Chapter 6: The Night
Several hours later, Brandon grew restless. Whenever he had made a phone call for his people to get his wife, they would never take this long to get the job done. His wife would be home in a matter of an hour or less. He was pacing left to right, up and down the stairs even, anxiously waiting for the phone call.
When his phone finally rang for the first time in hours, he dashed towards the table where he had left his phone earlier and picked it up without hesitation. He did not wait for the other to speak up as he quickly jumped into the subject.
"What took you so long? Is he on his way here?" There was a momentary silence before the speaker spoke up, "Unfortunately, the cabin was already on fire by then and we couldn't find your wife anywhere, Boss. Though, there were tire tracks but they faded overtime. We couldn't trace which route the vehicle had gone, nor do we even know what type of vehicle it was."
Brandon frowned upon hearing the news, "The house is on fire? And you're telling me there was a vehicle situated nearby the house??"
"Yes, Boss," answered the other line.
Brandon's mind had gone blank. Ajax was incapable of driving in the first place and he never had friends or family for him to go to. To Ajax, there was only him; Brandon, and Brandon had made sure it stayed that way for the rest of his life.
He came to a sudden conclusion that someone had kidnapped his wife. In addition to that, the kidnapper had probably burned down his home before fleeing, not wanting to leave any traces of them behind. Whoever they were, Brandon thought they were plotting revenge on him by taking Ajax away from him.
Brandon gnashed his teeth together as the mere thought of someone having their way with his wife had made his blood boil in rage. 'How dare they…'
"Boss…?" the other line called out warily upon hearing an unfamiliar sound coming through the phone call.
"Whatever it is, find my wife and bring him home at all costs. If you happen to come across a kidnapper, silence them. Make sure there's no witnesses around," he ended the call immediately afterwards.
The house was then later turned to chaos and his hands were covered in crimson. Everything around him was broken and torn to shreds. He had become a wild rabid and no one could rest easy for the night, knowing the master of the house was in an unstable condition.
Somewhere else ||
Ajax had parked the car in the dark alley. No one would notice its sudden appearance since there were multiple abandoned cars in that area. The only people who notice the car's new appearance would be the regulars who had frequented there, in which Ajax doubted there would be any. The buildings surrounding it were old and some of the wallpapers were peeled out. The old junk he rode was made suitable for camouflaging there. The engine then died down before he got out of the car with the bag safely hanging around his shoulders. He patted the hood of the car, as if thanking it for the ride, before walking through the narrows of the dark alley. That was the last time he was last seen with the old car.
Not too far from where he was, he saw a building with the sign "Wonders Motel" above it. From the outside, the building looked neat and the colours were appropriately used; not too bright and yet, not too dark. The parking lot was wide but there were not many cars parked there. He walked up to the receptionist counter and was greeted warmly by an old lady.
"Hello, dear. Welcome. How may I assist you for the night?" she asked politely with a smile plastered on her lips. She stood about five feet tall and she was a big fellow. Her darker brown hair was around mid-length, reaching up to her shoulders, and despite the visible wrinkles around her face, she had put on light make-up to make herself presentable. She was wearing neat cosy clothing that shielded her body from the freezing night. Ajax glanced at the nameplate on the table and it read "Mary".
Ajax gave her a small smile, "Hi there, Mary. Are there any free rooms for the night? If it's possible, up to six nights."
"Hold on. Let me check," Mary's fingers hovered above the keyboard as her eyes trained on the monitor screen of the computer. Her body was bent low, for her to be comfortable with the monitor's height. There were multiple clicking sounds coming from the moveable mouse and tick-tacks from the keyboard she was typing on. It did not take long till she stood up straight and looked up to Ajax with a business smile.
"Fortunately, there's one available. One night costs fifty-dollars. Do you still wish to stay for up to six nights?" Ajax nodded before he pulled out a roll of cash and unbind it, "Sure, six nights is good."
She keyed in something into the monitor as Ajax counted the money in his hand. When he calculated the exam amount, he kept the rest in the bag and waited patiently for her to be done.
"What's your name, sir?" asked Mary and her eyes never left the monitor.
Ajax promptly answered, "Rodney. My name's Ajax Rodney."
They then proceeded with the payment before she handed the room key and a receipt paper, "Here's your room key. It's on the 2nd floor, on your far right. Room number 107. Have a good night and enjoy your stay."
Ajax thanked her nicely and headed out to look for his room. He climbed up the stairs and as instructed by her, he walked towards the far left of the walkway where his room was located. He slotted the key into the keyhole before turning it over, opening the door with a creak. He turned on the switches which were found on the wall beside him and the lights were on. The room was perfect for a single person like him. There was a television mounted on the wall, right in front of the queen size bed. A nightstand table with a table lamp right beside the bed itself. A wardrobe connected to the far left of the room and a room that was connected to the showers.
He went to the wardrobe and opened it just to find a safe box implanted in one of the drawers and a couple of unused hangers hanging onto the railing. He spotted a plastic bag at the corner and he took it out, revealing a free unisex pyjama, along with necessities such as toothbrush, toothpaste, shower gel, shower cream and a pair of soft flippers in them. He placed the bag beside the safe box before stripping himself down to boxers. He needed to take a shower before heading to bed. He was lucky the motel had provided him with everything he needed, or else, he had to venture out in the middle of the night to get his necessities. He hung the used clothes in the wardrobe before walking into the washroom with the necessities in hand.
After a long shower, he had put on his pyjamas and headed straight for the bed. He would think about what needed to be done the next day later. He just wanted a good sleep right then.
'Good night, world, and hello sleep.'