Yuanfen (AlanxJeff) VI

25

Alan 

"Damnation!" A heart-wrenching cry escaped my lips. Why could I never protect Jeff? Why, no matter how hard I tried, did I only find failure after failure?

"Curse you, moon goddess! Do you find it amusing to let me taste heaven only to send me straight to hell?" I thought, as my fists pounded the wall in fury. Tears soaked my face; I surely looked pathetic and miserable, but I no longer cared. Nothing made sense anymore.

"Alan, please calm down," Pete urged me with a calm voice. "We've mobilized our men. They'll check the cameras and go to Mr. Tony's mansion; we'll find him." Meanwhile, Charlie was as pale as a ghost, in shock. He knew, felt the same as I did: we might never find him again.

"Mr. Tony wouldn't have acted without having everything coldly calculated," I murmured, lost in thought. "By the time we discover where he's taken him, he could be far away. We might never catch up."

Knock, knock.

"Sir, it's urgent, you must watch the news," Taki alerted us with a voice laden with urgency.

We turned on the TV and, immediately, heard something that only worsened the situation.

"As has been reported, this afternoon the 'king of the track,' our beloved Babe, had a terrible accident resulting from an attack, in which his car was sabotaged. We pray to all the gods for his swift recovery," the announcer declared. "What was not known about this incident until now was who was behind such a vile attack. Until this moment, there was only talk of a jealous colleague deciding to commit such an act. But we have obtained information from reliable sources from the palace accusing Mr. Tony Pattarapol as the mastermind. We are informed that the palace has been mobilizing its men towards the mansion of the noble in question and has ordered the borders closed. The tension is palpable and makes us wonder what is really happening and, most importantly, what are the consequences? The house of nobles has begun to stir, and whispers of 'revolt' have started, accusing the palace of planning all this to deliver a crushing blow to the house of nobles. It should be noted that the crown prince has made his position on these matters very clear, a stance that has not been well received and could have been deepening the roots of everything that will follow. We suggest the general population not to panic and to stay in their homes, as we await the official position of each side.

"What's happening? How could they get all that information?" Babe exclaimed, worried.

"So they decided to make the first move to get out of check," Pete said seriously. "They can easily claim that we sabotaged the car ourselves to blame it and finish off the house of nobles."

"But what about Jeff? It was clearly a kidnapping! The cameras are there, and everyone knows him as Alan's betrothed. We can also make use of the news," Babe exclaimed.

"That could be a double-edged sword," Pete warned, as he searched again for the security video we had been passed. Upon closer inspection, it clearly showed Way and Jeff talking, then both leaving together. "They can say it wasn't a kidnapping."

"Jeff wouldn't have gone of his own free will, obviously Way manipulated him, that won't show on the video," Babe countered.

"You're wrong," Charlie finally spoke, lost in thought. "Way didn't touch Jeff at any moment. He may have coerced him, but he didn't manipulate him."

"It's the same thing!" Babe insisted, frustration evident in his voice.

Knock, knock.

"Sir, I have informed the queen," Taki said with a hint of concern in his voice. "She has ordered to reinforce security and call the army to protect the castle. The house of nobles is mobilizing its men. She has decreed that no one leave the palace."