Hold On

Chapter 27

They walked quietly through a long corridor, their guns ready to use, checking every room they were passing by. So far they found no one. However, there was a strong indication that someone was here not long ago – they saw a couple of plastic water bottles and some leftovers lying on the filthy floor. They moved on and soon came across a metal door.

Katsumoto still had hope of finding his friends even though what he had just seen told him something completely different. What happened next seemed to be in slow motion – the fully armed SWAT team storming through the door, filling the room with the numerous beams of their rifles' tactical flashlights. It looked quite eerie.

The moment Gordon entered the room, one of the police officers turned on the light and they could finally see what there was or rather what wasn't. The room was practically empty except for a small mattress placed on the floor in the corner. He felt such intense disappointment, it was as if his chest was being crushed. No, it couldn't be happening. He had a feeling they were on to something, that Magnum and Higgins would be waiting for them on the other side of that door but it wasn't happening. He was really devastated. Then he thought that the worst thing would be to tell his friends, who were waiting outside with so much hope, that he failed, that he didn't bring them back. And then he noticed two bottles, one of them was empty, the other still had some liquid inside. He slowly approached it, took out a nitrile glove from his pocket and crouched down to gently pick it up and give it later to the technicians.

Although he didn't find his friends, he couldn't give up yet and decided to sweep the whole place one more time. Predictably, it didn't change anything and beside those water bottles, there were no clues at all. Gordon knew that was it and no matter how long he stalled, he would have to face his friends and share this awful news with them. He took a deep breath before stepping out of the bunker and into the light.

The first thing he noticed was Kumu, Rick and TC standing still in the same spot he had left them not long ago. The looks of hope they were so evidently wearing on their faces, made the words he was going to use even harder to utter. Slowly, he walked in their direction, his eyes never leaving theirs.

One look at Katsumoto and Kumu was hit with a strong feeling that he wouldn't have anything good to say. The way he moved at this moment, not as surely of himself as he usually did, as well as his serious face and pursed lips, made her think that the information he had wasn't pleasant. Her imagination instantly started to run wild, flooding the poor woman with different pictures, like Gordon saying that something awful had happened to Thomas and Juliet and they would never see them again. Those words would break her heart.

Kumu, Rick and TC held their breaths when the detective finally approached them.

"Guys, I need to tell you something." Katsumoto started but suddenly stopped, trying to find the appropriate words.

"What is it, man?" Rick asked with fear. If their friend had problems with expressing himself, it could mean only one thing – the situation was serious, even more than it already was.

"Well,... Magnum and Higgins, they're..."

"Don't." Kumu suddenly spoke up, startling the men.

"What?" Gordon asked really surprised.

"Kumu, is everything all right?" TC noticed that she visibly paled.

She started shaking her head. "Please, don't say they're... gone." She whispered and her eyes filled with tears at once.

"But... they are gone." Katsumoto said without thinking and instantly wished he had used other words, looking back at the reaction of his friends who gasped and froze.