Love At The Headington Hill

CHAPTER 20 - Illicit Discoveries.

Felix stared at the location sent by Arthur.

He had arrived three days ago to Brisbane, but ever since then, he had only received one text from Arthur, which was his location. No matter how much he reread their previous texts, all that came out of it was that he was supposed to break in an empty house and search for information and steal useful papers.

Not steal, actually. Technically all of it belonged to Arthur, but still.

He sighed. It had been months since he had visited this city. Brisbane was filled with the glittering lights of its surroundings. The salty sea breeze filled the city air as he walked by the streets. He booked a cab and waited.

After a few long minutes a cab finally pulled up. He got inside and shared the location. It was somewhere around Highgate Hill, a part of the city he had never thought of exploring.

Minutes passed, it was taking achingly long to reach the place. He started bouncing his right knee, a restless habit he had to get rid of. Then his phone rang.

Arthur.

He swiped to accept the call. The young man on the other side spoke up with uncertainty.

"Hey"

"Hey...?" Felix replied, unsure about what more to say.

"Are you at the destination yet?" His voice rung from the other end.

"No, I'm in a cab. I'll be there in about ten minutes."  Felix replied, then added, "Did you want to say anything?"

"Uh..., no nothing. Just report back as soon as possible. Bye" With that, Arthur hung up the phone.

Strange.

Felix shook the thoughts away as they neared the address. Good lord. The house looked like it belonged to some sort of rich merchant from the twentieth-century. Felix payed the driver and approached the house cautiously. It had no residents currently. He doubted Bryant would ever give up the house. It would serve as a perfect hiding spot.

Felix took out a lockpick from his wallet. He was aware he would need this.

After checking his surroundings for suspicious neighbours and fidgeting with the lock for quiet some time, the door finally opened with a clink sound. He pushed open the wooden door, it's hinges stuck with months of disuse.

Right. So the search begins.

He locked the door and turned on the light switch. Nothing. He thought of drawing back the curtains, but then remembered this house had not been lived in for months. The neighbours might get suspicious. He took out his phone and turned on the flashlight.

For the next hour, he looked through every drawer, every furniture and even closets. He looked at the kitchens and the basement. But found nothing except a few copies of divorce papers, papers regarding his claim to the land, and his graduation certificates.

Felix collected them and went to the attic next. Searching through every locked suitcase and iron chest. That's when he came across a box titled - "Properties of the life left behind, only to be opened on severe occasions".

Felix wiped off the dust from the cover, then pushed the lockpick inside the lock. As soon as he heard the clink of metal, he wrenched open the iron cover.

He was aware that what he was doing was not legal. He wasn't much different from his enemies. But at this point, nothing seemed sweeter than revenge. Even if it was the wrong way.

He'd confess, he decided. He'd confess about all these deeds, if he had to pay a compensation, he will. But not before he proves himself innocent. He'd been running his whole life. Sure Brisbane might have forgotten about the months old accusations, but he hadn't. He had once promised Bryant that he would fight back, and he was. Now, there was no going back. This was his choice.