Broken Storm Part One by May C. West Page A

to move earth and heaven to
get her back.
    He’d dragged her into this, and now Keiko Teshi was
facing a danger she couldn't comprehend.
    'It'll be a small unit,' Frank said as he stalked
around in front of Chase’s desk.
    Frank was a detective, the best the city had, and
he was also Chase’s long-standing friend.
    'I didn't recognize the guy,' Chase pointed out for
the umpteenth time.
    'That means nothing. He could have been a mercenary
or a local hired gun. Though I doubt the last one; we are dealing with
professionals, after all,’ Frank snapped.
    Chase nodded slowly. He felt sick.
    He had a reason to feel sick. He couldn't stop
thinking about her, and more to the point, what they would be doing to her.
    She didn't seem to be the kind of girl that could
live through something like that. She seemed to be the kind of girl that would
fall apart at the first sign of trouble.
    Well now she was in trouble, more trouble than most
people could imagine.
    The guilt crashing into him in another thick and
powerful wave, Chase pushed himself backwards in his chair.
    'They would be keeping her locally; they're not
stupid enough to drive across the border with a body in the back,' Frank
pointed out.
    These were already facts Chase had thought of.
    He didn't need any more brainstorming; he needed
someone to do something. He needed somebody on the ground to find out
where they were keeping her, and he needed them to send in their best team to
get her back.
    'Chase, we’re doing everything we can,' Frank
paused, looking directly at his friend, his expression reassuring.
    There was nothing that could reassure Chase right
now though. Nothing save for Keiko walking back through that door.
    Though in that moment the door did open, Chase did
not snap his glance up to see her face.
    Instead Victor leaned in.
    He was aware of the situation, and aware of the
fact Chase had specifically asked not to be disturbed. But the expression on
Victor's face was a crumpled, confused, strange one, and it got Chase’s
attention.
    'You really need to see this,' he said in a careful
voice, giving a light cough at the end.
    Chase was about to sell him to close the door and
go away, but something about the way Victor looked at him made Chase pause.
    He got to his feet, mumbled at Frank that he would
be right back, and walked out into the corridor, closing the door.
    Maybe Chase needed to be distracted right now,
because if he sat in that chair, staring at Frank and listening to every single
suggestion the competent Detective could make, he would probably go insane.
    'What is it?' Chase said through a clenched jaw.
    'I've pulled up the security footage on her,'
Victor said.
    Chase ground his teeth together. 'Victor, let it
go, she doesn't work for them. They just kidnapped her,' he snapped, the guilt
plucking at his spine again.
    Victor put up his hands quickly. 'Come and have a
look at it, that's the only thing I'm asking.'
    There was a very strange quality to his tone, and
his expression was one Chase rarely saw.
    Victor was a hard man to surprise. The perfect man
to track down a mystery like the one that surrounded the wind goddess Aiko.
    But right now he looked shocked, confused, and
rattled.
    So Chase walked with him, down the corridor, into
another office, and sat there as Victor manipulated the keyboard, running
forward through footage Chase suddenly realized showed the area just outside
his office door.
    The footage ran forward, and nothing much happened
until suddenly the door burst open and Victor leaned out, a clearly angry
expression on his face. Then the footage showed him shouting at somebody,
presumably off screen, before he grumbled, went back into the office, and closed
the door.
    Victor paused the replay.
    He looked up at Chase meaningfully.
    Chase stared back.
    ‘What the hell is this? Victor? Did you just pull
me out of my office for this? It shows nothing.’
    'What it shows, is me shouting at your friend Keiko,'
Victor said