[Event: Buried Alive.]
[Task: Lucy Chen of the LAPD has been kidnapped and will soon be buried alive. Stop that from happening.]
[Reward: (x1) Mystery Box]
[Failure: Lucy Chen will die.]
"What the fuck!" Mathew roared as he followed behind Caleb's old grey Toyota. "Why me?! Fuck you, system!"
Up ahead, Caleb eased his vehicle to a halt at the intersection, the engine purring softly in wait. The glaring red light of the traffic signal cast an eerie glow that illuminated his pallid face, reflecting off his lifeless, emotionless eyes like two shards of glass.
"Lucy Chen… that's the name of one of the characters from The Rookie. Just my luck, this must be during the time she was buried in that barrel." Mathew muttered as he thought back to the episode of Lucy's kidnapping and how everyone in the LAPD rushed to save her.
Pulling his backpack off, Mathew pulled Altair's Assassin hood out and quickly slipped it on. Once his backpack was secure, he peddled forward after Caleb. Reaching into his pocket, Mathew grabbed his phone and scrolled through his contacts.
"I'm so fucked." Mathew groaned as he waited for the other line to pick up.
"Matt? Where are you? Your dad's saying he's going to die of starve-"
"Mom!" Mathew yelled as Caleb's car came to another stop. He was suddenly happy at Los Angeles's terrible levels of traffic. "A woman has been drugged and kidnapped! I'm following the guy's car on my bike, but I'll lose him if he gets on the highway! His license plate is 3, Juliett, Romeo, Quebec, 1, 5, 8!"
"What?! Mathew, what are-"
"We're heading north off East Ninth Street! I'll try to follow for as long as I can, but I need you to call in the boys in blue!" Mathew said as traffic began to move again. "Hurry!"
Mathew ended the call abruptly, shoving his phone into his pocket as he drove after Caleb. The sound of his mother's voice echoed in his mind, filled with worry and frustration, and he knew dwelling on it would only lead to a long lecture about his reckless choices.
Pedaling furiously on his bike, he pushed the thoughts aside, focusing instead on the rush of wind against his face and the thrill of chasing after the kidnapper.
"I am so grounded."
••o••o••o••
In the Johnson home, Sasha stood momentarily frozen, her heart racing with adrenaline before she snapped into action. Ignoring Jefferson's puzzled gaze, she dashed to her room, the wooden floor creaking beneath her hurried footsteps.
Once inside, she quickly changed into her detective gear, the fabric of her uniform hugging her form comfortably. After securing her badge on her belt and holstering her sidearm at her hip, she strode purposefully to her officer's take-home vehicle parked outside.
"Mathew's in trouble. I'll be back." Sasha quickly said and kissed Jefferson goodbye.
"O-okay."
The engine roared to life as she navigated through the familiar streets of her neighborhood, the trees blurring past her as she focused on the gravity of the situation. With a determined swipe, she pulled up her contacts and dialed Sergeant Grey, relaying the urgent details of the unfolding incident with a steady voice.
"Understood. I'll get all nearby available units to move into his position." Sergeant Grey said as Sasha turned on her sirens to blitz through the city streets.
"Also, Instruct them to keep their lights and sirens off. We need to avoid alerting the assailant until we can trap him. My foolish son is there..." Sasha's steady voice trembled as she mentioned Mathew.
••o••o••o••
"Damn it. The highways on the next exit!"
[Your Cycling Skill has improved by 1 point!]
Mathew gasped for air, the weight of his racing thoughts palpable as he slammed on the brakes at the final red light before Caleb could veer onto the highway. The looming asphalt stretched ahead.
If he stayed idle, Lucy Chen would vanish.
Determined, he gripped his bikes handles tighter, feeling the pulse of urgency thrumming through him.
"Liam Neeson made this look so easy." Mathew reached into his backpack and pulled out a sharp, serrated knife.
After taking a deep breath, he peddled forward and jumped off his bike. Dashing forward, he used his serrated knife to slash both of Caleb's vehicle's right-side tires. Two loud pops erupted in the street, and Caleb's car immediately leaned onto its side.
"What the hell?" Caleb's eyes widened as he looked outside. Seeing nothing, he got out of his car and walked around it to see his right side tires flat and ripped. The growing line of vehicles behind him honked as their impatience grew.
A sharp pain erupted in his side, prompting him to yell in pain. Turning around, he saw Mathew dressed in his white hood with his arms raised.
"Who the fuck-"
In a flash, Mathew stepped in and landed two sharp jabs into Caleb's face before crashing a powerful hook into his liver.
Caleb gasped in agony, but he was quickly silenced by a devastating right cross that broke his nose.
Ignoring his stinging knuckles, Mathew unleashed a rain of heavy blows on Caleb.
The man was nothing more than a heavy bag made of flesh.
Like a puppet with its strings cut, Caleb fell onto the floor—knocked out.
[Your Boxing Skill has improved by 1 point!]
[Congratulations! You have completed the Event!]
[You have earned (x1) Mystery Box!]
"Fuck you," Mathew gasped as he pulled out some rope from his backpack to tie Caleb's arms and feet. Standing to his feet, Mathew walked over to the driver's side and popped the car trunk.
"Passed out." Mathew placed his fingers on Lucy's neck. Sighing in relief, he leaned on the Toyota's side and released a long, deep sigh. "Man... from now on. I'm taking an Uber home." He chuckled darkly. Trying to stop his quickly beating heart.
Shit. That was intense.
Once Mathew had his breathing under control, he helped Lucy out of the trunk and carefully laid her down beside an old brick wall. After removing his hoodie and placing it, along with the knife, into his backpack, he called his mother to inform her of the situation and his location.
It didn't take long before the street was flooded by flashing red and blue lights.
"Are you Mathew Johnson?" Officer Doug Stanton asked with his hand on his sidearm, ready to draw it at any moment. Around him, several officers looked at the scene, and a man in a grey suit noticed Lucy.
Ah, shit. It's this guy. Mathew thought as he realized who Stanton was.
"Lucy?!" Detective Armstrong said in surprise before rushing to Lucy to check her condition.
"Yeah, I'm Mathew Johnson." Mathew nodded tiredly and pointed at the tied-up Caleb. "That's your kidnapper."
Stanton eyed him with suspicion and looked over to the knocked-out and bleeding man and then to Mathew's bloodied and bruised knuckles. Before he could question Mathew further, a black Sedan screeched to a stop.
Marching out of the car, Sasha turned to see Stanton with his hand on the grip of his service pistol while he eyed Mathew. "You better take your hand off your weapon right now, or so help me, I will bury you."
Stanton wanted to argue, but seeing that Sasha held a higher rank, he backed off.
"Oh, Mathew."
Moving next to him, Sasha enveloped Mathew in a hug after inspecting him from head to toe. She whispered into his ear about how happy she was he was safe and sound.
During this time, an ambulance pulled up behind them to take Lucy to the nearest Hospital. Armstrong watched the ambulance drive off with a police escort before turning to Mathew and the silent Sasha.
"So this is your son, Johnson? What you did today was very heroic, son. You saved an Officer's life." Armstrong said, impressed at Mathew's heroic actions. "It must run in the blood."
"That and a good dose of foolishness," Sasha said, relief flooding through her. Standing back, she gave her son a fiery glare." You, young man, have some explaining to do."
Mathew sighed and watched as Armstong smiled in amusement from behind Sasha.
"Yeah... I figured."
-| | |-
AN: If you haven't already checked it out, I have begun writing new story up based in the world of Netflix's Arcane. Give it a read if you're interested to see what I have in store for that world.