The Fall Of House Farouk

Chapter 2 : Underground Bunker

London, United Kingdom

The winter wind batted down harshly upon the city, as Bruce rode on the black motorcycle, with Isabella sitting behind him and her arms wrapped around his waist. Three people are dead now, and he still has no leads on the murderer at all, which causes him to feel disappointed. But at least Isabella is looking into it as well, as she suspects that the murder is interconnected to her grandfather's past. Isabella's cousins are on the job, being sent by their common grandfather to keep an eye on her just in case something happens, like what happened at the Dutch-German border. His and Isabella's childhood friend Min, and his brother who were on the case as police officers, threw a minor wrench into the investigation. They have just been attacked by a pair of Russian agents on motorcycle but they themselves were captured. One of them now was tied up and hoisted onto her cousin's motorcycle while another one was also on another motorcycle in the same manner but he didn't know who the riders were. 

The motorcycles crossed the London Bridge into Westminster, the political heart of the nation. The British Parliament stood to their left, gleaming under the white floodlights illuminating the building while the clock tower performed dutifully by telling time accordingly. Isabella leaned against his back as they rode together, allowing him to feel her body heat. He knew that she was injured but had to hold back until they were safe to tend to her wounds. The motorcycles soon reached a gated area, with a road leading underground, which parted when they showed up. They entered the tunnel, riding along a long dirt road until they reached a metal door. Isabella's uncle Roland was waiting by the metal door, wearing tactical gear and holding an assault rifle in his hands when they arrived. It was no surprise to Bruce that Isabella's uncle had a secret bunker.

The bunker served as a secret venue for Prime Minister Winston Churchill to conduct his war cabinet meetings on occasions during the Second World War and in the present day for his grandchild to also conduct secret meetings. Isabella remained seated on the bike as Bruce got off the motorcycle, helping her to get down despite her quiet protests. "Christian's inside, get the medical kit from him." Roland said, noticing the freshly cut wound on his niece's arm and shoulder. Isabella looked back as her cousins and the mysterious riders unloaded their captives. Her cousins Jun-myeon and Baek-hyun, known affectionately as Jun and Baek in the family, lifted the Russian male strapped to the back of their motorcycle and marched him in without a word. The mysterious riders did the same with the second Russian captive strapped to their motorcycle, all without uttering a single word. Isabella headed in without Bruce helping her, and the man entered the long and winding tunnel with Roland slamming the heavy metal door shut. 

Yellow lamps fitted to the walls illuminated the tight corridor, creating a more confined corridor compared to the original. A stream of white lights illuminated the end of the tunnel, to which a flight of metal stairs painted in black connected the top floor to the bottom floor with a metal platform of the same colour.  A long desk stood in the middle of the bottom floor, plated with heavy-duty misted glass. A man sat hunched on one of the empty chairs, working on a laptop while a leather-bound notebook was open, filled with doodles. He was dressed simply, with a pair of glasses, a somewhat unusual addition to the man. "Hello." the man greeted, removing the pair of glasses and standing up. Bruce and Isabella removed their helmets, breathing a sigh of relief at having to keep their identity hidden beneath the stuffy motorcycle helmet. 

"Where's the medical kit?" Bruce asked. Christian took a glance at his cousin and saw blood trickling from her open wound on the arm and shoulder. Taking a white box with a red cross on it he handed the box over to Bruce. Without a word Bruce took Isabella's hand and led her to the medical bay, closing and locking the metal door for privacy. Once they were in the clear Bruce kissed Isabella as she sat on the examination table. The kiss was brief as Bruce let go and prepared the thread and needle. "Take off your shirt." Bruce said, wiping the equipment clean with an antiseptic wipe found in the medical kit. Isabella hesitated for a while before finally taking the black long-sleeved shirt off, revealing a black vest beneath the shirt. "Hold still, this might hurt." he added. 

"I know." she replied. Bruce took out a cotton bud and poured antiseptic liquid onto it, wiping it against her wound but Isabella winced, gripping the metal table's edges in silence. Bruce had a lot of things to learn upon Alfred's passing years ago, including stitching up wounds by himself when Isabella was unwell because of her pregnancy. "You're improving." Isabella remarked. 

"How are you feeling?" Bruce asked, putting the bloodied needle in a clear plastic disposal bag. 

"Painful, angry... you name it." she replies. "But generally, I'm okay." 

"You seemed upset after Ali's body was dumped in front of the car." Bruce said, threading another needle to be done on the shoulder. 

"You're the detective in charge." she says. "I'm in the background." 

"I need your help." he said. "After what happened to you it was never my case or your case." he added, stitching the shoulder wound. "I know that I have insisted on going alone on cases, but after the attempt on your life because of you helping me to get information I can't put you on the side bench anymore." 

"Ouch!" she screamed out. Bruce had accidentally pricked her in the uninjured part of her shoulder. 

"Sorry." Bruce said. He wiped the needle clean and pressed a cotton bud on the small wound, cleaning the needle with antiseptic. He managed to stitch the shoulder wound and put the needle away, disposing it in another plastic disposal bag. Isabella got down from the examination table and opened the backpack she brought along, putting on a black jacket. Before she could zip up the jacket the metal door was opened, the silhouette of a man standing by the entrance.