"Are you really certain she's in there?" Raymond inquired yet again, hope sweeping through him as he repeated the boy's words. He raised his phone, one inch from shoving it into the boy's face for what was the third time and counting. In that moment, they all posed a convincing picture of two grown men harassing an innocent boy, even though the boy looked everything but innocent. It wasn't a conclusion Raymond came to only on the account of his crazy crazy jeans and tank top that had a huge skull on it, it was more of the aura the boy gave off even while he was doing literally nothing.
The boy didn't bother glancing at the photo, shoving it out of his face even as his eyes rolled exaggeratedly. He looked like he regretted saying anything to them at all and that had Raymond searching for words so he wouldn't leave them to their own. Ultimately, he was the only lead they had -- if he was, that is.
"I mean -- It's not like we don't believe you-- it's just . . . "
"She's in there," the boy interrupted, voice biting and taking on a defiant stance.
"You keep saying that, but how do we know we can trust you and this isn't some trap of sort," Alex demanded, his suspicious gaze boring down on the boy, but the boy was unfazed and Raymond had to give it to him. Alex's gaze could be really . . . hard when he put his mind to it.
Raymond was thinking the exact same, but unlike his brother, he was more inclined to believe. He wanted badly to believe.
"Thinking about it now, you're right," the boy conceded, an arrogant smirk curling up on his face. "I don't think she was the one I saw afterall. Bye."
Before the boy could take a step, Raymond instinctively reached out, pulling him back by his shirt. The boy surprisingly didn't weigh much, judging by how easy it was to drag him back. Momentary distracted, Raymond let his gaze roam over the boy and he for the first time noticed how skinny the boy was. It was so glaring he was undernourished.
"Let go of me!" The boy demanded, annoyed. Raymond did, his eyes not straying from the boy.
"You said she stood out to you because she didn't look like she's from around here?" Alex demanded.
The boy snorted. "Now you choose to believe me?"
"Why didn't you call the police then?"
The boy stared at him as if he'd suddenly grown a horn. "Call the police and tell them that I saw a woman willingly enter into a house and then what?" He scoffed, coming to the conclusion they were both nuts. "Look, I saw her go in there, she caught my attention because she looked kind of different from the girls you usually see around here, then I saw you weirdos lurking around and figured something was up. Simple. End of story."
Raymond sighed. "A man told us that house has been empty for a long time."
"Aje?" The boy chuckled. "Yes, I saw you talking to him. He's high 24/7. We all know better than to listen to anything he says."
"So someone does live there?"
"Yes, a man moved in there a few weeks ago. He doesn't really relate with anyone and hardly goes anywhere. You know, I think I'm his best friend around here . . . " the boy informed, a bright smirk on his face. " . . . and he slams the door in my face every single time I go over."
"Mm."
The boy grinned evil wider. "What can I say? I love a good challenge and it's just so much fun to mess with people."
Raymond and Alex exchanged meaningful glances. Was that what was happening right now?
If that were true, that was probably half an explanation as to why he hadn't bothered with removing that 'for sale' sign.
"Can you describe this man?" Raymond asked.
"Tall, dark, a bit of muscle," the boy answered shortly.
That was a vague description, but it did match the description Sophie had given them of the man that had stolen her phone. Raymond exchanged another look with Alex who looked like he was thinking the same.
Raymond nodded and the boy did the same. "So, are you done interrogating me then? Or are you going to lock me up somewhere next?"
The boy bounced from foot to foot, looking ready to leave as they both kept staring at him with matching looks of doubt and contemplation.
"What do you think?" Alex asked, addressing Raymond.
Raymond wasn't sure what to think. It made sense, but again it didn't. But maybe they needed to have faith? "I don't know. Isn't it about time the police got here?"
"Police?" The boy echoed. "What exactly is going on here?"
Neither replied him, but caught in their different thoughts although similar. If the boy was confirming that Hope indeed was in there, what was the next step? They'd informed the police, but could they just wait around, trusting they would show up even though they hadn't provided any definite proof? Even if they did, would they get there in time?
"We should find a way to go in," Raymond concluded, a new sense of urgency in his voice. If Hope was in anyway in danger, getting her out came first.
"We can't overlook the possiblity that text wasn't from Hope."
Raymond had mused over the possiblity over and over on the way over, and had concluded it didn't matter. If he had a shot at saving Hope, he was taking it. Besides, if the kidnapper had sent it, then he might as well meet him. "I know."
"I asked a question, you know?" The boy announced, drawing their attention back to himself.
"What's your name?" Raymond asked of the blue, taking the boy by surprise.
"Why?" He asked suspiciously.
"I just want to know," Raymond replied genuinely.
"Are you cops? Is that guy some sort of criminal? You won't demand I come to testify, will you?"
"For all we know, the lady you saw could have been kidnapped. We have to rescue her," Raymond summarized, deciding to trust the boy. But then again, he tended to trust anyone.
"Kidnapped?" The boy asked, for the first time looking genuinely apprehensive. " I saw her walk in there of her own free will."
"No, she didn't. She came here because she thought her sister was being held hostage," Raymond informed. He'd thought about it and had decided that was what had happened. There was just no other reasonable explanation. "It's a long story and might not make much sense to you, but if she's in there, she's being held hostage."
The book seemed lost for words, probably realizing this was not a joke as he'd thought. "Here I was thinking your girlfriend was cheating on you or something."
"What?"
"The man's really good looking," the boy replied defiantly.
"Do you know anyway we could get in there without drawing attention?" Alex asked.
"I thought you were waiting for the police?"
"Yes, and they're supposed to be on their way, but this is Nigeria and that could mean a whole lot of things."
The boy chewed on his lips, seeming to weigh it. When he spoke, he left them both floored. "I could help you distract him."
"What--"
"I'm very good at constituting a nuisance," he offered.
"No, no," Raymond refuted, immediately shutting down the idea before it took root in his head. "We would rather not drag anyone else into this."
The boy crossed his arms defiantly. "So what? You're going to barge in there and play hero?"
"No, we can't risk putting her in more danger."
"So?"
Raymond didn't have an answer, but he knew what wasn't an answer. "I really appreciate you trying to help us, but that's too dangerous, both for you and her."
The boy's head tilted as he took in Raymond's profile with a look of contemplation. He eventually shrugged. "Suit yourself then, I was only trying to help."
"Why?" Raymond asked. "We're strangers to you, You have no reason to help us."
Hiis gaze turned away and Raymond wasn't sure, but he could almost swear the boy looked embarrassed. "I feel like I kind of owe you."
"Owe me for what?" Raymond inquired, for some reason confused by the boy's response.
"Are we doing this or not?"
"We could lure him out," Alex pointed out, speaking for the first time.
Two pairs of eyes were instantly on him, waiting for what exactly he had to say.
"Can you get him out here without you going in?" Alex stated, facing the boy.
"Yes," the boy replied confidently.
"How?"
"I already told you. I love to bother him and I'm a fantastic troublemaker," the boy reminded them, smirking. "I know already what irks him the most."
"What's that?"
"You'll have to find out."
"We can't afford him spotting us until he's out here," Raymond interjected, finally digesting the idea. "He might recognize us, and I doubt you can take him on your own."
"What's life without a gamble?"
"This is serious."
"So am I. Can you trust me?"
Could he?
"We want to," Alex replied instead.
The boy nodded, and started walking away from them and in the direction of the house. Raymond's heart thumped louder with every step closer the boy got. He watched as the boy bent over to scoop up stones.
"What if they're more than one in there?" Raymond asked as the thought suddenly occured to him.
"A bit too late to change our mind," Alex replied as they watched the boy hurl two stones at the gate, the sound of the collision reverberating even till where they were sat.
"What's he going to do with that?" Alex asked, looking alarmed as they watched the boy search around and pick up a large rock as he hurled another stone at the gate.
Raymond could hardly hear anything else over the ringing in his ears. He had no idea what they were doing, all he could do at that point was wish he hadn't made a terrible mistake.
It seemed like hours although probably only a few minutes when a figure finally emerged out of the house, looking absolutely livid. Raymond had barely processed what was happening when he watched as the boy immediately attacked the man with the rock straight on the head, and he watched in horror as the man immediately slumped to the ground.
Without thinking, Raymond's feely propelled him forward and he was standing in front of them and crouching down to inspect the man now lying on the ground. He was bleeding but Raymond was relieved to find he was still breathing.
"You could have killed him!"
"He's a kidnapper!" The boy defended as if that made what he did okay. "Around here, it's kill or be killed, okay?"
"We should go in," Alex said, already rushing into the house.
"We can't--" Raymond hesitated, torn between following after Alex and making sure they didn't have a dead man by the time they got back. A crowd had began to form, but surprisingly no one came forward to help.
Unsure of what to do, Raymond himself almost slumped in relief when he finally heard the loud siren announcing the arrival of the police. Raymond barely processed the fact that they'd come blaring the loud siren at an operation that was supposed to be covert. Instead, he was too busy bursting in after Alex.
• ~ • ~ •
It was faint, but Hope could eventually make out the sound of footsteps. It sounded rushed, like someone was running and an image suddenly filled her of her kidnapper coming in and shooting her dead.
Her assailant hadn't even bothered going through the stress of gagging her or tying her up. Was that because he was so confident that no one could rescue her? Or was he just sloppy? Or was it so meticulously planned that she could lose her life if she did anything stupid?
The footsteps had now worn out and she heard a voice call out her name. "Hope? Hope!"
She flew over to the door at the sound of that voice, heart in throat. "A - Alex?"
"Hope!"
"Oh my God!" Hope whispered as she started banging against the door, immense relief flooding through her. "I'm in here! Alex!"
She had barely registered the sound of a key turning in the lock when the door swung open, sending her backwards and onto the ground, but she could hardly feel anything else except the sense of freedom that flooded her when her eyes locked with that of Raymond.
"Hope . . . " Alex whispered as he crouched, his arms immediately encroaching her as he gathered her to him.
The last thing Hope heard before collapsing onto him was the assurance that she was safe now and everything was okay.
• ~ • ~ •
Almost six months after the last update and I'm back to complete this book.
I wasn't sure I'd come back though and I'd contemplated taking it down because I really didn't think I'd be able to write anymore but I had a lot of encouragement from you guys, so thank you.
And I'm sorry it took me this long to get back
I'm sure a lot have even forgotten about this book, but for those that were still waiting . . . Here's an update for you.
I was going to finish it all before I updated again but I need the drive to write so . . . Enjoy!
Again, I'm sorry!