The mind can forget... but the heart never!

Chapter 36

Mamoru froze in the moment Bunny's scream of pain reached him through the phone. He dropped the receiver to the ground and dashed off. All alarm bells were ringing in his mind. How could Shin locate her so quickly? Mamoru didn't bother changing; he rushed across the parking lot to his car, on the hood of which Angel was sitting, applying her lipstick. Mamoru clenched his fist and aimed for Angel's head, but she gracefully evaded his blow. Sliding off the hood, she raised her hands in a peace gesture.

"Calm down, Mamo. What will people think if a doctor starts beating someone up in the parking lot?" She had a point; he didn't want to draw unnecessary attention.

"He has her! How did this happen?! Angel, you were assigned to protect her," Mamoru hissed angrily at her and grabbed her upper arm roughly.

"Give me the car keys. You can't drive like this. I'll explain everything on the way," Angel tried to calm him down.

He was eager to hear this explanation, hoping it was a good one, as he simmered with anger on the inside.

Seiya sat on the white sofa, his head in his hands. The bottle of alcohol was in front of him. He had a pounding headache as he still hadn't taken a sip, and the dry bread only intensified his thirst. The deadline should have passed by now. Weren't they supposed to take him to Osaka? Why wasn't anyone coming? The redhead and the two guys hadn't shown up again. It was driving him crazy. He drummed both fists wildly against the door. "Hello? Is anyone there? I'm dying of thirst in here!" he shouted, continuing to pound on the door. After what felt like an eternity, he finally heard footsteps.

"Yeah, I totally forgot about him. I thought he would be gone by now too," the voice sounded familiar. What was he saying? He was forgotten?

Nervously, Seiya ran his fingers through his hair. This could be his chance to escape. He just needed to be quick. The footsteps were getting closer, and he heard the first lock click open. He positioned himself close to the wall, towards which the door would open, and felt everything in him tense up. Now was his chance. The door opened, and the dark-haired guy who had been here yesterday looked around the room. Seiya lunged forward, slamming the visitor's head back against the door. As his opponent slumped to the ground, he sprinted, propelled by his legs as fast as they could carry him. It was a narrow corridor with other doors branching off, but which one led to freedom? He tried the handles as he ran, but every one he attempted was locked. The guy he had taken down seemed to be back on his feet; Seiya could hear his steps gaining on him. His pulse escalated further. He was so close, but there was no way out here.

"Give up and do us both a favor by going back," his pursuer called.

But Seiya wasn't about to give up. Desperately, he kept running. The corridor took a turn, and then he found himself facing a wall. He was trapped; there was no way out.

Saphir had already called for backup, and help rushed to him from the upper floors. His head was still throbbing from the impact. He leaned against the cool wall, waiting for Seiya to be returned to his cell. It took three men to overpower him, but eventually, he was securely locked away again.

Fuming with anger, Mamoru stormed into Celeste's office. She pursed her lips tightly when she saw Mamoru, sensing what was coming. Angel followed him, still talking nonstop to calm him down.

"Angel, get out!" Celeste hissed as she noticed the fire in Mamoru's eyes. She was concerned for her friend's safety.

"He has her! Weren't you the one who guaranteed her protection? What went wrong here?" Mamoru shouted as he strode through the room. He leaned his hands wide on her desk and glared angrily at Celeste.

"Mamo, there were unfortunate circumstances. You know how it goes, sometimes things don't go as planned. Everything is spiraling out of control," Celeste said, her tone tense.

"Unfortunate circumstances? Are you kidding me? Shin called me at work, and I heard her scream. Do you know where he is? I need to get to her right away," his anger was gradually giving way to desperation.

"Yes, unfortunate circumstances. Your singer, remember? He smuggled out secret messages and attempted an escape ten minutes ago. He's as strong as an ox and seems to have a brain too. You need to decide what we're going to do with him. He can't stay in there forever, and I'm not his babysitter. Everything's falling apart around here."

"Celeste, I don't have time for this now. Get me all available people here. I need a map with possible hideouts marked. Additionally, assign someone to monitor her bug; we should filter for background noises too. That might help narrow down the hiding spots," Mamoru had reverted to his old command mode.

Celeste nodded; she knew what Shin and Shiori were capable of and was grateful that Mamoru was taking charge.

Mamoru took Celeste's chair at the desk, and she rolled out a map in front of him. Diamond hurriedly joined them.

"So, I've gone through the recordings and transcripts multiple times," he pulled a red marker from his pocket and placed a cross on the map. "Here's the school, where she disappeared. Shortly after the scream, you can hear a car door; let's assume they roughly followed traffic rules." He began drawing a circle on the map.

"Then she must be somewhere within this radius, as after about a twenty-minute drive, she was taken out of the car."

Mamoru frowned slightly and glanced at Celeste. "Didn't you say he's not the brightest? Well, he's already accomplished more than Angel. He's on the team." Diamond ignored the first part and basked in the praise.

Shortly thereafter, the door opened again, and Angel entered with Saphir. Saphir was still holding a cold pack to his head.

"Who roughed you up?" Diamond teased.

"Shut up. The guy in the basement tried to escape. He caught me off guard, but it's under control."

Then an unusual thought struck Mamoru. The more he thought about it, the more it turned into a solid plan.

His gaze wandered over the map again. Within the spatial limits Diamond had outlined, there were only four possible places where Bunny could be.

"Celeste, I want a thorough check done at these locations as soon as possible," he pointed to the spots he intended to focus on.

"Are you both good at shooting?" he turned to Diamond and Saphir, both nodded silently.

"Even at long distances?"

"Uh, well... I can shoot at about 2000 meters... that's the farthest I've tried," Saphir forced himself to answer. He was afraid of Mamoru, and it showed.

"Let's hope you shoot better than you speak. Angel, you're fit; you're coming with me inside." Mamoru stood up and went through the plan again. "Celeste, you'll coordinate from here. Now take me to the musician."

The expressions on everyone's faces turned incredulous. "To the musician? The one down in the cell?" Angel stammered after a moment of shock.

"Yes, exactly to him," Mamoru said coldly.