Howling at the Moons

CH 57: Once was Lost but Now I'm Found

BEAM'S POV

Ming, Forth and I are rifling through the paperwork Ming had collected on Park, again. It's just after 4am and Yo has been missing for nine hours.

Kit was helping us, but he'd taken a break to convince Pha to take a nap, and we couldn't thank him enough. We all understood why Pha was losing his mind, but it wasn't helping us concentrate on finding Yo. Kit was now pulling together food and drinks for the four of us, so we could keep working.

Ming's phone rings and he answers it quickly. "Yes? Ok. Send it to me." He hangs up and looks at us. "My contact found the CCTV footages from the science building and the surrounding areas. They also found the plates of the van they took Yo away in. He's now tracking the van's movements through town. He'll call me back with an update."

Ming grabs his computer and retrieves the email he just received. The four of us crowd around the screen as he opens the file and plays it.

The feed is black and white and kind of dark because the sun had already set when Yo was taken. But the building lights are already on, lighting up the area, so it's not too difficult to see.

We watch as someone with their back to us enters the screen, they're just standing and waiting outside the science building. They start moving closer to the doors and suddenly run forward as we see the building door open and Yo step outside. We can only watch in horror as Yo tries to turn away, but is stopped by the fist that slams into his face. He gets hit so hard his head crashes into the building wall beside the door and he crumples to the ground. He's quickly picked up and thrown over the attacker's shoulder. As the attacker turns to leave with Yo, we can see his face clearly for the first time and confirm its Park. Ming pauses the file on the picture of Park's face.

Not that we really had any doubts before, but now that we have 100% confirmation I breathe a sigh of relief that we haven't been wasting our time.

Glancing at the others, I see Ming and Forth both filled with rage over what we saw. When I look over at Kit, I get up and go to him, putting my arms around my friend as I wipe away the tears streaming down his face.

"Do not let Phana know we've seen this." Ming looks at each of us and we give him a nod of acknowledgment of his command. "Let's finish the video."

We gather around the screen again and continue watching as the perspective changes to the side of the building and the vehicle waiting there. The side door of a van is opened and Yo is thrown inside before Park climbs in beside him, and closes the door. The van starts moving almost immediately. We can see the plate numbers, but can't get a good view of the driver.

"So, he had accomplices with him then too because he's not driving." I say as Ming shuts the video down.

"Yes." Ming looks grimly at the three of us. "Let's take a quick break and eat while we're waiting for news on the van."

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PHANA'S POV

The sound of a phone ringing and Ming's voice as he answers it, wakes me. Kit had convinced me to rest for a bit, but now it looks like information is coming in, so I need to be up. I go to the bathroom and wash my face trying to force my mind back into working order.

When I re-enter the bedroom, Ming is hanging up his phone. "We have the area where the van exited the freeway." He turns to Beam and Forth, "Do either of you remember anything in the paperwork near Patpong? Let's go over it again."

"Wait, I think I remember seeing something..." Beam starts shuffling through the paperwork in his hands. "Here! There's a business and a house in that area that Park's family owns."