For You

Chapter 9

"I don't get it."

It was the tenth time Tazer had gone through what he suspected to be Frederick's location. He slammed his phone against the desk and pinched his nose. Breathe in. Hnggg. Breath out. Wooooo.

He whisper-yelled, "If you were hiding someone, where would be the best place?"

The others exchanged glances.

"In plain sight! The answer is plain sight!" Tazer paused, taking a sip of coffee, letting the bitter liquid soothe his throat. With the way things were going, he wouldn't be able to shut his eyes until he was in the grave. "The reason all the trails led to a dead end is because we're thinking outside the box. I mean, think about it. The last person Frederick met with was the boss, and his disappearance happened minutes after. If there are no records from nearby buildings or in the public domain, it means whoever took him has power in the district—enough power to make him disappear without a trace."

One of the bodyguards spoke up, "And that leads us to...?"

"All the projects around the area. Can you show me the last image we have of him again?"

Tazer squinted his eyes. The photo was slightly blurry, as if it had been taken from a distance. Frederick was a mere dot hunched against a crumpled wall, holding what appeared to be a card as cars zipped by. It didn't seem like his last location at all, but there was nothing else to go on.

As he slumped in the chair, holding up the image, a mechanical sound interrupted his thoughts.

"Hey, Uncle Tazer."

Tazer jumped, looking up to see his nephew's face squeezing through a screen, waving. He glared at the man who held the phone. Seriously?

"I thought that since we're guaranteed to die, I should at least say goodbye."

Tazer rolled his eyes. "End the call. We need to finish this."

"Uncle! You can't be more interested in a photoshopped photo over me!"

"Bye, s—"

"Wait, what?" Tazer's head shot up. "Photoshopped? What do you mean?"

The boy answered, "If you look around the boy, it's slightly pixelated. That area, though... seems like Mixer turf."

"Mixer?" Tazer asked.

The boy continued, "It's this gang that owns uptown. They normally take over abandoned buildings and do dirty tasks for the rich who don't want to get their hands dirty. I think their latest project is on an island. They've been recruiting."

Tazer frowned.

The bodyguard raised an eyebrow, turning the screen back to himself. "Son, why do you know all this? I sent you to school to learn, not to get involved with people like that."

"Daaaaad, I can make my own decisions!"

"Hold on,"  Tazer says.

"This proves otherwise, and you're under eighteen."

"So, you don't think I'm-"

Tazer pressed the lips of the bodyguard, shifting the phone back to himself. "Hold on. This island project you mentioned. Can you tell me more about it?"