Undercover Cops

Chapter 26

"We grew up together. Our families have been eternal friends and business-allies, so we were forced to interact since a young age. It was annoying at first, although we became good friends. I realized I liked him once we were teenagers; I was twelve and him, fourteen. I thought he looked at me as a little sister to take care of, so I never said anything. 

A few months after this, I discovered a bruise on his stomach; a really bad one. I asked him where did he get it, and if someone did that to him, but he denied everything. He said the cliche; he fell down the stairs. At first, ingenuous like I was, I believed him, but I wasn't blind. I noticed that it became more and more frequent, and much more violent. I wanted to help him out, but he wouldn't talk to me."

Joe had everything recorded and was communicating with Nick live through a hidden earpiece glued to his ankle. They were so close to the goal. He nodded carefully and gave her a sign to continue.

"One day, I surprised him at his house. I found him unconscious, almost lifeless, on the floor! He had two black eyes, a broken arm, blood covering his entire body and a piece of glass transpierced through his head! It was the shock of my life, and I can still feel the fear, the frozen fear. At that moment, I saw his dad passed out on the cough, high, drunk and totally wasted. I then understood that he abused my Zachary. He abused him."

Taylor swallowed in disgust and her body shuddered violently. Joe instantly wrapped his arms around her shoulders in a consoling way. "Shhh," he hushed sadly. "You don't have to say it all."

Taylor shook her head, determinate to continue her explanation until the end. When she started it, she couldn't stop. It was already too late, and the memories emerged her mind.

"Zac spent an entire month at the hospital, healing and mumbling through his sleep prayers like 'don't make my dad go to jail, he's a good man' or 'I deserved what I received because I am too rebellious for a notable family'. It sincerely broke my heart, every word I heard. While he woke up, the first thing he did was to check on his dad. Worried about him and his safety. He truly loved him, but..."

Taylor sighed, thinking about how kind and caring Zac was.

"But when he found his dad, the man was preparing for his suicide. He was too ashamed of himself and his mental illness and just wanted to end his life so that Zachary could live happily ever after. Zac pleaded and pleaded for his dad to stop, but he didn't want to listen. Zac's dad hung himself right in front of his eyes. When I found them, my best friend was half-alive, paralyzed with terror, and trying to reach the yellow rope. But it was all too late."

Joe was at loss for words. Zac was defiantly different from what he thought. No wonder he became a psychopath. He could sense Nick's heavy breathing from the earpiece.

"He was never the same", finished Taylor. "He passed years isolating himself from the world, including me. I suggested counseling but nothing was therapeutic for him. When he reached eighteen, he strangely disappeared, and next thing I knew... He became a murderer."

It was absolutely horrible, thought Joe. The whole story gave him shivers from top to bottom. Even if his perception of the crimes hasn't changed, he felt a little bit of empathy for the poorly lost teenager who lived in Zachary Efron's body.

"It's gonna be okay", promised Joe while hugging the broken woman tightly. "Everything will be alright, just give it time."

Taylor sniffled loudly and hid her head on the nape of Joe's neck. Guess what?

The truth was finally revealed about Zac's past.

Meanwhile

"Ok, ok! I give up!" Finally said Ariana, exasperated. "We can stop shopping and return to the shooting lessons! Even if my muscles are still sore, I can handle it just fine!"

But Miley wasn't listening. Instead, she picked up her earpiece which was ringing urgently and obviously thought about the mission. Alerted, she frowned and listened to whatever was happening on the other line.

"We grew up together. Out families have been eternal friends and business-allies, so we were forced to interact since a young age."

Taylor! suddenly realized the undercover cop. The mission was advancing! She narrowed her eyes and carefully listened to the whole story. Ariana almost made a move to disturb her, but she harshly shut her up. It wasn't the time.

"A few months later, I discovered a bruise; a really bad one", continued the frightened voice of Taylor, impregnated with horror.

Miley frowned vividly, and more and more as she heard the entire story. Abused! Zac was abused by his father! Never in a million years, she'd ever think about it... About how much they could be alike. She understood him because that was exactly how she felt with her mom.

She held her breath and tried to memorize every spoken word. They were important, crucial. For the mission, but for herself, too!

"I found him unconscious on the floor!"

Miley shivered when she heard Taylor's heart-broken voice. Poor girl, she thought sadly. The whole situation was unfair and extremely hard for everyone. It also strongly reminded her of her darkest years. She was bitterly beaten, and half of the time unconscious, but there was no one for her. Even now, she was all lone with her severe struggles. Some people cared, some people worried, some people loved her, but it was never enough.

"He hung himself right in front of Zac's eyes."

The sentence was sharp, deadly, and it stung her right through her heart. On a scale of 1-10 of horror, it wouldn't even be on the charts. Dealing with someone's loss -a father's suicide- is dramatic and definitely tragedic. But witnessing a death like that one easy unthinkable. Unthinkable.

At that moment, she almost wanted to forgive Zac. But no. No murderer deserves forgiveness, no matter in which circumstances he did it. That's what Miley strongly believed.

Although Zac didn't for it for fun; he did it because he wanted everyone to see how much he's suffering, and wanted everyone to feel how he feels daily. It wasn't a good way since killing is NEVER the answer.

But at that moment, Miley felt bad for him. But it was only a brief moment because at the end of the day, Zachary is still a cold-hearted criminal.

"When I found them, my best friend half-dead, paralyzed by terror, trying to reach the yellow rope..."

Something irked her in that sentence. Something made the lights in her he'd lit up and triggered an alarm. Rope. He was trying to grip a rope.

A yellow rope.

Her eyes widening, she immediately contacted Nick through her mission talkie-walkie. Two seconds later, he was all ears.

"I found the color of death," she revealed, her heart beating faster than the typical rate.

"You did the link, so did I," observed the leader of their team. "We can conclude that his nickname is officially Jill Yellow. I will investigate on him and tell you as soon as possible if all the pieces of information match. Keep being updated."

"Yes," answered Miley. "Good luck."

She then collapsed near the dressing room's door, in deep thinking. So many questions have been answered, but the mission wasn't finished yet. They had to locate Jill Yellow and save Beatrice no matter what.

They can't fail, and they won't.

____

Woah, intense. What do you think will happen? (Not that you guys will respond since I never have commenters 😅)

Anyway, thanx for reading still!

Nancy xox