Elk sighing in distress walks out the Principal's office. He had barely fixed things with the kid named Archer's parents.
He visited him at the hospital, where a crying mother and a furious father drained his energy.
Archer's condition had stabilized, but who was he kidding at the broken nose, shattered teeth, stitches and scars engraved on his face. Archer had bled a lot—and hadn't yet gained consciousness.
And the trouble–maker is missing.
He had already instructed his Agents to look for Rhean, for even if he's not his own, he's deeply grown to care for the boy.
He looks around the school compound, the janitor sweeping, gathering a hill of the dried, fallen leaves.
Up at the darkened sky, black clouds looms over. A gust of sharp wind, flapping away the leaves and dust on the surface.
Sulks the janitor, grumbling and hastily brooming the dirt once again. The weather is windy and chilly.
It's going to rain soon.
He walks towards the open school parking lot. With the press of a button of the key, the sound of red Jeep unlocking beeps, the headlights flickering.
Mounted on the driver's seat, bearing a stiff heart he starts the car; he's getting worried for the little violent brat.
– – –
Elk is in his cabin, discussing matters with his assistant and Agent Knight—who sat accross the table.
A knock on the door drifts their attention from the topic, pausing the conference.
"Come in." Elk voices out, follows the door being opened, and the appearance of a tall figure.
His chin dipped, he raises the siren eyes to find three pair of gazes riveted to him.
"Welcome back Czar." Elk greets, revealing a half zipped smile. "Good to see you Czar. Have a seat." The assistant says, as he walks towards them—standing up to make him a room.
Knight scoffs to himself, troubling not his ego to meet the expectations that inclines him to address a senior.
Rhett nods in return, placing a black pendrive on the table.
"It's all in here?" Elk asks, reaching for the drive.
"Yes." Rhett replies. "An Agent from Sovran Intelligence too was after Professor Zain."
He takes a seat. "Got to him before them."
"Very well. You should take some time off before the next mission." Elk smiles, glancing at him leaned back on the chair.
A stern face, reddish veins dimming the sclera, the sullen stare, sleep deprived eyes almost made Rhett look formidable; even to him.
"Anything on her?" Rhett inquires, a tight knot in his heart.
Elk hesitates to respond for a moment.
He careens his body towards the table, fastening his hands placed on the surface. "Listen Czar. I've made a decision—centering no other intentions than your well being. Don't get me wrong,"
Rhett raises his brow, addled at his sudden confession. "Cut to the chase."
Elk breathes in deep, his back muscles tensing at his dour demeanour. "Two months ago, I decided to close the search of your wife."
"What did you say?" Rhett's voice is sharp, eerily calm.
The room chilled suddenly, they felt a cold sting rush down the spine. Elk steers his hands back to him, his back straightened.
"It's for your own good. You've got to move on. Who knows? We've been searching for a corse all this time—" Elk's words are cut short when Rhett lunges at him abruptly, like a lion at it's hunt.
It makes Knight almost slant off from his seat, alert for action.
"Czar, calm down." The assistant heeds, panic evident in his tautened posture.
Elk is elevated further up from the chair, brought near to his face, his collar crushed in Rhett's fists.
"I will kill you." He snarls through gritted teeth, veins roping his neck.
"Look, there's nothing I could've done. My Agents have tried everything—" "All this time, like a fucking dog I've dealt with your missions, and now you come up with this shit?" Rhett's pained eyes, spasm of betrayal is clear in the low guttural sound the words rumble in his throat.
"Czar," the assistant is silenced by Elk's raised hand.
Elk catches Rhett's dead glare, burning, skinning him alive. "We can logically differ even without violence. Get your hands off me," he scraps himself up, staring back at him with the same intensity.
Rhett clenches his jaw, his eye twitching, the fire building in his chest to erupt. Before he does something, the consequences reflecting guilt on him, he harshly rams Elk on the leather rocker, the armchair skittering—creating a squeaking noise.
Elk's sigh shaking, he fixes his crumpled collar.
"Why?" Rhett asks, his tone grim, abscend of vigor.
His withered frame, slouched shoulder, lowered eyes has Elk regret for a split second, before he regains the circumstances that pushed him to do, what he had to.
"We had set up facial recognition cameras everywhere, but nothing. Not a single corner in this world we haven't checked. There have been no movement from Raka's side, it's as if he's vanished into Hell."
"Tell me," Elk continues in a milder tone. "What hope do we have she can be recovered back? If she's even," Elk trails off, breaking his words with a shake of his head.
"That isn't a valid reason."
"You tell me, what more could we do? We're just, circling around, knocked against a dead end. We've wasted enough resources, there's less hours, less Agents—and increased work." Elk feels this time, he had versed in extreme. The shrunken appearance of his assistant exposed the realisation to him.
"Maybe because you and your good–for–nothing Agency is but a scheming, blood sucking regime." Rhett taunts him, causing Elk's face to balloon up scarlet in vexation.
"If you're so good, do it yourself!" Elk barks at him.
"Oh I will." Saying, Rhett turns to leave.
"One more thing," Elk interrupts, making him halt his way to the entrance. "Your son caused trouble at school. He's been missing for two days."
Rhett looks at him with a scowl crumpling his features. "And you're telling me now?"
Elk clears his throat, "A team has been—"
"Your trashy team couldn't even find a damn kid?" Rhett grates his teeth, he couldn't even utter anymore with the rage overwhelming to collapse his sanity.
Walking out, he roughly slams the door shut behind him, making the people left in the room shrivel at his brutality.
"I messed up bad." Elk grunts. "You did." The assistant says.
Elk gazes at him, "Shut up. So where were we?"
Knight rolls his eyes at his workaholic self.