The car moved into the secured zone, then parked parallel to the others.
A number of suited individuals came out of the vehicles, immediately splitting off into groups. Some moved through the ticket barrier, urging the uniformed police out, and others began offloading equipment, all covered.
The SUV opened as the two officials came off, each using opposite doors. They gave off a sort of oppressive feeling to any who approached. They turned, ignoring all those around them, and headed into the evacuated forest.
An hour late, three Humvees drove in, causing the police to cast odd looks at them; whispers ensued among their ranks.
"What's going on?""Isn't it just a past murder case?""It's them bigshots, not something we can snoop in.""Maybe the Lieutenant knows something.""You think?"
The vehicles opened up; people in cloaks stepped out, each of them giving off an eerie vibe. More equipment was taken out. Anthony, on seeing this, reached out to one of the suits, trying to understand the reason for their odd dressing. He was told to ignore it, as they were special operatives. This caused him to frown.
Special operative, my ass.When did they start wearing Halloween costumes?
He turned to his group, waving at them. This caused three to rush toward him, all fawning.
"Boss, any request?""Yeah, boss.""Any request, boss?"
He looked at them, his face a bit unsightly.
"Tell the others to stop gossiping and try to be busy," he ordered. "You two, follow me." He then turned and walked away briskly.
"Seems that boss is pissed.""Pissed? Hmm… I'd be furious if that happened to me, especially if I were the same level as boss."
They followed after him, their argument shifting to how they would respond in Inspector Ravenshall's shoes.
In the forest… at the same time:
"How the fuck did they escape?" the young man blurted, swiveling towards the lady in the pencil-black skirt. She went by the name Mila.
She ignored him and turned to one of the buff guys who had been designated to speak to the Lieutenant. "When are they coming?" she asked, frowning. Even she didn't expect it to be this bad. It begs the question: how did five mundane survive?
The man looked at his watch, then back at her. "Unsure—" he turned his head as though listening to something, then nodded in the direction they came from. "They will be here soon, Mrs. Mila. Just got correspondence from the team."
Mila turned and walked away, her clothing highlighting her curves. The man who had kept a steady gaze on the place looked up at her. He then stood up, his face grim.
"Is this an oversight?" he asked.
"Probably. A bad one at that." She scanned the trees for a bit, then nodded again. "A really bad one. Will have to report this, that much is obvious."
"I feel as if I'm getting punished. Seriously, what did I do to get this clusterfuck, huh?" he cried out, looking distressed.
"No use feeling panicked. If we can't get it done for sure, we can seal it. As for the escapee, well… I heard they're sending White Hat. Apparently, he's just passing by."
"White Hat? Wtf? Why is he coming to a place like this?" he asked, looking panicked
A person that strong
passing by his ass what about Canada didn't see that to pass by.
"Who knows. Probably something crazy happened around the city, and he's passing by. He'll probably get it done quickly. If anything nasty decides to use them as a vessel—or to be a vessel—then…" she mimed a throat-slitting gesture.
He nodded in agreement. "Where the fuck are those idiots?" he asked, looking impatient.
"They'll be here soon. Actually, seems they're already arriving," she said. No one seemed to be around, but at the entrance to the forest, the Humvees were being opened.
In the hospital… 2 PM:
"Ms. Nightshade, I believe your the mother of Mr Sebastian" a doctor in white garb asked
Sebastian's mother nodded, her face looking haggard and distressed, probably from staying up all night on hearing what happened.
She had only heard about the incident a few hours after he had gone missing. Considering her career, that was just scandalous—she was a detective, for God's sake. She had berated Alex angrily for keeping it from her. After all, they could have sent the police immediately. She could have ordered it the second she heard—not to talk of the protective custody system that was already in place.
In all fairness, she had told Seb not to tell his friends about his background, even if he trusted them, so it wasn't like they understood what was at stake.
She had, of course, rushed here to find Alex and was then told to wait; he was now in the emergency ward being taken care of and initially stabilized. However, follow-up reports she had just received made it obvious that he had entered a coma. Her luck it seemed was abysmaal—first her father, then her husband, now her son.
"Ms. Nightshade, your son is stable. Although in a coma, there is a chance it isn't going to be long—one to three days, at worst a few weeks. There's a chance of complications, but he is currently undergoing excellent treatment."
On hearing this, she nodded. "Can I see him?"
"Well, if you want to, yes, but please try not to move him too much or touch the equipment. These things are vital to his health—umm, that would be all." He turned to leave, waving the nurse to help the woman to her son, but was interrupted.
"Cost?" she asked, wiping her eyes, her makeup smudged.
"Cost… um, it's been covered, I believe." He looked through the folder in her hand, turning the vertical pages to show her this. She was surprised, as the cost was quite high: 300,000 units to be exact—essentially 300 crowns. This made her pause. Firstly, she was certain the price for a few days shouldn't be this high—not that she minded, she would pay anything for her son, but the fact that it was already paid was puzzling. Charity did not exist in this world.
"Who paid, if I may ask?" The doctor looked up, then shook his head. "Unfortunately, we do not know who did." He shrugged. "The nurse will take you there. I'll take my leave." He stuttered off to his next appointment.
--------
In Sebastian room
Sebastian's mother walked in to see him, and she almost broke down on the spot. Instinct took over—she rushed forward, arms already lifting to pull him into a hug—but the nurse gently caught her shoulder and shook her head. Not yet.
She stopped, hands trembling.
He looked emaciated, thin to the point where it hurt to look at him, like someone had peeled the life off his bones and forgotten to put it back. His cheeks had hollowed, skin stretched too tight over sharp angles that hadn't been there before. The familiar softness of his face was gone, replaced by something fragile and foreign. Tubes traced quiet paths across him, machines breathing and beeping where he could not.
For a moment, she couldn't reconcile this still, pale figure with the boy she knew—the one who laughed too loudly, who never stayed still, who always came home hungry. This Sebastian looked smaller, diminished, as if the world had taken more from him than it had any right to.
She reached out anyway, careful now, fingers brushing his hand instead of pulling him close. His skin was warm, real, and that alone was enough to keep her standing. Tears slipped down her face, silent, controlled only by the fear that if she made a sound, she might shatter.
"I'm here," she whispered, unsure if he could hear her, hoping that somehow he could. "You don't have to go anywhere. I've got you."
The machines answered for him, steady and indifferent—but his hand, just barely, seemed to curl around her finger.
The nurse looked at the sight, her heart losing another piece as it had been doing since she started working here. When she began, she broke down every day, crying at the unfairness—plain to see, people dying, others living, some because there was no other way, others because they lacked the means.
She looked at the kid, her face softening. He was strong; that much was obvious. Multiple organ failure, but still alive. Most wouldn't have made it.
"M'am, although he looks like this…" she began trying to comfort. "…it isn't that bleak. A few days to a few weeks, and he will be healthy again. The tubes may look scary, but they're just delivering him the necessary energy to get him back to shape." She smiled warmly at the woman. Sebastian's mother nodded, tears spilling from her eyes.
"If you need me, that button—just a tap, and I'll rush here immediately, okay?" She waited for a bit, then left to attend to other things; he was, after all, one of many.
...
A few hrs later...
Sebastian's mom left, her face streaked with tears she tried to wipe away. Somehow, she had fallen asleep while watching him, the exhaustion from the many hours she had put in to seem useful to the government so as to ensure his protection was catching up to her. She took out her phone to call her assistant to set up a protective detail for him. On turning, she saw a familiar face: Alex.
"Ms. Nightshade," he greeted. "Evening." She looked at him, her face twitching, her hands holding the phone.
"You? What are you doing here?" she asked.
He scratched his head, looking a bit downcast. "Sorry, I thought he just got lost in the forest, so I wanted to save him so he wouldn't get grounded again," he immediately rushed to explain.
She waved him off, not bothering to listen anymore. She had already figured out the reasoning—it was silly and nearly got him killed.
"Follow me. I want to ask a few questions." He paused for a moment, then asked where to wait, "Head to the 2B seat and wait for me." He nodded and ran off.
She watched him take off, then took out her phone to make the call. After finishing, she followed.
...
"So, tell me… what happened? How the fuck did this happen?" she questioned her face twisted in anger she felt they was more to the story and now "special operative",
Fuck who where they trying to deceive she thought
Alex turned speechless. Who knew this woman would ever utter that word? He explained the whole event, and Sebastian's mom looked even more grim as she listened.
"And you're certain he was found in the forest?" she asked
He nodded. "So you're telling me he ended up like that just by not eating for a number of hours?"
He nodded again. "Maybe I should increase his training. That might strengthen him for next time."
"Next time?" she looked at him, speechless. She felt like slapping this idiot.
However she wouldn't, he was after all a minor, else he would be squealing; secondly, her son's friend… This reminded her of the other question she wanted to ask.
"Did you pay his medical fees?" she asked looking curiously at him.
Alex shook his head. "I was planning on paying. That's why I came."
Planning? Do you think it's pocket change? Why are you saying it like it's spare change for you? she thought, studying his honest face, dumbfounded. She came from a rich family, and after marrying and other unfortunate events, She wasn't that well off so she could understand his behaviour. However, having the money wasn't the problem—it was being willing to use it for just a friend. She could even see him taking out his card.
This guy…
"No need. I was asking as it's already been paid."
Alex paused. "Paid? That's odd… Jacob isn't that rich. Could it be Chloe? The girls probably didn't—" he mumbled.
On hearing this, she realized he might have leads. "If you find the person who did it, thank them for me and tell them I'm willing to pay it back in full." She then stood up to leave.
"Uh, wait, Mrs…" he stood up quickly, causing his card to fall off. Sebastian's mom looked at it, then pointed it out. He ignored it.
"Can I now visit him?" he asked shyly.
"Only you, any more, no," she said. She turned and walked away.
Alex then took out his phone and made several calls: first to Jacob, then the girls, then Chloe, his voice turning cold on her call. He then called one more person to request an investigation, then hung up.
He walked into the room, looking at Sebastian's figure, anger burning in his chest. It was plain to see: just lacking food should not have reduced someone to this state in less than 24 hours. Not to mention there were other victims—or should he say suspects and they where perfectly fine. He glanced at Sebastian for a moment, vowing in his heart to punish the person responsible.
He adjusted the pillow. At that minute, a ringtone started. He answered, listening.
"The individual who paid is unknown. He paid the minute Mr Sebastian was brought in. We checked his family account, and although Mrs. Nightshade has the money, it would cost her a lot. And there's the fact that she has connections to The Gardeners—but they didn't pay. In fact, it seems she was sort of exiled."
"So you don't know who paid?" Alex asked, surprised sweeping away the exiled bit.
No one escaped screens' gaze. Yet it seemed they managed it. So Sebastian had someone even a person like him couldn't track: an Unknown Benefactor.