Chapter Eighty-four

Chapter Eighty-four
Kacy's POV
"You do?" Francis asked, jumping out from his chair. "Let me see."
"This one," Akira replied, pointing at the picture. "This man looks very similar to him."
"Are you sure?" Francis asked.
"Yup, I'm sure," Akira replied.
"Alright then. Let's gather more information about this man." Francis took the folder and went back to his computer. His fingers worked like a machine, typing so fast on the keyboard, clicking as data loaded on the screen. "You're right. This man looks suspicious."
"What do you mean?" Bryan asked, stepping closer to see.
"He's connected to some crimes and shady organizations," Francis replied. "I think we found the man we're looking for."
"What should we do next?" I asked.
"Gather all his information and find a way to beat him in his own game," Francis said.
"Sounds like a good plan," Bryan replied.
"But we have to be careful. This man isn't someone we can underestimate. Look how dark and shady his aura is. He has the eyes of a tiger and the mouth of a snake. He might bite when we least expect it," Francis said.
"Come on." Bryan gave him a strong tap in the shoulder. "You're making it sound scary. We've dealt with a lot of similar things before. We can do this."
"Don't be so optimistic, Bryan," Francis scolded.
"Alright, alright. Just don't scold me, Father," Bryan bantered.
"They seem very close," Akira murmured beside me.
"They are. They've been friends even before I and Bryan met," I explained. Perhaps it's not bad if I tell him some information about us. "There were actually five of us in the group, but one of our friends had passed away, and the other betrayed us. Now we only have each other's."
"I'm sorry, I didn't know that," Akira said.
"Now you know. There are reasons why we can't trust anyone easily. We've been through the worst, stabbed in the back by the ones we trusted the most," I said.
Akira tried to smile, but I could see the sadness in his eyes. He must have missed his wife so much and worried about her. But we can't let him go yet, not until we're done with our new mission: to find the mastermind of everything and kick his ass.
"Seems like Akira was telling the truth. This man doesn't share much information about himself, not addresses or personal details like age. Even though we already know it's him, we still need time to collect some details. It's like he's not a human; he's not even using social media," Francis said.
"Probably because he's hiding from something," I said.
"The police. He must have done a lot of cruel things and remained in a rathole," Bryan added.
"Alright. That's enough. We should get something to eat first," Francis said, standing up from his chair. "I'm starving."
"You should have eaten your breakfast," Bryan said.
"No scolding. I'm not a kid anymore," Francis replied.
We followed Francis to the large dining room. Akira sat on the chair, behaving like a good kid. He didn't seem to be lying with the information he gave us, but still, we can't fully trust him yet, especially after what Jonas did.
"What do you guys want to eat?" Francis asked.
"Chicken adobo," Bryan replied. "Wait. Are you cooking for us? When did you learn to do that?"
"I've been cooking for myself since we got separated. Being alone really taught me some lessons. I can't always rely on others," Francis replied.
"You've indeed matured. You were thinner the last time we saw you, but you're a man now," Bryan said.
"I know. Just stop teasing me," Francis said.
"I will. I'd like to taste your cooking." Bryan winked.
I helped Francis cook lunch. It's like having a friendly competition with him, seeing who cooks better, me or him. Our judges are Bryan and Akira. In the end, Bryan chose my cooking, probably because he didn't want me to be sulking at him, while Akira preferred Francis's chicken adobo.
After lunch, we went back to work. Francis gave Akira some time to himself, for he might remember more details about his boss, but of course he couldn't leave the building yet, for it'd put his wife's safety at risk.
I don't really know where this is going, but I hope that everything will be alright. That no matter what happens, Bryan and I will survive and live normal lives again. It might not be a happy ending, but I just want to be with Bryan.
"You okay?" Bryan asked. "You've been silent. Is there something wrong?"
"No, nothing." I tried to smile, though the thought that something bad might happen lingered in my mind.
Bryan took my hands and held them. "Don't worry, my love. Once this is over, we can go back to our normal lives. We don't have to go through the same thing again and live peacefully with our child."
"Promise me, Bryan, that no matter what happens, you'll be with me," I said in a serious tone, looking deep into his eyes.
"Come on, nothing's going to go wrong." He let go of my hands and avoided my eyes.
"We're not sure, Bryan. Good things can happen suddenly, and so do bad things," I said.
"Alright, alright. I promise. We'll be together no matter what happens," he said.
"We and our child." I hugged him.
Francis faked a cough to get our attention. "You're so sweet again," he said. "I feel like I'm invisible everytime you do that."
"I'm sorry, man." Bryan tapped his shoulder. "Where are we again?"
Looking at Bryan and Francis talking, I felt a little bit sad. I don't know why. I just have this feeling that something bad's going to happen. I don't want to be pessimistic, but I can't stop thinking about it.
"Kacy!" Bryan called my name. "What's wrong? I've called you three times already, but you're not answering."
"I'm sorry. What is it?" I asked, stepping close to him.
"Francis needs you to do something," he replied.
"What is it?"
"He wants you to check some information for him. It's about the man we're looking for, Don Benjamin Palermo," Bryan said in a serious tone.
"I got it." I went towards Francis and asked him what he wants me to do.
"Can you write down all the information about him? Here. You can use this." He handed me a form to be filled out.
I took the form and filled out all the information about the man. Thereafter, the four of us sat around the table to plan our next moves. Since we already got the address of this Don Palermo, we need to find a way to get close.
"One of us needs to go to the place to see if we can attack. I'm sure this man has lots of bodyguards and men who are willing to die for him. Sending an assassin is our only choice to get him. That's much safer than going there together. We can't risk all our lives at once," Francis said.
"But aren't we in this together?" I asked, concerned that Francis will send Bryan away.
"I know you're worried about your boyfriend—"
"Fiancé," I corrected. "We're about to get married. Bryan had already proposed to me, and I'm already pregnant. That's why you can't just send him away on a dangerous mission alone. I don't want my child to grow up without a father."
For a moment, there was silence between us. I know they wouldn't understand how I feel right now. I don't know why it has to be this way. I understand that Bryan always put his life at risk, even before we met, but now he's the only one I've got, and I can't afford to lose him too. I stood up and walked towards the door.
"Kacy, wait!" Bryan tried to stop me, but I've already gotten out.