" 'Cause I'm hopeful,
Yes, I am,
Hopeful for today."
------------------------------------
-MARK-
"It's been a whole fucking day and you still can't find the location of the bracelet?" I yell at the IT team.
"S-sorry sir. It looks like it suffered some sort of d-damage and it's given us intermittent location r-readings." The IT team leader stutters.
"How many different readings have we got from outside of this town?"
"About f-five, so far."
I sigh, "Okay, send all the locations to Frank and I. Immediately."
"Y-yes sir."
I turn on my heels and exit the room they are in to walk into another, which is filled with TV screens that are displaying the different surveillance footage from all around town.
"Anything yet?"
"We found a van that was seen driving around the town the whole day. Same van, different plates each time. All stolen." She answers.
"How are you so sure it's the same van and not a bunch of different ones?"
"Because of the same indentation in the right door that can be seen in each of the clips."
"Have you tracked down any of the number plates and established whether or not they stopped by any gas stations in the towns proximity?"
She nods "We have. We even managed to track them down to a few of the gas stations within a one hundred meter distance from the edge of the town going outward."
"And?"
"And we went to one of them and they said they saw nothing and no-one suspicious."
"Okay, go to the rest of the gas station and ask questions. Find any helpful information and report all of it immediately after."
"On it."
With that I exit their room and head to another room.
"Frank."
He ends his conversation and rushes to me.
"Organize five teams, one including me and you and the rest according to your preference. We will divide into the five locations that IT has given us to search for any evidence or clues."
"Okay, when will we be off?"
I look down at my watch "ten minutes."
"Ten minutes to form, brief and suit up five teams?"
"Make that five minutes." I say before turning around and exiting the room to go get suited up.
I really hope we get a lead today.
-ALICE-
I'm awoken by a splash of cold water against my face.
Slowly, I open my eyes through my damp lashes.
"Someone's a sleepy head." My mother coos.
"Mom why-"
"Don't fucking call me that." she snaps.
"Miranda. Why are you doing this?"
"The money." She looks down at her watch, "It's currently ten AM. If you don't give me something by the afternoon there'll be serious consequences."
"Like what?" I smirk to piss her off.
"Keep that mouth shut, and you'll find out." She growls.
I sigh "Okay, I'm tired of the torment. Give me a pen and paper and I'll write it all down."
When I was twelve, I watched a YouTube video demonstrating how to use a pen as a weapon and escaping device. So, having one may be helpful.
"I'm not falling for that shit, just tell me."
"Oh, sweet Miranda, you know better than anyone that I'm a visual learner. I need to write it down to be completely sure."
She sighs, giving in "Okay, only because I'm desperate." She then calls someone in and hands me a pen and paper (more like places it on the bed next to me). She stands up straight and crosses her arms, waiting.
"Can I at least have one hand free? How do you expect me to write?"
She signals to the big guy next to her for him to uncuff one wrist. I roll my wrist around in attempt to relieve some of the pain that has accumulated in my joint. My wrist is now purple from being constrained for so long.
"Get writing Alice." She growls.
"Can I be alone? I need to concentrate."
"Jeez Alice!" she yells
"Do you want the information or not?" I yell back.
"Ugh. Fine. But I'm leaving you with him." With that, she exits the room leaving me alone with the big scary dude.
After a few moments of me being partially free, I say to the guard "you can go tell her I was fucking with her. I'm not telling her shit."
He lets out an agitated sigh and exits the room in following.
Hastily, I take the pen and put it in my underwear.
I hear Miranda scream a frustrated scream and yell, "Go and cuff her again."
The big guy comes back in to cuff me and I sigh, unsure of what I'll even do with the pen in my pants.
He turns around and heads to the door when something in his back pocket brings an idea to mind.
I start to form a plan in my mind, a light bulb hovering over my head as my brain's mechanical wheels turn, formulating, thinking. Somehow -I'm not sure how, yet- I'll get the phone from his pocket.
-MARK-
I look up at the sky and sigh. I feel as though I'm failing embarrassingly at finding Alice.
It feels like she's so close and yet so far.
"Mark." I turn to find frank looking at me, his eyes glistening with concern and eagerness.
"Anything?"
"Something," he responds "come this way."
I walk with him for a few moments and he comes to a stop, "Look." He says pointing to the ground.
We see a big trace of skid marks from a big vehicle, possibly a van, "Looking at the direction of the pattern of the skid marks we can assume they went that way." He points far out in the distance.
I look up and around when a tall roadside camera catches my eyes, "do you think it's still active?"
"could be." Frank responds.
"Get the team to tap into that camera. Tell the other team that's in the next location that way," I point in the direction Frank pointed in "to look thoroughly for anything, everything. Also, inform them that we'll be joining them along with other members of this team to do a stronger search."
"On it boss."
"Not yet." I chuckle.
Frank puts his hand on my shoulder, "We'll find her."
I look up to the sky "We better." I sigh.
++++++
Song: Hope by Twista.
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