T H I R D   P E R S O N

Logan's prediction turned out to be correct when he heard noises outside his window. He barely slept throughout the week as he anticipated a break in from Maru and sure enough, here he was. Before all this happened, Logan stayed in Scarlet's room to lull her to sleep and when he saw that she was far in sleep his nightly routine started.

If his intuitions were correct, his father would come for him today and Logan didn’t want to be caught off guard. He completed the message he wanted to send to Scarlet and sent it to her phone before walking to the table in her room and dropping his there. Taking a last glance at his beloved, he bent forward and kissed her forehead. “I trust you, Scarlet.” He muttered and left her room silently.

“Chimera, lock the house down except for the window in the guestroom.” He commanded his AI which was still connected to the house. The sounds of electronics shutting filled the air for some minutes until there was silence and the wait began.

When Logan was about to give up on his wait, the noises came from the only window opened in the house which was his window. Logan stood up abruptly and silently from his bed and moved to the end of the room in wait of his father’s emergence. The man in question stealthily climbed in through the window which closed immediately he got through.

“I see you’ve been expecting me, how clever of you. It seems like my lessons to be alert are paying off.” The man’s ominous voice sounded as he talked without even looking at his son.

“Father.” Logan seethed with venom. Maru faced him then, his mask was on but Logan could see the telltale signs of a wicked smirk. The golden contacts that the man wore did nothing to hide the evil glint in his eyes as they raked over Logan's body.

“I dropped a visit at the bus stop previously, you didn’t seem thrilled to see me.” Maru faked being hurt but smirked wider when Logan's eyes widened. Logan gasped at the revelation, that wasn’t an illusion?! It made the younger one curious as to when exactly his father found him but he decided against questioning it. “So you latched on to the one who possesses the valkeye sannin.”

At this, Logan tensed. He had been right after all. “You will stay away from her.” Logan threatened which only seemed to amuse his father.

“Oh?” the man mused, taking one menacing step after the other towards Logan who tried to remain in position. Even after all these years away from him he still managed to affect Logan and the latter hated it. “Is that an order I hear from you?” Maru questioned, daring him to say further.

Logan swallowed and looked him in the eye. “It is a negotiation. Chimera open the window to the guestroom.” Almost immediately, the window opened and Maru frowned. “As you can see, I have control over this house. If you try to double cross me, I can lock you in with me. The only other person with access to this house is Scarlet. If you haven’t noticed my cell phone is nowhere to be found, that is because I left it at Scarlet's room. All I need to do is tell my AI to send a message to call the police and that you are here with me locked in this room and it’s over for you.”

Maru stepped back which Logan appreciated. The younger swallowed and tried to keep his voice from shaking as he chose his next words carefully. His father was a smart man, a genius, so if he chose his words wrongly the man could figure out his plan. “In exchange for some answers from you, I would give you what you require of me.”

“And what would that be?” Maru asked sarcastically.

“The dragon sannin.”

Logan's heart pounded in his chest as Maru grew quiet as if to ponder upon his options. After few minutes of excruciating silence, Maru finally agreed to his terms and conditions causing him to sigh of relief. Logan however held his breath back when his father took steps towards him again. “Empty your pockets and raise your hands.” The man commanded.

Logan did as told and raised his hands for Maru to pat him down with. His heart was in his throat already and he was sure that his father could hear how loudly it thrummed. Maru’s hands patted down his backside and legs and up hid stomach and chest in search of a device or anything Logan might be hiding. The latter’s breath caught when Maru pat on his groin and smirked. “Do you want me to remove it or would you remove it?”

Logan didn’t answer so Maru took the initiative and dipped his hand inside his boxers. The evil smile that Maru wore promised a lot of wicked things as the man removed a small device from Logan's boxers, a GPS and recording device. “Alright, we’re clear.” Maru sneered and stepped back to crush the device.

‘It worked!’ Logan thought in relief as he went downstairs with Maru following behind him. The man knew where the CCTV cameras in Scarlet's house were positioned after months of studying and skillfully avoided them while Logan walked outside to make it seem like he was leaving. Upon exiting the gate, Logan took a last glance at the house and exhaled shakily. ‘I am counting on you, Scarlet.’

Ayo didn’t need to ring the bell before Scarlet let him in. The redhead showed him Logan's message and Ayo asked the same question she had asked herself. “Why did he write it in broken sentences?”

“So you noticed also. I think I have an idea of what he means by this message and that is why I called you.” Scarlet informed and took a sit next to Ayo on the dining table. Asa sat on Ayo's other side as the red head showed them what she discovered.

From Sunny:
Scarlet, I want you to read this thoroughly and carefully. I am sorry but this relationship cannot LAST. No matter how hard I try to make it work, it just can’t.
It began when you opened up to me about your father
I thought I was love struck
Alas my feelings were just egged on by Ayo
I felt pity and not love. I’m sorry I let this happen
I just can’t take this anymore, I hope you understand.

“When I first saw the text I thought it was a break up message but considering your actions now and the fact that his phone was in my room, I don’t think that’s the case. You didn’t ask why he broke up with me, you just asked why the sentences are broken. Is there something about Sunny that I don’t know?” Scarlet asked the dark boy.

“What is your hypothesis?” Ayo asked instead. Scarlet raised a brow and decided to answer him.

“This message is a code. In the first sentence, he wrote the ‘last’ in capital letters and I suspect he meant to read the last words in each sentence.” Scarlet said and dropped her phone in the center for everyone to see.

“Father struck Ayo happen understand.” Asa read out loud with a frown. “I don’t under stand.” She confessed.

“Me neither but Ayo was in his sentence so I figured he would have something to do with this, don’t you Ayo?” Scarlet crossed her arms over her chest and glared at her boyfriend’s brother.

Said boy was looking pale if that was even possible. “Oh no.” he whispered. “No no no no.” he stood up to leave but Scarlet's grip on his jacket stopped his progress.

“Is there something about Sunny that I don’t know?” Scarlet repeated her question from earlier. Ayo looked irritated for some moments before calming himself down enough to give an answer when he saw the glares that Scarlet and Asa gave him.

“He told you that we had a fight when he came here, didn’t he?” Both women nodded. “The reason behind that fight was because he kept having dreams of Maru coming for him and thought it was a sign. I thought otherwise and told him that he was mental…”

“You what?!” Scarlet growled.

“Go easy on me, I regretted saying that right after I said it.” Ayo defended.

“So what does this story have to do with this message?” Asa asked dryly. “Father struck Ayo happen understand, what do you understand?” She asked.

“Logan was on the run from Maru. The bastard had tracked his phone number once and that was how he found Logan at Humawod. Now he has found Logan and has struck.” Asa gasped at Ayo's revelation.

“We should call the police, he could be in danger!” The dark woman gasped. Scarlet's fists were clenched in worry and anger. She was angry at herself for not noticing that Logan left her room and even the house. He was kidnapped right under her nose and she didn’t know it.

“ Logan already is in danger. Please do not call the police yet.” Ayo pleaded.

“What do you mean?” Scarlet and Asa asked simultaneously.

One week ago, the day after Logan and Ayo's argument…

A knock echoed in Logan's room before Ayo let himself in which Lloyd scowled at. The darker one scratched his cheek nervously and perched himself on Logan's study table. “Hi.” His greeting was not returned with enthusiasm. Ayo sighed and looked at the ceiling. “I’m sorry, ya know. It was wrong of me to say what I said so I get why you’re mad at me.”

Logan narrowed his eyes a little at Ayo but relaxed them later with a sigh. “I’m not mad at you.” He muttered. “I was considering your words and…what if I am just the one being mental?”

“Here.” Ayo placed two items on the table. Logan stood up from his bed to inspect the items. “These are GPS and audio recording devices. I stole them from dad few years ago but I never expected them to be put to use. Both devices are linked to my laptop so I can track your location just in case something happens.”

Logan gaped at the items and noticed that one was in the shape of a pen. “I don’t know what to say.” He muttered.

“I gave you both just in case he finds one, then you can use the other one against him.” Ayo informed.

“This things are listening devices, right?” Logan asked and Ayo nodded. “Just in case Maru finds and takes me, I want you to do me a favour.” Logan requested. “Please do not inform dad or the police.”

“What?! You’re crazy, there’s no way I am doing that!” Ayo exclaimed.

“Ayo please wait for at least two days before informing them and keep tracking me. I need…there are things I want to ask him Ayo, things like why he killed my mother and why I cant remember my childhood.” Logan's voice dropped to a solemn tone. “Other than nightmares I keep having dreams about the mansion at Humawod and my mother and another person whose face I can’t remember. I need answers, Ayo.”

“Logan …” Ayo gasped. “Okay fine, I will give you three days. Get every information you want in three days because I will inform dad immediately after, information or not.”

Logan smiled at Ayo. “Thanks buddy.”

“So what do you plan to do now?” Ayo asked.

“Move to Scarlet's house for the week.”

“What?”

“You heard me. I have my reasons and you will come to understand them later.”

Ayo begged Asa and Scarlet not to inform the police and heaved in relief when they agreed. “I’m coming with you to see the tracking device.” Scarlet informed.

“Not before breakfast and you change into something other than pajamas.” Asa reprimanded.

“Meet me at my house, I have to go.” With that, Ayo left the house and ran to his own house. His parents had left for work so he was alone and didn’t have to form excuses for now. Ayo switched in his laptop and began to search for the first GPS. When he could not find it, he decided to search for the other and sighed in relief when he saw the small red dot moving. He linked it to a map and waited for the movement to stop.

The doorbell ringing brought him out of his trance, only then did he realize that he had been glaring at the red moving dot for a while. Ayo went down stairs to open the door for Scarlet and they both went to his room to view Logan's present location.

“Where is he?” Scarlet asked.

“Not sure, we're waiting for his movements to come to a halt.” Ayo said.

“Hn.” The red head grunted. The both of them were not sure how long they waited for the red dot to come to a halt but it finally did and Ayo narrowed his location down to Beastgrovia.

“You’re kidding.” Ayo gaped disbelievingly at the computer screen. “Beastgrovia?! All this time he was there all along?!”

“Figures. Beastgrovia is a big town so he would be able to blend in better with how populated the place is. Small towns and inconspicuous places are the first places that police would think to search for so he blindsided them by staying in the most conspicuous place of all.” Scarlet explained.

“This part of the town is the rural part of the town where nobody’s business matters. It is a good hiding place for scum like Maru.” Ayo muttered as he linked in to the listening device and a recorder. He put on headphones and waited for the sounds to filter in.

***

Hiya. Thanks for reading this chapter and the story, I really appreciate it. Please vote and comment.

-Star.