"You were gone. For nearly two years?" Elk's surly voice lays out before the apathetic man, across smooth wooden table with an abscence of effort from the owner to cover it's bare self.
His eyes spirals in bewildering emotions and confusion—as he absorbs Rhett's appearance. Dark circles clouds around his reddened, slitted siren eyes, the rigid brows drawing a stern sinking line, the longer hair—weeding tousled down his nap.
The gravity of his indifference, carved out from the grating life, Agent Czar seemed to age further away the road of his true matureness, and he wonders what caused such daunting aura to surround him.
The pain behind the thick curtains of his lashes, he had obscured with the shards of frost; Elk knew him, and he almost felt pity for the boy, forced to become a solemn, reserved man.
"What do you want?" Rhett asks, with a tone so hoarse and grim.
Elk heaves out a weary sigh—putting aside his deny to answer him. "We need you, Czar. Things have been crazy out there."
He scoffs, "Should've thought about my influence before assigning my place to an insignificant man, within a month of my abscence."
Elk opens his mouth to retort, but stills and shuts, discerning not a hint of irateness in his icy gaze. He then drives his grimace at Agent Knight, far beyond at the table where they previously sat.
A tilted glass of a half drunken, spilling beer in his hand, as he lay his head on the table, his mouth hanged open, the other hand sprawled on the surface, without a care in this world, snoring, snorting away the night.
Elk winces bitterly at the treacherous, mortifying sight of the supposed leader. He moulds the hassles lines on his forehead with his calloused, wrinkling fingers. "He's hopeless," he mutters under his breath.
Agent Hunter stays quiet, it came in as a jarring exposure that his leader now has a son. Amusement dancing in his orbs, as he peers at the baby, slumbering in Rhett's embrace, breathing soft and steady.
His face pressed to Rhett's chest, divulging only a side of the rosy, chubby cheek; but it was enough for him to see that he greatly resembled his father.
"He's been going through some tough trials, but he's excellent at his job." Elk responds, ashamed he even had to reason the Agent's foolishness.
Rhett hums in return.
"You are still the true leader of the team Czar. So, do we have you back?" He inquires, his face lightened in hope.
"No," Rhett retorts, shattering his expectations. "A team can never be led by two leaders."
"No, of course not. He'll be assigned a different role within the team. Is that not fine?" Elk grounds, internally praying for Knight to not rage on his hidden motives.
"Doesn't matter. I ripped myself off the title long ago." He remarks, draining the colours out of Elk's features, greying several strands more of his aging hair.
"Why? Is it because of a woman?" He chokes out another query. "I thought you knew better Czar. Did you refuse your responsibilities and ran away like a failure with one of the many harlots-" Rhett slams the table in anger, zipping his burbling lips shut—roughly cutting off the brutal proclaims spilling out of a short-tempered Elk.
"Not another word!" Rhett warns, his voice low and threatening. His jaw tightened as he rivals the glare in Elk's burning gaze.
Before Elk could crack his restraint anymore, Rhett's attention is drawn by the squirming baby, arising, fluttering the butterfly lashes, blinking slow at him.
"Dada," the soft, honeyed voice calls him, mellowing the severity in Rhett's eyes. And it does clashes with the brewing pressure around. Rhett grabs him by the under of his arms, holding him secure to his warmth.
"I'm here." He murmurs, stroking Rhean's longer hair—curled softly like his mother's own did.
His features snared in hardness, straining pang of hammers in the heart. It has him dizzy, clouding his gaze with the clustering, effervescent memories conquered by the claws of bitter fear and pain, inerrable words, and weighing, elusive emotions.
Rhean lay his head on his chest, as if; assuring his father; it's gonna be alright. The gesture has his withering heart pulsing again.
He embraces the boy closer to his warmth, soothing for a little while—his aching soul.
Elk and Hunter have their eyes swirling in bewilderment and curiosity at the rare tenderness of Czar—he hardly ever allowed anyone to perceive.
He didn't remain the cold, ruddy kid he once met, or the rude and cluttered teenager he grew up to be; but he heightened to be a brilliant, accomplished man.
He feels pleasantness shrouding his heart, for he could see, Rhett was even a great father to his boy.
Elk takes the glass of water filled to the brim, chugging it down in three big gulps.
"I'm sorry. I shouldn't have said that." Elk mutters, placing the hollowed glass back on the table, his gaze lowered in remorse.
"Leave,"
"Czar you should-" "I said leave!" He breaks sternly Elk's approaching details.
Elk sighs heavily, he nods his head to himself. "You are a father now." He starts adamantly again.
Looking straight into his eyes, as he does not rebuke him this time, he continues, "You should know what those parents feel, their little children are kidnapped, abused and sold for whatever wretched, inhumane rapture derived—to realise their perpetual appetite."
Rhett drops his stare on the table, a lone muscle in his jaw clinches. "I can't. I'm not qualified to save them."
Elk pricks up a brow, "You and I both know you're more than capable."
A rueful smile curves up the corner of his lips, his eyes blank and gloomy. "I couldn't even protect my wife." He looks up at him.
"Am I not coward enough to force downfall on those children? When I had already been defeated when my wif–" "When my wife–" a knot forming in his throat, he swallows direly, slicing apart the words. For it's too heavy, and dreadfully grueling to depart out his tongue.
An overwhelming conflict of tremor and remorse boiling inside his ribs. His feet harrows to the ground, the agonizing burden of the cold gallows of blood running in his veins, revolting, numbing thunderbolts, burning his body.
But as the breaths go by, he's succumbing to the paralysis bearing every sense of feelings.
"What happened to your wife?" Elk asks timidly.
Hunter glances at him, his brow creasing with concern.
Rhett grits his teeth, refusing to talk about it.
"Is she no more?"
"She's alive!" Rhett returns harshly, his gaze piercing at Elk for even considering this thought. "She has to be." He whispers, barely audible.
"Then is she not well?" Elk persists, frowning deep as Rhett inhales shallowly, his breathing wavering. He speculates of the matter being deeper then he presumes it to be.
"She was abused," he pauses for a dig to breath. Eyes twitching, burning with unshed tears, but he blinks the bubbling water away, letting the grief hurt him, sinking him deeper into the unbreathable shadows of the abyss.
"She's taken away from me. I can't find her anywhere, no matter how hard I try." His body shudders as he spells the heaviness out.
Months have passed, and he still couldn't decipher the abrupt collapse of the world, the rules in the crumpled up paper toying him, crushing his name within.
Every day without her went by creeping and blurry.
A long, tormenting, deadening nightmare, he believes he would gradually be shaken out from. It doesn't even feel real, nothing seems.
She's here, but she's not here. Everything confuses him.
But now, as he morphs the searing pain of the soul into letters escaping his lips, the colourless world, darkens further; barelling him mercillesly into the grossness of his existence.
There looms a stiff, torturous air around them. Elk pales, regretting even asking about it, berating himself for throwing such a ruthless remark on his wife.
"I'm–I'm really sorry." He closes his eyes, gulping down his fickle claims, his throat drying out on him.
"Was it Raka?" Hunter asks him, gathering him glances.
Rhett looks away from him, the fisted hand on his thigh clenching, coarse veins protruding the thinly buried reins on his neck.
Hunter cramps his jawbone, enraged and crippled with bruising emotions. He never knew of it, nor he assumes his teammates did.
"Raka?" Elk wheezes, his eyes rounded in trepidation. "How did the circumstances turn this way?" Earning no response, he glides his head at Hunter.
"Did you know about it? Why in the hell did you not inform me?" Elk seethes at him.
"It's not his fault. It was personal." Rhett reveals, darting Elk's attention on him. Elk sighs, as he was about to run his mouth, the old owner finally comes with their orders.
She places the dishes slowly on the table, muttering apologies for being late, and complaining regarding a drunk man, her worn-out bones, and that she lacked employees and no one wished to work in her restaurant.
Her blabbers immediately caught the exploration of the little boy, for he raises his small form and drifts his head, glimpsing at the old lady with his now wide awake, glistening doe almond eyes.
"Oh... My heart melts at the beautiful lad." The woman cries out, pinching his reddened cheek.
Baby Rhean stares at her, and then moves his body away, nestling once more in Rhett's embrace, grabbing his hoodie with those short chubby fingers.
She frowns at the child, her features drowning in sorrow.
Rhean didn't like mingling with strangers.
Elk clears his throat, finding her in an awkward position.
She looks at him, "Will you need anything else?" He shakes his head, "Nothing at the moment. Thank you."
"Then I shall be here when you call." She smiles, sauntering within the crowds of wasted men summoning her for more liquor.
"How old is the child?" Elk sows his eyes on the baby, now realising how identitcal he looks to his father, especially when he had seen portrait of him being of around, this same tender age.
"Turned a year old few days ago." He replies, sliding his gaze on his son—he wipes away the drool trailing down his lips.
Elk nods knowingly at him, and their table gets quiet and stuffy again. Neither of them picks their spoon with the appetite to even graze the food.
"Czar, let's strike a deal." He puts forth, perking Rhett's scrutiny on him, but he doesn't reply.
"I'll help you find your wife. I'll do anything in my power to bring her back safely to you. But you have to get on with this mission."