Chapter 89 Into The Lion's Den
Rowan's mind raced, grappling with the unsettling doubts in his mind. "No..no.. It's in my head. Wilson will not do something like that to Amanda." He said to himself.
He picked up the scarf he saw earlier, "Something is not right," Rowan muttered, his brow furrowed in confusion. He dialed Wilson's number again, fervently hoping for an explanation.
He stormed out of the house when Wilson didn't pick up the call. On his way out, he found one of his men.
Shocked, the man stuttered. "Ermm, Good day sir… I didn't know you were here. I went to get something…"
"I am not surprised. I should not expect less from Wilson. He should employ like minds." Rowan said with disgust in his eyes.
"I am sorry sir" the man said apologetically and with fear.
"Where is your boss?" Rowan asked.
"He has not returned since he left yesterday night, sir" the man responded.
"Do you have any idea where he went?" Rowan asked further.
"No sir, I am not sure it was planned. He left in a hurry with his visitor" the man replied.
"Visitor? A lady? The owner of this?" Rowan asked, stretching the scarf forward so he could see.
"Yes, she had that on when she came yesterday." He answered.
"Do you know who she is?" Rowan probed further.
"Now. She is not a regular visitor. I think yesterday was her second or third visit." He answered. "But I heard him call her Aniya while they were leaving yesterday."
"Aniya?" Rowan asked, shocked.
"Yes. I am sure that was what I heard" the man responded.
"No way" Rowan's mind churned with conflicting emotions. He rushed to his car and sped out of the house.
While driving away he dialed his mother's number. "Mom, did the police officers mention where the road rage happened?" He asked when she answered the call.
"What happened?" Madam Xi asked, alarmed.
"Just answer the question, mom," Rowan snapped.
"Yes. One of them mentioned Wilshire Boulevard '' Madam Xi answered. Before she could say anything further Rowan hung up the call.
"That is the opposite of City Hill." Rowan exclaimed to himself. "It's their fu-cking plan" he yelled when he realised they were tricked to go in the opposite direction.
The realization hit him like a ton of bricks. "That son of a bitch. He knew I was going to track the phone," Rowan muttered to himself, his jaw clenched. The anger in his voice echoed through the car. He dialed Wills, his tone sharp.
While he was waiting for Wills to pick, he thought about where Wilson could be heading to. "Wait…the playhouse. The playhouse is on Wilshire Boulevard!" He exclaimed. Just then Wills answered the call.
"Rowan, we can't find her. Amanda is nowhere…" he couldn't finish his statement.
"Wills, they tricked us. The address was a diversion. They wanted us at City Hall. That's where they want us," Rowan commanded, repetitively.
Wills sounded bewildered. "What? How did you...?"
"No time for questions. Meet me at Wilshire Boulevard now..the Xi playhouse. I am headed there now."
"Wait… I think I can get there before you. I am headed to the station already and there is a faster route to Wilshire Boulevard." Wills answered.
"Good. I will meet you there then. Inform your men. I will call mine." Rowan instructed cutting the call before Wills could respond. He called his security team immediately.
"Where are you?"
"At alert, waiting for your order sir!"
"Head to the playhouse at Wilshire now." He instructed, yelling in restlessness. Rowan's car raced through the streets, frustration and urgency pushing him to the limit.
When Wills got to the playhouse, anxiety clawned through him, thinking of the possibility of finding Amanda there.
Of the different cars in the compound, he noticed a car that was just parked because it had no dust or cloth cover. "This just got here" he said to himself as he walked around the car, checking it out."
In the car, he could see Amanda's Jacket from the windshield. "Holy shit! Amanda is here" he exclaimed softly.
He began to approach the main building cautiously and tensed. His tension escalated as he heard faint voices, barely audible, yet distinct enough to send shivers down his spine
"Why did you kill him?" Aniya yelled.
"We do not need him anymore. We will handle it from here" Wison responded, low but loud enough for Wills to hear.
"We still need him. Who will kill Amanda? Me?" Aniya continued to yell. "I told you when you were taking too much alcohol. I told you it wasn't going to help but you insisted it will boost your audacity. Now that audacity is about to fuck everything up."
"I said I will handle it," Wilson yelled.
Wills, slowly navigating the house, listened intently to the heated exchange between Wilson and Aniya. The revelation of Wilson's involvement in Amanda's kidnapping sent a surge of anger through Wills.
"God help me, I will deal with Wilson," he said to himself. He peeped into one of the rooms and he found Amanda with a man with a gun in the room with her.
Fumbling with his phone, Wills quickly dialed the police department. "This is Detective Wills. I've found Amanda Roberts at the Xi playhouse on Wilshire Boulevard. There are armed individuals involved. One possible dead man. I need immediate backup!"
"What do you think will happen when the other one realizes that you have killed his partner? You think he is going to let it slide?" Aniya continued to yell. "No, you have written a letter to war"
"And you are already announcing it with your shouts. At least let my letter get delivered." Wilson responded. "Stop yelling and trust me to finish this"
"Trust you? You want me to trust you, Wilson Xi. It is already a difficult thing to trust a dumb man now the dumb man is drunk."
Wills, knowing the argument could escalate any time, decided to use the opportunity to subdue the man with Amanda before they will have company. He moved quickly and discreetly into the room.
Amanda's eyes widened as she saw Wills, a mix of fear and relief reflecting in her gaze. He quickly gestured to her not to sell him out. The armed man, unaware of Wills' presence, continued smoking and pressing his phone.
With swift precision, Wills lunged at him and suffocated him until he passed out. "Is he dead?" Amanda asked softly, scared and happy.
"No, but he is under control." Wills responded, hugging Amanda.
"It was Wilson and he has an accomplice. They are still somewhere around here." Amanda said hurriedly.
"Yes, I know." Wills said, nodding. "Help is on its way. Let's get you out of here first." He started losing Amanda's restraints.
Meanwhile, Rowan arrived at the playhouse. He already knew his way around the house so he just went straight into the building. He was about to step in when he heard a loud sound of a gunshot.