Life Without You

Chapter 70 - Captured

Leon reread the card and looked up at the green street sign. He compared it to the map on his phone to confirm his location at 66th Street.

The street was a long stretch of residential road that was not as posh as the street that he and Ariel shared. He was not sure which exact part of the road he was to meet at.

Pulling the hood of his black sweater over his head and wringing his hands in his pockets, Leon let out a deep breath that condensed in the cold air and continued walking with slight trembling in his legs. Goosebumps on his body intensified with each step. He had never been this fearful before in his life that the traumatic experience at the gala night paled in comparison. Leon paused and took another deep breath, reminding himself of the three lives that were at stake.

He walked down the street slowly and cautiously. The only sound he could hear was the breath from his nostrils and the sounds of his boots. Would that maniac recognise him? He shuddered at the thought of the possibility of an attempt on his life. Just then, he froze at what he saw before him.

A stocky-built, heavily tattooed man wearing a black leather jacket, black jeans and very dirty sneakers walked towards him while smoking a cigarette. Leon's heart was beating very fast as he noticed the way this man kept staring at him without batting an eyelid, scanning him from head to toe. Was he the kidnapper? What was this man going to do to him? Leon felt naked without the bodyguards. If he were to try to attack him, he would no doubt fight back as he did to Darryl Crews, even though this scary man was much bigger than him. How he wished he had learned some fighting techniques from Hiroshi!

"Come with me," he gestured Leon.

Leon knew by the way this man answered that he was one of the accomplices who was expecting him.

"Where are they?" he asked him, but the man answered not. He lead Leon to a bus stop.

"Sit," he said to him. Leon sat on the cold, hard bench while the man stood beside him, towering over his head.

Leon swallowed hard and asked again, "Where are they?"

The man replied not. Instead, he threw his cigarette bud onto the floor and grounded it. He took out his phone and typed something, which Leon was sure he was messaging the mastermind, "Mrs Waltz". After he was done, he slid the phone back into his pocket and took out his pack of cigarettes, taking out a new joint for another smoke.

"I'm asking you one more time. Where are they?" Leon got firm.

The man looked at him with glazed eyes and blew smoke in his face, causing Leon to cough and wave off the offending smoke. He knew it would be fruitless to ask another time. All he could do was to sit and wait as he was told and shudder and pray. One wrong move and this menacing fella, whom he was certain was a gangster, could overpower him or even kill him.

As thoughts of the kidnapped victims raced through his mind while he waited, Leon heard a soft humming of his debut single and the clicking of high heels growing louder.

He stood up with widened eyes, "Hiromi?"

Leon recognised the dual-coloured pink and blonde hair, that white Dolce & Gabanna sweater from her Instagram post and those long fake nails. Yet, her voice sounded different and her physique was not the same. As she approached nearer, he realised the face was not Hiromi's.

Leon was confused and stupefied.

Ariel was right! He could not believe that sweet-looking face that used to lure and haunt him was capable of doing such a despicable thing!

"Hi, darling," the woman placed her hands on his shoulders and planted a gentle kiss on his lips.

Leon could smell and taste a bit of the cigarette smoke from her lips. He swallowed hard, "Emily..."

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Hiroshi could not believe his eyes when he saw a notification alert flashing on his mobile screen. Hiromi was notifying her location through a beacon app that they share. He suspected it would be too risky for her to make a call. Smart Hiromi had given them a clue!

"It's my sister!" Hiroshi showed his screen to everyone and pointed at a location along 66th street, the same street that Leon went to.

"I need to go rescue her!" he put on his coat.

"And I need to rescue my son," Ariel stood up, feeling a lot better after her headache subsided.

"No, it's too dangerous!"

"Don't stop me from saving my kid! I'm not letting you make another mistake for me!" She said with a rebellious voice and gave him a no-nonsense look that she meant business.

Realising this time that she would not back down, Hiroshi reluctantly agreed.

"Take care," Rita hugged her friend tight. "Please come back safe."

"I'll keep her safe," Hiroshi promised.

"I'm keeping y'all in prayers!" sobbed Anna and she hugged the both of them.

As they made their way out, they saw that the ambulances had just arrived.

"We'll be here for them, don't worry. Just go!" assured Anna as she and Rita stood by to ensure the bodyguards were safely taken to the hospital.

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"No, no, no!" Hiroshi cried when the location indicator from Hiromi's phone disappeared. He scolded himself for not taking a screenshot of the location in the first place.

He and Ariel were now at 66th street and there were rows of houses on the left and right. Leon was nowhere in sight and they suspected he may have been lead to one of the houses here. Recalling from memory that it was a few houses down, Hiroshi continued walking, unsure if they would ever arrive at the right house.

"Look!" Ariel nudged Hiroshi as she pointed to an ice cream truck parked at a half-completed house with scaffolding all around. The ice cream truck had the large "Rossi's Happy Ice Cream" logo across it. They knew they were at the right house, which looked abandoned and still in construction. Its windows were sealed with newspaper and there was construction equipment all around. They both walked into the house. Ariel was feeling so unsettled that she refused to let go of Hiroshi's hand. It was eerily dark, quiet and cold. They both switch on the torch lights on their phones and looked all around.

Hiroshi called out, "Hiromi!"

Ariel did the same, "Andy!"

A faint bark could be heard.

"Shhh...." Hiroshi hushed Ariel to keep still in order to make sense of where the bark was coming from.

"I hear something else," said Ariel.

The sound of debris crushed under footsteps could be heard behind them, coming closer and closer.

Ariel pointed her mobile phone light in the direction of the sound behind them. Her light shone on a face of a stocky-built, tattooed man raising what appeared to be a spade. She cried out, "Hiroshi!"

Hiroshi turned around but before he could fight back, he was struck down by the hard impact of the spade on his head and fell unconscious.

Ariel screamed. She felt the man's huge arm wrapped around her waist and his other hand covering her mouth with a cloth that contained a strong odour. It struck her nostrils so strongly that she was knocked out almost in an instant.