24

“This is the Taiwan News Channel, Angela Qiu reporting to you from Taiwan National Park, A body was found by several joggers this morning at 7:00 A.M this morning. As far as we know it, this body appears to be a man who is in his late 60’s. The police has confirmed that the cause of his death is from a gunshot right through his skull. Could it be our search for Mr. Wu over? Could this be the man who was reported missing 7 years ago? If so, where are his remaining family members now? If those who wants to step forward and see if this body is your beloved, please contact the authorities immediately.”

When they were buying groceries, Gui’s attention was on the news forecast. Along with everyone else who was at the grocery store, the majority of their attention was on the TV. The more the announcer says, the more pain Gui felt in her heart. By the time the news ended, she made an attempt to run to the site but Aaron held her back, signalling her that this wasn’t the time for her to get emotional.

“Gui, get a hold of yourself.” He whispered quietly into her ear as his hands caressed her cheek. “I’m here Gui, I’m here.” When her eyes stared into his, she had a worried expression. What if it was true? What if someone had found them?

“He–“

“Gui! Please... Calm down, do not do anything that can single you out.”

“Aaron... What if the–" Aaron stopped her train of thought as he kissed her. Interrupting her for a moment as the cashier blushed shyly, she wasn’t use to seeing these actions on a daily basis so when Aaron did that, she was jealous. “We will call later to see, okay?” Gui slowly nodded as Aaron held onto her hand tightly as he took the bags of groceries, walking to his car to put the bags of groceries into the trunk.

While Aaron put the bags in the trunk, he let go of Gui’s hand for a moment. And when he did, she took this chance to shake his grip off of hers and sprinted towards the crime scene. Fear took over her so she had to go and see if it was true. With her own eyes, she needed to see it was true The news announcement caused her to lose all thought and her ‘what to do’ and ‘what shouldn’t she do’ was mixed.

Despite all her years of hiding, she still remembers where the park was located. This was the place where she loved to play when she was little, the place where she would get up early in the morning and go for a jog. But now, everything was so different, everything has changed, nothing was the same...

“...Could it be our search for Mr. Wu over? Could this be the man who was reported missing 7 years ago? If so, where are his remaining family members now? If those who wants to step forward and see if this body is your beloved.”

All Gui could think of was it really true? When the park came to her line of sight, she felt someone pull her back. Aaron quickly wrap his arms around her, securing her in his embrace as he watch a crowd of people, observing the crime scene from afar. The crime scene was extremely busy so there was no way he could let Gui catch a glimpse of it. For her, he didn’t want her to find out who the corpse belonged to, only to expose her identity. “Hebe and Mike Ge is at home waiting... The first thing we will do is call them to see if they are safe. Wu Chun, Jiro and Calvin might not look like they are trustworthy but they are. I know what you are feeling and I understand but I won’t let you go. You cannot go out there, not when I promised that I will keep you safe.”

“Aaron...”

“Let’s go home Gui.” She slowly nod her head as the tears came out, Aaron smiled over to her, wiping her tears away before holding onto her hand tightly. He pulled the hoodie over her as they made their way to his car.

One they got into the car, Aaron took a glimpse over to the mirror, seeing a strange car behind them. He went over to click the ‘lock’ button once again, making sure it was locked before he look over to Gui who was staring out the window blankly. Unaware of the situation, Aaron reach over to find a blanket from the backseat, handing it to her. “If you’re cold, use it.” Gui nodded as Aaron continue driving. He would occasionally turn to look into the mirror, noticing that the same car has been following closely behind them for quite awhile. To confirm his suspicions, he would turn left and right randomly and to his surprise, they were being followed. Aaron smirked, rubbing his hands in excitement. This was probably the most exciting thing he is going to do, something he wanted to try out for once. “I don’t mind if you go to sleep, I’ll wake you up when we get home.”

“What about you? It’s boring if you’re just driving while I’m sleeping. It’s okay, I can stay awake!”

“Gui, just go to sleep. You have been trying to stay awake for a while so don’t think I didn’t notice you dozing off. So just go to sleep, I can just turn on the radio and talk to myself if I want too.”

“Aaron...”

“Just go to sleep Gui.” When Aaron the radio, Gui leaned back and attempted to close her eyes for a moment. She didn’t want him to be lonely so she should fall asleep for awhile and then wake up to talk to Aaron. His eyes turn back to the mirror and smirked. ‘Looks like today’s my lucky day.’

................

Ah Wei opened the door and sat down on the couch in front of Alan who was observing a glass tube with liquid in it. Who kept his entire concentration on the liquid in his hand, this was as close as he got to the missing piece of puzzle he has been dying to resurrect. “Angela spotted me.”        

“How great! Looks like this will keep her busy for a moment.”

“While I distracted her attention, I have my men scattered around the crime scene to see if anyone looks like the Wu. Our men should notify us if anyone does look like them.”

“Great, Great, all too fcuken GREAT!” Ah Wei lips curve into a smirk as he watched poured alcohol into his glass. But before he could drink it, someone knocked on the door. Alan ignored it but when two men barged into the room, surprising Ah Wei as he look over to the two men that came in, uncalled for. Nervous to meet the eyes of the furious Alan who clenched his fists, trying to control his anger.

“WHAT? WHAT DID I TELL YOU GUYS NOT TO DO? YOU GUYS CANNOT COME INTO THIS ROOM WITHOUT MY CONSENT! HOW HARD IS THAT TO UNDERSTAND?”

“Boss... We have news for you and you said that no matter what I am doing, notify me even if I am having s*x or drinking.” Ah Wei looked over to the men and back at Alan, feeling an urge to laugh. “Just let them off the hook, these boys MUST have some important information for you. Otherwise, if they didn’t, they wouldn’t barge in here acting like some big shots.” Alan gave a death glare over to Ah Wei as he signalled his men to speak. “WE FOUND HER!”

“Her? Who’s her?”

Ah Wei asked as Alan continued to observe whether or not they were making it up.

“We found her but that boy who was with her caught onto us and took us on a little detour.“ Irritated, Alan threw the glass tube at them, watching the glass break into pieces on the floor while the liquid bubbled on the floor. Ah Wei got up and observed the bubbles, it was bubbling... but it was too early to tell whether or not it was dissolving the floor. ‘Close.’ There was another knock on the door as two more men came into the room. They held their breath in as they looked at the grim expression in the room. Alan who was beyond furious while Ah Wei was smirking, amused.

“We found the Wu’s.”

“Let me guess, you lost them as well?” The men look at one another and looked back to Alan. “We found them and we know where has been hiding.” Alan’s face brightened as he kicked the two men earlier who failed to find her. As for the two men who did came out successful, he patted their shoulder and walked out of the room together. “Boys, this must be your day.”

Ah Wei got up and stared at the two men on the ground, who were feeling dead already. He bent down to stare at their sullen faces. “Why did you guys walk in when the news wasn’t pleasant to hear? If you guys do not have any news, I advise you to maintain your dignity, pride guys, pride.” Ah Wei cursed under his breath, “Get out.” The two men nodded as they ran out of the room, just in time for Ah Wei to lock the door behind him. He threw the key up in the air and caught it, laughing blissfully as he made his way to the room where Alan has brought the boys to.