"Bingo." said David euphorically.
"Did you find uncle Axky?" cut in a younger voice on the phone.
"Yes, who is this?" asked David.
"This is Jason and Gary. We are like Vicky's brothers." said one of them.
"Oh well... that's good to know." said David to sleepy to react. "I found the location. He's in some kind of a warehouse in the countryside. About three hours from here. Traced him through his sneaker's transmitter."
"That is so cool!" said Gary excitedly. "You have to teach us how to do that."
"Not now Gary. David could you please send the location to the Heckson Street police station and another copy to Levi's phone." said Jason calmly. "Vicky's mom is there and she drives faster than anyone else."
"Alright." said David stifling a yawn. "I'm sending it."
There was a short pause as he messaged the station.
"I sent it." he informed.
"Thanks David." said Levi quietly. "I owe you this one."
"Hmm...we'll talk later." said David not really in the mood to pick fights with Levi in the middle of the night. He waited as Levi disconnected the call.
David sighed. There was no way he was going to get any sleep that night, but it was school day tomorrow and he needed some rest...
HONK! HONK!
There was a loud car horn beeping outside. David pulled open the curtains and saw to his surprise, Levi was sitting on the driver's seat of his mother's battered old car.
Two younger boys were sitting at the back waving at him.
"What the hell---" David only had time to curse as jumped out of his window and landed crouched onto the soft garden floor. The petunias were ruined, but hey he wasn't hurt. These were perks of living on the first floor.
"Hurry up!" called Gary impatiently.
David ran up to the car, shivering in his pajamas and joined Levi in the front row.
"We're going to the scene of the crime." declared Jason from the back. "Did you know Levi drives like a beast?"
David raised his eyebrows. It was bad enough that he was sharing the front row with his arch nemesis, but to be told that Levi was a better driver than him---
Holy Shit.
No sooner had David put on his seat belt, Levi slammed onto the accelerator.
"Hold tight you guys." said Levi as the car went at the maximum speed it possibly could through the lane. Thankfully, Levi slowed down once they reached the public road, with policemen and speed monitors. They continued on at a lawfully acceptable pace until they reached the highway.
"We'll be taking a shortcut." Levi informed, swerving the car onto a paddy field. The old car slammed onto the arid ground and the axle made a dying sound.
But Levi didn't even blink. He pressed the accelerator as the car whizzed through the maze of crops at a relentless pace.
***
"Luke doesn't it look like there's a fire?" asked the Sergeant squinting at the satellite image.
"I think so, zoom in further." said inspector Luke to the assistant.
"Goodness, there is a fire! The tip off says the victim is in the building." said Luke. "Hopefully the firemen have already reached."
"No." said the assistant. "This warehouse is on private property. It's a huge area and people rarely go that way. It's unlikely anyone will know of the fire until it spreads past the periphery. It shouldn't be long before the fire explodes though, the warehouse is used to store timber. We need to call the nearest station. Hopefully he's still alive."
There was pause as he Inspector called the fire department.
"They are on their way. It should take them about ten minutes." said Luke as he stood up from the desk, slinging his coat over his uniform.
***
Paula stood outside the cubicle, biting into her knuckles to keep from crying.
"Mom," said Vicky worriedly. "What's wrong."
"They set the warehouse on fire. Axky is inside." said Paula, tears falling from her eyes.
"Ladies, we request that you stay at the police station." said Luke emerging from the cubicle. "The sergeant and I will be heading out. You are requested not to panic, we will do our best to retrieve your husband."
With that the men walked past them and boarded their police van. It zoomed away at a frightening speed as Vicky walked up to her mother.
She put her hands on her shoulders and gave a light squeeze.
"Mom, do you want to follow them?" she asked as Paula's eyes lit up.
"Get in the car Vicky." she said finally twirling the car keys in her hand, determination glinting in her eyes. "We'll get there before the fire can touch Axky."
"Yes, we will." said Vicky hurrying off to get to the car.
***
Axky squirmed on the floor, till he was in sitting position. The fire had yet to reach the basement, and thankfully as smoke rose upwards, he could still breathe inside the cellar.
He bent forward and tried to pull his knees closer to his chest. He was eagerly trying to get his teeth close to his ankles to untie them.
It was no use. His new belly fat prevented him from bending any further than he would have liked.
"This would have been so much easier before I got married." he muttered between pants, exhausted by the attempt.
He sighed. Waiting was hard and he didn't want to die just yet.
How long would it be before they found him?
Just then the light through the tiny window magnified ten fold and he was greeted by an ear shattering explosion overhead. The top of the cellar crashed onto the floor, bricks falling dangerously all around him. Axky rolled back onto the ground, crouching to avoid getting hit by the debris.
When the sound died out all that remained was the cackle of the raging fire, devouring the warehouse completely. Pieces of rock, wood and ash settled over him, covering his body. Axky felt a sharp pain on his back and realized he'd been hit by a burning splinter. Blood dripped from his shoulder as the splinter continued to burn into his skin. He couldn't move, he couldn't remove it.
He didn't have long before the fire finished him. So this is how it will end.
Axky closed his eyes and prayed. He thought of everyone : Vicky and Paula, Jack and Brielle, the twins, Ted the lawyer, his late parents, his three laptops...and the hacker he almost caught.
There are somethings that are to remain a mystery always. He hoped Vicky and Paula wouldn't cry too much. He wished he could have spent a little longer with them. He knew Vicky would take care of her mother. He'd watch over them all...he'd be the nicest star in the sky...when Vicky got married he would see her from the heavens...if only he could tell Paula how much he loved her one last time...
Her eyes were all he saw before the suffocating smoke and pain from the burns on his shoulder mercifully dealt him unconscious.
He never knew or heard the boyish voice yell from over head.
"I'm going in."
A/N: Who do you think said the last line?
Thanks for reading everyone!
Sorry for the late update. I started a new job this week, it doesn't pay much and I have to work overtime, but the bills aren't piling up at least :)
Thank you for brightening up my day. You are such wonderful readers. I wish I could hug you all.
Lots of love,
Andy