| Fan Fiction |
by x.shuang.dao.x
Owodog felt like a thief. He was clearly a detective on the right side of the law, yet he was sneaking around like a criminal. But perhaps that was the best way to catch a criminal – to think and act like one, so you could understand how his mind worked and anticipate his next move.
It was dark, and he was scouting around the edge of the Pullet Close neighbourhood with Ashley. Fortunately, they had stayed long enough in King Arthur’s to pick up the scheduled night phone call by Landon, Matt or Ben. Owodog was gloating that he had been right to suggest staying in the hotel for a longer period of time. It gave them more time before the next scheduled report of their safety and the team’s updates.
Owodog knew that this was his last and only chance to capture Kale Chou. If he missed it, either he and Ashley would end up dead, or he would give up apprehending him with his own hands to someone else. He didn’t like any of the options at all.
He looked backwards to check if Ashley was still following behind him. There wasn’t anyone behind him, only trees. Swearing under his breath, Owodog started backtracking. His torch shone brightly as he scanned his surroundings. It was eerie and he was anxious. Ashley was supposed to stick with him and not wander off on her own in the dark and gloomy forested area.
“Ash?” Owodog called out tentatively.
There was no reply.
“Ash?” Owodog tried again, louder this time.
His heart was already stuck in his throat when another beam of light flared in his eyes. He instinctively covered his eyes with his hands as the flash blinded him momentarily. “Puppy!”
Ashley’s voice was distant, but it gave Owodog an idea of where she was. He half-ran half-stumbled across partially protruding tree roots, fallen branches and loose rocks in an attempt to reach Ashley in the shortest possible time. He heard Ashley’s voice again, this time softer, but closer. Owodog finally managed to make out her figure amongst the trees and reached her side after much battling with stray vines and hanging roots.
Then he saw what drew Ashley away from him. There was a small shed, built right in the middle of nowhere. There was enough reason for anyone to suspect that it was used for dishonest activities. Ashley was attempting to find her way into the shed but there didn’t seem to be any obvious entrance in.
“Stop standing there like a statue! Help me out!” Ashley hissed.
Owodog stopped stoning and started looking around. He poked at vines and creepers with his Swiss Army Knife, searching for loose patches that might indicate frequent activity in the particular area. Ashley had already cleared one face of the shed, and Owodog soon covered another one. They moved relatively quickly, because they weren’t even supposed to be outside their hotel room in the first place. They had to accomplish what they had set out to do before Matt, Landon, or anyone else, for that matter, realized that they were missing.
A few minutes later, they were back at the same point where they started again.
“There has to be something we overlooked. Either that, or whoever had been using this thing enters from the roof.” Ashley said.
Owodog shone his torch onto the ground. “Did you look for tracks just now?”
Ashley shook her head. “I figured most of them would belong to me because I walked round this thing twice.”
Owodog frowned, and then went on to scrutinize the muddy ground and surrounding vegetation. The undergrowth around the shed was cleared and the bushes all had fresh cuts. There was definitely someone using the shed. Kale Chou was a good bet, based on the location. That was, if Kale was really hiding in the area.
Owodog used his boot to nudge various parts of the four sides of the shed. He heard a creak the very moment something popped up in his mind. He turned to look at Ashley, who was standing beside him at that point. “Elisha told me that Kale once told her he liked to be in the ground because he felt safer that way. If this leads underground…” Owodog nudged harder at the door and it flew open. He managed to catch it before it hit the inner wall.
He then glanced at Ashley again. She nodded, and he moved towards the steps in the narrow opening on the ground. Owodog grabbed Ashley’s hands before he started the descent.
“This is it, Ash; our one and only, and most probably last, chance to get Kale Chou. If – God forbid – anything happens, run. Get out of here as fast as you can. You hear me?”
“Yes.”
“Good, and… One more thing that you already know,” Owodog squeezed her hand, “I love you.”
“Mm-hmm.”
He held the back of her head with his other hand and planted a long, lasting kiss on her lips. It wasn’t deep, but it meant a lot – anticipation, worry, fear, excitement, uncertainty, concern and love.
Owodog let go of her without showing his reluctance. His brows were furrowed as he flicked on his torchlight. The steps were narrow and slippery, but they looked more like they were hastily sculpted than they were worn out. The flight of stairs was relatively long, but the descent was even longer than they had expected. The stairs took turns and went in deep into the ground. Owodog really felt like he was one of the four Ninja Turtles, except he was probably a Ninja Dog instead.
It was obvious when the stairs finally stopped, because the path widened, and there was a faint light coming from the far end. Owodog reckoned they were at least 15 metres into the earth, which roughly measured five storeys of a building.
Both detectives exchanged glances, even though it was too dark to see each other clearly. Instinct told them they were thinking the same thing – the far end was where they were heading, yet they were having mixed feelings about it. They were anticipating it, but at the same time afraid of what they would need to face.
Ashley was leading the way, with Owodog covering her back.
There were sounds of shuffling footsteps that seemed to come from the front, but there wasn’t anyone in sight.
“Ash!” Owodog hissed.
She stopped in her tracks and looked back at him cautiously.
“Let me go first.”
Ashley shook her head, “No, I should go first, because if anything – God forbid – happens to me, you’ll be able to save me.”
Their voice levels were not any louder than whispers, yet both of them still felt acutely conscious of the sounds they were making. Owodog didn’t want to argue with Ashley, partly because he didn’t want to create a din. So he just shrugged and decided to go along with her idea.
Ashley would rather walk alongside Owodog, but she knew that would be more risky, because they could be ambushed easily from the back. With one behind another, at least if one of them got caught, the other would have time to escape. Ashley trudged on bravely, knowing that once they were done with this they would be free and safe.
The entrance to wherever the light was coming from lay right in front of them. They had already come so far, it made no sense for them to turn back, neither did it make any sense for them to regret then.
Ashley stopped just before she walked into the path of the light. She stuck to the wall and listened.
There was silence. Whipping out her gun, Ashley walked into the path of light and aimed the gun straight. There was no one in the room, which did not have much except for a few cabinets, a table and chairs. It looked lived in and even seemed cosy in a strange way.
She turned back to ensure Owodog was right behind her before advancing into the room.
But he wasn’t.
Owodog was not behind her anymore.
So where the hell was he?
She had wanted to go first because Owodog could offer protection at the back. Now it appeared that their plan was turned against them.
Still pointing her gun in the general direction of inside the room, Ashley backed away from the light, her eyes, already accustomed to the dark, scanning her surroundings frantically for any sign of her partner.
“Looking for your lover, Detective?”
Ashley gasped at the sudden sound, but couldn’t find an origin for the voice.
“Don’t worry, you’ll join him very soon.”
The voice came closer and she spun round, her gun at the ready. But all she saw was darkness and then her world slowly faded away. The last thought that flashed through her mind was Owodog telling her that everything was going to be fine.
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Far away, in a place where Kale hardly cared about anymore, Fabien stirred in his long sleep but did not wake. His eyelid throbbed violently and he started to break out in cold sweat. He was fighting to wake up but his body just wasn’t listening to him. He desperately wanted to know what was happening to him and what was happening around him, yet he just could not. He tried to move his arms and legs; only he couldn’t feel if they were moving.
In his mind, there was a female shape calling out his name and asking him to wake up. But her face was blurred and he wasn’t able to make out whom she was.
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Ashley was nudged back to her senses. She slowly opened her eyes and realized the elbow belonged to Owodog. Both their guns had been dismantled, their parts laid out neatly on the coffee table in front of them. As for Ashley and Owodog, their hands and feet were bound and they were made to sit on the battered and dirty-looking couch. Fortunately, they weren’t gagged – if that was considered fortunate enough.
She glanced at Owodog, who returned her gaze with a troubled one.
“Well, I see you two are awake now.”
Both of them turned sharply and saw that familiar smirk on Kale’s face.
He looked at them with a smug expression, expecting either of them to say something. None of them spoke.
“Why? Too afraid to speak, Detectives?”
Owodog gritted his teeth, wanting to refute Kale’s bold statement, but knew better than to provoke him. He didn’t take his eyes off Kale, but he did not need to look to know that Ashley had a look just as indignant on her face. In fact, given her temper, she was probably closer to lashing out at Kale than he was.
There were a few moments of silence, yet Kale never once took his eyes off them.
Frustrated, Ashley snapped, “What do you want?”
Kale stared at Ashley with his eyes widened in bemusement. “What do I want?” He said, then laughed; a short, demented laugh that unnerved both of them. He stood up from where he was sitting on the table, and walked towards Ashley.
She eyed him as he moved closer to her, and felt Owodog shift slightly beside her in discomfort. Her brain registered fear but the rest of her wasn’t responding to it.
Kale stopped in front of her and bent lower to look at her at eye level. He put a finger under her chin and tilted her face up. “What do I want, you ask?” He repeated, a sneer in his tone now. He narrowed his eyes, and then turned to glance at Owodog, who would have been growling if he could. Kale reverted his gaze back onto Ashley.
She stared at him resentfully. And her stare suddenly softened. “Yeah, I know. I’m sorry,” Ashley said softly, in an apologetic manner.
Two people were taken by surprise.
Owodog’s eyes widened dramatically as he glanced sideways at Ashley.
Kale was literally taken aback. “Wh-what?” He sputtered, all his carefully built smart and graceful demeanour ruined with just one word.
That was when Owodog understood. Kale Chou might be witty and resourceful, choosing to use impromptu weapons and act spontaneously, but Ashley’s response was way out of his expectations. He was infuriated with her, probably more than that, so with his personal feelings in the way, it would be harder for him to think logically and methodically. And because he felt that way, he was probably expecting either of them to piss him off further, to ignite his fuse and give him the adrenaline rush to do whatever he wanted to. Now all Owodog hoped was that Kale would not be clear-headed enough to figure that out like he did.
“You heard me,” Ashley started, and Owodog heard the confidence in her voice, “I’m sorry.” She looked in Kale’s crazed eyes, her own pleading and innocent. At least, that was what she was attempting. “I should have realized earlier…”
“No! You’re not!”
Two pairs of eyes focused on Owodog after his sudden outburst.
There was horror and annoyance in Ashley’s eyes as they clearly screamed at him, ‘What the fuck do you think you’re doing?!’
Owodog shot her a look in return that appeared blank, but meant, ‘Trust me.’ If there was anything he could do, he knew he would do it, just as long as she would be safe.
Kale closed in on Owodog menacingly. “What do you mean?”
“I mean,” Owodog snarled, “GET A LIFE! She’ll never be yours!”
Unlike Owodog who had managed to figure out the rationale behind her actions, Ashley could not make sense of what he was doing. She saw Kale’s expression turn from shock to rage, and she wished Owodog hadn’t done what he had, no matter how left-brained his reason was for that move.
Kale had his knife in his hand now, gleaming and poised to strike.
That was when Owodog gave a slight tug on one end of the length of rope that tied up Ashley’s hands. It came off easily, because Ashley had been cutting at it with a small piece of blade she had put in her back pocket. Obviously he had known. And the tug meant only one thing, one simple thing Ashley had overlooked when she was attempting to figure out what Owodog’s motives were. He would risk himself if that meant she could be safe.
‘Run.’
Ashley looked at Owodog. She had only seconds to make her decision before Kale struck. But she didn’t want to leave Owodog. She couldn’t.
So she wouldn’t.
Ashley braced herself and lifted her feet as high as she could to kick the knife out of Kale’s hands, then she slashed at his arm with her little blade. The action drew blood but it was far from enough to hurt him. He swung his arm and Ashley’s blade flew onto the floor and slid out of reach of everyone.
Kale smiled. But it was hardly pleasant or cheery.
Owodog finally succeeded in wriggling his thin hands out of the ropes that he had gotten loose during the brief exchange between Ashley and Kale. His legs still bound together, he dove at Kale, bringing him down to the floor. Ashley ran for the knife that Kale had been using before she relieved him of it, then sliced the ropes free of her feet in one smooth movement. Owodog was still holding Kale down, so she made use of the chance to free his legs as well. The ropes frayed and fell onto the floor, and at the same moment Kale managed to wrestle Owodog until he was pinned beneath him instead.
“Ash! Run!”
Ashley’s heart and mind were both racing. She could attempt to save Owodog, but she would most probably get hurt as well. Or she could run, and Owodog would be in greater danger, but she might be able to accomplish what they had both set out to do in the first place – arrest Kale Chou.
She didn’t have much time to think; Kale was on his feet in a flash and he was moving towards her. But she had an advantage – she still held the knife. There was no way she could run anymore. Ashley didn’t even want to try. If defensive was not going to work, then she was going to do offensive. She lunged at Kale with the knife pointed at him, aiming for a stab in the guts.
But before it even reached him, a gunshot rang out.
And Ashley heard Owodog cry out.
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->shuang.dao
HELLO. i know i took FAR too long for this chapter, and i apologize for that! do leave a comment if you're reading this! ^^ thanks y'all for your support. and just a head's up, i'll be changing my pen name to P.Catt. so... yeah. one more chapter left. ^^