Fractured- UnOrdinary (Original)

Chapter 46: Impasse

*Warning*: This chapter contains violence, mentions of murder, mentions of past trauma and mentions of past abuse. Viewer discretion is advised please! 

Kayden nervously paced around the apartment flat, once again holding his phone up to his ear.

Like the last 6 times he's tried, the call went straight to voicemail.

The young man couldn't help but sigh with frustration. It's been days since Leilah last appeared or even contacted them.

While it wasn't unusual for the woman to vanish for a day or two to avoid suspicion, she would always let him know ahead of time.

But going over three days without so much as a heads up?

That worried Kayden far more than anything else.

Vaughn exited the kitchen with a mug of coffee in his hand.

Upon seeing the young man pacing, the ex-headmaster sighed and walked over, placing a hand on his shoulder.

Kayden jumped before relaxing, muttering a thanks as Vaughn offered him the mug of hot bean juice.

Before he could begin pacing again, Vaughn guided him to sit. "Kayden, take a moment to calm down. You're going to wear a rut in the floor at this rate."

Taking a seat at one of the arm chairs, Kayden let out a frustrated sigh. "I know...but I can't help but worry. It's been days and Leilah has neither returned, nor contacted us. I just-...I can't help but think that something's wrong."

Vaughn nodded as he also took a seat, taking a sip of his tea he had made an hour earlier. "And while that's understandable, we can't lose our heads. I know you're worried about her, but we also have to trust her if we want to make any headway with getting John back and dealing with the authorities."

Placing his cup back down, he shifted in his seat a bit as he read over some papers. "If there is something wrong, we'll go look for her. But for now, let's be patient and give her some time to respond."

The pale haired man slowly nodded as he took a deep breath, sipping on his mug of coffee. "Ok...yeah, you're right."

Vaughn gave a small nod as he moved over on the couch. "For now, how about you help me with something to keep your mind off of things?"

Kayden nodded as he leaned over, looking at the papers the man handed to him. "Sure, what do you need help with?"

He skimmed over the files Leilah had left for Vaughn.

"Leilah wants me to see if I can recognize anyone from her workplace that was involved with the attack. While there are some like detective Kace and Valerie, there's one major person missing from the list: a woman with metallic claws and bright orange hair."

At this, Kayden raised an eyebrow. "Wait...you mean Marcella?"

Vaughn raised an eyebrow in turn. "Who?"

Kayden looked through some files. "Marcella. She's a stealth agent."

When the young man realized the name didn't ring a bell, he decided to explain. "Marcella works with EMBER's retrieval task force. She specializes in stealth and capture given her ability."

Vaughn raised an eyebrow. "Her ability being...?"

"Shadow Morphing."

The headmaster's eyes went wide as Kayden went on. "I can't say much on it since I've never seen her use it. Neither has Leilah. The only reason I know about her is from what Leilah told me when they brought John in."