Capturing Them

Chapter Twenty Two

Chapter Twenty Two
Sang

New camera in hand, we leave the store and I can't help but smile at the brand new Canon I'm holding. The shiny piece of plastic is the EOS 6D DSLR and has a 20.2- megapixel full frame CMOS sensor and so many other features. I'm in love with it already and I haven't taken a single picture yet, although I'm dying to do so.

My Dad carries the box with my new printer inside. The Canon PIXMA Pro 10S will be my best printer yet. Together, they both cost a pretty penny, but Dad just put it all on his credit card without any bother at all. He saw me eyeing a poster size printer, also a Canon, and said that when he gets his first bonus he'll get me it.

To be fair, I could buy it myself. I have some cash saved up, plus the money Mom left me, but I don't want to step on his toes and get something he said he would get me.

"I'm going to take this to the car, Sang, and then I have to get going to get ready for another business trip. I fly out for tomorrow night." My shoulders sag as I come to a stop, realizing what he's saying. Was all this just to soften the blow that he is going on another business trip? "Are you coming with me or taking the bus home?"

I just stare at my father, unsure if I'm hearing him correctly. When I realize he's being serious I shake my head and hold up two fingers, saying that I will get the bus home. I want to do some exploring, take some new photos. I'm not ready to go home yet. "What's the matter?" He asks, his eyes focusing on my face. "Sang," he whispers when a tear leaks from my eye.

I shake my head, slapping it away. "I'll see ya later, Dad," I whisper. I catch his reaction just as I turn around, and I wish I had caught it on camera. His eyes widened, his mouth dropped open, and he looked at me in complete wonderment.

"Sang," he calls, but I shake my head, my speed picking up as I try to get away from him as quickly as possible. He doesn't call for me again as I make my way through the busy shoppers. I can't decide if I'm thankful or disappointed.

I reach the center of the mall and take a few deep breaths. My eyes dart around me, taking in the shoppers; a child having a tantrum outside of the toy store and a group of teens leaning against the wall. I close my eyes, so proud of myself, yet in complete disbelief that I actually just spoke to my dad. I can't help but wonder what he's thinking.

After years of silence, I'm finding my voice again. I'm not sure how I feel about that, but all I can do is take one step at a time and not rush anything. It's not like I'm going to be talking in front of a crowd any time soon.

Blinking my eyes back open, my eyes dart around me. A flash of green catches my attention, and my eyes zero in on the group of three boys heading in the opposite direction. Kota walks in the middle with Silas and Victor on either side of him.

No one pays them any attention, not like how they get it at school. My feet start moving before I can register what I'm doing, and I start following them, only a man wearing a zip up brown jacket and a pair of jeans cuts in my path, making me pause.

His steps are hurried, his shoulders tense. His eyes though, they're focused on one place and that's three of the boys I've come to care about. I tilt my head to the side as my hands reach for my brand new camera. Bringing it up to my face, I start snapping pictures, one after the other, the shutter sound ringing in my ears.

Kota comes to a stop outside of a game store, one that sells video games for different consoles. I keep snapping as they walk in, the man coming to a stop just outside. He doesn't go inside, but he hovers, pretending to play around on his phone even though I can see that his focus is on the doors that Kota and the others just walked through.

Pulling my phone from the pocket of my jeans, I bring up Kota's number and type out a text.

Sang: You have a follower.

The man brings his phone to his head and I quickly pick up my camera and take more photos of him, moving myself so I'm leaning against the shop window right opposite the one that Kota, Silas, and Victor just entered. I make myself look like I'm waiting for someone. My phone vibrates in my pocket.

Kota: I'd love to know how you know that.
Sang: I'm outside. He's there. Don't make it obvious.
Kota: Sang, what are you doing?

I don't reply, because I honestly have no idea. Just that the feeling I felt yesterday at Friday fall is weighing heavily in the pit of my stomach. This man is giving me a bad vibe, and that need to protect them is only growing stronger as the seconds pass.

I pocket my phone and as I do, I look down the wide hall of the mall only to find another man wearing jeans and a grey polo t-shirt hovering outside a perfume store; his focus on the man that still hovers on his phone outside of the game store.

I pick up my camera, keeping my movements slow and coordinated. I snap some pictures of him, lowering my camera as I catch a flash of green from the corner of my eye.

My eyes meet Kota's as he leaves the store, his head gently nodding as Silas talks in a rapid speed, while Victor holds his phone to his ear. He raises his hand and pushes his glasses up his nose but as he does, I realize it's different to his usual MO. He's pointing in the direction he wants me to go, I realize.

I don't do anything but push myself off the glass window. I tuck some hair behind my ear but as I do, I point towards guy number two. Kota discreetly nudges Victor's arm and holds eye contact with him for a heartbeat. Victor casually starts looking around, his eyes skimming over follower number two. He still has his phone to his ear and starts nodding his head. Victor confirmed what I already knew.

I start walking in the direction Kota pointed for me to go, but when I peak over my shoulder, I realise that they're going in the opposite direction. I'm confused and pull my phone from pocket as I come to a stop outside some public bathrooms. I feel hopeless as I watch them get followed.

I bring up Kota's number and just as I'm about to press call, a hand wraps around my mouth and I'm being dragged back. My hand clutches my phone tight as the door to the men's bathroom is opened and I'm brought inside. My heart hammers in my chest as the panic starts to rise, images of yesterday flashing through my head.

I struggle against the hold on me. I manage an elbow to the gut, which is followed by a grunt and a voice that has me freezing. "Sang, it's me. Calm down."

I stop my struggle and relax back into the warm, hard body. His hand moves away from my mouth and I gasp, trying to catch my breath. I close my eyes, resting my head back onto their chest. "You scared me," I whisper.

His hands come onto my waist, and he turns me until I'm facing him. The normal happy, flirty eyes don't look down at me. Instead they're serious, no playing around. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to. But you're seriously in the wrong place right now."

"What's going on?" I ask.

Dr Green shakes his head. "At the moment, we aren't sure, but we can't have you be targeted too." His words cause my stomach to sink. "But it's bad Sang. Worse then what we originally thought."