We are almost reaching Sir." Vane informs.
"Listen to me. I have a plan. Nobody comes out of the lift, hide up the ceiling in any way but do. I hope those in the stairs are winning?" I ask knowing that master's men are running in bundles down the stairs but I also know that Glider, Brew and Panther have automatic firearms.
"Yes Sir!" Panther pants. "We are alright. Brew got a bullet in his arm but he's okay."
"Don't worry about us Sir. We won't disappoint you." Brew speaks and I smile.
"That's why I chose you." I appreciate my force and I know they are highly talented.
"Back to work! The moment his men get inside the lift to find you, fight them. You know Kung Fu better than me. Those in stairs fight the one's at the doors while Forrey and I will get inside the rooms. Make sure to back us up when we get inside." I tell them and this is what exactly happens.
But...
There's always a twist.
Before Forrey could get out of the vent, one man shoot him on the arm and he falls down. I close my eyes before punching hard the one who shot him. I don't know if he would even survive the fall. I cheer up others to get Forrey off their minds while beating the men coming in the way. I also notice Brew feeling tired because of the bullet-hit at his arm.
"Just focus on the target. Back me up!" I order while opening the first door.
The moment I open, shooting starts. I get down quickly to dodge the bullets while pulling the trigger of my own. Glider fire in aimless directions and bingo! Five men down. I crawl on the floor reaching upto the glass chamber I see in the corner of this giant room. Panther and Brew join Glider and make a shield for me.
I reach the chamber when one of them pulled me back and before he could kick I elbowed him on the foot to make him jump in pain. Forgot to tell you that I had a knife in my hand which I just nailed in his foot. Crossing the knife along his neck, I let his blood run down his chest before stabbing the other one right in his forehead. I didn't bother to take out the knife and moved ahead.
I was about to open the door to a glass chamber when a scream hits my heart. I looked back and find Panther with a knife in his lower rib.
"Panther!" I shout while shooting the man who was still holding the knife in his rib. Maddy gets closer and shields Panther. It's a chaos and master's men are in huge numbers. But my men are fighting. Fighting back with a bang.
I focus on the glass chamber and without delaying it further I shoot open the door. A man in his early fifties is sitting on a king sized chair. His eyes slowly look up at me and a tired smile comes upon his face.
"Who are you?" I ask getting closer to him while pointing my gun at his face.
"My name is Kabir."
Zayn's POV
I scan the words again and again to find the clue.
A horn beeped so loud near my ear that I jump out of fear and look up. "Fuck." I rub my forehead in annoyance and get aside realizing that I'm standing in the middle of the road. My eyes go back to my phone again. What does she want to convey? My eyes move left to right reading the lines again and again. I scoff at myself.
Zayn, she thinks too high of you.
Don't you fucking disappoint her. Get your shit together and understand. Put yourself in Sherlock's shoe and try to find the hidden words.
Hidden words!
I take deep breath and read the feedback again. Calmly.
This hotel is a beautiful place. We enjoyed our time here like a funfair. You know what I mean?
You know what I mean? This is for me.
Like a funfair...I underline the word funfair in my mind.
The place holds the calmness, the view of the pool is something we can watch dusk till dawn. It's like the dusk waits for you to come and find your other half in the moonlight trapped under the pool.
Dusk...she wrote it twice. Underline.
Dusk waits for you to come...for me to come! Where?
In the moonlight...Underline.
See you soon with a longer stay and a planned trip. I squirm my eyes and close them. Okay I don't understand this part.
Move ahead Zayn.
We will definitely exchange the rooms with the heavy money we will pay as a tribute. We will definitely come to enjoy the seven colors shining in the pool water by sitting at the charming round table.
Seven colors...doubtful. Underline.
Funfair. Dusk. Moonlight. Seven colors.
She wants me to come find her in the moonlight...dusk...
Means today evening! I check the time and it's 6:17 pm already. Worry starts to fall upon me. I don't want to lose her. This time, I want to catch her, hold her never to let her go away. I think about the words I underlined.
Funfair...A carnival! They are going to a carnival. Think of the places where a carnival can be organised Zayn. A carnival happening tonight...
Amusement parks. I need to google amusement parks in Italy.
Seven colors...A rainbow?
Rainbow Magicland. Isn't it an amusement park? I get my feet moving while I search for Rainbow Magicland in my phone. Yes, I am absolutely right. I purse my lips knowing that the route is too long to reach on time. Two and a half hours drive by car. I am going crazy.
I book a cab not losing hope. I have no other choice, I need to keep going.
~
I finally reach the destination at nine. Getting out of the car, my eyes scan the surroundings. There's a row of different types of street foods outside the main entrance. People are enjoying the food and chatting. Some are walking inside and some are heading out. I search for her anxiously. My eyes yearn to see her once. I walk inside with hopeful eyes. There's lot more happening inside the park. So many rides are arranged at different locations. The famous ferris wheel...how can I forget it, my partner's favourite. It brought back the horrible memory. I could have lost her. How fucking stupid I was to let her go alone on it. I was blinded at that time.
"Where are you partner? C'mon...I'm tired of this sick game." I murmur as if she is listening. A chuckle left my mouth as I watch passersby laughing at me. Obviously, I am looking mad talking to myself.
My eyes move to every corner. People are indulged in excessive drinking, eating meat and other foods, mostly are not themselves as they sway and swing in alcohol. Food fights are going on, on and on hitting each other's faces, dirty dancing, grotesque costumes, all in all, everyone is lost. Lost in the world of denial, where they can forget about day to day problems they meet, stress, worries...long gone. It's a chaos.
"Where are you?" I scan through the party area, every ride, every food point but nothing. She is nowhere to be seen. Did I fail again? My eyes brim up in loneliness. No one is mine here. I am standing in the middle of a crowd which is completely unknown to me. Frustration takes over and I find myself struggling to put my parts together. I'm breaking.
There's a pool in the middle of the ground, a small one just to sit around and chill. I drag myself towards the pool deck and sit down on an empty chair under the tree. The tree shines with the lightening done all over it. I look around. People are dancing and laughing. Some are dressed simple and some like it's Halloween already. I notice one girl, wearing a short red dress, coming closer to me. Her face is masked with shiny feather like red mask.
"Wanna dance with me?" She asks. I give her a close lip smile and shake my head.
"Thank you. I'm just fine sitting here." I look away in annoyance as her finger traces my cheek down to my neck. "You seem so tired...lost in someone's memory. Why don't you just live a little?" She offers a bottle of wine. I look at the bottle, then at her. I want to drink it down and forget the pain, this pain which is unbearable now, this pain of separation which is killing me minute by minute, second by second. She clinks the bottle with an empty glass bringing me back. Hesitantly, I accept the bottle.
"C'mon, pour it down!" She provokes. I gulp down the dryness but then shake my head shoving the bottle back in her hands. She is taken aback and murmurs something under her breath.
"Weak people consume it. And I'm not one of them." I get up and state my point. Sighing, I turn around and take a step to go away from her.
"Hey handsome!" I stop at my feet without turning around. "I realize that I'm one of them. Sing for me." She pleads and I turn myself to face her. Her openness surprises me and the way she is demanding is like she knows me well.
"Please."
I sigh and sit back on the chair. "Okay." I agree, not because of her that she asked for it. But because I want to sing, sing for my other half, in the memory of her being away from me...lost.
I know you're somewhere out there
Somewhere far away
I want you back, I want you back
She looks at me surprised, keeping herself still as I sing.
My neighbors think I'm crazy
But they don't understand
You're all I had, you're all I had
I close my eyes as I feel myself getting lost in my gloomy world. A world without her...
At night, when the stars light up my room
I sit by myself
My eyes flick open as I feel that burning sensation in them. The red girl is watching me standing at that same spot. The bottle in her hands is now open and one level down.
Talking to the moon
Trying to get to you
In hopes you're on the other side talking to me, too
Or am I a fool who sits alone talking to the moon?
Oh-oh
I look away and try to subdue my heartache. Her absence is making my veins run dry like the blood is refusing to flow. My energy level is one wicket down. I don't remember the last time I ate.
I'm feeling like I'm famous, the talk of the town
They say I've gone mad
Yeah, I've gone mad
But they don't know what I know
'Cause when the sun goes down, someone's talking back
Yeah, they're talking back, oh
I feel my eyes brimming up. I fight my tears back tightening my grip on my jeans, just above my knees. All the people around me starts to fade away as my vision blurs with tears as well as with the memories I have, of her, the memories on which I am living, breathing.
At night, when the stars light up my room
I sit by myself
The red girl comes closer and sit on the chair next to me. She listens to me quietly.
Talking to the moon
Trying to get to you
In hopes you're on the other side talking to me, too
Or am I a fool who sits alone talking to the moon?
If my voice is reaching her...if she is listening to me somewhere...I hope it brings her back to me. My eyes continuously look everywhere to find her.
Ah-ah, ah-ah, ah-ah
Do you ever hear me calling?
(Ah-ah, ah-ah, ah-ah) oh-oh-oh, oh-oh-oh
My voice gets louder in despair.
'Cause every night, I'm talking--
The sound of a gunshot makes me stand up abruptly. The girl next to me clings to my arm tightly in fear. I look around and the whole place feels like a madhouse with everyone running in haphazard manner.
"Alicia..." I take a step ahead and push the girl away, making her stand on her feet steady. She's completely wasted. Humanity is not allowing me to leave her alone like this so I just make her sit on the chair and call the guard. "Hey, just sit here." I tell her before going to find the guard who is nowhere to be seen. I'm horrified and having this bad feeling. The gunshot...who is the victim? My anxiety rises to a new level and I walk aimlessly.
People are screaming, running out of fear and are banging into each other. I walk clearing my way through the chaos while rummaging my eyes everywhere to find her.
"Shit." I curse as a hard shoulder collides with mine. I clutch my shoulder looking behind. I see a man running away swiftly, his face is masked. My eyes go wide in suspicion. "Hey!" I run after him. My eyes fall on three more men who are dressed similar to him and are following him. They have guns in their hands and are masked. Military green trousers with hard boots and a bulletproof helmet...they look like army men. I follow them.
The man, who collided with me stumble down and starts rolling on the ground. Three others were quick to catch him. They grapple with the briefcase the man was holding and start to hit him. I quickly get to them and push back the one who was about to shoot the man.
"Who are you?" I ask to those with guns while getting down dodging the kick from one of them. I roll myself over the man I collided with and grab him by shoulders to make him stand up. He quickly grabs the briefcase while I punch the other man with gun with my fist and get down to hit on his left knee. I pull his right leg and make him fall down. Time was too short to get up when a fist collided with my face. I was jolted back but soon recovered myself and dodge the second punch quickly. I notice the man with the briefcase hitting the one who just hit me. I hop to another and the fight starts. My eyes observe that the man is hesitating to fight and is more concerned about the briefcase. But he is still helping me.
I punch the military man and try to grab his gun. I get hold of his torso and push him back with a force to make him trip on his feet. Turning around, I quickly bend back to make an arm run free over me without hitting me. I move my leg up while standing up and kick the gunman in his groin. I was about to punch him when my eyes fall on her retreating back. My heartbeat races and I feel goosebumps all over my body.
A new kind of panic.
"Fuck!" I contorts holding my jaw as the fucker hit me square in the cheek. I punch him back to get a scream in return. I could care less at the time. My wide eyes watch her back in madness, her brown hair falling back and swaying as a man next to her drags her.
I was about to run to catch her when a hard metal hits my head and the world starts to revolve. I hold my head in my hands as the pain is sever to a level that it gets me on my knees. I hear three gunshots and her retreating back fading away into the crowd when my eyes starts to feel heavy. I try to get up, to run after her. I can't lose her getting this close. But helplessly, my body falls back. My head didn't touch the ground rather it falls in someone's lap. The man who collided with me. He takes off his mask and my blurry vision tries hard to recognize the face.
"Dad..."
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