After a long and silent drive to the Vesper Groove, Gryfton's residential district for the middle class, Ethan and Jenna had finally reached the house which Kane was last reported to be in.
Ethan and Jenna walked up the driveway to his door and as they were about to knock on the door, Ethan stepped to the side, away from sight.
Turning to him, confused, Jenna whispered, "What's wrong with you?"
Ethan signaled for her to hush up and knock on the door. Not wanting to question much, she turned and knocked on the door. It took about three knocks for her to hear movement from inside the apartment.
She could hear footsteps approaching and looking from the corner of her eye, she could tell that Ethan was anxious.
What was he anxious about? She didn't know.
The footsteps were followed by the sound of a few door latches turning and the door opened slightly, just a small enough crack for someone to peep outside. Instead of a head poking through, the man inside talked from behind the door.
"Whatever you're selling, I'm not buying," the man said with a grumpy voice.
On her side, she could see Ethan clearly gesturing for her to engage in the conversation more. So, without delay, she did exactly that.
"Mr Kane? Alex Kane?" She called out.
This was followed by silence. Though she could still hear the man's breathing from the other side of the door, she could tell that he was thinking through his answer.
"I'm not selling anything. I'm here just to talk," she insisted further, hoping that he would open the door wider.
"What do you want?" The man inquired from behind the door, already sounding irritated.
"Like I said, we're just here to talk," she repeated.
The door was shut immediately and Jenna could already feel that it wasn't going to be opened again. She had failed in even getting the man to actually identifying himself.
Looking at Ethan who was leaning on the wall next to her, he has his head leaned back in frustration and disappointment. He was about to let out a heavy sigh when they both heard the door latches being opened.
The door in front of Jenna went wide open and standing in front of her was a man, not older than thirty-five years of age, standing at around 5'9 and well built. His hair was ashy white and his eyes were blue.
"Alex Kane?" Jenna inquired, wanting to confirm even though the man standing in front of her beared high resemblance to the picture in the file that the commissioner had given them.
"Where is your partner?" Alex countered as he looked over her shoulder.
With a confused look, Jenna asked him, "My partner? What are you talking about?"
Not seeing anyone behind her, Alex knew that the partner was nearby. Probably even scouting the back. Turning his head, he scanned his house hoping to see a shadow through one of the windows at the back of the house. However, he didn't see anything.
"You just said 'we are just here to talk', that means that you're not alone. So, where is your partner?" Alex questioned with a scoff.
Jenna couldn't help but constantly shift her gaze to the side as she stood there, speechless. Alex didn't need much convincing to know that her partner was close by.
"Ethan, is that you?' Alex called out, sensing that he already knew who's tactics those were.
After some seconds, Ethan finally came out from the side of the house where he was hiding and stepped into view. Seeing his face, Alex didn't seem happy at all and was just about to shut the door in their faces when Ethan called out,
"I need your help, please. Just hear me out," he pleaded.
Jenna could already tell that Ethan used her to lure Alex into opening the door and talking to them. She had the idea that if Alex had known that Ethan was around, he wouldn't even have answered the door.
"You have sixty seconds," Alex instructed, looking as serious as a heart attack.
There was visible history between the two men and Jenna wondered if there was even a likelihood of them being on the same page.
"The commissioner sent me," Ethan started. "We have a case and he asked me to get you to see if you can help out."
"No. I won't." Alex responded, without even thinking it through and getting ready to shut the door.
"Come on Alex. Our victim is a male, sixty years of age and believed to have been kidnapped in the last thirty hours or so. Of all people, you are the only person who knows the cases of kidnappings in Gryfton," Ethan jabbed at him.
"Like I said, no. I'm not doing it and Marcus should understand that," Alex retorted as he was starting to get more irritated.
"Plus, this has nothing to do with the case that I was handling. It doesn't fit any motive from the previous disappearances," Alex added, hoping to get them going soon.
He didn't expect to be talking about that case in that moment, yet fate seemed not to have been done with him and the cases.
"That's what I was thinking too, but what if that's the case? Will you be willing to help in the case?" Ethan quizzed.
Alex was silent, looking at him while Ethan stared back hoping for a response. And despite the fact that Jenna could tell that Ethan didn't like Alex, she could tell that he was trying his best to get him on board.
'Perhaps he is as good as the commissioner says he is,' she thought to herself.
After waiting for what seemed to be forever, Alex finally spoke. However, his response was one that both Jenna and Ethan didn't expect.
"I'll still stand firm on my word. No. I won't help out," Kane answered with finality.
Trying so hard to keep himself from groaning loudly, Ethan resorted to a last resort.
"Fine, well respect your decision for now. Would it be a bother if I ask you to tell me all you know about the disappearances in Gryfton in the past few years before you retired?" Ethan asked.
After a short deliberation, Alex finally relaxed and answered,
"Fine. But the moment I'm done, you go. I don't want to see you looking for me again, deal?"
And with that, he welcomed them into his home for a quick briefing.