Chapter 6

Hyuk and Ravi were having a very bad ten minutes. They had come to their main warehouse to find it had been broken into. It seemed that whoever it was had snuck in through a window which had, to their rotten luck, been left partially open. The tell tale signs were the muddy prints on the window ledge, table and floor, making their way to the corridor, fading with each step forward. The table was on its side and all the glasses and the large goblet of rum had broken, the golden liquid had spread on the floor, staining it.

Ravi stepped towards the broken pieces on the floor. “The bastards,” He hissed surveying the shards of glass littered around, “I told those spineless asses to not leave the goods unpatrolled.” He had squatted down to pick up a shard of broken glass, only to throw back down in annoyance. He unfolded his six feet tall frame back to stand back up, ruffling his blonde hair in the process. His sharp eyes under thick brows narrowed, his full thick lips set in a scowl. He wiped at the creases on his trousers and shirt and turned to Hyuk, a tall young man with an easy smile and mischievous qualities, he had the appearance of a boy who had shot up rapidly and properly. A well proportioned and toned body hidden beneath his sack suit.    

“It’s strange,” He muttered, looking around, “Usually this sort of activity would indicate robbery but it doesn’t seem to be. I took a quick peek at the bulk and nothing’s gone missing.”

Ravi too looked outside the room at the large storage area. Hyuk was right. Nothing had gone missing, not at first glance anyway.

“We’ll need to make a thorough search of the premises anyways.” Ravi countered, “Find out what rodent came in last night.”

“At least we know which area we should start looking around first.” Hyuk nodded looking pointedly at the prints on the floor, “It’s not been too long since whoever it is came in, so they’ll probably still be in here somewhere. How they managed to climb up though is another matter. And I think it would be safe to say that the person is injured.” When Ravi looked at him, puzzled, he pointed to a small dark streak; he had thought to be mud, on the table.

“Well then whoever it is probably won’t have gotten too far.” He said, smiling at Hyuk who smiled back in comradeship.

“What’s the prize if I find the rodent first?” He asked looking at the older man. Ravi thought for a moment, thinking of what he could give as a prize.

“How about spending the night with a girl of your choice?” He answered, “All expenses paid by yours truly of course.” When he saw Hyuk looking slightly torn at the idea he hastily added, “Your brother will not need to know of your rendezvous.” Hyuk smiled, satisfied.

“As long as you keep him out of my hair, I’m happy with the prize.”  Hyuk drawled, flashing his winning smile to Ravi, who chuckled knowingly. Hongbin could be over protective at time when it came to his brother.

“And what is my prize if I win?” He threw back at Hyuk.

“The same, paid by me” Was his quick reply

“What if Hongbin questions it?”

“It’ll come from my private stack. He won’t know a thing.”

With the prize set both started to look around, trying to find the trespasser. Nearly an hour went by and they had still not found the culprit and were just about to resign and chalk it up to whomever it was, being scared off the premises when Hyuk noticed a small lump at the far right side of the eastern end. He moved closer, hand holding the small pistol, ready to shoot. It was a person, a small lad by the looks of it. He was curled into the foetal position on his side, left arm and hand bandaged clumsily. He was deep in sleep, the slight rise and fall evidence of it being deep. Hyuk walked back towards Ravi, who had walked out of one of the other aisles.

“Looks like you’ll be paying brother.” He declared. Ravi turned towards him at those words.

“You found the rat? Where? ” He demanded.

Hyuk nodded and beckoned him to follow, silently weaving his way back to the sleeping figure. Ravi walked towards him and knelt down to look closely. The young lad was muddy and looked as if he had been walking for a long time. His features were delicate, his wrists so small they looked fragile, breakable. Hyuk stood near him as Ravi examined the prone figure. “Looks like this little vagabond has been through the mill,” He softly exclaimed, “Should I wake him up?” He looked towards Hyuk, who looked uncertainly back at him.

“Shouldn’t we be careful?” He asked, “What if he’s vicious?” His eyes were on now on the boy.

“We can just use chloroform if he bites.” Ravi answered, with a slight smirk and chuckle. He turned back to the sleeping boy and began to rouse him. The boy shifted as he began to wake up, muttering quietly. Ravi shook him. “Hey, hey, wake up.” He said in his most commanding voice. He opened his eyes. And looked right at Ravi

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Adeline had managed to find shelter in an old warehouse. Having had taken the train heading North she had opted to travel by walking or hitching rides from some nice farmers, who had unwittingly believed the lie that her mother was dying and she was trying to get back home. She knew she was close, having checked the map and traced her routes. Adeline guessed that the next day she would have entered their territory. That thought both energised and frightened her. She had had many misgivings as she travelled, wondering if she had planned appropriately. Sharp minded as she was everything she knew was in the realms of books, all theory. Never had she had to put any of the more outlandish subjects into practice. Dominique had taught her how to fight. But she had never had to use those skills.

She was more certain that her plan was not well thought out when she fell down a slippery slope, injuring her left arm- she hoped it was not broken- and had to run away from some of the more vicious creatures, lurking in the shadows of the night. She was beginning to run out of food and what she had now would only last another day. Hungry hurt and bleeding, she had come across the warehouse. At first glance it had looked abandoned, however on approaching the place she realised that not only was not abandoned but it was swarming with people. She watched from her hiding place, hoping that they would go.

Finally, just before sunrise, she saw the last few people leave. She had waited a little longer, fearing they would return and see her. A while had passed before she came out from the edge of the woods and tentatively went round to the front, keeping her eyes on her surroundings. She had tried the door to find it heavily padlocked and no amount of hitting it with a stone did it any good. She had finally given and circled the property, trying to find another way of entry, and, almost as if God had answered her prayers, she spied the little upstairs window at the back, partially open. An overgrowth of a climbing plant made a great ladder, slipping and sliding she had managed to climb up to the window, her left arm screaming in protest. The window was small and only partially open and she had struggled with it for a few minutes, fearfully aware of how high up she was. The struggle had lasted only a few minutes before she managed to get it open further and swung her legs in, catching it on the sill and toppling down onto the floor, taking table and contents down with her.

She lay there, catching her breath, her body aching from each tumble and thud she experienced. Finally getting the strength to get up she limped through the door. She had to hide so she could rest for a while before setting off again. Adeline went to the open area and stopped. There was boxes stacked one of top of another in rows, providing a form of maze like look to it. She walked down the row at the furthest corner from the entrance. Finding a small nook between two boxes she squeezed in and sat down on the floor and began to examine her arm, which, to her relief was not broken, but would no doubt bruise and hurt for a while. The cut on the upper arm was shallow. She opened her bag and took out the flask and a strip of cloth which she moistened slightly and used it to wipe the blood off. The skin around the wound looked fine and she hoped that it would not become infected. Using another strip, she folded it, and placed it on the cut, using a third strip to tie it in place, quickly putting her arm back into the shirt sleeve and buttoning it up. Using the soiled strip she turned it into a makeshift sling. Sleep was washing over her, numbing her senses, turning her eyelids into heavy weights. She curled up on the floor and right there and then promptly fell asleep.

Adeline was jolted awake from her comfortable abyss of dreamless slumber by the shaking. Thinking it was just a dream she ignored it.

“Hey, hey, wake up.”

Adeline’s eyes shot open and she looked directly into the eyes of a man. He was looming over her, tall, pale with white, wild hair and   . Her heart beat quickened and adrenaline rushed into her bloodstream, igniting her flight mode. She shoved the man away and leapt up, her cap had fallen and her long, dark coil of hair dropped. She stopped, momentarily frozen in place before she bounded towards the other end of the row.

Yells from behind indicated that she was being pursued. Adeline weaved through the maze like room, disorientated by the darkness and her fear. First left, then right she weaved through, stumbling onto dead ends. She could now hear two voices and echoing footsteps of her pursuers. She went forward blindly, breath ragged and burning in her lungs. Suddenly she stopped. She had come to another dead end and there was nowhere to go except the way she came and her pursuers were close. She wouldn’t be able to go through them. Tears of fear and panic tickled the edges of her eyes and she looked around her, desperately trying to find an escape. There was none.

Her pursuers were closer now. And there was nowhere for her to go.

“Here kitty, kitty,” Drawled a voice, low and full of danger. Adeline, even in her fear, readied herself for a fight. She had stolen a small pocket knife from a farmer, which was in her trouser pocket. She took it out with shaking fingers and positioned herself in a corner, ready to strike, using the darkness to her advantage. One of the men came in, looking around. Adeline waited with baited breath for the right moment. She watched as he walked further in and with a loud scream she lunged forward. The man turned around and dodged just in time, going to his left and blocking her attack with a sweep of his right arm. Adeline did not give up and lunged again, and again. Each time the man dodged easily, seeming to enjoy this little spat, till he grew tired. Suddenly the knife had flown out of her hand and she was being man handled by him. He had her front up against a corner, using one hand to hold her tight and another to muffle her screams.

“Hyuk get over here!” He called out, as she struggled in his grasp. His hold on her was tight and Adeline knew she would not be able to free herself. As he placed his large hand over she opened and bit down, hard, on flesh. Immediately the man yelled, removing his hand from her lips. But his grip was still strong on her. He dragged her to the centre and she saw another man, no doubt the one called Hyuk hurrying towards them. He came to her, his right arm stretched out; a handkerchief was pressed to her nose and mouth. Adeline struggled again but was overcome by the drowsiness. Her mind was falling back into darkness, but a darkness of a different kind.

Just before she fell unconscious she heard a voice mutter above her, “Ah, I told you this rodent would bite Ravi....”

Ravi...?

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Ravi wiped the sweat from his forehead, as he looked at the girl slumped on the floor. “She put up one hell of a fight.” He exclaimed looking towards Hyuk, who stood calmly, staring back at him.

“What should we do with the little rodent?” Hyuk asked slowly. “Do we get rid of her or take her to N?”

Ravi looked back down at the sleeping girl, “First,” He began, “Better to change the term don’t you think?” Hyuk looked confused at his words.

“What?”

“Does she seem like a rodent to you?” The older man questioned, nodding towards her. Hyuk eyed the girl, taking in her features. The term ‘rodent’ was not a very fitting one for her. She was, indeed, very pretty.

“You’re right,” He answered decidedly; “She’s no rodent.”

Ravi agreed, laughing lightly. “As for what to do with her, best to take her to N.” He declared, “She might be useful in our other businesses...” He emphasized on that word, knowing Hyuk would know what it meant.

Hyuk nodded in agreement and proceeded to lift the limp figure, carrying her bridal style to the car waiting outside. They would let the leader deal with her; he would know what to do.