"Did you find anything, mister?" Larques asked in his soft husky voice.
"Nothing, my lord."
"Have you been looking around carefully?"
Clara replied in her monotonous matter-of-fact voice, "Yes, my lord!"
"But firstly, open your eyes. Don't walk with your eyes closed."
"I can see without my eyes, my lord!"
"Yes, I know. But people are looking at us weirdly. They might think you are blind."
Larques Des Marquetas was walking around the bazaar near Meerut, India, with his apprentice, Clara. The place was crowded with people, and there was not an inch of space to walk.
He wore a long-sleeved leather jacket with black denim jeans, while Clara wore a Single-piece frock with a jute hat. Larques's chocolate skin was hidden behind a white, faceless mask.
And probably it was their attire that brought all sorts of gazes toward them. Since all the other women were wearing some sort of saree or a kurti, while all the men were in either formal pants or trousers, they stood out too much. Their foreign looks and stature were another factor.
"How many days has it been, hmm, mister?"
"39 days, my lord."
"This long! Aughh! When will we find that bitch? I am very frustrated right now."
"..."
"Check the device, mister. Is it showing anything?"
As he commanded, Clara put her hand in Larques's pocket and took out a small round mirror from there. When she opened it, it showed a reflection of her face, but as she touched the mirror three times, the map of the place began to be visible over it. She swiped her finger left and right and then closed it, putting it back in its place.
"Nothing, my lord!"
Larques took a deep breath and got lost in thought.
As they walked down the busy street, bustling with loads of people, Clara whispered in his ear, "May I give you a suggestion, my lord?"
"Hmm? What, mister?"
"As we have checked before, his location is constantly changing. First, he was in Greenland, and then from there his location was in Iceland, Poland, Ukraine, Turkmenistan, Pakistan, and now in India."
They walked to a corner, and she continued her explanation, "Did you notice anything strange, my lord?"
"He is teleporting from one country to the other?"
"No. I meant that he is teleporting in a straight line. If we join all these points on the map, it leads in a particular direction."
"..."
"But the problem is, sir. Even if we know his country. How are we going to pinpoint his exact location? In such a large landmass?"
Then suddenly, Larques brought his face closer to hers and kissed her cheeks, which brought a faint blush to her stoic face.
"You are so genius, mister."
"..."
"And don't worry about the rest. I think I have an idea where we can find him."
She looked up and gazed into his eyes, looking for an answer.
"Just wait and see."
As soon as those words dispersed in the air, Larques and Clara both disappeared from the street, too.
This brought many unwanted gazes to the scene. Their heart and breath stopped for a second as they witnessed the incident.
Yet in the next instant, everyone moved forward as if nothing had happened.
Prakash opened the gate and walked into his home. He was dusting off his formal clothing when, at the door, he noticed his son standing there alone.
"What happened?"
"Nothing. Just going to the stadium as usual."
"Have you completed your studies?"
His son didn't look pleased with his father's inquiries.
"I have completed it. And now I'm going."
As soon as he completed his sentence, he dashed off swiftly, without looking any further at his father.
"Akshay! Akshay! Come here!" He called for him, but Akshay was already long gone to hear his voice.
From the loud noise, Akshay's mother came outside and found Prakash looking at the gate.
She looked at him, surprised, and asked, "When did you come?"
He turned toward her and said, "In the afternoon."
"And couldn't even leave a call for me?"
"Well, you know how busy I am whenever I leave for my business trips."
"I am well aware. It's been two decades since I've known you." She paused for a moment and continued, "So, what happened? Why were you yelling right now?"
"Particularly nothing. It's as usual. Akshay dashed off as soon as I asked him about his studies."
"Don't worry about that, Mr. Prakash. I might not admit it to his face, but our son is intelligent enough to score high in every exam," she proudly announced to him with a faint smile on her face.
"Don't laugh about it. I, too, am aware of his efforts and results. But I feel it's my responsibility as a father to always check on him."
"Then please come inside and wait till he comes," she said while pointing at the house.
"Well, of course, as you say, Your Highness."
And they both laughed.
"Here, take these sweets. I made them yesterday. Please eat it today, otherwise it will be spoiled by tomorrow."
"I don't feel that's a very nice way to give someone something to eat. It leaves an extremely bad impression of the food."
"Whatever."
Prakash took some sweets and tried them. While he spread himself over the sofa, he checked the clock and said, "Isn't the stadium closed by seven?"
"Yes. It closes at Seven Fifteen."
"It's eight thirty right now. What the hell is Akshay doing right now? The stadium is not even that far that he got stuck in traffic."
"What does Akshay have to do with the stadium right now?" She asked, puzzled.
"I mean, didn't he go to the stadium?"
"Who told you that? He usually goes to the stadium in the evening, but today he went to visit his friend, that girl Ananya."
Prakash sat up upright and exclaimed, "Who else will? Your son!"
"Oh dear! That boy has started lying recently. I thought he might be joking with me for some time. But it seems he is starting to pick up this habit."
She stood up and continued, "Let him come home. I will give him a good scolding. I won't tolerate this!"
After witnessing her determination, Prakash was hesitant to speak anything before her. Still, he tried to say some words, "Calm down, calm down, dear. I am angry, but it's only his first time!"
"No! It's important. Even today, he tries to prank me."
"Prank you? What did he do today?"
"He almost gave me a heart attack today. He told me that a man had come to our roof. But when I went to the roof, there was no one. I can't believe that I believed his outlandish description of the person."
Prakash laughed at her statements when he asked, "What description?"
"You won't believe me. He said the man was wearing a banana suit."
Prakash's ear twitched, and his eyes went wide. He immediately stood up, came forward, and placed both of his hands on her shoulder. His expression was deep, serious, and intense, lacking any effort at a joke. His wife looked puzzled by his sudden reaction. She looked in his eyes, looking for any answer.
"What happened!?" she asked.
"Dear, was he wearing a scary mask on his face??"
"Hmm? What!?"
"Please tell me! It's urgent!"
She was surprised to hear his loud voice, but as she checked his face, she noticed little tears at the corners of his eyes, and fear and fury clouded his expression.
"I.. I don't know what happened to you. And I don't remember very much. But if I am correct.. Hmm." She pondered for a second and said, "Yes, he said he was wearing a mask. But what happened? How do you know about that man?"
As soon as she announced it, Prakash dashed out the door. As he was putting on his shoes, he ordered his wife, "Dear, Call Leonard! And just tell him that there's a Chimera on the loose. He will understand."
She was flabbergasted; she had no idea what this was all about. But tension was visible on her face.
"Can you tell me!? What happened?!" she asked while coming close to him.
He lightly placed her hand on her cheek, his eyes filled with determination as he assured her, "I will tell everything once I'm back. Until then, do not leave the home under any condition. No matter what happens."
His mere words did not change her heart, but she spoke no further and went inside. Prakash looked here and there and then jumped over the gate.
He knew he did not have much time to spare, since if Akshay hadn't come by now, that surely meant he was either kidnapped by them, being interrogated, or, in the worst case, probably killed by them.
I sure would make them taste hell if they even touched my child!
But even so, Prakash did not move. He didn't want to roam around the district aimlessly looking for his son when he already had so little time for him. On the other hand, he also cannot just stand there wasting his precious time.
So, he started running and decided to check at that girl's home. He knew that his son was not the type to leave home, let alone wander at night, unless it was Ananya. Akshay has liked this girl for a while now. Prakash was aware of his son's feelings, but never let himself make him aware of it.
Prakash fastened his steps, passed through a few roads, running and dodging people on the sidewalk.
As far as he remembered, Ananya lived near the city crossroads, which was not so far from his home. Therefore, Prakash crossed the road and instantly took the alley beside the pastry shop.
I would be okay with you being an idiot. Please just be present there, my son!