“We finally meet, Draco. I have been trying to catch you for years.” Rico said with a smirk as he pulled out his police ID and shoved it in Mehdi’s face.
Rico was a detective who had been in charge of a few cases that related to the Snakers gang and each time he thought he was finally close to catching them, he was faced with a stumbling block even his superiors advised and warned him against going them. After several failed attempts at getting them, he realized that the problem was their leader.
He understood that the gang leader was someone powerful which was why everyone in the police force, including the commander was scared to touch him. He knew if they really wanted to, they would have caught them a long time ago.
It annoyed him to see that they were turning a blind eye to the killing and crisis the gang caused daily just because their leader was someone powerful.
Just a few months ago, he also found out that they were involved in the massive human trafficking of young girls and drug trafficking across the country and beyond. So, when his long-time friend Raphael called him and informed him that the gang leader’s identity was revealed, he was more than eager to help out.
Finding out that it was none other than Mehdi King himself was even more shocking as he knew that it only meant that it would be hard for him to put him behind bars since he had a lot of the police officers, including his superiors and commanders in his pocket.
But, Rico was still going to try.
“You’ll be coming with me.” He pulled out cuffs from his jacket and placed them around Mehdi’s wrists, a smile dancing on his lips.
Mehdi remained calm and watched Rico place the cuffs. There was a confident smile on his lips as he knew that he had a solid backing.
Seeing how he wasn’t even showing any signs of fear made Lily feel uneasy. But just as Rico was about to drag Mehdi away, she suddenly remembered something.
“Wait!” She screamed and forced her legs to move despite them being weak as they had been tied up for a while.
“Oliver.” She said, now standing before Mehdi. “Where is he? Where is Oliver?” She asked but Mehdi stared at her like she was making a joke.
Out of frustration, she turned to Tony. “T…they took Oliver too. I was at the restaurant with him and he got shot. We need to find him, Tony. I need to be sure he’s okay.” She pleaded.
“Don’t worry about that, Lily. We’ll find him. I’ll make sure we do. For now, we need to get you out of here. It’s almost midnight.” He said and Lily nodded slowly.
They had spent a lot of time outside Mehdi’s house and almost two hours trying to find Lily inside his house so, adding up with the time the kidnap took place, it was already past 10 pm.
“You should know that we will meet again, Tony. This right here?….” Mehdi held up his hands so that Tony could see the cuffs.
“This is nothing. This officer here is nothing but a low-grade officer who will be losing his job soon.” He said confidently but Rico didn’t bulge. Instead, he tightened his hold on Mehdi.
“I’ll be out soon and trust me, when that happens, I’ll be sure to pay you a visit, my darling Lily,” Mehdi said and laughed evilly before he was escorted out of the basement.
Tony turned to Lily and saw the fear in her eyes and immediately grabbed her arm.
“Empty threats, Lily. They are all empty threats.” Tony said, caressing her back softly. “He won’t be able to do anything once he is behind bars, believe me. You’re safe now.” Tony promised and Lily sighed softly before nodding.
She had a lot of doubts, especially after seeing the overconfident look on Mehdi’s face. No one could be that confident unless they had something big and powerful to fall back on.
But, she was tired and she was sure Tony was too. The whole Mehdi situation had gone on for too long and it was time they lived their lives without the fear of him. So, she nodded and smiled at Tony.
“Alright.” She whispered.
But, there was a voice in her head telling her this was far from over. Louis was still out there and Oliver hadn’t been found.
*
*
It was 12:15 am and there was still no sign of Lily and Tony at the house. Rachael paced around the house, her heart in her mouth as she repeatedly checked the time. She had been calling Tony’s phone since he left the house but there had not been a single reply. She knew that if they didn’t return before the next morning, she would lose it and go into the streets to find them herself.
At exactly 1:04 am, she heard a car drive into the compound and her heart skipped. She quickly ran to the door to check and confusion washed over her as she sighted an unfamiliar car. Her first thought was that she was about to be kidnapped too but, as she stood by the door, she saw the first door open and a scream left her throat when she saw Tony step out, looking like he had just returned from a battleground.
“Tony!” She screamed and ran to where he was. Before she could get to him, he went to the passenger seat and pulled an already sleeping Lily out.
Rachael let out a breath she didn’t know she was holding as soon as she saw her.
“You found her!” She cried and hurried to help him carry Lily’s things into the house.
Tony placed Lily on her bed and sat beside her. His eyes scanned her face and darkened when he saw the bruises on her face and lips.
“Oh God. What on earth did they do to her?” Rachael asked, accessing Lily’s face.
“Fucking Mehdi. He laid his fucking hands on her!” Tony growled and touched her lips slightly.
“What happened to him? How did you find her?” Rachael asked and Tony sighed before moving away from Lily.
“Mehdi has been arrested.” He answered and looked at Lily’s sleeping frame, his face filled with uncertainty.
“I do not know for how long though.”