Chapter 30: Chapter 30

"Do you know where your Dad is keeping Micah?" I ask Calvin quietly as we walk through the corridors of the house. My gun is positioned forward and I'm on guard for any sudden surprises. Behind me, Calvin speaks.

"You mean your so called brother who's an absolute douchebag?" Calvin scoffs, his tone towards Micah dripping with dislike.

"Yep, he's the one." I mutter, glancing left and right before continuing down the hall. The entire house is like a maze, doors covering my left and right. I didn't have much time to learn the layout of the house and now I'm seriously regretting it. Micah could be anywhere . . .

"No I don't. Why do you care?"

I sigh and turn towards him briefly, giving him a stern glare.

"I care about him. I've worked with him for years and I need to find him, alive." I tell him, ignoring the way jealousy flashes through Calvin's eyes. The green in them glows enviously and I know his hatred just grew for Micah.

"I don't know where he is." Calvin says abruptly, sounding like a told off toddler.

"Please can you think hard? Is there anywhere in the house that your Dad might be keeping him?" I murmur, trying my best to not get annoyed at a spoilt Calvin Black. Trying to separate my emotions with him and the mission is proving to be very difficult. I now fully understand why we're constantly told never to build any real friendships or connections on a mission.

It makes everything difficult as hell.

"The basement, maybe? I don't know." Calvin says before placing a hand on my shoulder. I pause and turn around, glancing at him. His face is rid of any expression.

"What are you going to do when you find him? My Dad?" Calvin asks me. I search his green eyes, wondering whether the truth will hurt him if I tell him. I can't keep anymore secrets from him, not now.

"If he comes quietly, I'll arrest him and hand him over to the FBI authorities along with Veronica." I tell him firmly. It's the truth.

"What if he doesn't come quietly?" Calvin responds quickly, an emotion flashing in his eyes. He looks worried, afraid for his father's destiny. Moments of silence passes between us until the tension in the air grows unbearable. I finally tears my eyes off him and decide not to answer that.

If I do, I'm afraid he'll break down with the answer.

I breathe in sharply and begin to make my way downstairs whilst listening out for any noise. Calvin and I shouldn't be doing this right now . . . It's distracting and I can't afford to be distracted. Micah's life is in my hands and I can't let anything deter me from doing the best I can to find him safely.

"Lead me to the basement." I say quietly to Calvin. His face is blank as he steps in front of me and continues going downstairs. The stairs wind down in a slight curve, the beige marble gleaming. The house is eerily quiet as I tip toe through it, my gun ready. I can sense Calvin's uneasiness as we walk through more hallways.

"It's through here." Calvin says to me, placing a hand on my lower back. The contact causes me to jump slightly and I look up at him, looking apologetic.

"Sorry, I'm in FBI mode."

His eyes flicker between both of mine before he slowly nods. I can tell he isn't accustomed to seeing me like this . . . Ready to take on the world. It's like finding out the person you're with isn't really the person you thought they were. I can't even begin to imagine how that feels.

Calvin leans forward and pulls open a large wooden door. It creaks quietly and I glance at the stairs dwindling down into the basement. It's dimly lit, looking like something from a horror movie. I suck in a breath and turn to face him —

"You're not setting me up, right?" I question him, hating that I have to trust him right now. Calvin takes a step forward, closing the distance between us. He dips his head so that he's looking down into my eyes, his lips inches away from my own. My stomach somersaults as I look into his eyes that are burning with an intense green flame.

"I'm not setting you up. I promise." He breathes out, his hand finally dropping from my waist. I close my eyes for a brief second, gathering my thoughts. I feel his lips gently press into mine before he pulls back.

"Do you trust me?" He murmurs. I open my eyes to find him watching me, his head tilted slightly. I think back to everything we've been through, how much he's already given up to keep me alive. He's allowing me to arrest his father to keep an evil man off the streets. I know Calvin Black is a good person, his actions have proved that.

"Yes, I do." I whisper, leaning into his chest slightly. I inhale his scent and relax my shoulders before I delve into whatever the basement has in store for me.

"I'm right next to you Hunter, I'm not going anywhere." Calvin tells me as I take the first step inside. I peer down as far as I can, frustrated that my view is restricted. I have to walk further down if I want to inspect the entire basement. I hold my gun out in front of me, both hands wrapped around it securely. I begin to slowly walk down the stairs, landing lightly on my feet to avoid causing any stairs to creak. The wood is old and in need of replacing so despite my best efforts, a loud creak fills the silence.

"Fuck," I mutter under my breath, pausing on the step I'm on. I hold my breath as I listen out for any noise, a shuffle, a whisper. I don't hear anything.

I swallow my nerves and make sure the hold on my gun is steady before I scurry down the last of the stairs. I hear Calvin coming up behind me but I don't turn to check on him. My eyes scan the basement and it's full of old furniture, cardboard boxes and tools. The entire room is barely lit by a bulb hanging from the ceiling. I remain silent and begin to make my way round the junk, inspecting the room. As I pass a workbench, I use my right hand to take hold of a rusted iron wrench and slide it in my back pocket.

"Micah?" I whisper, dodging out of the way of a pile of boxes and delving further into the basement. I hold my breath as I try to listen out for a response but it never comes. I can feel myself beginning to grow impatient, frustrated and on edge with this whole situation.

"Micah?" I yell out, deciding if Christopher Black and Veronica want to come after me, I might as well get it over and done with.

"Micah! Where are you? Answer me so I can save your ass!" I shout, pushing boxes to the floor to get a better view behind them. They tumble to the floor and the noise of them fills the silence in the room.

"What the hell Hunter, aren't you supposed to be in FBI mode?" Calvin hisses from behind me, taking hold of my arm. I briefly turn to look at him, my face holding no emotion.

"This is FBI mode. I'm done hiding, I want this shit to be over with." I tell him, my voice blunt.

"Micah!" I yell out, walking further and further through the basement. After what seems like forever, I hear the faintest scratch come from my left. I completely pause and my head snaps towards the noise, my body alert.

"Could be a rat." Calvin mutters from behind me. I begin to head in the direction, my gun pointed outwards.

"Yeah, two rats that go by the name of Veronica and Christopher." I respond to him before turning a corner. My eyes immediately land on Micah who's knocked out cold, held up by his wrists that are tied to the ceiling. His body hangs limply, head tilted to the side as blood trickles down the side of his mouth. In front of him stand Christopher Black and Veronica Kilburn, both of them staring at me. Christopher Black has a pistol in one hand and a hand gun in the other.

Veronica is watching me with a smirk on her face, dressed in one of her signature suits as she twirls a knife between both hands.

"I was beginning to think you'd never find us." Veronica says in her sickly sweet voice, the sound of it immediately makes me want to throw up. She narrows her eyes at me and I get the urge to rip them out one after the other.

"You always find a bad smell once you start looking for it." I shoot back at her. She lets out a fake laugh, her eyes shining with hatred before she pulls back and throws the knife in my direction.

It hurtles through the air, spinning as it heads straight for me and Calvin.

I push him out the way and throw my body forward before landing in the crouch position. Veronica immediately takes one of the guns from Christopher and begins shooting at me, the bullets bouncing off the walls. I jump off the floor, throw myself in the air and swing off a wooden beam. My foot connects with her throat and she lets out a surprised yell as she falls to the floor. Christopher springs in action, his face twisted with concentration as he begins to aim his gun at me.

"Dad, no!" Calvin yells, running towards his father. I curse under my breath as I continue swinging from beam to beam before pulling myself up onto the structure of the house. When I glance down, Calvin is fighting with his father and Veronica is aiming directly at me, her finger pulling on the trigger. Before she can, I take my shot and aim it at her leg.

The sound of the bullet rings through my ears but a small smile appears on my face as I hear her scream and watch her body fall to the floor.

I never miss a shot.