Trapped : The Island of Torment

Chapter 14 : Informing The Patriarch

Manhattan, New York City

Bruce arrived at the lobby of the condominium building, wearing civilian clothing and a grimace on his face. An hour ago both he and Philip were contacted to travel here for a private conversation with the owner living in the penthouse unit of the condo. Passing by the security guard whom he acknowledged his presence, Bruce went in, standing at the elevator lobby and pressed the elevator button. A flash of light at the up arrow of the elevator indicated that the transport structure was arriving and the steel doors opened soon after, allowing Bruce to step in. Scanning a keycard at the corresponding scanner the elevator doors began to close, only to be forced open by a hand wrapped around one of the door's sides. The doors opened once again, and Philip stepped in, followed by Oliver and Dick. "Sorry I'm late." Philip said, scanning his keycard at the same scanner Bruce did.

Bruce kept his silence as the doors finally closed and the elevator raced upwards, stopping at the penthouse level. The doors opened, revealing a walkway leading to the only two penthouse units. Bruce pressed the doorbell of the first unit, and the door was opened two minutes later. Jacqueline Kim stood in the foyer, dressed in the clothes she wore as the head of the staff of the Kim Family household. "Master Kim is waiting in the living room." she said, stepping aside for them to enter the penthouse unit. "Please take off your shoes before entering." she added. Philip removed his pair of shoes automatically, as Koreans dislike the thought of wearing shoes while at home as it might bring dirt and other contaminants into the home. Bruce also took off his shoes, as he embarrassed himself in front of Isabella's family for the first time when he didn't take off his shoes when Isabella took him to South Korea, to pay a formal visit to her family when they began dating. 

Her grandfather reprimanded him for disrespecting South Korean traditions and from then on he learned his lessons, which reduced criticism from his in-laws as time went on. Isabella's grandfather Uriah is waiting for them in the living room, sitting in the lone armchair, his fingers folding together. When he first met him in person Bruce discovered that he was intimidating at first, but would often show affection and warmth as time went on. "Have a seat please." he said, gesturing at the available seats i.e. the couches available in the living room. 

"Mr Kim." Oliver greeted politely. 

"I can see that you are well Mr Queen." Uriah replied, shaking his hand. But when the four men have taken their seats Uriah cleared his throat. "You will not sit in the chair." he said, his voice cold. "Your adopted father might have redeemed himself, but you have not yet earned your redemption." his voice was cold, compared to the warm and fatherly tone he was speaking just now. "Your decision to believe in the poison spewed by the woman who had caused my granddaughter so many miseries is not welcomed. So you will stand, as well as those who believed in the lies." 

"We have found Elizabeth." Bruce said, trying to cut through the tension but Uriah lifted a hand to stop him. 

"I will not repeat myself." Uriah said. "Letting you into my home is already a mercy, so you will stand and deserve not a single seat in this home." Dick stood almost immediately, backing away from the couch and standing behind Bruce. 

"It is not necessary sir." Bruce said. "I will talk to him alone regarding the matter." 

"You have done enough Bruce, I don't want to see the both of you distressing yourself over this matter. My granddaughter has shed many tears because of this, so I will not take this lying down." Uriah said. "By accepting the woman as your stepmother, you have effectively lost our trust." Dick said nothing as he hangs his head low, as due to his lapse in judgement he had lost the trust Isabella's family had placed upon him when they first formally meet. With that out of the way Uriah cleared his throat and looked at Bruce. "You mentioned about discovering Elizabeth's location." he said, reminding Bruce. 

"Yes." Bruce said. "According to the suspect he confessed that he was in the plot of kidnapping Elizabeth and taking her to the island of Lian Yu on the North China Sea."

"Lian Yu..." Uriah said, his head dipping low in contemplation. "Mr Queen." he said. "Was this island the same island that you have washed up after the shipwreck?"

"Yes Mr Kim." Oliver said. "I have reason to believe that my wife and her sister are also on the island as hostages." 

"The four of you, except Bruce and Philip, are here for the reason that their wives are taken, but I did not expect you to go through this as well." 

"Sir, Master Liam is here." Jacqueline interrupted. 

"Let him in then." Liam Kim Han Dong, the former Admiral of the Fleet in the Republic of Korea Navy entered, carrying a tablet and sitting down on the empty seat next to Bruce. 

"Father, I think I've located Elizabeth and Candice." he said. 

"Bruce beat you to it my son, I'm afraid." Uriah said. 

"Was it?" he asked.

"Yes, we caught one of the conspirators that had taken my wife." Bruce said. "He said that he and his co-conspirator have taken them to the island of Lian Yu." 

"I have been in contact with my former colleagues at Busan and the commanders at Yongsan, but I haven't... why is he here?" Liam said. 

"It is done Liam." Uriah said. "This will be his last time in being here." Liam scoffed and continued. 

"I haven't got into contact yet with the men at Yokosuka." Liam said. "But they say they can't mount a rescue mission."

"Why?" Uriah asked. 

"Standard bureaucracy." Liam said, shaking his head. "They can't deploy any warship because they are yet to confirm that the former president is missing." Uriah sighed and had a hand against his forehead. "We will have no choice but to formulate our own rescue mission."

"I agree with you my son." Uriah said. "I trust that the four of you can put this rescue mission together?" 

"I can." Bruce speaks up. "I have the proper equipment to do so." 

"Good." Uriah said. "We're depending on the four of you right now."