Chapter 38: Trance.
All through the ride back home, Kathe was lost in thought. Everything that had happened to her today seemed confusing. One moment she was happy, the next she was left puzzled and confused.
"Did my mom run out of the restaurant the moment she noticed those cars, or was she thinking that it was my father who sent people after her?"
"And why did Jark also appear at the same location with such a crowd, and why did Thompson say it was dangerous for her to stay out there? What was really going on?"
Kathe couldn’t help but get troubled. Things didn’t seem right, and worst of all, she tried calling the number her mother had used to call her, but it kept repeating that the number didn’t exist.
Kathe couldn’t help but let out a scream in frustration.
"What the hell is going on?"
"Ma’am, are you alright?" the driver asked, looking at her through the mirror.
"Sorry, I didn’t mean to yell just now. I’m fine. You can keep driving."
"It’s okay, ma’am."
The driver kept looking at her from time to time. Kathe had to maintain herself as she noticed that the driver was observing her every action. She knew that he would definitely report to Jark if he noticed anything suspicious.
It was during the drive home that Kathe noticed that indeed she had gone to the town outskirts, and the drive back home took three straight hours.
She didn’t go to meet the old lady as promised because it was already late. She was sure that she would be sleeping, so she walked down to her room.
.......................
Jacklyn arrived at the address he was given, and funny enough, it was a hotel close to their mansion. He had arrived earlier than the scheduled time. He didn’t want to get the lady angry, so he waited in his car. At exactly nine p.m., he heard a knock on his car window. He snapped awake. He saw a figure in the dark shadow. He quickly lowered his glass.
"Open the car."
Click.
Jacklyn quickly opened the door, and she went inside. She was covered in a black dress. He was used to not seeing her face. He didn’t know why she always hid her face. He thought today that he would see her clearly, but she was fully covered in a hijab down to her toes.
"What are you looking at? Drive."
Noticing that Jacklyn was staring at her, she couldn’t help but sneer in disgust, thinking that he had dirty thoughts about her.
"I’m about to."
Jacklyn straightened himself and sat down properly as he could hear the disgust in her voice. He quickly powered the engine and drove past the hotel.
"Is everyone asleep?" she suddenly spoke up.
"I think so."
"Hmmm."
"What if we are caught? How will I introduce you? Please don’t be offended. I just want to get a heads-up."
"You can say that I’m your college friend from Saudi Arabia."
"Oh, it really helped explain your dressing."
He laughed, thinking that he had cracked a funny joke, but seeing that she wasn’t interested in his joke, he had to concentrate more on driving.
.......................
Jark walked out of an unknown building with Thompson following at the back, giving Jark privacy since he was on a call.
"Mmm... Jark, were you able to get to her?"
Jark could hear the sound of water being splashed.
He shook his head before replying,
"No, but I know she’s still in the city."
"So what do you intend on doing?"
This time, Jark heard glass shattering over the phone like it was being smashed on the ground.
"I’m on a hunt," Jark said, calculating.
The line went silent for some reason.
"I don’t think you should stress yourself. I’m sure she will leave the city on time," the person on the other line suddenly spoke up.
"I’m not really after her leaving the city, but I’m more after the purpose," Jark said, remembering finding Kathe at the same restaurant. He had his doubt. It wasn’t just a mere coincidence.
"Hmmm, but didn’t you tell me last week that her attack, for now, will be harmless? So what are you hunting for?"
Another water splash could be heard over the phone.
Though the person couldn’t see him, still Jark nodded, more in calculation.
"Yes, I remember, but I have my reason."
"Okay, you can do as you please. I will see you soon when I get back."
"Don’t, please."
"Hey! My nephew hates me. He doesn’t consider me his favorite uncle, even after I used to buy him a lot of candy when he was a kid."
His uncle joked, and they both ended up laughing together.
"Don’t forget you taught me how to handle a gun," Jark teased.
"Oh yeah, my favorite part."
"We will see then."
"Bye, I wanna enjoy my hot bath."
The call got disconnected, and the smile that was on Jark’s face vanished without a trace, like a cold bath was being poured on him.
"Where was her stop now?"
"Her trail is being cleaned, but I could quickly get her last stop location."
"Where is that?"
"It’s in the town."
"Let’s go then."
.......................
The hallway was dark, with the stairs light reflecting around only the stairs, showing that everyone was asleep. When they entered, she took her time to observe the building.
"This way. I’ve prepared the guest room for you," Jacklyn said as he led the way, not knowing that she was rooted to one spot, looking around.
"Where’s Jark’s room?" she asked.
Jacklyn paused as he noticed that she wasn’t following him.
"I will show you when we get to the stairs. Can we go now?"
She nodded at him.
And he led her toward the guest room stairs, and they had to use the dining room to get to the guest room stairs. The moment they were about to walk past the dining room, someone walked out of the kitchen, startling them both.
The masked lady turned and looked at Jacklyn, not after he had told her confidently that everyone was fast asleep.
Jacklyn noticed that the masked lady was staring. He couldn’t help but pray that it was the maid that walked out of the kitchen as he began sweating.
"Who’s there?" Shashe said as she only noticed the shadow in a long gown.
Jacklyn breathed out in relief after finding out that it was his mother that caught them.
"Mom, it’s me."
Shashe, hearing Jacklyn’s voice, suddenly turned on the dining light to see why he was dressed in black.
"What were you doing out..."
She stopped on her words as she noticed someone standing beside her son.
"And who is this?" she asked, pointing at the lady beside her son.
Jacklyn rushed out, remembering the identity the masked lady had told him to describe to anyone that asked about her.
"Mom, this is my college friend... hmmm... from Saudi Arabia. She just arrived from Dubai. She came to handle her dad’s project here in Washington. They are not cultured to stay in hostels, so I asked her to spend the night here in the guest room. Promise, she will leave tomorrow morning."
The masked lady nodded her head at Shashe.
Shashe, hearing that her father was a rich man and that she was here on a project, dropped her guard a little bit. She looked at her again briefly before nodding her head at Jacklyn.
"It’s okay. She can spend the night, as long as she is staying over in the guest room."
"Thank you, Mom."
Jacklyn quickly gave Shashe a hug, which irritated the masked lady.
Shashe nodded at him as she walked back to the kitchen to drop the glass she was holding.
The masked lady stood looking at Shashe departing back and smirked.
"Come, let’s go now."
Jacklyn’s voice brought her back to the present. She nodded at him.
And he led her to the guest room.
"Hope you feel comfortable here," Jacklyn said, trying to show off to her.
"You can leave now."
"Okay. Have a nice sleep."
Jacklyn said, leaving the room.
"Jark, I’m now in your villa. Soon I will rule over you."
.......................
Jark walked out of the hotel with Thompson.
"Boss, why is she this close now?" Thompson asked, running after Jark, trying to keep up with his pace.
"She’s running."
"From you?" Thompson asked.
"Not from me, but from everyone."
"I see."
They were trying to get her next location when lightning suddenly struck, and they both froze. Thompson turned to look at his boss, who was still rooted to the spot, thompson remembered that he wasn’t with an umbrella.
"Boss, we need..."
Before Thompson could complete his sentence, rain began to pour down heavily with thunder, lightning, and storm.
"Shit."
He tried dragging Jark away from the rain.
"Boss, hold on."
But it was already too late, as Jark stood on the spot, lost in a deep trance. All the effort to pull him out was lost.
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