Chasing Trails

Chapter 5 : Smoke

Thank you for picking this book up! <3  - Lela

Warning: The last part before the star line (**********) contains violence. It is not violent enough for me to rate it 'mature' but I just feel that it's proper that I put a warning. Just in case some of my readers can't stand it.

     It's just another night of caffeine, frustration and heavy reading for Inspector Faiz. He flips through the bulky case file again to reveal a flurry of papers and sticky notes. He made sure to re-read all of the information and scribbles Detective Azlan had jotted down. The fan hanging from the ceiling of Kenanga Police DP did nothing against the unforgiving wave of Malaysian heat so he opens the window to welcome a gust a of cold night air. He closes his eyes as he feels the cooling wind brush against his face. His mind is still lingering on the details he had read. How could people be so cruel? Well, he is uncertain of the answer, but there are definitely reasons to why Malaysian youths are slowly burning down to ashes.

     The day Inspector Faiz took the police badge along with his vow; he had given away his heart to his country. His colleagues nicknamed him 'Sergeant Hassan' due to his patriotism back in PULAPOL and he lives up to it right down into his marrow. He was about to sit and continue his reading when there was an urgent rap on the door. He frowns at the lack of salam -it is true that he is younger than most of the other inspectors, but a bit of a courtesy wouldn't have hurt. Then, he walks to the door. His footsteps are as heavy as his mind when his hands turned the knob.

**********

     "Keluang 1 to Keluang 2, the traffic's congested at Road A, we are practically stuck uhm...           probably for the next hour or more, over. Are we retracted from the mission?"

     A coarse chuckle comes out of Keluang 1's walkie-talkie.

     "You are as formal as ever, Azam. Bahahaha."

     Lee shakes his head as he supresses his laugh, his fist punches Azam's shoulders. It's a tense moment, but even after 10 years in the police force, Constable Khalid is such a tease to the Inspector Faiz. There was a couple of pretentious cough and Constable Khalid continued.

     "On a serious note, Keluang 2 notes Keluang 1. It's okay. You will not be retracted from the mission. You are only 10 minutes of running distance from the spot anyway. Leave the car, the HQ will send in a couple of brats to take care of the ride. You know what to do, over."

     Azam moved the car slightly to the side of the road so that he doesn't add to the already steaming rage from the rest of the cars. There were a couple of honks and curses from the other drivers but that's normal. Lee grits his teeth in an attempt to control his anger as he pockets his gun. Azam is the first to get out of the car running, his walkie-talkie is clutched close to his mouth as he confirms for direction. Lee follows suit with his sniper bag bouncing on his back. The two young inspectors are at race against time.

**********

     It was 2 a.m. in the morning when Inspector Chandran knocked on his office's door with his arms laden with bulletproof vests and goggles. It turned out the next day's bust on Rosa Berduri Night Club had to be done immediately. Faiz thanked Chandran and nimbly suited up as Chandran explained as simply as he can.

"Our intel said they are selling the goods tonight instead of tomorrow. Detective Azlan was shocked on the sudden change, but rhings like this do happen. Thank goodness we get the tip on time."

Faiz nodded and continued,

"-Or the whole bust could have been a bust."

One word came across Faiz's mind though, there's a mole in Kenanga Police DP.

**********

     I don't know what's happening. All of a sudden, our room's light was turned on. I almost had a      heart attack when I saw Che Mah standing near the light switch.

     "Okay children, rise and shine!" She said.

     I am afraid. I am really afraid. Something bad is about to happen. I can feel it in my guts. I thought about some of the articles Ibu had written. The door was opened slowly and in came four staffs. Kakak was one of them. All of my effort went to make an eye contact with her but I can tell that she was avoiding me. Then I noticed how provocatively she was dressed on that night. They all had tapes and ropes in their hands. Che Mah told us to line up and the door was closed. One by one, the children's hands are tied up and their mouths are taped. Some of them started crying and I felt like crying too.

     My turn is three kids away when I trembled hard. I wanted to run, but my feet were glued to the ground. My whole body felt stiff and my brain went into a haywire of thoughts. The sound of soft, terrified sobs fogged my mind from thinking but my eyes were busy looking for escape routes. There weren't any. I felt a soft touch on my wrists and the next thing I knew, I am tied. When I get to see who tied me up, I wanted to scream. Tears trailed down my cheek when Kakak softly whispered.

     "I am sorry, I am sorry, I am sorry, I am sorry. I am sorry. I love you, I am sorry, I am sorry."

     Kakak looked deranged. Her eyes are red, her cheeks looked swollen. Then I started to notice the bruises on her arms. Some were blue, some were black. The plunging neck line of her tank top revealed small circular burn marks on her chest. Suddenly I realized how she had been wearing baggy clothes whenever she's around me before. I started sobbing when she pulled open the strip of tape roll. She bit her lip and she was crying too. There was a snip, then two, and the tape was about to touch my cheek when my feet automatically took a few steps backward. Kakak let out an excruciating whimper as she moved in closer towards me.

     "Don't move, please don't move, she will make it worse for you. I am sorry, Bunga, I am sorry.          I am sorry, I can't save you."

     I cried and I stood there, frozen. I let the sticky tape touch my cheek, then my mouth, then my cheek again. Kakak hugged me tight and she kept saying sorry. My head limped on her chest and she was pulled back by her hair. My eyes filled with spite when Che Mah slapped her.

     "There's always one that you get attached to, isn't there?" 

*Author's note*

Hello, It's Lela! How was the chapter? 

*Hands you some tissue, just in case you cried*

Let me know in the comments! Kind, constructive criticisms are very much welcomed <3

I added some smoke, so expect some action in the next chapter (^_^)  *throws confetti into the air*

Please drop me a vote if you find the chapter interesting (^0^)/

Vocabulary:

Keluang - A bat. No, not the stick. The animal.

Rosa - A rose.

Berduri - Thorny.

Fun fact:

Malaysia used to have a spin off animation of Batman called 'Keluang Man'. He pretends to be mentally ill whilst acting as a superhero. (@_@) Talk about crazy...

The next chapter will be updated in less than two weeks since this one came out late. I am sorry, I had some uni interview back then and I was so nervous. (>///<)

A super sweet shout-out to  @tyra98nik ! <3 Thank you for being the sun to my cloudy days dear <3

A shout out to  @girlsontop for being such a great help with my chapters. I can feel the love. *sniffs* 

Blazing smokes, - Lela.