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JACE's POV

While waiting for the right timing, Viper kept on cussing while looking at the poor children who were being drag somewhere by those men. I could tell that he was on the brink of losing his self-control and would attack any moment now.

I could feel the same amount of rage as him, but our difference was, he couldn't keep his mouth shut while me on the other hand was just quiet.

"Damn it! I can't take this anymore, bud! I want to kill those fùckers now!" Viper whisper-yelled in anger. His blue-green eyes looked smoldering in anger and disgust.

"Let's wait for a little bit. My hands are itching to kill each and everyone of these people, but we have to be patient. We can't afford to mess up because the children's lives are at stake here. I want to see what these fùckers are up to with those children. The moment we see that, let's charge in." He grunted upon hearing my answer.

I mentally shook my head. Sometimes, he really could be so impatient when it comes to these kinds of things. At first, I thought, he was the uncaring type, but I was wrong because the truth was, he's such a soft-hearted person.

"Fine. I'll try to wait for a little bit longer but if they would do something even to one of the children, I will attack right away. That's my go signal."

"Okay. I'll give you that but before you do that, make sure to do the first thing that we have planned." I reminded him, still guarding my calm.

"I know that. Don't worry, I already bugged every corner of this house and just one press here will do the trick." He answered as he showed me a small remote. I smirked. This is why I brought him here with me. He really knows what he's doing when it comes to things like these.

It has been his goal to be one of the bosses of the ET VINDEX that's why he's been doing everything that he could to make that happen. Well, with his skills; I could say with confidence that he could make it. Even though being one of the bosses would be one hell of a challenge, I knew that he could do it.

"Good. At least, your head is still as clear as before."

He scoffed. "You know me, bud. Yes, I could be so impatient and reckless like you sometimes, but I still clearly know the important parts of the mission I'm in." I was about to answer when my eyes widened because of the next thing that I witnessed.

"Sh*t!" I cursed and Viper followed my gaze. One of the men who was dragging one of the children a while ago suddenly hit the kid because she kept on struggling and crying. Because of the impact of his slap, the little girl fell on the ground. She was almost unconscious while crying in misery.

I felt like my vision darkened as overwhelming anger ate my whole being.

"That fùcker!" I heard Viper hissed before he quickly pressed one of the buttons of the remote that he was holding. All the lights inside and outside of the house turned off and that's our cue. We charged in almost at the same time but in different directions.

We already have planned what we would do in this mission ahead of time. All the people at the party were now in panic because the surroundings became dark. I put my glasses on which could permit me to see in the dark.

I furtively moved without any sound and when I was finally closed enough to the people there, I brought out my gun with a suppressor and then shoot all the men who were dragging the children and forcing them to go with them.

I looked around and noticed that Doctor Baron and his wife were already nowhere to be found. I gritted my teeth.

"Damn it! Turn the lights on!" The people who were still alive were shouting. I couldn't almost hear what they were saying because of the loud cries of the poor children who looked like already traumatized because of what was happening to them.

It was almost pitch dark that's why they couldn't even tell that most of them were already dead on the ground.

"No matter how many times I tried to turn the lights on, nothing's happening! I think someone is in here! Find the perpetrator!" One of the them shouted to their men. I smirked.

I knew who that was. Mr. Peters. He's a well-known politician who's into charity. Who would've thought that he was actually one of them?

I was standing just a couple of feet away from him and I could tell that he was sweating profusely already because of fear.

I could tell that he was expecting that their men who were guarding the whole place a while ago could stop us but little that he knew that they were already dead since a minute ago.

Some of the other clients already ran away. Viper would surely take care of them. Do you really think that you could escape? Wrong move, people. Wrong move.

I continued shooting all those predators until the only one left standing there aside from the weeping children was Mr. Peters. I purposely didn't kill him yet.

I then stealthily approached him and then pointed the gun on the back of his head from behind.

"Don't you dare move a muscle or else, I'm gonna blow up your head." I warned him menacingly as I let him feel the hard and cold tip of my gun by deliberately pressing it to his head.

I could almost feel the shivering of his body and it was giving me pleasure knowing that a person like him actually has the capability to be scared at something.

"W-What do you w-want? If it's m-money that you like, I-I can give you plenty of it. C-Can you see those children? They c-could bring us a lot of m-money. J-Just let me go and I promise that I will give you all my earnings for t-tonight."

"Your earnings for tonight?" Because of what I've heard, my hands were itching to break his neck but I had to ask him a couple of questions first before disposing him off like the others.

He nodded his head vigorously. "Y-Yes! M-Many of the men here c-came here to buy them. J-Just spare me and I p-promise to give you e-everything that I've earned tonight."

"Who is the one behind this operation? Is it Doctor Baron?"

"I-I can't t-tell you that." My jaw flexed in anger and then pressed the tip of the gun harder against his head.

"Answer my question of else, I'll pull the trigger now." I threatened him with a stern voice.

"P-Please, spare me." He begged desperately but I felt nothing with his useless pleas.

"I'm going to count to three. If you won't tell me anything after that, say goodbye to your sweet money because you won't be able to take them with you in your grave!" I continued threatening him before started counting.

"One! Two! Thre—" Before I could even finish counting, he finally spilled the beans.

"P-Please, no! I'm gonna talk! I-I'll tell you everything I know!"

"Then out with it before I lost my patience!" I hissed.

"D-Doctor Baron is one of the leaders of Alta Hama Group and he's the brain in all of these! We're just nothing but clients and suppliers here! Many of us came here just for the bidding and nothing else!"

"Bidding?"

"Yes! Some of us came here to buy off the children and some came to sell the new children that they just caught!" He was too afraid that he was talking fast.

"What do you plan to do with these kids?"

"Many of the bidders are after their internal organs. Some are looking for slaves and some came here for their fetish's purposes!" That's it. Hearing those abominable things from him made me snap.

"People like you don't deserve to live. You should rot in hell!"

"No!" He managed to beg before I pulled the trigger and blew up his head. He fell on the ground, lifeless, but I didn't even feel any pity. People like him are nothing but scums of the earth and they deserve to be eradicated.

I looked around and the only noise that was left were the cries of the children. My grip tightened around the gun that I was holding while watching them sob in so much fear.

I pressed something on my smart watch and contacted Jinn.

"Where are the fùcking back up, 1? We already killed all these crime lords here. Send someone to tend to the children too while I go after the big fish." I said with a stern voice.

"Impatient as ever, six? Don't worry. They're on their way." I muttered a curse under my breath and pressed the end call button.

I wanted to comfort all the children, but I knew that I had to go after the other's first.

"Guys, stop crying. Don't worry because you're already safe. Just stay here and wait for my friends. They're going to rescue you, okay?" I told them with a tender voice. They cry softened a little bit. That made me feel a lot better.

I quickly entered the house like a ninja in the dark, without sound. Not even the most skillful killers could detect my presence in this kind of darkness.

I concentrated and observe every faint sound coming from every corner. It was so dark inside, and the silence was deafening. I didn't find anyone downstairs, so I carefully went to the second floor without creating a single sound.

I checked every room as silence as possible, but I saw no one. I was about to go back downstairs when I noticed a bookshelf at the mini living room there. I looked at it carefully and smirked when I realized what it was.

"Do you really think that you could hide from me?" I whispered to myself.

I looked at the books carefully. Every book there was neatly placed but my eyes was quick to notice the only book that wasn't placed correctly. It was placed in an upside-down position.

Using my forefinger, I pushed the book all the way to the inside and bingo! The bookshelf moved on its own and it revealed a hidden door behind it. I smirked and then brought out my tracking device.

It was a special kind of device that wasn't mass produced. It was developed by the company of one of my good friends in TBG, the Hatzis Group of Companies, to be used by people like us. The government approved it because it was proven to be a great help in chasing bad guys.

I then pressed something and then the device began searching for any movement inside that hidden door. Then, the blinking red light suddenly appeared on the screen as the arrow pointed at a certain place approximately around 15 meters from my spot.

The corner of my lips twitched as I continued approaching that spot with controlled breathing as quiet as possible. I knew that the enemy was surely waiting for me to come to him so that he would attack but little did he know that I already knew about his presence in there.

I stopped around 10 feet away from that certain spot and then hid the device back inside the pocket of my combat pants. I readied my gun and continued approaching. I then saw another door but this time, it was slightly open. I knew that the person I was looking for was hiding in there.

Just when I was about to enter, someone got out from that door and then attacked me using a sword. Thankfully, I was wearing a night vision glasses so I managed to see and evade it. He continued attacking me with his sword skills and all I did was avoid every attack.

If I wasn't wearing a night vision glasses, I would've been dead by now. The enemy was fast and every sway of his sword was swift and neat. It was creating a chilling sound that was echoing inside that secret room.

I saw that he was also wearing a night vision glasses. I grunted while trying my best to steer clear of his every sway.

"Die!" He roared as he tried to impale the sword in my body when he thought he got the chance but I saw that as an opportunity to get him good. I managed to avoid his attack once again by swiftly moved to the side and then hit him on the face with the gun that I was using.

I heard him groan in pain.

He fell on the floor and was about to get up but his forehead was met by the cold and hard tip of my gun. I cursed expletives when I saw that he wasn't the one I was after. This was nothing but a trap to lure me inside!

"Where the fùck is your boss?" I asked and I heard him scoff.

"Do you really think that you could outwit him? He has a lot of enemies so he already planned this ahead of time, way before the auction even began. You're only wasting your time here because he already escaped." He then laughed after that.

"Fùck!" I angrily cussed before pressing the tip of the gun on his forehead, harder this time.

"Where did he go? Start talking now or else, you'll die!" Instead of getting scared of my threat, he laughed.

"I would gladly die for him." He laughed again. "If I were you, I would just get out of here because you're just wasting your precious time here. I'm just a nobody." I already knew that tone. He's really willing to die for Doctor Baron.

I gritted my teeth. "You're useless to me. If that's what you want, goodbye then!" Before he could even answer, I pulled the trigger. I left his dead body there with my jaw clenched tightly.

I then contacted Viper. "Did you see any sign of Doctor Baron?" He wasn't answering but I could hear his grunts as if he was fighting with someone. Suddenly, I heard a sound of a helicopter. It was coming from rooftop of the house! It looked like it just landed!

I quickly ran towards the stairs until I finally reached the third floor. The helicopter sounded like it was about to take off.

When I reached the door, I was about to open it when I noticed that there were two men who were in the middle of a fight. I pressed the zoom in button on the side part of my night vision glasses and saw that one of those men was Viper.

I couldn't just walk out of the door because they were blocking the way.

"B*stard!" I heard Viper roar before he gave his enemy a flying kick. Then seconds later, I heard a faint sound of a gun before Viper's enemy fell on the floor.

"Bud, hurry up! Doctor Baron is on the helicopter! I don't know who came to save him, but we need to hurry!"

"How come you couldn't stop him from leaving?!" I hissed.

"Damn it! Can't you see how many enemies I have killed here? That guy was the last!" I looked around and just noticed those dead bodies scattered on the floor.

We ran out of the door and my eyes widened when I saw Doctor Baron. He was looking at our direction with a smirk while standing next to the helicopter. I pointed my gun at his direction, but my eyes suddenly widened when two of his men suddenly appeared from behind the helicopter and they weren't alone.

They had five kids with them and one of them was Neo! To my horror, he suddenly snatched the oldest kid who looked so scared. I knew that kid. Christine told me that she met him with Neo before. His name was Cade.

"Go on and shoot! You will have to kill these kids first before even putting a dent on me!" Doctor Baron dared while laughing like a devil. The two men pushed the other kids in front Doctor Baron to use them as a human-shield.

The rage inside of me was inexplainable. All I wanted was to kill him in an instant, but those poor kids were being used to protect himself. My eyes automatically looked at Neo and he looked like he was about to cry.

"Sh*t! This coward is using the kids to escape!" Viper hissed. "If he thinks that he could escape by pulling this trick, he's wrong!" He then brought out his Ruger 10/22. My eyes widened when he pointed it to the direction of the lunatic doctor.

I looked at the kids and I felt a cold shiver ran down my spine when Doctor Baron suddenly snatched Neo's arm and pulled him closer to him to use him as his human shield this time.

"Bud, no!" I stopped Viper in panic. I couldn't explain the fear that I was feeling while looking at Neo who was now crying, asking for our help.

"Papa, let go of me!" He was trying his best to struggle but his efforts were futile.

"Are you crazy? I won't miss for sure! My target is that crazy doctor!"

"No! Neo might get shot!"

"Then, you're saying that we're gonna just watch as this psycho escapes, is that it?" I could hint the frustration in Viper's voice.

"Yes, if that's the only way for the kids to be saved for now! I can't take the risk!" We both looked at their direction again when we heard the triumphant laugh of Doctor Baron.

"You and your soft hearts! You're nothing but weaklings! Did you really think that you could get me? As long as I have these kids, you can't touch me!" He taunted us and then laughed again before he got inside the helicopter while carrying Neo. The other kids, who were crying too, got inside the helicopter as well.

Then, the helicopter began to take off.

"Damn it!" Viper hissed and then shoot the two men of Doctor Baron who were about to shoot us. I quickly called Jinn while looking at the helicopter floating higher and higher.

"Fùck it, Jinn! Where the hell is the backup that we requested? The enemy is now taking off using a helicopter! They used the kids to escape!" I said thunderously the moment he answered my call.

"Fùck! My ears almost bled because of your loud voice."

"Jinn! I'm fùcking serious here! The kids are being hold as hostages by Doctor Baron!"

"They should be there any moment now. Do you want me to order them to takedown that helicopter?"

"Were you even listening?! They have the children as hostages!" I barked at him in disbelief. All I wanted to do was to chase after that helicopter and save the children, especially Neo.

I made a mistake of leaving him there. I should've taken him when I got the chance, but I knew that that was out of the question. I couldn't just do something reckless which wasn't on the plan.

But now, everything that we planned got messed up because the enemy was prepared. I couldn't believe that Doctor Baron actually escaped.

"Damn it! That fùcker actually got away by using the children. Do something!" I grunted and then ended the call. I looked at the helicopter again just to be shocked when I noticed that big symbol on the bottom part of it, printed next to the landing gear.

I knew that symbol. I couldn't be wrong. I couldn't believe of what I was seeing!

Then, the backups arrived but the helicopter was already gone. One of them was Red.

"Sh*t! If those kids weren't there, those b*stards would've been dead by now!" Viper was so frustrated as he ran his hand over his face.

"Six, One told us what just happened. What do you plan to do now?" She asked. My fists tightened. I wanted to shout in so much rage.

I looked down, beginning to lose hope, but then my eyes widened when I suddenly remembered something.

"Fùck it! How could I forget about that?!" I hissed to myself and then brought out my tracking device. I checked the signal of the microchip that I attached onto Neo's shirt and it was actually active. It only meant that they haven't discovered about the small device yet.

"You managed to track down the enemies? How?" It was Viper who was now next to me and looking at the device that I was holding.

"We need to chase after that b*stard before he does something bad to the children!" I instructed without answering his question. I was about to turn around to leave when Viper spoke.

"Six, I have a suggestion." His voice was formal. I nodded my head, giving him the permission to talk.

"We should wait before we attack until they arrived at their destination. I have a feeling that they're going to go to their main hideout this time."

"He's right, six. I think we should wait until they land. Let them think that we are no longer chasing after them." I released a harsh breath. Much as I wanted to attack right now, they're right.

"Okay. Let's do that." Son, hold on for a little bit more...

Even though I don't have a proof yet that Neo's our son, my gut feeling tells me that he's the one. My heart already declared that he's our beloved JC.

My eyes were fixed on the small monitor of my tracking device, afraid that it might stop because the enemies discovered about it. But thankfully, it continuously moved.

Every second that passes felt like an eternity. Then, seconds became minutes until about two hours have passed by before the signal finally stayed in one place.

I quickly checked the location of that place where it stopped. In Arkansas. It took them around two hours because they were on a helicopter.

"Men, our target has finally arrived on its destination. Let's move!" I ordered with a loud voice. Jinn sent us one of the ET VINDEX's fastest helicopters. While on our way, our experts were already studying the place as we devised a plan.

"It's a mountainous area so you should get off the helicopter at the bottom of the mountain so that they wouldn't notice you." Jinn instructed through call.

"Copy. Make sure to ready everything in case of a strong resistance from them."

"Don't worry, six. Everything is ready in a short period of time." I then ended the call. When we reached the place, we did as we planned. We got off at the bottom of the mountain and then trekked our way up he mountain.

The place was like a virgin forest and was difficult to trek because there wasn't any pathway to follow. While we were on our way, my mind was full of Neo, afraid that they might've hurt him.

"Are you okay, Slate?" Red asked with a small voice while we're on our way up.

"No, I'm not. If only I have wings, I would've flown up there right away. I can't help but to be afraid that they might be hurting the kids right now." I answered with an almost inaudible voice. Her eyebrows creased.

"Did Jinn tell you something about those kids?" She asked.

"What do you mean? Is he keeping something important from me?" She looked away.

"If he hasn't told you anything yet then, I can't say anything." I stopped walking and zeroed my eyes on her.

"What do you mean? Spill it out." She heaved a sigh.

"This is not the right time for us to talk about it. It's better for you to ask him later." I didn't answer and remained quiet. I felt like they were hiding something big from me and I hate like the feeling of being left out.

After almost three hours or trekking, we finally reached the target place. It was already 3 in the morning.

"Bingo. So, this is their main hideout." Viper whispered with a smirk on his face. There were around ten big hut-like houses and each of it has many guards lurking around it. Some people were drinking at the table outside while some were being entertained by those dancing women.

I was about to answer when I noticed someone getting out of one of the huts there. I took my binoculars to check who it was and imagine my surprise when I saw his face. Now, I finally understood why Doctor Baron and his minions used that helicopter as a getaway transportation.

That symbol on the helicopter confirmed that they're connected. My rage and resentment towards him livened. 

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What do you think of this chapter

Will Jace succeed on saving Neo and the other kids?

Who do you think was the one Jace saw at the end of this chapter?

Is Jinn hiding something from Jace?

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