Kyle:

Allen finally did arrive again and we explained what happened, needless to say, my nervousness showed on my face. To top everything else off, there was a full investigation of the officer going on behind us as we talked, children being evacuated from the premise. 

"You two realize we're part of a secret organization... besides that, you took that man's life!" he said glaring at Jessica. "You, Jessica, need to rein in your shenanigans. You seem to think there is no end to the naivety of the people on this world. You don't seem to realize that adults may not always believe their children, but we do listen to them."

"Is this about the song on the bus?" she asked.

"Who cares about the song?" Allen asked angrily.

"Because if you're talking about what I did in attacking that man, he was scum."

"We don't get to decide who lives or dies Jessica," Allen said back. "We don't say whose life does or doesn't matter."

"Kyle was in danger. When that happens, I don't care who I hurt, I will save him."

Allen sighed. He looked up, closing his eyes and gritting his teeth. "I guess I understand that. The wolves will be keeping their ears open for any rumors about today. Burying your silly episode on the bus should be a simple matter of not bringing it up, but a man died out here today. His family will want answers and there will be investigations of this until doomsday. Do you know how serious this is?"

"What did we do exactly?!" I demanded, not liking this line of questioning.

"What do you think you did? You killed a man."

"We did not murder him!" I barely held myself back from shouting, realizing we were not yet in private. As long as we talked in normal tones no one was close enough to hear though. "We defended ourselves."

"Did I say murder?" Allen asked. "Any jury would have exonerated you two. You were after all attacked and you were trying to do the right thing right?"

"Of course," I replied. I started folding my arms as I spoke. "It's not like we wanted to kill him-"

"You cornered him and threatened him, what did you think was going to happen?" I had to pause at that one, my arms not quite folded. "Do either one of you think of your actions before you take them? You could have followed him, tricked him, found a way to reveal him to the authorities; any number of things you could have done, but you chose to confront him openly in a way that things had to come to a head."

"So what, another crook is off the street," Jessica said with a slight glare. "He won't steal any more kids."

"Not once have I said that that man was a good man. But there was a chance he could have been changed. If not that, there was a chance his family could have said goodbye before he went. What about them, did they deserve to have that taken from them?"

"Well... no." I began.

"No? I guess you're the one I'm especially disappointed in, Kyle."

"Me?" I asked.

"You think I haven't noticed? How could anyone not? You're the voice of reason here, aren't you? Jessica looks to you for guidance, or haven't you noticed? So where was that guidance?"

"I think the life of a little boy is worth a few tears-" I began, tears of my own starting to form. More tears of rage.

"More than tears," Allen interrupted. "It won't stop at tears. A man died out here. Everyone will see that, but no one can know who did it. Don't you realize what that means? Everyone can become a suspect except the guilty. And you think you're so not guilty? How guilty is the other officer who you knocked out? He'll be suspect number one and his only defense will be a story no one will believe. He and every man in his patrol group will now be investigated like criminals and even if no real crime was committed since no one can know that-"

"Stop acting like you're so innocent!" I shot back. "When we first met you, you carried a shotgun and looked like you were looking for a fight."

"I can't speak for my compatriots," Allen replied. "I am an officer charged with protecting those around me with force if necessary. For myself,  I only kill if it is necessary."

"It was necessary," Jessica replied.

"And I don't MAKE it necessary!" Allen almost shouted. 

I couldn't help but squirm in my own shoes. Allen was... Allen was right in so many ways. I folded my hands but started to look down. I wasn't quite sure what that meant we did. "Will, someone take the fall for us?"

"You should have thought about that before you cornered him, but no. We've been able to keep that from happening thankfully in most cases. Don't think this is the only time someone has been killed in the wars for order in the societies. We'll do our prudence to make sure that man's death becomes a cold case. Course the truth is, as much as I hate to say it, all I have is your word that you didn't kill that man in cold blood." I moved to speak but Allen cut me off again. "You said he told you there was a chance you would find the boy on 5th street. For your sake, if you don't want to find out what it means to be on trial for murder in the societies, there better be something on Portland's 5th street." Every piece of me wanted to shout that we weren't guilty, that everything we said was true. But what could I do? We had done what we had done. We had not held life sacred, and there was now no telling how many people would pay for that. "Get in the car now," Allen demanded, pointing to his rambler. "I want you to think about something. I've killed, but I would like to think that it was always somehow worth it. So I ask you, was it worth it?"

I didn't know.

(***)

Allen:

Through the city, we drove. I felt like we were already at a trial. Everything kept hitting me like a freight train over and over. Trial for murder. Had I really said that?

I allowed the two to reclaim their weapons for the moment, after all, did I really think these two were capable of murder? Sure they COULD kill, any idiot could see that, but really neither kid seemed like the type. Seriously, two kids who just randomly start looking for a missing kid because- because it's the right thing to do I suppose- does that sound like a pair of killers? But I had to let the facts speak for themselves if there was nothing on 5th Street. I was actually starting to think of these two as my own children. They both needed so much guidance, just like a real little boy and girl. I felt a sinking feeling in my stomach. I thought for sure this would be the worst I would feel about anything for a long time.

We approached 5th street, Kyle taking out his DNA tracker. He was nervous and I couldn't blame him. We drove for a few minutes down the street. Truth is, I was ready to drive both ways down 5th street, but I had actually turned onto it only about a mile from where it came to a T section in the opposite direction. 5th street was really only three miles long.

I was so relieved to hear Kyle shout back to his bodyguard. "I've got something!"

"Is it the boy?" I asked.

"No... not technically," he admitted. "Just drive for about three more minutes alright?" I happily complied. At the time I didn't know if I would allow the two to continue their little adventure after this day, but this exercise was at least proving them to be as innocent as I saw them.

Kyle pointed at a building just a few meters away as we stopped at a red light. "There... right there," he said. "It- I don't know what I'm looking at."

"What?" I asked.

Jessica looked back from the passenger side at the tracer in Kyle's hands. She spoke slowly, as though confused too. "Just pull over at the building."

I nodded. The light turned green and I moved the vehicle to the building, parking. Kyle and Jessica both got out quickly. The structure was about five stories tall. It was like a normal glass-windowed office building. The only strange thing was that every light was off on a Monday at just six pm. Jessica moved to the front glass door and pushed on the latch. It didn't budge. "Hmm." I began. "I guess I can pick-" Jessica grabbed the push bar latch and sent electric energy into it. I watched as something on the inside flew off of the door. "Was that the lock?"

"A trick I learned last time I was on this planet. Kinda cool right?" Jessica asked.

"A little," I admitted. Jessica opened the door and walked in. "Hold up, it could be alarmed!" I almost shouted at her.

Jessica spun around a few times and did a mock can can dance... why... I have no idea. "Don't seem like it to me... automatic alarms, when did they make those?"

"I actually don't know," I answered

Kyle shook his head as he stepped around me. "Once again, your knowledge does NOT come in handy," he said snarkily. 

Best I could tell, his respect for me was growing, but still, I had to sass back a little. "Mememe," I said following behind him.

"What?" Kyle asked.

"I was mocking you- kinda," I said.

"That sounded kinda weird," Jessica said. "Kinda like memememme... memememem... I kinda like that... memememe-" Kyle grabbed her by the hand before she got too far off target.

Kyle pointed at the ground and spun in a circle. "He was in here, or above... or maybe below here... but he never left this area right here in this circle. There are actually heavy DNA concentrations in four areas, formed like corners. How is that possible?" I shrugged. "The boy didn't walk in or out, he was just kinda here."

"They could have carried him in," I volunteered. "Probably unconscious. Some kind of prison room I would guess."

"Four corners," Jessica commented. "No."

"What?" Kyle asked.

"Where is that prison?" Jessica said under her breath.

"If they're trying to be subtle I'd guess the basement," I said.

"Kyle..." The girl was almost in tears of rage at this point about something. "You still able to do what you did in the gym? Blow up the floor."

"Hold up! You remember about thinking through your actions?" I asked. "You really think you need to blow up the building? I mean can we at least try being subtle? Ya know, try to find the actual door to the basement." What was upsetting her?

"Where would the access door be?" asked Kyle.

"You better find it," Jessica said, clutching one of her lightning blades.

I was at a loss. I pointed at a wooden door on the right-hand side of the main room we were in. "Probably in the closet over there." Kyle moved over quickly and opened the closet. He found and removed a trap door revealing a hole leading to the basement of the building. He then jumped into the hole.

"Sweet mother of... it STINKS down here!" Kyle shouted back up. I shrugged and jumped down after him... he wasn't wrong about the smell. Like urine... maybe they had a rat problem.

Jessica came down in short order as well. Kyle started walking into the poorly lit basement. Even in the small amount of light down there we could see a concrete barrier that would have been just below where we were standing. "It really smells... I... no..." Kyle said.

"What?" I started to demand of the two.

"Do you see a door?" Kyle asked.

I spoke up. "No... but if it's a cleverly built prison for a little boy there's probably a hidden latch or something, this is getting weird." Kyle drew his sword. "Kyle, every time you think of taking violent action, you have to think if it's worth it or-"

"I need practice," said the boy. "I just developed this technique, besides trust me, this is worth it, now stand back."

"What's worth it?" I asked.

"I'm gonna blast this prison wide open. Then you'll see how much it's worth to make sure it's never used again." I backed away from the concrete barrier, Jessica following.

Kyle grabbed his rapier blade and drew it out. His whole form lit up with electric energy and he slammed the tip of his blade into the cement wall. The energy seemed to travel from his body and through the blade. The energy around him disappeared and the boy quickly dropped to his back and somersaulted a good distance away rolling to the side. The wall erupted as Jessica and I both dropped into cover positions, my ears starting to ring. In the midst of the explosion, a flash of electric energy shot out and dust filled the room along with stone rubble being thrown every which way.

Kyle returned to his feet as did myself and the girl. I noticed the smell was getting worse and I started to get a sinking feeling in my stomach. In the cement a large hole now stood, large enough for a man to walk through, I, however, did not want to walk through. Kyle moved forward despite the stench and into the room now revealed behind the wall. I reluctantly followed and looked around.

What I saw was hardly fit for young eyes. The room was basically four stone walls surrounding a mud floor. There was a section of the wall that looked like a door on our side of the room which had no visible means of opening from the inside. I knew what the smell was. This wasn't just a cell, it was a confinement-like one made for animals. The idea that a young boy lived, ate, slept, and even had to dispose of his waste in this small room was despicable.

"They made a child live with his own filth... like an animal..." Kyle said. "No, they treat animals better than this." Looking around the room the idea struck my mind that the boy imprisoned here could easily have been my boy Jaden. Even the idea of that sent a wave of rage through my entire body. Anyone who would do this to a child deserved everything they got. In that moment I began to wish Jessica was not the one who killed the officer, but me instead.

I spoke up again. "Tell you the truth, building a special prison-like this would take money like you wouldn't believe. I hate to say it, but I think it's a possibility this is not a prison built solely to imprison one nine-year-old boy. This was a room built to hide human trafficking. Someone wanted to sell that boy for money, and I bet you they've done it to more than one kid in the past."

"If he's not here still," Kyle said. "Do you think it's possible they already sold him?"