Chapter 14: First Clue
Tsun stood by the door and once his eyes met with Lian's he pushed Ding aside and rushed towards him holding his hands in his.
"My, I missed you so much," he said and pulled him into an embrace, tightly squeezing him into his body and rubbing his chin on the top of his head.
"Mmh, mi twoo, I mished yu," Lian replied into his chest.
"Young master.."
"Oh... right.. haha."
He cleared his throat and pulled away from Lian and finally he could breathe normally after being squashed into Tsun's chest. Ding looked at Lian and he gulped.
"If you'll excuse me," he said and disappeared into his room.
Tsun smiled and turned to look at Ding," Look at you! You scared the cutie away."
"Hmph!"
Ding walked past him and headed to the dining table and sat before his laptop.
"Why are you in a bad mood all of a sudden?" Tsun asked walking up to him.
After taking a peek at the documents, he finally understood why Ding was behaving strangely. He took a seat opposite him and rested his chin on the palm of his hand.
"Any leads?"
He looked up and nodded his head," It's not much but..."
He turned the laptop and showed his results to Tsun who let out a sigh," It sure isn't much. Tell me, what are you going to do about a card found in an abandoned apartment?"
"That's where you come in young master. You..."
"Hold it right there," he said hand raised up," you don't expect me to help you right? I mean, I literally do the opposite of what you do. I could care less of these kidnappings."
"Young master..."
Tsun folded his hands over his chest and closed his eyes. After a few minutes, an idea struck him and he snapped his fingers," Right! I'll help you... if you promise to grant me a wish."
"Pardon?"
Tsun stood up and walked towards Ding and sliding a hand over his shoulder, he leaned close to his ear and whispered," You want my help right? You must grant me a wish if I help you."
Ding looked at him and let out a sigh," Fine."
"Great! Where do we begin?" he asked his normal personality back.
Ding knew Tsun very well but he didn't know that he had gotten quite mischievous in his way of wish granting requests, in a worse case scenario, he would be asked to accompany him in one of his missions to dispose of threats. He shook his head clearing away the thoughts and went ahead to describe his discoveries with Tsun who nodded his head in approval.
Lian and Cole sat by the car watching the darkness outside. It had been an hour since Ding and Tsun had left them on watch outside an alley. Cole sat back and let out an exhausted sigh.
"How long do we have to wait here doing nothing?"
Lian shook his head before leaning back and eyeing him, he asked," What? Tired already?"
"Well of course, this is so boring."
"Boring?"
"What are those two up to anyway... they only briefed us on the plan on our way here and yet we're not part of the action."
"Are you into action?" Lian asked and Cole rubbed the back of his head.
"A little... am not a fan of violence though," he said and Lian chuckled.
"Your appearance doesn't match what you find enjoyable. I thought you'd be more into less action."
"Really? I knew I was handsome to be part of all this," he said nose raised up in arrogance and Lian buried his face into the steering wheel clearly regretting what he had just said.
On the other side, Ding and Tsun walked into an abandoned building and the floor creaking under their feet was enough proof of how old the place was.
"Hey! Why did we leave those two alone? Aren't you afraid they'd ditch us and run away? Don't tell me you actually trust them enough to assume that they would actually stay still and wait for you."
Ding stopped and examined the door before breaking it down and clearing it off its hinges with a single kick," Well I don't trust them but I did install a tracker that will go off on them. If they are wise, they won't try anything."
"Hah..." Tsun ran a hand through his hair," that behaviour, my dear Ding is not gentlemanly at all."
"I never said I was a gentleman," he replied indifferently and jumped over the broken door and into the dark room.
Tsun followed behind him and searched the left where the bedroom was while Ding searched the living room and kitchen. The room was small so there was no much ground to cover and after a few minutes they were both reunited by the ruined door.
"Find anything?" Ding asked Tsun who shook his head in response.
Ding let out a sigh and walked towards the door when Tsun grabbed him and pulled him back. Before Ding could reply, faint footsteps sounded from down the hallway and the two exchanged knowing looks. The two silently walked towards the bedroom where they found a window. Tsun tried to pull it open but it wouldn't budge. He turned to Ding and shook his head.
"No use, it's jammed," he whispered and Ding walked towards the window.
With his fist raised, he moved to hit the glass but Tsun stopped him clinging onto his forearm.
"What the hell are you doing? Wanna tell them that we're in here?"
Ding broke free from his grasp and broke the window some glass cutting through his skin.
"What was that?"
"It came from down there. Let's go!"
The footsteps that were once faint, began to become more and more clearer and Tsun cussed silently.
"You..."
He turned towards the place Ding was only to find it empty. He rushed to the window and peered down only to find Ding at the bottom looking up to him.
"It's not that high! Come on."
With one hand on the window seal, Tsun lifted his body from the ground and leapt out of the room and landed beside Ding. He straightened up, dust his clothes and furiously turned to Ding.
"What was that? Am telling you Ding you've gotten quite reckless over the years haven't you? Look! You got yourself injured because of your recklessness..."
Ding groaned and walked down the path ignoring Tsun's nagging.
"Hey!"
A gunshot rang through the air and the two looked up.
"Fool! How could you miss?"