Owner - Aou

Chapter 5

Aou paced in front of the windows, barking orders at the guards in front of him, undeterred by the looks of nervousness and fear in their faces. Being bodyguards, not much usually affected them, their faces usually stoic and unmoved, but he knew they had never seen him in this state. Completely unhinged. Pure rage and stark terror showed in his eyes, his voice, unsettling the guards who were trying to follow orders even though the litany of words coming out of Aou's mouth was confusing, often contradicting one another.

Go check on this.
Go put pressure on the owner.
What the hell are you doing?
Don't just stand there, move!

At this point, he wasn't even sure what he had actually told any of them to do. After they all disappeared, following his incoherent orders, he paused, staring out the windows of his office. All he could think of was how this was all his fault. How he never should have listened to his father. How he never should have flirted with Pawan. How he never should have left Boom alone at the party. How he should have changed Boom's guards the very first time they'd ignored his orders and instead followed Boom's.

How completely he'd fucked up. How completely he'd failed Boom, the only thing that actually mattered to him in his sad, violence filled, dysfunctional life. If he didn't get Boom back .... If something happened to him. He wasn't sure how he'd forgive himself. How he'd continue breathing.

He felt a hand settle on his shoulder, knowing it was Narong, the only person in that moment who would probably dare touch him.

"You need to calm down. I know how worried you are. But you have lost control and it's not going to help find Boom. So either get your shit together or step back and let me take over."

Even knowing Narong was right, how could he possibly turn the search for Boom over to someone else? How could he not be responsible for cleaning up his own mistakes?

Taking Aou's silence as permission to continue, Narong said, "I've spoken with your father already."

He whipped his head around, yelling, "You, what? Did I give you permission to do that?"

"No sir. But we needed his approval before accessing some of the people and equipment we may need. So while you were screaming at everyone in here, I called him."

Ignoring the not too subtle insult in Narong's comment, he asked "And?" He was a little afraid to hear what his father had to say, knowing he didn't particularly approve of his relationship with Boom. His father had made a small degree of peace with it when Aou had refused to give Boom up, despite being instructed to do so.

"He said you could have access to anything you needed. But .... "

"But? But what?"

"He said he is too busy currently to provide any direct assistance."

A bitter laugh erupting from his throat, Aou answered, "Of course that asshole can't. He can't be bothered to help because he probably looks at it as a good opportunity for Boom to just disappear." Bile rose in his throat as he took in the words he'd just said Boom to just disappear. Everytime he thought about where Boom might be, what might be happening to him, he lost a little more control of his brain, his emotions.

What if he's hurt? What if they are hurting him? Torturing him? What if I can't find him? What if I find him too late? What if he's already dead?

Sitting down on the nearby sofa, elbows on his knees, he cradled his head in his hands, fingers pulling tightly at the edges of his hair. He felt Narong sit next to him, his hand settling on his shoulder.

"You need to take a moment to get yourself together. You are not helping Boom by freaking out and losing control. You need to box it up then get up and get to work. But in the short-term, I'm asking you, please, for Boom, let me take the lead. Just until you are able to think more rationally."