~No More Hiding Places~

Carlos sized up the officers as they stood around him, trying to put up a strong facade even though all that mattered to him was how to maneuver his way out of the sticky situation he was in. Trying to sound collected, he cleared his throat.

"Why would you want me to come along with you for questioning when I've done nothing wrong? I have a driving license if that's what the problem is about. What's more? I'm in school. Look, I don't want any trouble." He finished, throwing a hasty look at the steadily growing crowd behind the policemen.

A short bulky man stepped out of the line, creating a loophole which Carlos immediately spotted. "Son, we don't want to have to force you in that van with us. Since you're so innocent like you claimed, come with us and let us be the judge of that."

Carlos chuckled nervously, while his eyes at the same time darted around the three men, planning his escape route. A cop who hadn't said a word since they accosted him, noticed his eyes darting about in panic. He came to stand in front of him, blocking his exit. Before the next words tumbled out of his mouth, Carlos was slammed against the freezing metal of the hood of his car. A loud gasp resonated from the observing crowd.

The feeling of humiliation, cold metal against hot skin caused rattling shivers to rack throughout his body. His eyes burned with tears of shame and confusion. In a matter of seconds, he was bundled and tossed carelessly into an awaiting black van.

"What did I do? I won't take this. You're trying to take away my fundamental human rights away from me and I won't take it." He yelled at the officers from the window. One of them shoved his head in.

"Keep your head in, kid." He advised, settling in the car as well.

Soon, the van pulled out of the school vicinity, hitting the road. When he looked behind him, Carlos spotted most of the kids from school at the gate, staring in shock at the incident that played out. His heart slammed against his ribcage with fear for what horror awaited him ahead. He had an inkling that someone from his group ratted him out to the police for the previous crimes he had done. Suddenly, the reality dawned on him that he was in a bowl of soup he couldn't escape from.

Since the officer who asked him to keep quiet when he started causing a raucous, no other words had been spoken to him. Carlos recoiled to himself to ruminate over what just happened while the weight of the final judgement hovered over him like a death sentence.

The car skidded to a halt half an hour later on the grey asphalt in front of the police station. The teenager had grown very quiet since the drive and raised his head only when the door was opened and he was asked to come down. His wrists remained cuffed despite the fact that he'd given up on the will to flee. He was passed a few looks of curiosity and distaste as he walked through the aisle where officers flagged by both sides of him.

By the time he got seated, he voiced out his only thought. "Can I at least know what I've done wrong?"

"Shut up kid." A voice boomed.

He scoffed with derision at the person. "At school, I was Mr Carlos Alejandro and now I'm a kid? I demand to make a call to my father and I'll speak to no one until he is brought here." His chin was tilted a fraction upward to state his firmness in his demands.

A dark skinned man dropped his bulk on the chair right opposite where he sat, wearing a crooked grin. "We don't arrest kids without telling their parents about it. Again, you are no longer a minor. If you transgress, then you'll have to face the consequences of your crimes like a forty year old would."

Carlos leaned forward but flinched with a hiss when his wrist twisted in an uncomfortable way. "Look, I haven't done anything that's worth getting me arrested."

"Carlos, right? You didn't think we'd make an arrest with no evidence, did you? It doesn't work that way. As for your innocence, let us be the judge of that." The dark man whose name tag Carlos read as Dylan Cooper, said with a tone of finality, a cup of coffee in his hand and some paperwork in the other.

At his response, he remained quiet seeing as it was useless to keep trying to verbally prove his innocence. It would only end in futile back and forth words. Already, his phone had been confiscated, along with his car keys and every other thing he had with him. Solitude was his companion as the officer returned to work. It was suffocating to bear the silence when there were other people around him. As hs opened his mouth to speak, a familiar voice boomed through the busy office, temporarily distracting the officers in that axis.

The fine hairs on his neck stood erect, his body trembled as soon as he came face to face with an older version of himself. One look into his father's fathomless depth of black eyes and his knees almost gave way despite the fact that he was seated. The usual fake smile he plastered on his face which accompanied him to the station was now completely wiped off and replaced with a hateful sneer. He didn't try to hide his disgust for him as most parents would.

The man's angry eyes swept away from his son as he walked straight to officer Dylan with a hand outstretched for a handshake. "Mr Alejandro of Alejandro corp."

"Thank you for coming." Dylan's pleasant smile had Carlos wondering if he was meant to be sarcastic or he was naturally comfortable with everyone he met.

Mr Alejandro settled on another seat nearby. "What has this irresponsible son of mine done this time?"

Dylan returned to his seat with the same smile sitting on his face. His warm eyes met  Carlos but the latter averted his gaze hastily. "We have other people coming here who are also connected to this case."

The impatient man took a look at his watch with a frown. "Well, they better be here on time. I've got far more important things to get to."

"With all respect, I also have things that are far more important than what you have to do, Mr Alejandro. You don't think I arrive here everyday to sit by and waste my precious time, do you?" The smile still didn't leave.

With a derogatory sweep of his eyes, Mr Alejandro nodded. "Judging by what I see, I beg to differ."

You're not helping, Carlos thought as he glared at the side of his father's head. The man had a reputation for being a pain in the ass and flaunting the power he had as one of the town's wealthiest. As opposed to Carlos' expectation, his father's snide statement barely altered Dylan's initial expression. If anything, the smile had widened to his ears, crinkling his eyes.

"I understand you are an extremely, uh, serious man but your meetings can wait since this is a matter concerning your son." There was a slight underlying tone of a threat.

The look that was sent his way was contemptuous. "If he did anything wrong, you should arrest him. Make him see reasons why he can't break the law and get away with it." He looked at his wrist once more. "If there's nothing else to discuss, I'd like to leave."

"You can't leave. This isn't your company where you can do as you please. If you refuse to comply, we'd have to hold you down as well and I'm sure you don't want something against your will. Just give us some minutes of your time so you can be on your way." Those were Dylan's final words to him. Afterwards, he turned away from the pair to look at the paperwork he'd been holding.

Carlos watched his father settle back in his seat, impatience still visible in the unending tap of his feet against the floor and the constant looks he was giving his wrist every now and then. After what seemed like sitting forever in silence, voices arose from the entrance of the building. The sound of several footsteps approaching became louder and louder until a tall, dark haired man appeared in the doorway of the section they were in. Following right behind him were two teenagers the age of Carlos. On peering closer, he realized they were actually his classmates; Dolores and Nicolas.

"Great to have you with us, Mr Huerta. Shall we proceed with our purpose?" His question sounded more like a statement. An arm stretched, he ushered them all into another office with more privacy and space to contain all including the two officers who followed behind.

As Carlos sat opposite a large desk, Dylan dropped on the leather seat on the other side of the desk. As opposed to what he was used to, the man's mask of warmth had now cracked into a brittle one of indifference. There was an ominous feeling as Carlos craned his neck to stare at Nicolas, that a significant change was about to alter the course of his life.

~~~{•}~~~

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~~Chignature~~