Chapter 72: Search Continues

***"Addicus, get over here!" His father shouted at him again.***

***Little Addicus ran over to his father but slowed down as he reached him.***

***"I'm sorry, Father," Addicus began to apologize.***

***He hadn't even done anything wrong, but he was always expecting a beating from his father, so he apologized.***

***"Have you been bad? Have you done anything wrong?" His father asked.***

***Addicus shook his head in response. He had been well-behaved.***

***"Good. Take a seat, my son. I want to speak with you."***

***Addicus took a seat and his father offered him some cookies and milk. Addicus slowly took it, unsure why his father was being so nice.***

***"Son, there comes a time in every young man's life when he has to put aside childish things and step up to harder and more important tasks in life. The time has finally come for you to use everything I've ever taught you to your benefit," Mr Marcus said.***

***"What do you mean, Father?" Addicus was unsure why his father was telling him this.***

***"In this life, Addicus, no one will give you anything just because you ask nicely. You have to be willing and ready to take what is yours by any means necessary. You are a lion and a lion doesn't ask for permission before he eats the gazelle." His father said.***

Addicus finished reliving this memory of his father. It wasn't one of his savage beatings, so he didn't dream about it like he usually did. This was one of the best moments he ever had with his father before he died.

Addicus had lived his life according to his father's many lessons and had become successful because of it. Now, he would use another one of those lessons to get what he wanted.

"JJ!" Addicus called out to him.

"Yes Boss," JJ answered.

"Get the girl and do what you have to do," he said.

*What was he going to do to Victoria?*

"As you wish, Sir," JJ replied and left with a sinister grin on his face.

.

.

.

Meanwhile, back at **Imaginación**, Hector, Chris and Peter were all interrogating the homeless crazy man about Victoria's whereabouts. They slowly approached him, not wanting to scare him off.

"I'm going to go ask him," Peter told them. As he was about to move, Hector grabbed his hand.

"You can't just walk up to him and start asking questions. We don't want to freak him out or scare him off. He's a bit loose in the head. You have to gain his trust first." Hector advised.

"We don't have time for that. We need to find the girls now," Peter replied.

"If this is our only shot at finding Sharon and my sister, then we have to be smart about this," Hector said with all seriousness.

"He's right, Peter. We can't mess this up. It may be our only chance," Chris said and Peter backed down.

"Ok, Ok. We'll do it your way." Peter agreed.

"Thank you." Hector said, "First, we need to make him see that we're friends and the best way to do that is with food which is probably what he's looking for in those dumpsters. I'll go get some bread," Hector said and went back inside to get the food.

"Okay, I got it," He said after coming back out.

He began walking towards Joe and told Peter and Chris not to get too close.

"Hey, Joe. How you doing, amigo?" Hector greeted him cautiously.

"Hector!" Joe said excitedly, "Good to see you," He said in a nice but insane manner. He definitely was off his meds.

"I got some bread if you'd like," Hector said and handed the loaf over to him.

"Wow! Thanks, amigo. You're so nice, unlike those two mean guys from the other night." He said happily and took the bread.

"What do you mean Joe? What two mean guys?" Hector asked.

"Two big bad guys!" He said while eating the bread hungrily. "They came out of nowhere and I asked them for some money for food but one of them kicked me in the chest."

"Look, I need you to focus, Joe. These men, what did they look like and did they have a girl with them?" Hector asked, hoping for the answer he needed.

"They were big and yes, they had a girl with them. The bald one carried her on his shoulder because she was asleep," Joe explained.

"The bald one? That's probably JJ; *Addicus' right-hand man*. Which way did they go?" Peter asked Joe loudly and he got scared and tried to run away.

Hector grabbed him in an attempt to calm him down.

"It's okay, Joe. He won't hurt you, he's a friend. We really need you to tell us which way they went. It's very important." Hector said calmly.

"Why do you want to know?" Joe whispered maniacally.

"The girl they had with them was my sister, Victoria. I think those men kidnapped her which is why I really need to find her because she could be in danger." Hector told him.

"I like Victoria. She's a good girl," Joe said, remembering that Victoria was always kind to him.

"She is a good girl and she needs your help, Joe. So, which way did they go?" Hector asked desperately, holding Joe's arm.

"They drove in that direction and one of them mentioned a name; **Chira**" Joe said, pointing east.

"What's Chira?" Chris asked.

Peter turned to face him and said with a look of conviction.

"It's an Island!"

********

"I knew it! I knew they had to be on an Island. I could feel it in my bones." Peter said happily back inside the art shop.

"You were right, Peter. Now that we know where they are, we shouldn't waste any more time," Chris said.

"You're right. The more time we spend here, the more time that psycho has to do whatever he wants to Sharon and Victoria." Peter said in agreement.

"Let's go then!" Chris said and they both got up to leave when Hector came bursting through the room door.

"I'm coming with you," Hector told them. He was already dressed in all black, wearing stealthy clothes to sharpen his movement.

"I'm sorry, Hector but it's too dangerous and you don't have any combat training which will make you more of a liability and less of an asset." Peter regrettably told him.

"I'm not just going to sit here and leave my sister's fate in the hands of two strange men that I only just met. And besides, I may not have any hand-to-hand combat training but I do know how to use a gun." Hector said objectively.

*Peter was shocked by this information. He never imagined that an art dealer would be able to use a gun.*

"Sharon said that you were just a regular guy so how do you know how to use a gun?" Peter asked with a raised brow.

"After Addicus and his goons broke into my home and threatened my sister's life, I decided to take precautions in case he ever decided to come back so I began taking shooting classes," Hector explained.

"Do you have a gun?" Chris asked him.

"Yes, I do," Hector replied and pulled out a pistol that was concealed in his trousers.

"You're going to need another one," Peter mentioned and handed another pistol to Hector.

"Well then, what are we waiting for?"