Promise

Chapter 4 - in five days

   Zayne got up and walked over to him. He kneeled down beside the chair and brought his hand up to Eli's arm. Eli flinched from his touch and started hyperventilating. It was triggering another flashback. Zayne retracted his hand, it wasn't a good idea to touch him.

     "Eli" Zayne called out to him repeatedly. "Eli, breathe with me, okay? In, out, in, out." He continued as he got Eli's attention. This went on until Eli's breathing became more stable. "It's okay, you're here, with us. You're safe here, okay? Look at me, you're okay." Zayne softly said and Eli slowly started to calm down. He relaxed his grip on his arm and looked at Zayne.

     His tears have yet to stop and he was still slightly trembling. Zayne opened his arms and waited for Eli's permission, he didn't want to risk triggering another flashback. Eli wiped at his face and dropped his legs off the chair. He slowly reached out for Zayne.

     Zayne leaned forward and pulled Eli down from the chair and onto his lap. Eli gripped onto Zayne and buried his face in his chest. Zayne rubbed his back gently as he quietly sobbed, staining Zayne's shirt with tears and snot but he didn't mind.

     "We can continue this another day, okay? Don't force yourself." Zayne spoke as Eli stopped crying. The officer who was sitting there dumbfounded took it as a sign to leave. He tidied the papers and stood up.

     Eli shook his head against Zayne's chest. "It's okay, I can continue." He said as he sniffed. Zayne nodded as he stood up, with Eli clinging onto him. "Do you want to sit with me?' He asked while the officer sat back down. Eli nodded.

     Zayne sat on the chair and Eli shifted in his lap to face the officer. Zayne put his arm around Eli and signaled for the officer to continue with his question. "You can stop anytime you want to okay?" Zayne told Eli. Eli nodded and continued to describe his past.

     In a few days, Zayne and his team were outside the warehouse. They can finally start their interrogation and get some information, which makes them one step closer to catching the person or group behind these deals.

     "Be careful in there." Noah warned Zayne as they stood at the door. Everyone else agreed with him as they stood around. "I know how to handle myself." Zayne replied and gave Noah a pat on the back, he knew everyone was worried for him. He was a little worried himself but this was important, he has to get the two dealers even if that meant interacting with that guy.

     Noah nodded and returned to the group as Zayne opened the warehouse door. He was by himself now. The room was dimly lite and Zayne stepped in. He saw two figures standing in the middle and approached them. Maybe the guy didn't even bother to show up. That would have been great.

     "Where are they?" Zayne questioned as the two figures stepped into the light. It was the same two from the previous time, but the two dealers were no where to be seen. This has to be a joke. "How's the arm?" The guy totally ignored the question. Zayne told himself to calm down as he stepped towards him. "My arm is fine, no thanks to you." He said with his attitude showing. "Cut the chitchat. Where are they." Zayne demanded again.

     "Who?" The guy pretended to not have a clue about what was going on. It irritated Zayne even more as he slowly explained it to him like he was a preschooler. "We talked about this. The two dealers that we let you have for five days. Today is the fifth day and you're giving them back. So, where are they." Whatever to get their information, right?

     "Oh them. They're dead." The guy replied nonchalantly as he stuck his hands into his pockets. It didn't seem to bother him at all.

     "I'm sorry, you said that they're dead?" Zayne repeated, he thought he heard wrong. This was bad, they wouldn't get their information or clues, this meant that they'd have to start all over again now. But they spent so much time and effort on this only for this bastard to ruin it. Zayne was about to snap.