A.L.E.N - Between Shadows (Chapter 2)

Act 13

Somewhere out of nowhere, a young adolescent boy was locked in a small room, banging on the door and yelling, "Help! Please, somebody help me!"

The boy looks around, trying to find something like a tool to open the door, but doesn't find anything, so he keeps on banging on the door, "Help, please someone! Please, please. Get me out of here. He was begging for help constantly, but unfortunately for him, no one could hear him because he was trapped far away, deep in the darkness.

Meanwhile, a crime scene occurred in the street of North Carolina, where the police were on the scene to investigate the case, and a 22-year-old journalist was there to take notes, until a young female police officer with blonde hair approached the journalist to check on him and asked very seriously, "Mr. Janson, what do you think? Are you doing here?"

Mr. Janson was embarrassed and also ironic. "Oh, sorry about that, officer Cathleen Russ," the journalist says with a smile and also jokes a bit with the officer, "Please don't be so casual with me, and by the way, do you know where I can find my girlfriend? I can't find her because she's too professional."

Cathleen laughs, unable to maintain her solemn expression. "Liam, stop that. I'm at work, and this is a serious situation. Shouldn't you write about global warming, natural disasters, or something along those lines?"

Liam looks at her and says, "C'mon, Cat." and laughs softly. "That is not something that I write, and you know that,

Cathleen raised one of her eyebrows and said, "That only thing that you write is about old articles and historical events."

And Liam added, "However, going undercover is one of the few tools available to reporters for revealing public-interest stories, which I enjoy, but..."

Cathleen looks serious. "But... when will you take it seriously?" she asked him, crossing her arms. "It is your responsibility and your job, Liam."

Liam sighs and looks down. "I know. I thought about it, and I was aware."

Cathleen notices that he is feeling down, so she tries to cheer him up. "Hey, take a look. Why don't you talk to your boss? I'm sure he will understand it."

Liam smiles and nods. "Maybe, I mean... I can give it a shot. If you want to go on another date with me,"

Cathleen beams. "Alright, deal. If you talk to your boss about it.", and Liam promised.

After Liam and Cathleen shake hands, another officer calls out to Cathleen, saying, "Hey Cathleen? "Can you come over here? We need you."

Cathleen responds, "Sure, I will be right there," and she turns around with a smile on her face as she follows the other police officer.

Liam says quietly but excitedly, "Yes! Let's go. On to the next date." and walks away very happy, until his happiness was gone as soon as he arrived at his boss's office, very nervous and considered.

Meanwhile, "C'mon, please work," said the young boy trapped in the room as he grabbed an old, rusted nail that was sticking out from the wood door to open the locker.

Kindly open... Sweating, he was frantically trying to open it, "C'mon, c'mon," but then there was a clack, "Yes!"

The young adolescent pushed the door, using all of his strength to open it, and then it finally opened, confused and not knowing where he was.

Looking around, the teenage boy spots a phone on the desk.

He picks it up right away and calls a random number, which turns out to be Liam's number.

Liam was in the middle of a serious conversation with his boss. "So... What do you think, Mr. MacQuoid? and was nervous.

Mr. MacQuoid asked him, "Liam, listen. You aren't a detective or investigator; you can report a crime scene and work with the police, and I told you that as a journalist, it's important that you follow the work."

Liam says, "I know that, Mr. MacQuoid. And I love my job."

Until Mr. MacQuoid interrupts Liam and makes a request for him, "However, a journalist can be helpful in situations where the police need to discover unknown cases and seek some clues about criminals."

Liam was a bit confused: "Where do you, sir, go with it?

And Mr. MacQuoid replies, "My request is that if you unsolve one of those crime cases, I will consider giving you a new position."

Liam was excited about Mr. MacQuoid's request: "Yes! I mean, I will not disappoint you, sir." and Mr. MacQuoid nodded one with a close-lipped smile, that moment changed as Liam's phone rang.

Liam looks at his phone and sees an unknown number calling him. "Is everything alright, Liam?" says Liam's boss, but Liam apologies for it. "Sorry, about that. It's just the wrong number, misunderstanding." Put his phone in the jacket's packet and try to ignore it.

However, the young adolescent keeps insisting, "Please pick up. Please, c'mon..." and Liam was constantly interrupted by his phone rings over and over again, until Liam apologized again and finally picked up the call, "Hello? Who is this?"The boy was glad but also very afraid. "Please, you have to help me. My name is Aiden Whitt, and I was kidnapped. Liam was stunned.