ICE. ROCK. FIRE.

Prologue

It was a mild afternoon with lots of people rushing to their destinations in various parts of New York. Some were late for their date, while some wanted to buy gifts for their valentine. The street was flooded with couples enjoying their time during the "great Valentine's day". Yet there was a man, wearing a black trench coat and with earbuds in his ears, listening to the super hit song Faded.

    There was something peculiar about the song, something specific that he always liked. Something...he could relate to. Perhaps the questions that are repeatedly asked in that song...."Were you imaginary?", "Where are you now?" Nobody knows. But he seemed to be unaffected by the fact that he was 27, unmarried, miserably single, and heartbroken. For him, all that mattered was money, cars, and cigarettes.

     Zidane, though a religious person by choice, kept up the mantle of being a partial atheist. He had many reasons for doing so, one being the fact that his prayers weren't answered when he prayed for the love of his life. Though it all happened years ago, he never forgot it, for him, it was only her. And "her" referred to that one girl he fell in love with when he was just a stupid young man. Another reason being the demise of his parents when he just turned 20, leaving him all by himself with nothing but some grands of cash.

    Time flew, the cigarette ended, he was just about to light another one. As in his case, a single cigarette never calmed his mind. he always carried out interrogations full of doubtful questions. Overthinking till he is gloomy. Suddenly, a van rushed in front of him, two people dressed in black with face masks on, opened the door and one sprayed chloroform on his bare face, causing him to close his eyes because of the itch. Little did he know that he inhaled the chemical and is going to immediately doze off.

    Life... is strange. It takes turns in manners one cannot even comprehend. But sometimes, the pieces fall off, to recreate something extraordinary and unimaginable. For better or worse, it is yet to be discovered. The same thing happened to the young freelancer cum investor who created his fortune out of scratch. The question became very interesting. Who would have kidnapped him in such a manner, when all he did was run a chain of restaurants? Was it some competitor? Or was it an envious person who just couldn't handle his success? The answer was yet to be found.