Jake's loud voice made Gabriel frown. Unless he wanted to become deaf, he had no choice but to hold his cell phone farther away from his ear, which was already beginning to ring.
"Jake, calm down. You're talking too fast and I can't understand a thing of what you're saying."
"Tristan and Misha are missing," Jake growled after sucking in a deep breath. "I took my eyes off of them for a second, and now, they're gone!"
Holding in a sigh, Gabriel pinched the bridge of his nose. He was pretty sure Jake did not look after Tristan, much less Misha. His brother was probably too busy bargaining whatever had caught his eye to care about his charges. They were likely long gone when he noticed their disappearance, and who knew where they were now; they could be nearby as they could be far away.
Of course, Jake was aware of this. That was why he called. If his mother were to learn that he had lost Tristan in the shopping mall… He would rather not think about it.
Unlike his brother, Gabriel was not agitated. He had a hunch Misha took the opportunity to slip away when Jake wasn't paying attention, knowing exactly what he was doing. Being obedient wasn't like him, after all.
"Did you try to call Misha? He should have his cell phone with him."
"What do you think? The brat isn't answering!"
"Alright, I'll try to call him."
"You do that."
Without further ado, Jake hanged up, leaving Gabriel with a headache. Why on earth did he have to babysit two fully grown men? Well, one of them was stuck in the body of a teenager, but still. Misha was mentally an adult, and he was even older than him, so could someone tell him why he had to take care of his mess? Hm?
"What's going on?" Masha asked, interrupting his thoughts. "Jake was screaming awfully loudly."
"Well, looks like Misha decided to disappear on him when he wasn't looking."
"That does sound like something my brother would do…."
"Definitely!" Stephan laughed, sipping on his coffee with a smile on his lips. "Still, it's better for him to slip away than to strangle Jake. So, I'd say he did the right thing."
"He's nevertheless causing trouble," Gabriel sighed, dialing Misha's phone number. "Cleaning after him is always a real headache."
"Yes, yes, it is. But you'll do it anyway," Stephan chuckled.
Gabriel glanced sideways at his friend but did not deny it. Everyone knew he was complaining for the sake of it, so they did not comment any further. Soon, they all fell quiet as Gabriel waited for Misha to answer his phone call, which didn't take long.
"What's up?"
"Misha, where are you?"
"In the shopping mall, where else?"
"I suppose Tristan is with you?"
"Yeah? What's with all the questions?"
"Just answer your phone next time Jake calls. He's searching everywhere for you two."
"Geh."
"Misha…"
"Fine! I'll give him a call!" Misha reluctantly agreed. "It's not my fault if he's too busy bothering the clerk to notice us leaving. Is that all you had to say?"
"Well…."
"Then see you."
After saying his piece, Misha hung up before Gabriel could even say goodbye. Then, the teenager lowered his eyes and glared at the cell phone in his hand. Misha didn't want to call Jake. He really, really didn't want to. But he had to.
"What's wrong?" Tristan asked with big round eyes, clutching the toy Misha had just bought him to his chest. "Did something happen?"
"Well, it's nothing for you to worry about. Let's go meet your brother, shall we?"
The boy nodded, flashing the teenager a bright smile. He was glowing with happiness as he held the toy like it was the most precious treasure on earth, trailing behind him like a duckling. It made Misha unconsciously smile, his frown decreasing. Impossible to stay mad with such a cute little dumpling by his side, ah!
.
.
In the entrance hall, Jake was impatiently waiting for the two of them to arrive. His arms were crossed before his chest, his foot tapping the tiled floor. A thin layer of cold sweat beaded on his forehead, shining slightly under the neon light. His brown hair was also a mess, sticking to his face like a second skin.
When Misha saw this sight, he instinctively slowed down. He squinted his eyes to take a better look at Jake, but he could not shake off the feeling that something wasn't quite right.
It seemed like this man had physically exerted himself, and not just a little.
'…No way! Did he really search for us?' Misha thought, dazed. His eyes told him that Jake did, but his brain did not. Would that man, who was a jerk through and through, care enough for them to run back and forth from one side of the shopping mall to the other, searching all over for them? Nah, certainly not. It was just his imagination playing tricks on him, wasn't it?
"There you are!" Jake snarled, bolting to them. "We're going home, now!"
Tristan was startled by his brother's screams and hugged Misha's arm more tightly. He knew Jake wouldn't be happy if they left without telling him, but he hadn't expected him to be this angry.
"Do you really need to yell?" Misha barked back. "We just went to buy a few things at the toy store. Stop being an ass."
"You!" Jake exhaled loudly, his hands clenched into fists. "You better shut your mouth, or I swear you're going to walk home."
The teenager was unimpressed by the threat, thinking Jake was an idiot. Didn't he know that there were buses he could ride home? Why the hell would he abuse himself and walk kilometers?!
Sorry, but he wouldn't shut his mouth for this much.
However, just as Misha was about to shout a nasty remark, Tristan snuggled against him. Feeling the fluffy little head pressing against his stomach brought Misha back to his senses, and he closed his mouth asap. He looked down at the boy, and, seeing his teary eyes, he decided to swallow back his anger.
Fine. He had annoyed Jake enough for today.
And thus, Misha followed behind the man without adding any more fuel to the fire. They could always bicker later, when Tristan was asleep.
They strolled through the parking lot in silence, zigzagging between the cars until they found Jake's. But just as they walked toward it, the sounds of tires screeching resounded behind them.
Everything that followed happened fast, too fast even.
Hands appeared out of nowhere to grab them from behind. Something wet was pressed against Misha's mouth and nose, the chemical scent making him feel lightheaded almost instantly. From the corner of his eyes, he saw Tristan being yanked backward, and the toy he was holding fell onto the ground.
It broke into pieces.
Then, it was his turn to be pulled into the van, followed by Jake. His mind was muddled, spots of white and black flashing before his eyes. Still, Misha wasn't entirely out of it yet, though he only thought of struggling after seeing Jake headbutt a masked man.
He also had to fight back.
So he did.
First, Misha stomped on the kidnapper's foot and elbowed his side. The man flinched, growling in pain, and Misha took the opportunity to worm his way out.
Quickly, he scanned the area, searching for Tristan.
There were three men in the van, plus the driver. Nothing lay on the rusty metal floor except for a few bags and duct tapes. But that did not matter to him; all he cared about was the boy.
A second later, Misha found him.
"Bastard, let him go!"
Tristan had already fallen unconscious, his head lifelessly resting against a kidnapper's chest. The sight made Misha's blood boil. He did not think twice before pouncing on the man, who was three heads taller than him.
He punched him in the face, and his knuckles made a cracking sound. Pain irradiated in his wrist, but then again, Misha did not care. Instead, he pulled the child into his arms while the man crouched, holding his bloody nose and cursing.
"Misha, take Tristan and run!"
Jake kicked the man who had pulled Misha inside the van and was now trying to grip the teenager's collar. The kick landed square on his knee, and the kidnapper tumbled and fell headfirst against the wall, letting out a loud grunt. Jake's arms were locked behind his back by the third man, yet he did not seem to care, too busy making way for the teenager and his little brother.
"Run! Now!"
Misha had no time to hesitate, so he obeyed. He dragged Tristan toward the door that was still open. However, he could not get out.
The man with a bloody nose clutched his ankles and pulled him down. Instinctively, Misha protected the child in his arms, twisting his body around so that his back hit the metal floor, and so did the back of his head. The pain made him curl up; the air knocked out of his lungs. Amid all the noises, he heard the door being closed in a loud thud, one man screaming to the driver to step on the gas.
The next thing he knew, the bloody kidnapper towered over him and pressed the wet tissue against his mouth and nose. Again, Misha could do nothing but breathe in the chemicals, his eyelids soon growing heavy. The last thing he saw was the desperate look on Jake's face, an expression he had never seen him wear before. It was disconcerting.
Then all became black.
__________________________
Chapter revised on 2022-06-14
Edited by Clozed! ♥
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