Maxwell was sure she was going to hate him more than she already did if she found out about this.
If things were normal, this was a night he was supposed to be spending with his wife.
Or otherwise, he should be at home doing what he wanted without worrying about getting mugged in a goddamn slum!
Instead, he drove down an eerily silent street that was not made better by the fact that men in twos and threes hung around in doorways and around the corners.
Of course, he was capable of defending himself if it came down to it, but he had rather not.
In fact, he would rather be several miles away from such an environment if he had anything to say about it.
But once again, duty had trapped him in its nasty grip.
Maxwell was not feeling so charitable towards his dad at that moment.
If he had not asked his man for directions earlier, he just might have thought he had taken the wrong turn after all.
But then he could see the construction ongoing signs the man had mentioned down the lane.
It didn't look like any construction was going on, but the two yellow signs stood lined up like weary soldiers by the road and Maxwell took his gaze off the men lounging on the steps of another rundown house that seemed like a normal thing in that area.
"He had better be sure about this." Maxwell thought in disgust as he took the turn right after the signs, and he could see who he was looking for down the road.
As if he was not sure that Maxwell had seen him, the man dressed in a long-tailed black coat, trousers and hat waved at him.
Behind him was a lanky man in a brown hoodie and ripped jeans, who seemed like he was leaning against something even though he was standing.
The man bared his teeth in a shark-like smile as he rubbed his hands together in glee while looking at Maxwell's car.
Maxwell frowned at the covetous look in the man's slightly glazed eyes as he stepped out of his car.
"Yeah, dawg. That is some cool shit!" the man's croak confirmed Maxwell's fear.
Leaving his car out there would be a foolish thing to do.
After the man warned him about the area, he took the Pagani Zonda, which was the least of his cars, but then he still didn't fancy walking home because of an avoidable mistake.
"You couldn't have found a better place, Roy?" Maxwell asked the private investigator.
"Oh, looks like…"
"Now, now, Kit. Here you go." The black-garbed man said as he quickly interrupted the glaze-eyed man's retort. He took out a small envelope from the fold of his coat and handed it to the man."Remember what we discussed? This gentleman here is the one who paid for this and the former. Now, if his ride is still one piece when we come out, you are getting more."
The envelope disappeared quickly into Kit's pocket, then he looked at Maxwell, then back at the car as he said "Alright, I gat you. You will pay extra though. I ain't know his toy was this hot. The guys would want a better consolation. You know warram saying?"
"Keep your end of the bargain, and we will talk," Roy said, and Kit shrugged.
Roy nodded slightly at Maxwell and Kit exaggeratedly gave him a wide berth, as if he was afraid of staining Maxwell.
Asshole. Maxwell thought as he followed Roy.
From the corner of his eyes, he could see some men coming up the street in their direction.
"Are you sure about this?" he asked Roy, who led the way.
"Hundred percent, boss," Roy said as he went towards the direction of a dingy motel that had a flickering light in front of it.
The wooden plaque in front of the motel seemed to have been struck by something, and it was torn in half. The other half was long gone, while the only half standing on the head of its wooden pole only had the E that ended whatever the name was supposed to be, then motel.
Roy stepped onto the porch of what could have easily been called E motel according to its half-torn sign and said "I know he didn't look like much, but Kit is a sort of leader here. His men found them too."
With that, Roy opened the creaking wooden door for Maxwell and Maxwell entered despite his reservations.
The stale, stank air in the lobby of the motel was enough to make anyone gag.
Almost immediately, he could hear the train-hooting sound of a snore coming from behind the counter.
A massive man was sitting there snoring the night away.
For a moment, his snoring stopped and Maxwell thought he was going to wake up, but he only sluggishly turned his head and resumed his hooting again.
"This way, sir. Please watch your steps." Roy said as he preceded Maxwell up a narrow staircase.
The dim lighting hanging overhead did nothing to illuminate the broken, cemented stairs properly and Maxwell understood the reason for Roy's warning before they got upstairs.
Roy opened the first door facing the stairs directly and Maxwell had to momentarily cover his eyes because of the contrast of the lighting inside.
He could see that Roy had taken his instructions seriously.
The room was well-lit compared to where they were coming from.
Also, the sheets on the bed and some other things looked new compared to the scarred bedposts, dirty old smears, and drawings on the wall.
The smell of detergent, new clothing, and medicine hit Maxwell's nose, and it was a welcome smell compared to what had been assaulting his senses since.
"A woman came in to clean this particular room and Kit got some of his men to arrange things. The doctor just left. I made sure he was gone before you got here as you requested, sir."
Maxwell's eyes were already on the two figures on the two bunk beds that had been placed almost side by side.
He moved further into the room as he looked at the stick-like figures in disbelief.
"Are you sure they are the one?" he asked.
"Very sure, sir. I made sure of it before I called you this afternoon. You might not see much of what they used to be there, but then they are even better now than when we found them."
So saying, Roy took out his phone, briefly scrolled through it, and turned it towards Maxwell.
Maxwell's eyes widened in shock, and he quickly zoomed into that particular picture. "What the… Is that…?"
"Yes sir. God knows what sort of needles she has stuck in her skin over time. Those wounds were badly infected and pus was oozing out of the scabs. No needle on the man, but he was more wasted than she was. The woman and one other had to give them a good wash before the doctor could work on them. He had not stirred once, but he was breathing and the doctor said they should be fine."
Maxwell had moved closer to the bed at this point, and he doubted that fine was the right word to use for the two unconscious people on the bed.
They were both hooked up to IV transfusion and the smell of medicine was stronger around them.
The ragged clothes they had on in the picture were no longer on them and the new clothes on them seemed like drapes around their thin, emaciated bodies.
Though the man's hair was dyed a bad shade of green and the woman's hair was ginger, Maxwell could finally feel a recognition as he looked closely.
He shook his head at the absurdity of the whole matter and turned to leave.
The bed rustled behind him.
"Nnngh. Nnngh" he heard as he turned back to see the lifeless yet glassy eyes of the woman behind him open.