Chapter 27: Chapter 26: Soaring unfamiliarity

Edited by: Waning_Crescents

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Thunder clapped on the horizon, rain poured down heavily on Sigal, drenching him from head to toe as he ran through the streets. Excruciating screams filled the air, striking terror through skin and bones.

“Cal!” Sigal called out panic-stricken in the dark cold night. Only terrifying lightning set parts of the city alight, rendering it back into pitch black darkness as soon as it dispersed.

At the end of the street two figures came into view, one taller than the other. Sigal slowed down, another thunder accompanied by lightning struck, illuminating the scene in front of him.

Cal’s cuffed hands were tied to something above, his shackled feet barely reaching the surface. Blood streaming down from his body and beside him stood a man with short silver hair, his grin full of joy and glee.

“Let him go!” Sigal screamed as he dashed closer, but got stopped by an invisible wall, keeping him from reaching all the way.

“Welcome, Mr. Investigator. I’ve prepared the best seat for you.” Axis sliced once more into Cal’s chest, blood seeped out of the wound while Cal cried out in agony.

“Stop!!” Sigal pounded against the wall with all his might, his face full of helpless sorrow. “Leave him alone!!”

“Just watch and enjoy.” Axis’s mirthful laugh carried over, echoing through the buildings into the distance.

 

***

 

Sigal jolted forward drenched in cold sweat, gasping for breath. Another dream? His eyes widened, jerking his head to his right where his eyes fell on a peaceful, sleeping Cal, cuddled up in his blanket.

He let out a sigh of relief before he let himself fall back into bed, putting one arm around his forehead. He closed his eyes, respiring deeply. Thunder roared outside, the wind struck against the windows without mercy. The damn weather didn’t make this any less horrifying. He sighed, opened his eyes and turned his head to his left where the clock showed 5am, it was still early in the morning.

He laid there for a while longer deep in thought until he decided that going back to sleep was futile at this point. Sigal carefully climbed out of the bed to not wake Cal up and tiptoed to the door, glancing one more time at him before he silently snuck out. Then he walked to the other room at the end of the corridor.

He stepped in and sat down at his desk, turning on the computer. Files were scattered all around it with notes from the case 242C, along with the current happenings involving the trademark. His most recent scribbling, however, revolved around Axis and his men.

He picked one of the papers up, his eyes flickering ice-cold as he stared at it. As long as he is still roaming around, I can’t slow down.

He put the paper down again and placed an empty one in front of him before he picked up a pen, writing on top: Cal. Below he listed everything that was still unclear or hidden in the dark: his real name, hometown, and information about his parents. To every one of the items, he added a question mark. He tipped with the end of the pen on the sheet of paper, thinking for a moment before he recorded more:

Fear: Needles (cause: Axis?)

On the run: For how long?

Reason for joining Conciliators: ?

Seen trademark from case 242C: Where?

Then he also remembered something Cal said the other day, ‘He won’t kill me, he needs me.’ Sigal narrowed his eyes as he wrote beside the line: For what?

He stared at the paper for a moment, before he took another blank one out, writing on top: Axis. On his sheet he also put a question mark beside parents and name. Then he put crucial questions to the list:

Reason for going after Cal: ?

Reason for letting him go: ?

Connection to the cartel: in what way?

These were all valid questions, especially the second one made no sense. Why would Axis let Cal go when he was so eager to find him. Was Cal’s memory loss part of his plan or was this an accident? What would his next steps be?

Sigal kneaded the space between his eyebrows with his index finger and thumb. Everything of this caused his head to spin; nothing made sense, and nothing could be ascertained with logic either.

After a few minutes, he put his hand down and added more to Axis’s list: Connection to Lester case and how did he find Cal?

 

A few hours later, Cal woke from his deep slumber, yawning as he let his eyes wander around, taking a few minutes to remember where he was. He turned his head to his left, glancing at the empty side of the bed. What time is it?

He carefully lifted himself up, gritting his teeth because of the slight piercing pain surging up from his chest. He sat on the edge of the bed and let out a frustrated sigh as his eyes fell on a glass of water with a pill placed beside it on the nightstand. A helpless smile formed on his lips. He is really unusually considerate.

Cal grabbed the glass, washing the medicine down before he left the bedroom and walked into the living room where Sigal just entered the room from the other side, fresh out of the shower. “Good morning.” He strode in bare-chested, his hair damp from the water, only wearing a towel around his waist.

“Morning.” Cal never noticed it before, but now that he glanced at Sigal’s muscle lined torso, his broad shoulders, and his smooth skin, he had to admit that this man was truly too handsome.

“Did you take the medicine?” Sigal asked.

“Mn.” His answer seemed rather distracted as he moved closer to Sigal, who tilted his head questioningly.

“What happened there?” Cal pointed at his right arm where a scar marked his body.

Sigal glanced at it, a small wave of sadness welling up inside of him. This wound had been the reason he started to realize how much Cal cared about him, where something inside of him just cracked slightly open. But now…Cal had forgotten everything about it.

“It’s nothing, it happened during a case.”

Cal thought for a moment, but as far as his memory reached, he couldn’t remember any moment where Sigal had been wounded at that spot. Given that the scar seemed quite fresh, he deduced that this could have only happened during the time which is lost to him.

“When?”

Sigal spotted the glimmer of worry in Cal’s eyes, letting out a sigh. “In Shuri Town.” He started to explain, thinking that it would be fine to tell him a little as long as he would be careful of how much he would reveal. “We ran into some trouble and a bullet grazed me.” A smile formed on his lips. “You looked at me similar to how you do right now. You were stubbornly set on patching me up and wouldn’t give me any leeway to say no.”

“Does it still hurt?” Cal unconsciously reached out to the scar with his slender fingers but didn’t touch it.

Sigal shook his head. “No, it’s thanks to you that it healed so well.”

“I’m sorry.” Cal let his hand drop down. “I’m sorry…that I can’t remember.”

As much as this evoked some kind of familiarity in him, he just couldn’t put a picture to what Sigal just told him. Everything was a blur, covered in mist.

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“It’s not your fault.” Sigal reassured him. “Don’t beat yourself up.”

Cal lowered his head, giving a slight nod. For some reason he couldn’t shake the feeling that in Sigal’s eyes lingered a kind of sadness. When Cal thought about it, he never saw Sigal smile before, not that he remembered at least, but since he woke up his expression seemed more kind, but at the same time he detected a faint trace of sorrow and pain hovering around him. “Did it happen there?”

Sigal, who walked into the direction to the bedroom, stopped in his tracks, whipping his head around. “Hm?”

“Did the incident happen at that time you got injured?”

“No…” Sigal averted his gaze. “It happened later.”

There it is again. Cal narrowed his eyes. He can’t even look at me.

“By the way, I fetched some clothes from your apartment as promised.” Sigal changed the subject, pointing at the bag on a drawer before he disappeared into the bedroom.

“Thank you...”

 

A few minutes later Sigal came back fully dressed, glancing at Cal who rummaged through the bag of clothes. “I will go to headquarters for a little while, but it shouldn’t take too long.”

“What are you doing there?” Cal curiously asked as he snatched pants out of the bag, putting them on.

“Just need to discuss some matters with Vince.”

“Oh…” Cal wanted to ask further but also knew that this probably were matters he couldn’t talk about at this time. As much as it bothered him to be left in the dark, he tried to understand and not press too much for answers.

“I think it’s a given that you stay inside and don’t go out in your condition. Also, if anything should happen or if you feel unwell, call me immediately.”

Being cared for stirred up some complicated emotions inside of Cal. He couldn’t be sure if he ever experienced it before, if someone ever tended to him when he was sick. He thought there should have been at least when he was a kid, but with his memory gone, he couldn’t be certain of that either. However, right now, Sigal gave him that feeling of security, but his unusual demeanor just added to Cal’s confusion; he didn’t know what to make of this. He didn’t hate it, quite the opposite, it seemed to rekindle a long-lost longing, but at the same time it felt strange and surreal.

“I got it.” Cal squeezed out, sauntering into the kitchen.

“Oh, and no coffee for you,” Sigal said as if he knew what he was looking for.

“Huuuh? Why?”

“Because you are still recovering, so I am cutting you off for the time being. There is some tea in the cabinets, drink that instead.”

Cal contemplated for a moment. “Fine.”

“And don’t try to sneakily drink some. I know how much is left.”

With his back facing Sigal, he froze. How did he know?

He turned around, frowning in displeasure. “Alright, alright, I won’t drink any coffee.”

“Good.” Sigal grabbed his jacket before he walked to the door. “I will be back in around an hour. There are some pancakes on the counter, eat some.”

“Okay, later.” After Cal heard the door closing, he opened one of the cabinets in the kitchen, staring at the many different flavors of tea. An exasperated sigh escaped his lips. “Guess tea it is.”

 

***

 

“Thanks, keep me updated.” Axis hung up the phone and let it slide back into his pocket. I still can’t believe my dear little brother forgot all about me; that wasn’t supposed to happen. He chuckled amused. I guess I slightly overdid it.  

Sharp knocks interrupted his thoughts, shifting his attention to the door which opened with a creak and a man stepped inside.

“Oh, boss, what brings you here?” Axis asked in surprise.

“I wanted to check on your progress. The market is in demand after all,” the mysterious figure said, walking around the bloodstained room.

“The distribution is going as planned. We haven't encountered any problems so far.”

“I’m glad to hear that,” the man’s eyes shifted to the table beside Axis. “Is this the new drug you are working on?”

Axis nodded. “Yeah, but it is still in trial state. It needs to be observed a while longer before we can put it on the market.”

“I see,” the man said. “I am actually surprised you let him go after you were so eager to get your hands on him. You sure that was the right choice?”

“Of course. It’s not like he can run away this time and besides, I will be able to collect more accurate data that way, which will benefit us in the end.”

“I don’t care how you handle it as long as you provide results.”

“Don’t worry, Mr. K, it’s all under control.” Axis licked his lips in confidence. “Or should I say, it’s rather becoming more interesting.”

A grin spread across Mr. K’s lips. “I appreciate your enthusiasm, but I should warn you. With your actions you are on Sigal’s radar now, you would do good to not underestimate him.” He turned, walking to the door before he whipped his head around once more. “And keep in mind, you can mess with him, but he is still mine to deal with.”

 

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