As soon as he opened the door, he was greeted by a dozen figures standing in front of him; the yellow lights of the streetlamps shining across him were casting shadows over their features, making them seem obscure and ominous.
The time was well into the night. Most of the usual boisterous crowds of the market street had mostly dispersed, leaving only a handful of passersby walking its illuminated streets; curiously looking over the direction of the dozen people surrounding the entrance of the "Greens For You!" grocery store when they passed by.
When the couple of seconds which were needed for his vision to adjust to the new light source had passed, the features of the dozen people in front of him started to clear from the shadows.
Ten or so of them were strangers to him, or at least felt somewhat familiar, as if he had met them before but could not place where or when exactly.
He has just taken a step back as a precaution - not knowing what these strangers wanted or why they were right outside the door - when the features of the two others at the front cleared as well, surprising him with their identity. With their characteristics very similar to each other - only siblings could share - they were none other than the butcher brothers, Brice and Ulise!
'What the heck are they doing here?!' was the only question popping into Theron's mind.
Brice and Ulise, along with the others behind them, were likewise surprised as well. Clearly from their frozen expressions, they weren't expecting someone to step out of the store at that moment, more so for that someone to be the young lord, who they came to rescue!
Three hours earlier. Around early evening.
*Clack!* *Whoosh!* The door to Brice's and Ulise's butcher shop opened quickly and with force, a middle-aged vendor stall owner - normally stationed six stores away - rushed inside in a hurry.
"CAPTAINS!" Before the brothers could respond to the sudden entrance, the middle-aged vendor stall owner, named Carl, called out to them with a yell.
"Damn Carl! What are you yelling for?!" After seeing who it was, Brice yelled back, while Ulise calmly stayed silent, waiting for the man to speak.
"BAD NEWS, CAPTAINS! BAD NEWS!" Carl continued to yell.
"STOP YELLING, I TELL YOU! WE AREN'T DEAF YET!" Brice shouted in annoyance, oblivious to the fact that he yelled even stronger than Carl.
Ulise watched from the side expressionless as the two loudspeakers yelled at each other back and forth.
"YES, SIR!" Carl quickly acknowledged.
"WHAT DID I JUST TOLD YOU, CARL?!"
".... Yes, sir." Carl corrected himself at once.
"Finally!" Brice said in relief. He was well close enough to exasperation. "Now. Tell us what happened to have caused you to lose your cool like this." he then said, eager to know the reason, with the silent Ulise at the side interested to know as well.
Carl opened his mouth again and a stream of words came out.
"Band news captains, band news! He never got home, not at the usual time. Not after five minutes, not even fifteen minutes after that, and not thirty minutes later either when somebody finally became aware of it! I just heard it from old Sam myself, who hurried to tell us as fast as he could. The old poor Sam couldn't even breath well after he sprinted the whole way." Carl said in one breath. "What're we gonna do captains?! This is unusual, very unusual! In all the records we held since months ago, he had never deviated to arrive home for even two minutes longer than his established time! What're we gonna do?! Wh....!"
"STOOOPP!!" Brice shouted, stopping Carl in his sputtering tracks.
He deeply regretted it now letting Carl speak without giving him some straightforward questions ahead of time instead, to answer. Honestly, what was he thinking? What was he really expecting from the person whose nickname was Rapid Tongue Carl?
"Who are you talking about, Carl?! I want less words coming out of your blabbering mouth and be more specific with them!" Without even trying to think first about who Carl was talking about, Brice blurted out.
Ulise at the side though, although he had stayed silent during Carl's sputtering, he carefully listened through every word he said. His mind gears were already turning, analyzing the key words. By the time his brother interrupted Carl, he had already figured out who Carl was talking about.
"There is no need." he said, managing to stop Carl before he opened his mouth.
"Ulise? What do you mean there is no need?" Brice questioned his younger brother, clearly puzzled by his vague statement.
"I know who Carl is talking about." Ulise said, his expression started to darken as to mirror the gravity of the situation.
Seeing his younger brother's expression becoming more serious than it usually was, Brice ignored the slightly panting Carl completely and turned towards Ulise.
"We are here to protect Young Miss, right?" Not answering to Brice' question, Ulise asked him something back.
"What are you talking about?! Of course we are here to protect Young Miss!" Brice answered as a matter of factly.
Each one of them keeps an eye out for their young miss's safety.
"By the extension of maintaining Young Miss's wellbeing, aren't there two more people, whose safety is also important?" Ulise asked.
"Hm? Well, yes there are! The Young Lord of course and, grrr... Frank. ... !" By the end of his phrase, he had finally figured it out too!
Only one of them was truly important by his opinion, and it was also that one that fitted Carl's sputtering report and whose absence will cause their Young Miss to feel the most distraught.
"THE YOUNG LORD IS MISSING?!" He turned towards Carl at once and yelled out in shock.
"Yes, captain Brice!" Carl affirmed.
"THEN WHAT ARE YOU HERE FOR, SPUTTERING ABOUT, INSTEAD OF FORMING A SEARCH TEAM TO SWIPE THE WHOLE CITY FOR HIM?!" Brice had lost it, quickly giving the orders in his disbelief of the current situation.
The beloved child of their Young Miss, which she adores with all her heart and soul, is missing!
He still remembers on those few times the child had accompanied their Young Miss to their cover shop. The radiant smile on her face and the light she emanated whenever she was telling them about the child's feats and accomplishments were unforgettable.
That smile and light should not be extinguished! Never will he let them to be! Even if they needed to turn this city twice or thrice times over upside down, they must find the Young Lord!
After hearing the shouting order, Carl immediately turned around and bolted out of the butcher shop to carry it out.
"We both should go too, brother." Brice said, a dangerous gleam in his eyes. If someone was to be found to be responsible for Young Lord's disappearance, not even the tortures in hell would compare to what he had in store for them.