Elk sighed in distress as he walked out of the Principal's office. He closed the door behind and stiffly tramped along the hush corridor, with vacant classrooms facing accross on each walls.
He had barely fixed concerns with the kid named Archer's parents.
He visited him at the hospital, where a crying mother and a furious father drained his energy.
Archer's condition had stabilized, but who was he ribbing at the broken nose, shattered teeth, stitches and scars engraved on his face. Archer had lost a lot of blood—and the boy had yet to gain consciousness.
And the trouble–maker was still missing.
Police, as well his Agents had been instructed to look for Rhean, for even if he was not his own, he had deeply grown to care for the child.
Out of the building, he looked around the school compound of 'Sunflower' junior school: the janitor was sweeping, gathering a hill of the dried, fallen leaves.
Up at the darkened sky, black clouds loomed over. A gust of sharp wind, flapping away the leaves and dust on the surface.
Sulked the janitor, grumbling and hastily brooming the dirt once again. The weather this days of March had been a thrill of winds and chills. Gales, hailstones ramming the earth.
It was going to rain soon, and the mud had only begun to dry because of the nearness of the former.
At the open school parking lot with the press of a button of the car key, beeped the red Jeep unlocked, the headlights flickering.
Mounted on the driver's seat, bearing a troubled heart he started the car; only praying for the little violent brat to be safe and be found.
– – –
Elk was in his cabin, strictly discussing work with his assistant and Agent Knight—who sat in a lineal posture accross the table.
A knock on the door drifted attention from the topic, pausing the conference.
"Come in." Elk voiced out, followed the door being opened, and the appearance of a tall figure—with his head dipped down.
He raised the siren eyes to find three pair of gazes riveted to him.
"Welcome back Czar." Elk greeted, revealing a half—curled lined smile. He had been gone for a job for two weeks, demanding a voyage to a foreign country.
"Good to see you Czar." The assistant said as he walked in. He slid off the chair and stood beside it to make him a room. "Have a seat.''
Rhett tonelessly nodded at him.
Knight scoffed to himself, refusing to irk his ego—to align with the expectations that inclined him to address a senior.
Rhett placed a black pendrive on the desk.
"It's all in here?" Elk inquired, reaching for the drive.
"Yes." Rhett replied and lowered to the seat.
"Very well. You should take some time off before the next mission." Elk smiled at the Agent leaned back on the chair—and pulling a face at his odd guise.
A stern face, reddish veins dimming the sclera. The same grim sullen stare of the sleep deprived eyes almost made Rhett look formidable; even to him.
"Anything on her?" Rhett inquired.
A sudden cramp of a tight knot in his chest.
Elk hesitated to respond for a moment.
Then he careened his body towards the desk, fastening his hands smooth on the surface. "Listen Czar. I've come to a conclusion—centering no other intentions than your well being. Don't get me wrong."
Rhett arched a brow, addled at his sudden confession. "Cut to the chase."
Elk breathed in deep through his nose, back muscles tensed at his dour demeanour. "Two months ago, I decided to shut your wife's case."
"What did you say?" Rhett's voice was sharp. Eerily calm.
The room chilled suddenly, the three of them felt a cold sting rush down the spine.
Elk steered his hands back to him, his back straightened.
"It's for your own good. You've got to move on. Who knows? We've been searching for a corse all this time—" Elk's words were cut short as Rhett lunged at him alarmingly.
It made Knight almost slant off from his seat, gripping the chair and the elbows raised alert for action.
"Czar, calm down." The assistant heeded wired, panic evident in his tautened posture.
Elk was elevated further up from the chair—brought near to his face. His collar crushed in Rhett's hardened fists.
"I will kill you." He snarled through gritted teeth, blue veins roping his neck.
"Look, there's nothing I could've done. The Agency had tried everything—" "All this time. Likea fucking dog you made me sprint around for measly inquisitions, and now you come up with this shit?" Rhett's pained gaze, the spasm of betrayal was clear in the low guttural sound the outburst rumbled in his throat.
"Czar," the assistant was silenced by Elk's raised hand.
Elk caught Rhett's dead glare, to burn him alive.
"We can logically differ even without violence. Get your hands off me!" He scraped himself up, staring back at him with the same intensity.
Rhett clenched his jaw, left eye twitching. Fire building in the chest to erupt.
Before he did something, the consequences reflecting guilt on him, he harshly rammed back Elk on the leather rocker, the armchair skittering—creating a squeaking noise.
Elk's sigh shaky, in an untouched manner he fixed his crumpled collar.
"Why?" Rhett asked. His tone mournful, abscend of vigor.
His withered frame, slouched shoulder and dipped chin—lowered eyes had Elk regret for a split second, before he regained the circumstances that pushed him to do, what he had to.
"We did what we could." He paused, irritated and coarse. "Yet not a single clue found all this years."
"Tell me," Elk allowed the clarification in a milder tone.
"How do we believe if she can be recovered back? If she's even—" Elk trailed off, breaking his words with a shake of his head.
"Not reasonable enough. Your attempts were shallow and tardy."
Elk displeased looked at him dryly. "You tell me, what in the world could possibly be achieved? We're just girded around—knocked against a dead end. Enough resources had been wasted, there's less hours, less Agents—and increased work." He zipped up, he felt this time, he had versed in extreme.
The shrunken appearance of his assistant exposed the realisation to him.
"Maybe because you and your good–for–nothing Agency is but a scheming, blood sucking regime." Rhett taunted him, causing Elk's face to balloon up scarlet in vexation.
"If you're so good, do it yourself!" Elk barked.
"Oh I will." Rhett taunted and turned towards the door.
"One more thing," Elk interrupted and paused his hand on the knob. "Your son caused trouble at school. He's been missing for two days."
Rhett looked over his shoulder. Swowling. "And you're telling me now?"
Elk didn't bother and cleared his throat. "A team has been—"
"Your trashy team couldn't even find a damn kid?" Rhett bashed, he couldn't even utter anymore with the rage overwhelming to collapse his sanity.
Walking out he roughly slammed the door behind him.
The people left in the room left sighing at the brutality.
"I messed up." Elk grunted.
"You did." The assistant asserted.
"Shut up. So where were we?" Elk blithely brushed him off.
Knight just rolled his eyes at his workaholic self.