Chapter 34: Chapter 32: Reflecting on the past

Edited by: Waning_Crescents

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“How did it go on your end?” Elena asked as she entered the observation room where Vergil currently was.

After they arrested the criminals, Vergil and Elena split their work; one interrogated the man in charge of the factory and the other took care of the criminal who tried to slip away.

“He wouldn’t talk.” Vergil shook his head as he stared at the criminal through the big two-way mirror.

“Do we at least have his name?”

Vergil nodded. “Noin Keegan, twenty-seven-years old. His fingerprints were saved in the database. It wasn’t the first time he caused trouble.” He grabbed the folder on the little table beside him and opened it. “The last time he was brought here was when he got into a fight and almost killed the other person. However, the charges were dropped soon after.”

“What do you mean?”

“I don’t know. This is what it says, but no concrete details.”

“That doesn’t make any sense.” Elena walked forward to the mirror. “Something is not right here.”

Vergil nodded, but then asked, “Did you have any luck?”

“Yeah.” Elena turned around. “His name is Robert Leuvar, he is forty years old and took over this business around two years after it opened. He admitted that he never followed through with proper paperwork to register under his name as we suspected. However, because the business didn’t do too well, he decided to get a little side income and started producing drugs. Over the years he built his own little organization; recruited more and more people and started to expand his territory.”

“And then?”

“He told me that one day, this man showed up and suggested he should collaborate with their organization, form an alliance. He offered him financial stability and security, but he declined.”

“Why would he decline such an offer?”

“I wondered that too, this sounded like a great deal, right? He said, his little business worked fine, and he didn’t want to be part of something bigger, especially because he heard rumors about these people.”

Vergil’s ears perked up, curiously.

“The word is that the cartel reassembled, trying to recruit every organization who deals with any illegal ploy.”

“If what he says is true, then that means it is the same as what happened in the past.” Vergil leaned against the table and clasped his chin. “It’s all starting anew.”

“It appears so.”

“Did he have any more information about them?”

Elena shook her head. “Unfortunately, no. He said he didn’t want to have anything to do with them. All he did was produce the usual drugs and sell them. He never intended to join an organization like that, but declining their offer came with a price.”

“They started to kill his people.”

“They may be even more dangerous this time around.”

Vergil pushed himself off the table and walked beside Elena. “At least we caught one of them, which is still more than we could have hoped for.

Elena nodded, but then she turned her attention back to Noin, who was still sitting in the interrogation room. “What are we going to do with him now?”

“Whatever we can to make him talk.”

 

***

 

“You serious?” Sigal paced up and down with nervous steps in his home office as Vince passed on the news to him. “And it is certain he is a member of the cartel?”

“According to the information the CIB gathered so far, yes.” Vince answered, recounting the key points the report stated.

“We finally got one of them.”

“There is something else.” Vince paused for a moment before he continued. “Check your mail. I emailed you a photo, look at it.”

Sigal walked back to his desk and did as told; however, when he saw the picture of the criminal his eyes widened. “It’s him! The one from Shuri Town and from that day when Cal…” He gritted his teeth.

“That’s what I thought, the description matched.”

Staring at that picture, Sigal once more relived the day when that man approached him and forced him to watch Axis’s cruelties inflicted upon Cal. “He knows more, he can tell us about Axis!”

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“Nolan told me that the interrogation didn’t go well so far, but they are still on it.”

“Let me—”

“No!” Vince cut him off. “Let the CIB handle this.”

“But…” Sigal clenched one hand to a fist and remained silent for a minute. “Fine.” He clicked the file away, which caused his innards to turn out of anger, and asked, “How are Asher and Nowe?”

“Nowe just got released from the hospital with two broken ribs and several other injuries. While Asher’s injuries aren’t as grave, he still sustained a concussion in the explosion and should rest as well. Both are out of commission for a while.”

“I see,” Sigal said. “Considering the situation this could have ended way worse.”

“They sure took us by surprise, but we also knew the risks.”

“The fourth time.”

“I know.” Vince knew exactly what Sigal implied by that; it was the fourth time, including the Lester case, that their enemies knew of their plans and interfered. “Anyway, I will update you as soon as I have more information.”

“Thanks.”

 

After Vince hung up, he let out an exasperated sigh, the frustration visible in his eyes.

“What are you going to do about it?” Lucien, who stood next to him, asked.

“I don’t know.” Vince shook his head. “But we sure can’t ignore this any longer.”

 

***

Around two weeks later, Sigal still didn’t receive any news regarding Noin Keegan, which left him quite anxious. This guy was their only lead to Axis, which meant if he kept refusing to talk, they were no further in this matter than before and Sigal just couldn’t have that. He wished nothing more than to storm into the CIB’s headquarters and press the criminal for answers himself, but even that seemed out of the question because Vince wouldn’t let him.

Even in this hopeless situation, Sigal at least could take a breather when it came to Cal as his condition improved significantly. His wounds started to heal properly, and he also gained a great deal of his stamina back which prevented him from falling asleep during the day. Sigal was relieved, but as long as Axis was still on the loose, he couldn’t relax; thus, why this information from Noin was so important to him, he wanted to see Axis dead.

 

“I am going out to buy some groceries, I will be back soon,” Sigal said as he glanced at Cal, who sat at the windowsill, staring out the window.

“Yeah…”

Sigal’s eyelids drooped slightly before he grabbed a bag and left the apartment. While Cal’s condition improved, his demeanor changed somewhat. His kind of angry and frustrated disposition turned into a more reclusive one. He talked less, and ceased his tentative questions, and oftentimes he appeared absent-minded. The fact that Cal still didn’t regain some of his memories took a toll on him and Sigal understood that. He just hoped that Cal wouldn’t get lost in this, plunging himself into the dark abyss, surrounded by nothing but despair.

But what was he supposed to do? Tell him everything that has happened despite the damage he may cause with it? Sigal just couldn’t bring himself to take that risk, but at the same time he also couldn’t bear seeing Cal in this hopeless state. I really wish I was be better at this… Sigal sighed as he opened the car door and got in.

 

Cal tapped on the glass of the window while he stared outside, watching the people hustle and bustle through the streets.

What am I supposed to do? He let his head drop against the window and sighed. I am even more confused than before. These past weeks, I don’t know what to think anymore…

The change in Sigal’s behavior still rendered him into endless confusion. If he thought of the time before this incident, Sigal wanted nothing more than getting him to quit, but now everything had changed. He cared for him, made sure he took his medication, cooked for him, and provided him with a home or rather insisted that he stayed in his apartment.

“I still wonder why.” Cal had a hard time wrapping his head around that, but what bothered him even more were these strange feelings that coursed inside of him. Especially, that one night, when he woke up snuggled against Sigal, lingered endlessly in his mind.

It was so warm… He shook his head. This is not right; I need to get this out of my head already.

The fear of starting to act differently around Sigal, caused Cal to keep him at arm’s length; he absolutely didn’t want him to notice. Sleeping with him in the same bed proved already to be a challenge as he was afraid to repeat his actions and running the risk of Sigal catching on. He could only imagine what he would act like when he woke up to such a scenario. A man infringing his personal space in such a manner would probably creep most people out and this caused Cal immense stress.

However, he also observed that Sigal seemed somewhat irritated lately as if something bothered him and Cal could only guess the reason. He let out an exasperated sigh, letting his gaze travel around the apartment, sadness shimmering in his eyes. I know how important this case is to him. I bet the last thing he wanted was to be stuck with me here.

He turned back to the window where he caught a glimpse of a mother passing by with her child which caused his mind to wander. I wonder what my parents are like…or were like.

 

After around half an hour later, Sigal parked the car outside the Conciliators’ apartment complex and entered the building with a bag of groceries in his hands. As he walked along the corridor, he spotted through the corner of his eyes that Cal’s apartment door stood slightly open, light shining through it. He narrowed his eyes, placed the bags carefully and noiselessly down before he took his gun out from underneath his jacket, heedfully making his way inside. A shadow reflected on the floor of the living room as he drew closer to the figure standing in front of a dresser.

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