11:00 PM
The Nymond investigates team
Daunthill
Kenneth stared at a bizarre painting hanging on the wall. A rainbow-colored crown with rainbow-colored bubbles ascending from the tips of the crown. Kenneth pondered on this future as a detective. His incompetency on this mission eluded him. His ability to function effectively seemed to dampen anytime he came close to pinning Takiboshi. In just one week he'd lost a highly valuable witness, been outsmarted by a random lady, and lost contact with Nina. Things always seemed to fall apart once Takiboshi was involved. The detective tightened his grip on the Ruger AR556 in his hands. The small size bulletproof vest only vexed him more. He wondered if Dimitri and Nina were still alive. Neither of them would go without a fight. Their abductors must've been overwhelmed by their willpower. "Hey man," Jacob walked obscured Kenneth's view of the painting "you okay?"
"You have a dirty habit of asking that question at the worst of times Jay."
"Apologies, but we found Dimitri." Jacob grabbed the shoulder lines of his bulletproof vest
"What, where?!"
"Parkfield, Felicia Dilli's place to be precise."
"Why the hell would he be there?"
"I don't know but the twins tracked his phone to the location."
"Takei, Tashiro!" Kenneth called out.
The Asian twins walked into the scene. Takei held a MacBook in his hand, the wireless earphone in his right ear extended to a mic. Tashiro moved in behind her brother, her eyes were glued to a small jotter on her hand as she scribbled something. She bumped into Takei who gripped hard on his laptop to prevent it from falling. "That was close" Takei smiled at Tashiro.
"My bad "she commented
"Uh... detective, you called?"
"Yeah, Jacob here has been quite shady lately, so I wanted to confirm from you two"
"Okay," the twins chorused.
"He says you've found Dimitri is that correct?"
"Well, technically we haven't found him" Takei corrected "We just have the location of his cell phone and that should be a good lead."
"What if the people who took him are leading us into a trap?"
"Sorry to break it to you but we did some digging and Dimitri wasn't taken?"
Kenneth adjusted himself on his seat. He turned to Jacob who stood there watching with a frown on his face. "What do you mean he wasn't taken?" Kenneth turned to Takei
"It appears he left the on his own. Judging from what we saw on the security cameras." Tashiro cut in. "He made a phone call just before leaving."
"Now why the hell would he do that?"
"That one we cannot answer"
"I'm going to Parkfield" Kenneth stood from his seat.
"No" Jacob protested
"Excuse me?"
Jacob sighed and took his hands to the shoulder lines of his vest. He turned back to make a few head movements, signalling Takei and Tashiro to leave. "I wasn't sure how to tell you this but yet but the situation has formed my hand."
"Well, it wouldn't be the first time you've deprived me of crucial information."
"Chill out Ken" Jacob rubbed his palms "I got a lead on Nina"
Kenneth froze.
"It's bad news, really bad"
Kenneth grabbed him by the vest. It'd been a while since Kenneth seemed so intimidating. The detective pulled Jacob closer, his jaw muscles flexed as he uttered the words "Speak up Jacob."Jacob took a deep breath, he hated this moment with every fibre of his being. Being the bearer of such news wasn't exactly his forte. Hell, it wasn't anybody forte.
"My man with police said he'd met a man at the port of Freetown. It took some persuading but the man confirmed that he saw some strange activity a while ago. A few men were given special passage into a Nord cargo ship and they had a woman with them."
Kenneth let go of Jacob, he dropped his rifle on the seat. The detective paced around the room, he rubbed his hand on his chin. Maybe his approach to this overwhelming case might not just be right. He'd gotten so much information from Diane but there's obviously still a missing piece. "We're running out of time here" Jacob reminded him.
"Okay Jacob, you're very good with strategies so what exactly are you suggesting I do with this information you've given me.?"
"I'm letting you make the best decision for yourself." Said Jacob "If Vazie or Takiboshi is bringing Nina into Daunthill in that shipment to use her as leverage over you then you would want to be there. Also, you feel responsible for Dimitri so you might want to go save him from whatever he's gotten into."
"You wanna get Dimitri yourself?"
"I didn't say that yet"
"But I know you and I know what you're implying."
"Well if you know me that well you also know I'm good with communication. I know how to talk people out of shit."
"Can't disagree with that" Kenneth nodded
"Plus," Jacob pinched his skin "I and the kid have some things in common."
Kenneth strolled to the seat and picked up the Ruger. He closed in on the South African and gazed right into his eyes. "I want to be done with this Vazie dude as soon as possible." Said Kenneth "If you get the boy back, safe and sound that, might help clear up the bad blood you've created between us."
Kenneth walked out of the room. Jacob waited for a while to make sure Kenneth had gotten a distance before pulling out his phone. He scrolled through his call history and paused as he stared at Diane's name. Maybe he should've put a bullet in this woman when he met her. He dialled tapped the tapped on the name. Diane was quick to pick up the phone, which was unlike her. This sacred plant of her's seemed to be the only thing that mattered to her. She sounded a bit edgy.
"Is there a problem?"
"Yes, Diane there is a problem."
"I'm not digging this tone of yours" she complained.
"You shouldn't, why did you send Dimitri to Felicia's home."
"What are you talking about," Diane quizzed him "why would I do such a thing."
"Because you're you and the plan comes before anything else."
"Look, Jacob, everything is fine on my side. All you and Kenneth have to do is stop that shipment."
"No," Jacob refused "I'm going to get Parkfield to get Dimitri. I don't know what twisted shit you got that kid into the back at The Den but I'm getting him out."
"Jacob this wasn't the agreement you can't interfere."
"Goodbye, Diane."
***
11:45
Daunthill Harbour
Daunthill.
Kenneth added his Avalon to the fleet of cars surrounding the entrances/ exits to the harbour. In the car with him were Jayla and Kayden. Jayla reclined on the front passenger seat while Kayden stared at his fiddled with his smartphone in the backseat. They all had Kevlar vests around their torso. They maintained remote commination with the twins via the earphones in their ears. The Avalon, surrounded by a black Range Rovers SUV, was an oddity at the scene. Colors of red and blue filled the night illuminated the area. The sirens were all silent to prevent the shipment receivers from being alerted. "Maybe we should have brought an SUV." Jayla stared at the range rover next to them.
"Maybe," Kenneth responded.
"This is nice though," Jayla kept talking "The team working together again. I wish Claire didn't leave; she would've loved this part of the mission. She always loved pulling the trigger"
"Yeah"
Kenneth started out through the windscreen. His hands still rested on the steering ring even though the car wasn't in motion. The little vibrations resonating from the engine to the steering made him a bit better. Maybe, this could be some sort of undiscovered therapy. Parking your car and leaving the ignition on while you gaze through the windscreen with your hands on the wheel. But it'll probably be more effective when done alone. "You okay?" Jayla watched the detective.
"I'm tired of that question" Kenneth responded, "Could you please pop open the glove box?"
"Sure" Jayla flicked the latch. The compartment dropped to reveal it's empty inside. Kenneth stretched his hand and patted the inside to make sure. Kenneth exhaled, he closed the box and placed his hands back on the steering ring.
"Uh... what was that about?"
"Call Jacob please, it's an emergency"
Jayla frowned. She stretched her hand behind her and snatched Kayden's phone. "Hey," Kayden protested.
"Here you go" Jayla handed the phone to Kenneth.
"You don't have a phone?" he asked
"I don't know, I was about to ask you the same thing."
Kenneth sighed as he collected the device. A new high score animation played on the subway suffers screen. Kenneth looked back at Kayden and shook his head in disapproval. Kayden shrugged and turned away. Kenneth hit the home button before proceeding to the contacts to dial Jacob. The ring lasted a short while before Jacob picked up.
"Hey"
"It's Kenneth, just calling to check in"
"Thanks, I'm good. I'm en route"
"Quick warning though," Kenneth said "The boy is armed with a Glock 19 which he stole from me. Be careful."
"Shit, I'll keep that in mind."
Kenneth hung up and passed the phone back to Kayden. "Well, that answers my question" Jayla spoke out.
"You're eavesdropping now?"
"Hard not to when someone in a closed space with you is having a loud-ass conversation."
A knock on the window of the driver's seat caught them by surprise. Henry Doyle stood outside waving lazily at Kenneth. The detective turned off the ignition and got out of the car. "Chief," Kenneth stretched his hand towards Doyle.
"Save the handshake for General Dahl."
"Excuse me ?"
"Detective Kenneth" Dahl walked into their conversation with an extended hand. Kenneth shook the wrinkled hand of the white man. He had visible venation around his body. Most of these were concentrated around his sagging muscles. His head had gone bald and if you took a close look you could tell he had a thick beard that had been shaved neatly. "I'm general Dahl of the Daunthill Special Protection service." the man spoke with a deep raspy voice.
"Nice to meet you" Kenneth let go of Dahl's hand "So you guys are the military here?"
"Call it what you want, we protect the royal avenue. But in situations like this one, we are obliged to extend our reach."
"It's always good to have extra manpower at times like this." Kenneth nodded
"Chief Doyle has said a lot you" mentioned Dahl "I hope you meet my expectations."
"He also gave the DSPS a lot of praise. I hope to not be disappointed."
A voice from the radio on the shoulder of Dahls Kevlar vest disrupted the awkward conversation. "General, all units are in position as instructed."
"Copy that" the general replied "maintain positions, nobody leaves that harbour. We're going in now."
The general tilted his head sharply as a signal to Kenneth. He walked out of the scene, leaving Doyle and the detective to finish up. Doyle handed a radio to Kenneth. "Well, that was quite a character" Kenneth noted.
"Yeah... but as you can see" Doyle stretched his arms out "" he's come through. I hope you I can say the same for you and your team when we go in there."
"We all hope for the best chief"
"I can still charge you for fraud and assault on the chief of police. I ask that you keep that in mind."
"Will do"
Doyle walked away in the same direction as Dahl. Kenneth opened the door to the driver's seat. Jayla turned to him awaiting his instruction while Kayland stared at his phone screen. "Kayland get off that stupid game it's old and inappropriate right now. It's go time."
Kenneth opened the trunk as the others got out of the car. Their ammunition cache rested inside several black boxes in the trunk. They opened the boxes and armed themselves. Kayland fixed the scope unto his sniper rifle as he spoke to the twins.
"Takei, you there?"
"Yes, we've located a good vantage point for you." Takei replied, "We'll guide you there."
"Alright then," Kayland turned to Kenneth and Jayla "Catch you guys later then. Try to stay alive."
Kayland jogged into the dark of the night. Kenneth watched Jayla as she fixed a clip to a service pistol and slotted it into her holster. "You ready?" he asked
"I should be throwing that question at you." Jayla replied, "Jacob told me what we might encounter here."
"I'll be fine, let's move."
***
Somewhere in Daunthill.
Jacob throttled his way down the road. He hoped the boy would still be in good shape when he got to Felicia's residence. Still, quite a distance away from Parkfield he was intercepted by a vehicle that had been parked diagonally on the road. Jacob was too familiar with the car to mistake it for anyone else's. Maybe calling Diane was not the beat option, he should've known better. He grabbed his vibrating phone from the cup holder in the car and answered the call. "Hi Jacob," said Diane.
"Get out of my way Diane."
"I'm playing it nice here dude. We had an agreement."
Jacob watched Diane get down from the driver's seat of the car. The protective vest she wore and the S&W in her hand proved she'd come prepared. Majid came out after her with a rifle in his hand. That was quite some firepower. Jacob read the situation; he only had a few handguns at his disposal. This day would break his record for most bad decisions. "So, what have I gained from this agreement we have?" Jacob stalled "Where is Takiboshi?"
"We're following a process, ill lead you to him once we have Vazie behind bars." She replied, "Now please drop this insane vendetta and head for the Daunthill harbour."
"Look who's talking about insane Vendetta's" Jacob chortled "That's ironic."
"Don't force my hand, Jacob"
"You think you and samurai boy can handle me?" Jacob asked, "I'd love to see you try."
Jacob hung up on Diane. He could read her lips from the distance she was definitely cursing. The lady said something to Majid who immediately fired two shots at the front tires of Jacob's vehicle. The loud sound of inflated rubber bursting filled the area. Diane and Majid had chosen violence. Jacob frowned as he hit the gas. In a split second, the two vehicles collided. Diane dove out of harm's way and plummeted on the edge of the tarred road. Majid was the worst victim of the situation. Although he'd managed to jump away and avoid most of the impact, he'd strained a muscle in the process. The Asian man laid on the ground along with the glass shards.
Jacob stepped out of his car unscathed. Thanks to the seatbelt and airbag technology. The south African carefully picked some glass pieces from his vest as he walked in the direction of Diane. Diane attempted to grab her gun but Jacob kicked it further away. "This is foul play" Diane complained
"Been wanting to this for a minute" Jacob aimed the gun at Diane. The lady no good froze as she stared at the muzzle of the gun. Jacob fired twice at her. The shock along with the sharp pain of the bullets landing on her vest prompted Diane to exhale in an anomalous way. She squeezed unto her stomach and curled herself together. Jacob left to check on Majid who was still massaging his calf muscle. He ignored the man and resumed his journey to Dimitri on foot. The sound of a gun being coked caused him to stop.
"Don't to yourself man." Jacob turned back to Majid.
Majid stood slowly from the ground with his hand still placed on his calf. "I can still take you on." He targeted the handgun at Jacob.
"Of course, you can," said Jacob "but would you?"
"I didn't sign up for this part of the plan" Majid lowered his gun "So you can go. I'll make sure she doesn't follow."