Paint Me Blue

XII. My Final Sketch

"Captain! We've located War's phone!" Bonz's voice cut through the tense silence in the room. Yin turned sharply, his eyes locking onto Bonz, who gestured urgently toward a monitor screen.

"It's around Block 33 near the T intersection. A surveillance camera caught a glimpse of a speeding taxi. Here!" Bonz tapped the screen, highlighting the vehicle with a frozen image of the plate number clearly visible.

Yin's gaze narrowed as he scrutinized the footage. His jaw tightened. There was no time to lose. Grabbing his jacket from the back of his chair and snatching his car keys off the table, he shot a final order at Bonz. "Contact the local station near Block 33. Get them moving. Keep me updated with any changes, and I mean every little thing. Monitor the entire area, block by block. Do you understand?"

Bonz nodded, already turning back to the monitor, fingers flying over the keyboard to access more surveillance feeds.

"Got it, Captain. I'll keep a close watch."

Without another word, Yin bolted from the room, the door slamming shut behind him. His footsteps echoed down the hallway, his heart racing as he sprinted toward the parking lot. There was no margin for error now. Not when War's life was at stake.

Leo drove War to a secluded spot on the outskirts of the city, far from the noise and lights, where the taxi rolled to a stop outside an abandoned mechanic's shop. The place was nestled in the middle of a sprawling cornfield, the stalks whispering in the breeze as if keeping secrets.

War remained silent in the backseat the entire drive, his face betraying no fear, only an unsettling calm, as if he were just another passenger along for the ride.

Through the rearview mirror, Leo Huo's gaze drilled into War with a piercing intensity. His voice was low and gravelly, more a pronouncement than a question. "So, you came for Akito."

War's eyes flicked up, meeting Leo's cold, calculating stare without hesitation. "Yes," he said, his tone even and unflinching.

Leo's eyes shifted down to the crumpled sketch that had slipped to the floor of the car during their sudden stop. With a deliberate slowness, he leaned down, picked it up, and examined the drawing with a curious look.

He flicked his spent cigarette out the window before asking, almost wistfully, "Isn't she beautiful?"

War paused, his expression unwavering. "She is," he said finally, the words carefully measured.

A ghost of a smile curled at the edge of Leo's lips, and with that, he reached inside his coat. War's eyes narrowed slightly as Leo pulled out a pistol, a Luger P08, sleek and deadly in the dim light. War's muscles tensed, but he didn't let his expression crack.

Leo stepped out of the car, his movements unhurried, almost casual, as if he were performing a routine task. He opened the back door and slid in beside War, the cool barrel of the pistol resting loosely in his hand. War shifted slightly, pressing his back against the door to put as much distance between them as he could, but he never looked away from Leo's pistol.

Leo's demeanor was unnervingly calm, which only heightened War's unease. He could feel the tension simmering in the confined space of the car, an unspoken challenge hanging heavy in the air. War kept his face as impassive as stone. He knew that in this dangerous game, showing fear or hesitation would be the same as surrendering.

Leo Huo's voice was barely above a whisper, a hollow echo in the emptiness surrounding them. "It's been five years since I last saw her," he said, his tone strangely melancholic, as if speaking more to himself than to War.

War didn't respond, his gaze drifting from Leo to the empty cornfield visible through the windshield, its stalks swaying gently in the twilight. There was nothing but the rustle of the wind and the silence between them.