The Kidnappers

The Kidnappers - The mission (Chapter 2)

CHAPTER 2

- Sapien's POV

"Don't you know how to lock the door yet?" A voice full of menace echoes around the room, slicing through our conversation.

Dese and me jump from our chairs, grabbing our weapons, we swiftly stand pointing them, at the person at the door. The recognition hits us both at the same time; it's Zeki, who we have actually been expecting but is surprisingly early, for him anyway. Strange.

He carries on talking unfazed that I am pointing my G18 gun at him and Dese her sword. He is getting too brave around us but then again we have been shoved together every year, to work with each other for two months at a time.

"Marvellous! A welcome party, I always wanted one of those. Couldn't you afford party poppers? Pointing a sword and gun at me is not quite the same guys, I have to say." He shakes his long, black coat, spraying stray raindrops. 

I roll my eyes, typical Zeki with his ego as large as his ridiculously oversized coat. I pull another chair up to the fireplace, before sitting down on my original armchair, and placing my gun, Ruby, on the side table. This gun has been everywhere with me, so small yet so lethal, quiet but efficient. 

"We didn't want you to take the hassle of kicking the door down, like you did last year, we're just making your life easier, Zeki." I reply dryly, instead of mentioning that Dese had forgotten to lock the door. I did not want to provoke another of their usual quarrels, they so unnecessarily engage in.

Dese also lowers her sword, the elegantly engraved symbols catching the light for a moment, before she fires an icy look towards Zeki; the look a stark contrast with her warm honey coloured hair embedded with multi-coloured streaks.

Zeki, drops a black object on the brown carpet, it gives a resounding thud and then he abruptly crushes it with his black boot. The pieces giving a whine and a hiss of electricity, mingled with the cracking of the hard plastic outer shell. 

"Was that your Detector?" I ask aghast. 

"Yeah, I've been registered now as it decided to shut up so there's no need for the Domi Society to track me, anymore. We're bloody doing their mission, of hunting down what ever pointless thing they want us to find this year, they're not gonna care if I'm off the radar for a while. " Zeki seethes, glaring at the broken device under his boot. 

What is wrong with him? He can't do that, I mean he already has, but he could get in so much trouble, in that one defiant action of his. 

"Do you realize what you have done, Zeki?" I ask still reeling in shock. 

"He's just paranoid." Dese explains, but she follows suit and stamps forcefully, on her bright red Detector. I gasp. My heart flutters in panic. What have they done? They've signed their death penalties that's what they have managed to do. 

"Go on, it's your turn." Zeki encourages, his wide brown eyes, coxing me to follow his brainless act.  

I don't plan to face a penalty, never have and never will. I shake my head, vehemently. These two reckless dimwits, can do what they want as I'm not responsible for their reactions. 

Zeki suddenly barges to me, stupefying me with his impromptu cornering, he snatches my Detector from my front pocket of my blue jeans, where it is sticking out from. He rapidly throws it in the fire. My breath captures in my throat so instead I end up, letting out, a very unattractive wheeze. 

The room illuminates with the heightened orange flames, our shadows darkening. I stare mesmerized at the fireplace, at my now smoldering Detector. The device that guided us all here, gone. The device that the Domi Society track us with, gone. 

"How could you, Zeki?" I squeak, staring mournfully at the fierce, crackling fire.

"So, Dese, did you raid mummy's hair salon again?" Zeki asks sweetly, completely ignoring my response, to the atrocious act he has just committed.

"Have you kissed Venom yet? It's extra shiny and sharp this year all ready to meet you?" Dese says in a voice promising danger, holding up her sword to prove her point.

Look, having no Detector, is not the end of the world. I'm sure the Society will understand, like Zeki mentioned before, as long as we complete this mission, they would not consider the fact we destroyed our Detectors. Get over it, Sapien. Be a man. Shrug it off. Everything will be fine.

"So can we actually see the list or has that been buried underneath your ego?" I smile at Zeki, shooting a wink at him, trying to disable the hate filled atmosphere, and my worries.

Zeki fumbles in his rather large pockets in his black duster, eventually producing an elegantly rolled document that is tied with red silk ribbon which has the seal of a roaring lion. He hands it to me and takes his seat between me and Dese.

"Here you go Sapi, I forget that you miss out on birthdays, since you live in the forest, so you end up getting excited with scraps of paper."

"You're not much better since you never stay in a place more than a week, people don't even get to know when your birthday is." I reply back, breaking the seal.

Typical always the forest thing, there is nothing wrong for a man to live in a forest, at least I'm settled there. He has to move all the time, from unknown place to unknown place, never being in comforting and familiar surroundings.

"What have you got in you enormous pockets, the kitchen sink?" asks Dese slumping into her armchair.

"Why no of course not Dese my dear, just Narnia?" Zeki turns sideways to answer her, in a serious tone.

After a few seconds of silence, which is strange as Dese, should have shot back with a comeback but instead I can feel their gazes on me filled with anticipation, as I untie the ribbon, unrolling the scroll. A page overflowing with graceful calligraphy, a work of art in itself, is revealed, the skills of the Society never fail to impress me.

I snap out of my trance and begin to skim through the text. Zeki is asking me " What do we need to find and destroy this year, five legged frogs, haunted houses..." but I tune him out as he continues to list past items.

But there is no list this time. What is this? I turn the paper back to front, upside down to find further explanation but there is writing only on one side. My palms are getting clammy, heart beat rising, in response to the absurd request this year. What has happened to the Domi Society? 

They can't possibly make us kidnap.

"Kids..."

The room has become unnaturally quiet and both of them are staring at me appalled. I must have said it out loud. My words are echoing around the room.

"Kids...kids....kids"