Chapter 269: The One Who Got Through
Aron listened closely, not missing a single word as the guard on the other end of the line laid out the details. He asked follow-up questions, sharp and specific, hoping something, anything, would stand out. But it didn’t get him anywhere.
The description of the man who had taken Abby didn’t match anyone Aron knew. No one on their radar. No one from Dipter’s group. Nothing even close.
And that worried him more than anything.
The guards had no idea where the man had gone after the abduction. They hadn’t even seen him leave. It was as if he had vanished the moment Abby disappeared. Every detail pointed to the same conclusion, this wasn’t just some street thug.
It was a professional.
Aron ended the call and slowly lowered the phone to his side. His hands curled into fists, knuckles whitening as frustration surged through his chest.
Damn it… damn it!
Max knew. He knew there was always a risk Abby could be targeted, that’s why he’d insisted on placing guards with her in the first place. He had taken precautions. He had planned ahead.
But it still wasn’t enough.
Who could’ve done this? Aron thought, his mind racing. Who would even know how to get through Max’s protections like that?
There might be one person who knew the answer, Max himself.
But he wasn’t waking up anytime soon.
And for Aron, this was the ultimate failure. Not just being unable to protect Max… but letting this happen while Max lay helpless. The idea of Max waking up and hearing that Abby was gone, it made Aron’s stomach twist.
He could already imagine the look in Max’s eyes. The blame. The anger. The pain.
What am I supposed to do?
If someone had gone after Abby, there was a good chance Max would be next. That meant whoever this was, they weren’t just sending a message. They were starting a war.
Aron didn’t want to leave Max’s side. Not now. Not when he was vulnerable. But how could he stay here when Abby was out there, taken by someone they knew nothing about?
With no leads… no trail… how were they supposed to find her?
“What’s going on?” Joe asked, stepping forward. “What was the call about?”
Aron didn’t answer right away.
“A student from your school,” Aron finally said, his voice tight. “Max asked me to look after her… so we assigned a security team. But they just reported she’s been taken, kidnapped.”
“What?!” Joe exclaimed, his eyes widening. “At a time like this?”
Aron nodded grimly.
“Do you have any idea who could’ve done something like this?” he asked.
Joe’s mind raced. Names flickered through his thoughts, but none of them made sense. Most of the people they’d fought recently, especially the major threats, were already locked up, injured, or otherwise out of commission.
“There was that guy, Dud,” Joe said, thinking aloud. “He attacked us before, but he was with us at the venue. He wouldn’t have had time to pull something like this off.”
Aron considered it. Joe was probably right. The timeline didn’t add up.
For a brief moment, Aron thought about asking Joe and Steven to help search for Abby, track her down, gather intel, something. But even as the idea crossed his mind, doubt crept in.
What if they found her? Then what?
Whoever took Abby had gotten past a professional security team. That either meant multiple people were involved… or the ones behind it were extremely dangerous.
He couldn’t risk putting even more people that Max cared about in danger. Especially not the ones who had already risked everything for him.
But what options did he have?
I could contact that mercenary group, Aron thought. Send them after her. Right now, that’s the only real move I’ve got.
Just as he reached for his phone to make the call, it vibrated in his hand. An incoming call, one from a number he had only recently saved.
He recognized it instantly.
Without hesitation, Aron answered.
“Hey, you picked up. I’m surprised,” the voice on the other end said, casual as ever.
It was Wolf.
“I tried calling the boss, but he wasn’t answering,” Wolf continued. “He hasn’t croaked, has he?”
Aron’s eyes narrowed, and his jaw clenched at the suggestion.
“He’s recovering at the moment,” Aron said stiffly, “but he’s in no condition to be answering phone calls.”
“Ah. Figures,” Wolf replied, his tone unfazed. “I figured it was something like that.”
There was a pause, and then Wolf’s voice shifted, more serious now.
“Well… I’ve got a bit of a situation. Not sure if it’s one you can help with or not.”
Aron was starting to feel like the universe had it out for them.
What did we do… to have all these problems crash down at once?
It felt like every time they solved one crisis, another reared its head, more dangerous, more unpredictable than the last.
“You see,” Wolf continued, his voice casual but layered with something deeper, “me and Max… we were involved in something. And Max was always the go-to guy they’d call when they needed anything.”
Aron’s brow furrowed.
Something else? What kind of mess had Max gotten into this time, one that even Aron didn’t know about?
“And now that they can’t reach him,” Wolf added, “they’ve been calling me non-stop.”
Aron leaned forward slightly, his curiosity now fully piqued. Whatever this was, it wasn’t some petty street issue, especially if they were threatening Wolf to get to Max.
Wolf let out a sigh on the other end of the line. “Anyway, I finally picked up one of the calls. Figured they weren’t gonna stop. The guy on the other end said he wanted to meet with Max. I told him that wouldn’t be possible.”
“And?” Aron asked, already expecting the worst.
“That’s when he said… they’ve got a girl,” Wolf continued, his tone dropping. “I think she’s someone from Max’s school. He said if I, or Max, don’t show up soon, things are gonna get messy.”
Aron’s heart skipped a beat.
Finally, finally, there was something to work with. A thread to pull. In a roundabout way, it all connected. Somehow this unknown caller, Wolf, and Max’s hidden dealings had tied back to Abby.
There was no doubt in Aron’s mind now.
It had to be her.
Still, knowing where she might be and actually doing something about it were two very different things. Max was unconscious. They had no proper backup. And Aron couldn’t leave his side, not without risking something worse happening.
But maybe… there was another way.
“Wolf,” Aron said, his voice steady now, filled with purpose. “I’m going to have to ask you for a favor.”
There was a brief pause on the line.
“Do you mind playing along with this guy?” Aron asked. “Go to him. See where he’s holding the girl. But I need everything, names, location, how many people, what the setup looks like. The more detail, the better.”
Because now that they had a lead, Aron wasn’t letting go.