The Color of Your Eyes

Chapter 51: Basement

"Woah, woah, please. One by one. I can't understand a single thing anyone is saying if you all are talking at the same time," Alan held up his hands after the sudden bursts of words that came from everyone aside from Phil.

"Okay, let me get this straight. Lia is kidnapped. By someone whose name is Mike Warren? He thinks this hacker Jake, someone he hates with a passion, is her boyfriend?"

"He is not her boyfriend..."

"Oh, now you talk?"

"And you guys did what? KIDNAPPED someone else instead?"

"It's just Poke."

"Yeah, he is doing just fine. Peachy, actually. In fact, he is in the basement right now."

"What?"

"I made sure he has it cozy."

"Wait, you all know about this? You were all involved? You too Hannah? After being kidnapped yourself?!"

"We had to do this, in fact, he was the one who kidnapped Lia and brought her to Mike Warren!"

"He spilled the beans. We know where Lia is and in fact, Jake managed to hack Mike's security system."

"What?!"

"Yeah, we even saw Lia on the live feed from the security cameras. She is alive and doing as okay as she can be."

Alan rubbed his forehead harder with each sentence that has been thrown at him.

"And why, in God's name, have you not called the police?!"

"Oh we are doing it right now, aren't we? We contacted you," Alan tried to ignore Dan's grin.

"No, I mean before. Before you went off to kidnap a suspect, went on a hunt for a dangerous criminal, and hacked his security system, which I hope hasn't alerted him and made him pack his bags and bring Lia to a different place. A man who is also being hunted by the FBI!"

"Oh don't you worry, Jake is good, Mike won't suspect a thing."

"You seem to be really confident in his skills."

"Of course I am, he is my-"

Hannah stomped on Lilly's foot. Alan raised an eyebrow.

"We had our reasons, but that is not important. What is important now, is that we fou-"

"Bring me to the basement. Now," Alan stood up without a warning and grabbed his jacket.

"Now?" Thomas asked a little anxious.

"Yes now. Phil?" Alan gestured to the entrance door.

"Alright," Phil said as he took out his keys from his pants pockets. "Thomas."

Thomas stood up, and he bit his lips as he tried to get through the small space between the table and couch, passing Hannah. He didn't look at her as she shot him a worried glance.

"Well, let's see how 'peachy' he is doing," Alan said as he let Phil and Thomas led the way to go around the building to the basement entrance.

***

"Oh my God..."

Poke whimpered and moved up and down on his chair, with tears of joy in his eyes as he saw Alan who was still standing on the stairs, with Thomas and Phil behind him, who just turned on the light, revealing Poke in the middle of the basement.

"The hell happened to him?" Phil asked perplexed.

Poke was covered with duct tape all over his body. He was practically looking like a mummy who has fused with the chair. Even his forehead is covered with duct tape.

"Thomas, what's the meaning of this? I didn't leave him like this!"

"Eh you see... ehm, he got loose and escaped. Don't you worry, I got him and brought him back-"

"You guys kidnapped him for a second time?!"

"I had to make sure he doesn't escape again, so I just a little bit of duct tape-"

"A little?! The poor guy is covered in it!"

"Thomas, did you use my stash of duct tape?"

"Yeah I found a box here, I used half of it-"

"That's fucking expensive duct tape, and you used half of the fucking box?!"

"Release him now!"

Alan's bark of order silenced both Phil and Thomas. Thomas immediately went to get the duct tape off Poke. First, he tried to pull the duct tape from Poke's mouth. The man winced, then Thomas tried to pull the duct tape off Poke's forehead, but it stayed glued. Phil took out his pocket knife and went behind Poke to cut off the duct tape that bind him to the chair.

"You have to pull it very quick and firm," Alan instructed Thomas.

Thomas nodded and ripped the duct tape off Poke's forehead who cried out in pain.

"Ehm, sorry Poke," Thomas looked at his forehead which is devoid of eyebrows.

"Just kill me already... please! Anything but get me away from these psychos..." Poke started to cry.

"Nobody is going to kill you," Alan sighed.

"Please... these people aren't humans... the things they forced me to do. I will do everything, I will even tell you where Mike Warren is, where the girl is being held. I will do anything, just get me away from them!"

"We will discuss all of this at the station Poke, don't worry, nobody is going to harm you," Alan glared daggers at Phil and Thomas but mostly at Phil.

It took ten minutes for them to get the entire duct tape off of Poke. Together they helped Poke walk back to the bar. The group was already anxiously waiting for them.