"What?" Helena grabbed the nun's arms and shook her. "Tell me more about it!"
"I'm sorry, Lady Blackmoore, but I did not know the detail either!"
Helena released her grip and thought to herself for a moment. More people were missing from the street lately. She recalled this experience in her first life. Adham told her about a missing kid from the orphanage before.
"I cannot find him, Helena..."
She remembered how he spoke with a hoarse voice and fatigue in his eyes. They never found the missing child until the end. Adham was forced to give up as time passed from days to weeks to months. Watching him grieving in silence crushed her as well.
Helena wondered what Adham was doing right now. She was lucky enough to see him passing the church. Like in her first life, Adham looked exhausted. He must be working hard to find this kid night and afternoon. Helena ran toward him and called his name. "Whitesmithe!"
He was surprised to see her. "Blackmoore, what are you doing in here?"
"It is time for my weekly inspection. I heard a kid was gone from a nun. Is it true?"
"Yes. I have been looking for the kid since yesterday."
Adham was on the verge of collapsing. He was weary and worn out from searching the whole day. Helena managed to catch him before his body slumped down to the ground.
"... Thank you."
"Are you all right?"
Adham touched his head. "Not really. I have not slept or eaten anything since yesterday."
Helena frowned when she heard it. "Take a rest first. I bring some sandwiches with me."
He stared at her thin wrist. "I think you need it more than me."
"Geez, I have a small appetite, okay? Besides, I ate breakfast this morning."
Helena could not eat as much as she used to after regressing. The memories and experiences of her past made her nauseous every time she bit her food. Even her parent and Violet lectured her about eating too little. They forced her to carry food when she went out.
Adham received her offer and ate the sandwich. He recovered a bit after eating and resting. That man finally spoke about the incident with a grim expression. "A kid named Jeremy went missing yesterday. The children played on the street, and he… just disappeared."
Adham burrowed his head between his legs. He felt powerless and helpless in the situation. He must be tired and worried for Jeremy. Adham grew up in the orphanage and cared for all of the orphanage children. They were like a part of the family for him. Helena caressed his back to soothe his sadness. She could not do more since their status was nothing more than stranger.
"Adham!"
Lilian called his name and sprinted in their direction. She caught her breath for a second and asked him a question. "Did you find him?"
Adham shook his head. "I am sorry, Lilian."
"It is my fault that he was missing." Lilian was crying. Tears fell to her red cheek. "Jeremy is my friend. He did not want to play yesterday, but I forced him to go out with me."
Helena panicked at that sight. She did not have experience handling crying children. Adham was the one who appeased the little girl. He knelt and caressed her head with a gentle smile.
"Don't worry. We will find Jeremy."
Her cry turned into sniffles. Helena used her handkerchief to wipe away her tears and her runny nose. Lilian eventually calmed down after sitting with them.
"Where were you and the other kid playing?" asked Helena.
"In the east side of the church. I can show you the place."
Adham and Helena followed Lilian and arrived in an abandoned lot. It was supposed to be an empty lot, but people turned it into a place to dispose of junk. There were many broken furniture scattered around that place.
"We played hide and seek here, but no one can find Jeremy."
"Either he was a great player, or something happened to him." Helena snapped her finger. "Come out, Violet."
"Did you call?"
Adham was shocked when the maid stood behind him. He almost fell when Violet appeared. "I forgot your maid keeps following you."
"Wow, so cool! Are you an assassin, Miss?" Lilian asked in awe. Violet only giggled at the question. "No, little girl. I am just a maid protecting her master."
Helena examined the surroundings and sighed. It would be a long and arduous task. "Let's begin searching."
All of them looked for the place one more time. They checked out the surroundings while asking some people outside the abandoned lot. After investigating for almost two hours, a vegetable staller finally recognized Jeremy's description. "Yeah, I saw that kid. He wore a striking red hat, so I noticed him."
Adham and Helena shouted in unison. "Where did you see him?"
"He looked anxious and bolted into that alley."
All of them went to the alley. Helena frowned when they met a dead end. Before she thought the last clue was gone, Lilian suddenly screamed. The little girl pointed at the red hat next to the manhole. "That's Jeremy's!"
Everyone now stared at the hole. An awful smell was spreading around the air when Adham opened it. Everyone unconsciously closed their nose with their hand.
"Uuuh, are we sure Jeremy went inside?"
Adham sighed. "Only one way to find out."
Helena, Lilian and Violet watched him jump inside the dark hole. It only took some seconds for him to speak back. "There is a torch. Looks like someone has been down here."
"Do you think it was Jeremy?"
"I doubt it." He picked up a shoe from the ground. "He dropped his belongings on purpose. Must be a clue to find him."
Helena prepared to jump. "Whitesmithe, I'm going in too."
"No!" Violet rejected the idea. "It is too dangerous, Lady Helena! What if something happened to you?"
Adham agreed. "Your maid is right. We have no idea where the path will lead."
Violet was correct. It was a pretty reckless action. However, Helena had a bad feeling. She must follow Adham for an unknown reason.
"Thirty minutes. If I don't return in thirty minutes, you can find me. In the meantime, please stay in here with Lilian."
"But-"
"This is order, Violet."
The maid bit her lips and nodded in defeat. "I understand."
Helena jumped into the hole. "Let's go."
He only shrugged. "I have warned you, okay."
Adham was good at following the trail from a small amount of clues. He concluded the direction they must take by inspecting the ground. Helena was impressed by that ability. "I do not know mercenary is good at tracking."
"We receive different types of commissions. That includes tailing people. I lost count of how many love affair cases I had solved."
Both stopped walking when the trail on the ground vanished. There was another manhole above. Adham opened it and helped Helena to get out.
They had arrived at a different side of the street. The place was deserted and desolated, like a ghost town. Adham cursed when he lost his last hope. "Damn it, we have no more clue left!"
"Whitesmithe, look!"
Helena pointed at another pair of shoes next to a house. It belonged to Jeremy. They looked inside the house and found it empty. Helena and Adham could enter the place without any reservation.
"We need to check this abandoned house."
Helena agreed with his suggestion. There were not many rooms in the house. It only took two minutes for them to finish searching. Adham was frustrated because he could not find Jeremy.
"It's almost thirty minutes. We should go back, Blackmoore."
"But, the child..."
"I cannot involve you in this matter any longer. Besides, your maid will be worried sick."
Two of them walked with dejected expressions. Their steps were heavy. The sounds of the wooden floor ached the ears and echoed through the whole place. Helena hated the sound and wished they were outside until she noticed something strange.
"Whitesmithe, it's just me, or does the plank over there sounds different?"
Adham stepped back and listened carefully. "You are right. Don't tell me…"
He knocked on the floor and touched it. That man felt the gap in between and lifted it. They were surprised to see a hidden cellar door. Helena and Adham looked at each other and nodded. Two of them rushed downstairs to check the basement. They were surprised to see an underground prison under the house. Many people were locked inside like an animal.
"This is terrible." Adham was horrified by the discovery. "I cannot believe this place exists. What do you think, Blackmoore?"
Helena was silent. She was frozen on the other side.
"Lady Blackmoore?"
Adham walked closer and became speechless after he saw it.
Firearms.
Different kinds of firearms sat at the corner of the place. It was not just one, but many types of guns. They had barrels of gunpowders collected next to firearms. On the piles of the weapon was a huge white banner with a picture on it. Helena saw a symbol of a snake coiled around a sword, trying to reach the stars. She recognized it from the report she read in the information guild.
"Oh, no…"