“Assure me that this is a good idea.”
Evan was partially scared but he was also feeling very brave. She stared at him blankly and nodded.
“It’s a good idea.”
Her face and tone didn’t express anything reassuring.
They were in front of a small and clean house but it looked taken from a horror movie. It had that innocent vibe that was found at the beginning of a scary movie: the house of terror led by a mysterious man who had been a serial killer when he was young and with a basement full of guns and torture machines. Evan could see it all.
Once they entered, that feeling intensified. Evan was preparing himself to see Sadako jump out of some creepy small door in the ground; probably from the secret torture chamber where skeletons of unfortunate souls were hidden. The floor cracked when they entered the living room and he swore his heart did a small flip inside his chest.
“Who is this guy again?”
Abby rolled her eyes and pointed at the stairs. They were taking most of the living room.
“Now you see them,” She started.
Evan furrowed his eyebrows in confusion. She knocked twice before she waited for exactly five and a half seconds. The brunette knocked again and the stairs cracked in the middle before starting to move apart.
“Now you don’t.” He continued in awe.
He was dumbstruck. Evan only saw that in movies. Stairs weren’t just splitting in two in front of people in real life.
The stairs uncovered a metallic door, quite small and square, standing out like a sore point in that blank house.
“For your information, he is a genius. The house is just a cover. Chau works for international agencies and he holds secrets that no one can know about. He is a secret himself.” She explained.
They walked towards the door and stopped in front of it. Abby typed some codes into the security system before a sudden wire came out of a little hidden spot and moved in front of her. It analyzed her retina before it moved in front of him. Evan was a stranger but he was there with someone important, or so he believed since the door opened.
“If he is a secret, why do you know about him?”
Abby smiled innocently and linked her arms behind her back.
“He was my brother’s classmate. Most kids in school bully the nerdy guy,” Evan nodded. “Well, not him. He was the sexy and popular nerd.”
“How’s that?”
She laughed before she swayed back and skipped inside. He had no choice but to follow her. It was dark and cold. He was scared of what he got himself into.
“He has a certain charm that attracts people to him. He’s a nice guy and probably a bit weird but he’s got my brother’s back. I’m sure you two will become best friends.” She winked and walked faster.
They had to go through some more security tests before they finally entered the headquarters. Evan was in awe, even more than before. It was a normal room –wider and more colorful than anything he had seen before- with no way out or in except the door they just walked through.
“Oi, bro! Is that how you welcome your guests?” Abby screamed before she ran and jumped over the black couch in the room- the only comfortable furniture from what Evan remarked.
“Back to normal.” Evan mumbled to himself.
It was always nice to see her be her suspicious self. That was good news. He started to appreciate weird people more because of her. That meant those people were trying to be happy yet had a lot on their minds.
Instead of one head, two heads raised from the couch. One was hers and the other one was someone Evan met before but under different circumstances.
“Oi! Is that how you act with every man? You jump them with no second thought?”
Evan’s eyes widened as he walked warily towards them. When the other man turned his head, his expression was pretty much the same as Evan’s. They stared at each other in awe before Chau jumped on his feet.
“I know you! You’re the guy I met at the Technological Fair!” The secret agent shouted while pointing his finger at the newcomer.
Something about that realization was suspicious so Abigail found it important to ask,
“You went to the Technological Fair? With what projects?”
The two IT specialists stared at each other before they started to laugh.The atmosphere broke completely as they shook hands and hugged.
“We didn’t go there for projects or work related stuff. We went there for the free video games.” Chau explained.
The brunette blinked and tilted her head to the side in confusion.
“Video games.” She repeated.
The guys nodded and laughed again. They started reminiscing old memories –about video games and strategies for video games- but she couldn’t understand anything. She suddenly became the outsider.
Abby coughed once.
The boys were still deep in their conversation. In one hour, they sat at the improvised dinner table in the corner and wandered into their own world.
Abby coughed twice.
The boys were still talking about some guy they both met in the virtual world. Abigail closed her eyes and sighed heavily. People do say that the third time is the lucky one and she was surely hoping so.
Abby coughed three times before finally Chau raised his head. He glanced at her and smiled before he went back to talking.
Since none were interested anymore in the serious matters that were important at the moment, Abby decided to do the worst to a neat freak as Chau.
The girl checked if any of them were throwing a glance over in between their so enthusiastic conversation; none did so she sneaked to Chau’s computers. She wasn’t a genius IT specialist –like some people- but she wasn’t a stranger either. With one last glanced at him from the corner of her eye, Abby entered some random numbers and letters in his pass code. The screen became red but didn’t seem alarming. She entered it wrong two more times before the alarm in the room went on.
Chau jumped on his feet and hurried over followed by a perplexed Evan. The alarms were loud and made him feel like he was trespassing inside a secret facility.
“Are you stupid?!”
Chau pushed her aside roughly, making her fall on the floor, and entered the right code. At the same time, he turned off the alarm and alerted the police and special services that he was alright.
“What if the police came here?!” Chau screamed, annoyed that she would do such a childish thing.
Abby clicked her tongue and reached for help to get off the floor. Evan grabbed her arm and pulled her up only, he used a little too much force and she bounced straight into his chest. The brunette blinked and looked up at him, seeing him so close for the first time.
Chau raised an eyebrow at the view.
“Are you two in a relationship?” The secret agent asked, a smirk playing on his lips.
The culprits blinked and suddenly realized the position they were in. Abby pushed him harshly and wiped imaginary dust off her clothes.
“No!”
That answer came suspiciously quick. Chau chuckled and stared at her with knowing eyes.
“No.” She repeated but they both knew the truth.
Chau met her when she was really young and with a brother like hers –who was always so chatty about anything, moreover his amazing younger sisters- Chau was up to date with her life.
“Anyway, I heard you want to kill the leader of a mafia clan.” Chau changed the subject seeing Abby’s flushed face. “The Vipers. You do realize they have power over the economy, right?”
“I don’t care. It’s a long story and I’d like to end it quickly and with few dead bodies.” Abigail answered, finally getting herself back to normal.
“Not mine!” Evan jumped on his feet instantly when he heard the word ‘dead’. “And not my brother’s either.”
Chau frowned. When Matt called him and told him the details about a new secret case he didn’t expect it to have any leverage on them.
“He got your younger brother?” Chau’s expression changed to 90 degrees and he took his rightful place in front of the computer. He typed and typed until he got the file of everyone in The Vipers. “34 dead bodies are enough for you, Abby?”
She moved behind him and read the front file. It was the leader’s. His son’s picture and file were in the corner.
“I want him free from jail.” She stated firmly, pointing at the son’s picture.
Chau glanced at her over his shoulder, a look of confusion and suspicion.
“Are you sure? He’s just a petty thief even if he got himself in some crazy business.”
“Get him out of prison by tonight. Also, please contact the Tokyo Metropolitan Police and tell them to give you access to their evidence. We need it in order to catch this guy.”
Chau nodded and went to work.
“You can spend some time here or you can go out. It doesn’t really matter since people think this house is haunted.” The IT genius chuckled bemusedly but his hands were typing.
He had to get in the central computer and either add or delete some evidence about Max Lee.
In the end, Evan opted for leaving the house and Abby agreed. Chau was busy and he had to concentrate. Their case wasn’t the only one he was working on.
While wandering around the neighborhood, Evan saw a library a few streets down and they decided to wait in there. On the way, he could see pieces of the Abigail he knew. She took out her earphones and turned on her phone.
“Are you going into another music video induced mood?”
She glanced at the phone and bit her lip. In the end, she gave him one earphone while she put hers in the left year. Evan was taken aback at first but took the earphone and put it inside his right ear, automatically getting closer to her.
Abby didn’t know if his heart was beating quicker or if the hair on his back suddenly rose as well but she was definitely experiencing her first crush.
Luckily, they had a coffee machine in the building and didn’t have to move from their spot. The library was quiet and pretty much empty. The librarian didn’t question them and just let them stay.
“Have you ever read?” Abby suddenly asked.
Evan scoffed, offended by the impression she had of him.
“Of course I do. I like to read books in my free time.”
“Which is not much since you work and study, right? What genres do you like?” She pestered.
“Thriller or romance.”
The brunette leaned on her elbow and stared at him. It was an achievement for her to have him answer her questions after the way he treated her when they were runaways.
“Horror. Read horror. That’s the best way you can see the world through the eyes of someone smart.” She said, leaning towards him over the table.
He leaned in and copied her movements.
“Why?”
“Because reality sucks. However, those horror stories come from minds that have lived long enough to distinct the bad from worse. There’s no good in anything. It’s just bad and worse. Just like there is no Heaven. It’s just the World and Hell. Humans are worse than demons but I guess this world has something special and specific that makes it better than Hell.”
Evan raised an eyebrow, surprised that she could be so hurt by what happened in the past. It looked like it got her to change a lot and change her lifestyle too.
“What’s that?” He asked.
“Hope. That’s the only thing that defines us as humans. We have hope that tomorrow will be better. We have hope in God and Heaven. We have hope that no matter how much we sin, we will be saved by Him. We have hope that He exists even if we believe or not. Do you know why that is?”
Evan was seriously intrigued where that was going to lead.
“Because we want someone to come and rescue us when it gets hard. Everyone wants to be saved, no matter what from.” Abby finished her theory.
“And why is that concluding to us?”
She bit the inside of her cheek and playfully narrowed her eyes at him.
“When it gets hard, even mafia leaders want that. They seek the easiest way to rescue themselves. But, unlike commoners, they don’t seek it from God; they seek it from the Devil. In this case, we are the Devil.”
Evan bit his lip and leaned back, folding his arms in front of his chest.
“He’s not stupid. Once his son will get out of prison and the DA will get rid of the evidence, it will be like nothing happened.”
She smirked and shook her head, bemused by the way he was thinking. It was so naive that it was almost cute.
“Not exactly. Mafia is driven by greed. We will use it in our favor and will destroy him once and for all.”
“What’s with you? Why do you want to catch him so badly?” Evan asked, raising an eyebrow suspicious of her motives.
Her expression changed quickly and became hard to read. It was like she suddenly covered herself with a magic cloak.
“It’s not him. I don’t care about him and what happens to him. I guess I’m driven by greed too. I have to show someone that he was wrong and I was right.”
Evan stared at her and waited for her to continue. She didn’t. He could only guess it was about her father and her short time working as an officer.
They spent the rest of the day reading or just standing around doing nothing. When the closing time came, they had to go back. They were walking calmly towards Chau’s house when she felt her reflexes kick in. There was something different and the wind was blowing differently than before. Her eyes hardened and pushed Evan to the side. Evan only heard a gunshot before he fell on his side.
“Run!” She screamed.
But he could; he froze. He didn’t know what to do and even if he wanted to run, his legs didn’t seem to listen to reason.
Instinctively, Abby grabbed his arm and forced him to follow her. There was a lot of noise behind them and a few more bullets flied past Evan’s arm before he chose to glance over his shoulder. His eyes widened and found a new will to run as fast as he could.
However, as he was gripping her hand tighter, he realized that they weren’t really going anywhere but moving in circle.
“Why aren’t we going back?” He asked, barely registering that another bullet just zoomed past his head.
Abby didn’t respond or even looked at him for that matter. Evan frowned when he remembered that Chau was actually supposed to be kept a secret from the outsiders and even untrustworthy inside officers. Finally understanding, he decided he should follow her silently.
Running right past the library, they found a street that was going down in the suburbs. They were going into the nasty part of Birmingham.
“We’re not going to die by mafia men. We’re going to die in a side street with no clothes on and no money!” Evan panicked and exclaimed.
She hit him in the side and he grunted. Her fist was a weapon.
“Shut up and turn at the next corner. From what I know, there’s a clan of junkies!” Evan frowned but she added quickly, “We need a gun!”
They ran and dodged the bullets for five more minutes before they jumped around the corner and hid inside a large thrash can. She covered his mouth and told him to be quiet. He did. They heard the men running past the trash can they hid into. It was horrible and it smelled even worse but Evan treasured his life more than his hygiene.
Once the alley became silent, Abby sighed and let go of his hand.
“I can’t believe they found us here,” Evan whispered. “Why did they come anyway? We have a deal and even if his son gets out, he said he will contact us again!”
The IT student was feeling a lot of things but the predominant one was anger. He was angry that someone couldn’t let him live his life in peace.
He kicked the trash can without thinking too much. He kicked it hard because it fell down and they rolled out of it. Evan groaned and brushed the rotten banana off his hair, shuddering and feeling really dirty. Why did they jump into a trash can if she was so sure they were going to face some junkies?
Now that he was thinking of his partner, Evan glanced at her over his shoulder. Strangely enough, she was sweating and holding her side tightly. Evan frowned and crawled to her before rolling her on her back and scanning her face. Nothing. His eyes moved down and he gasped at the sight. Abigail was shot in her shoulder and her side was slightly scratched by a bullet while they were running. It was bad. Evan had no idea how to get her at Chau’s. He had no idea where he was.
After going through a light panic attack, Abby flinched and got up. It stung and her body was growing numb. But she was alive and had been through worse.
“Why are you there, swaying back and forth like you just committed murder?” She asked, taking in the sight of a former tall and proud young man.
“You got shot.” He mumbled, looking his hands before turning back to look at her.
She was trying to get up so Evan quickly moved to her side. He wrapped one hand around her waist and wrapped her arm around his neck.
“How are we going back?”
“We’re not. He’s a secret, remember?”
Evan sighed and took a look around, finding nothing of use.
“Call my brother and tell him to come take us from Oldbury. We can get there in 15 minutes. I know the short way.” She said, barely containing her pain from showing on her face and scaring Evan even more.
“Where’s your phone?”
She glanced over her shoulder to her back pockets. The boy blinked but, with shaky hands from more than the obvious reason, slipped his hand in her back pocket and quickly got her phone. She was having fun watching him do that but it didn’t seem so if you were to look at her face.
“Alright. Here.” He found her brother on the speed dial, number one even. That was cute.
Once Evan pushed the call button, he found himself shy to talk to someone who was supposedly working for the national secret services. therefore, Evan tried his best to keep the phone as close as possible to her ear. Now, Evan was taller than her and her shoulder was hurt so it ended up being a mistake.
“Can you not see I’m bleeding?” she hissed, her eyes darkening from pain.
“I’m trying!”
When Matt responded, Abby could barely hear him. She snatched the phone with the wounded arm and narrowed her eyes at Evan.
“Matt. Can you come in 15 minutes and give me a ride?” It seemed like her brother agreed because her eyes brightened.
“From Oldbury subway station. Alright. Thanks. Bye!”
She took a deep breath and gave two thumbs up,
“Let’s go, partner.”
Evan chuckled and helped her walk for the rest of the way. It was such an eventful day and he was sure he wasn’t going to sleep peacefully anymore.
ns 15.158.61.6da2
