Dark Paradise

Bingo.

They left the park and were suddenly illuminated by the lights of lamps like actors on stage ready to recite Shakespeare. Peter triggered a defensive reflex in the form of narrowing his eyes, just as he had done when he had to get up to school and his aunt turned lights on in his room. But this time Peter didn't have a blanket to use as a shield. Finally, the young brunette was given the opportunity to examine his companion more closely. The man looked comfortable. Definitely not like a pervert who goes to the park to hunt little boys.

"Come on, it's around the corner," the man pointed to the intersection a few feet away. Peter was relieved. He was glad they wouldn't go far. It had been more than a year since the trip to Washington, where he and Ned had been lost and the phone navigation had told them "turn southeast," but the thought of repeating the situation terrified the boy.

They came to a bar where only a few people were sitting. The man invited the boy to sit at an empty table in the corner and move himself to the bar counter to order drinks. Peter sat down in a chair, placed his backpack on the floor next to him, and pulled a phone from his pocket.

May: So how's the trip? I miss you. XXX

Peter wrote the already learned phrase "Everything is fine" into the phone and pressed to send.

"Your mother?" Peter looked up from the glowing screen. His companion stood over him, holding two glasses. The boy shook his head. The man sat down in a chair next to him and laid the drinks on the table. "It's up to me," he said. The boy thanked him and drank from his glass, which he found was lemonade.

"So," the man talked again, "tell me why a little boy like you roams somewhere in the park at this hour."

"Probably for the same reason as you," Peter replied, sipping again. He could feel the cold fluid flowing through his body into his stomach. The man chuckled. He doubted the boy would wander around the park for the same purpose as he did. Peter amused him. He liked it.

"And will you tell me something about yourself? Maybe what are you studying?" he continued.

"High school," Peter began. Without realizing it, the man stopped perceiving him for a moment, watching the sparks in the boy's eyes. In those auburn innocent eyes. "... and then I'd like to go to MI-"

The boy was interrupted by the ringing of the phone. "Sorry," the man said, holding his phone near his ear. He was silent for a moment, listening to the caller's message.

"What?!" he yelled at once and slammed his fist on the table so Peter winced in fright. The man completely forgot about the boy sitting next to him. He had another problem now.

"You only had one assignment and you want to tell me you fucked up?!"

Peter winced again. Suddenly, his companion was not so friendly, quite the opposite. It was as if someone has switched him from good to bad. The boy got scared.

Maybe it wasn't the best idea to nod at the invitation, he thought. The man rested his elbow on the table and hid part of his face in his palm, while the sound of someone on the other side came out of his phone.

"I guess I'll go, I won't disturb you," Peter said quietly, getting up and throwing his backpack over his back.

"No no, wait," the man said, setting the phone away from his ear.

"It's okay, I must go back to hotel anyway," Peter said. "It was really nice to meet you."

With that, he left the bar. He crossed the street and stopped. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath. "Peter, you bastard, what did you think ?! Children as young as five are learning not to take candies from strangers and not sit in a car with someone else. What the hell were you thinking ?!" he muttered to himself as he strode to the main street. He didn't look back. The man scared him, he got scared. Maybe unnecessarily, but maybe not.

The man didn't go after Peter. As he listened to the voice coming from the phone, he watched the brunette's figure through the window until she disappeared around the corner. He didn't know what made him more angry. Was it because he lost a boy or because his colleague is totally unable.

"Wait, I'll call you from the car and we'll work it out," he got up and placed a few money on the table for drinks they had barely touched. He went out into the street and walked over to his car, which was standing nearby. He sat down, strapped himself in, dialed, started the engine, and drove out into the street.

"Tony..."

"Shut up! Listen to me! Are you not being able to get rid of one stupid body?! It's not that hard!" Tony shouted, slamming his fist into the steering wheel.

"Look man, I'm really sorry."

"I don't fucking care if you're sorry or not! We got the task, we got the money. Our customer, our master. And when a woman says she wants us to get rid of her husband, we just do. You know what? Call the fucking Clint and tell him, that you messed up, because I really don't have any nerve about you anymore. He will solve it."

─── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ───

Tony entered the door of his house and tossed the keys on a small table beside the door. He took off his jacket and placed it on a hanger. His anger almost vanished. It would only take a moment and the boy would be his. He went to the kitchen to make coffee. He knew he had a long night ahead of him and would not survive it without caffeine in his veins. With a cup in his hand, he walked through a few rooms and sat down in a swivel chair at his desk, surrounded by several screens connected to a laptop perched on the table. Several streets, roads, houses shone on the screens. Noisy and empty. Tony had eyes everywhere. Better said cameras. Inconspicuous boxes located throughout the city.

"So, boy, where are you?" He typed Peter's name into the computer. Then he just leaned back and sipped hot coffee from a dark mug. He waited ... He stared at people's faces and waited for the cameras to find the one face. The one that belonged to the charming boy.

He waited and thought. The teenager wanders around a city in the evening that he doesn't know at all. This only means that the hotel in which he is staying with the school must be within a radius of about one kilometer from the place where they met. And schools do not waste money on expensive full-service hotels, so it must be average or even below-average accommodation. Tony smiled. He was happy with himself. He enjoyed watching his intellect. However, this was not the first time he had done it. A green MATCH FOUND sign finally appeared on the computer screen, and a photograph of the boy shone beside it.

"Bingo." The man set down his mug and brought the camera closer to the street. The boy stood there on the sidewalk and looked around. Then he crossed the road. And he disappeared.

"Okay, boy, my cameras can't see you anymore, but that doesn't mean I can't figure out where you are. "

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