241 The Consortium can save me

"where?" rie screams with a frantic voice when she doesn't see yuta. she runs out of the door and sees the car. she catches a glimpse of yuta sitting in the passenger seat with his eyes closed. maddox grins and waves his hand. 

she slams the window of the car. "don't take him away."

just then, kiyohira hits the windshield with a bat. maddox presses the accelerator before he could strike again. kiyohira runs after the car and hurls the bat at the car. it hits the back of the car and bounces back to the ground.

"get in." he hears rie's voice. he gets into the car right away. rie accelerates the car, keeping her eyes fixed on maddox's car. if they let him get away, they might never see yuta again.  

"call the cops," rie tells him with an urgent voice. "tell them about maddox. tell them everything."

if he does that, they will also find out about rie. 

"call the journalists too." rie could guess why he's hesitating. "call anyone who can help us. we can't let him take yuta away. if he hurts yuta...  kiyohira. i can't live without him. i don't care what happens to me. he is our son, kiyohira. we can't let him live the same life."

kiyohira exhales. she's right. right now, getting yuta back is important. 

***

where is this place? it's cold. his eyelids flutter weakly. his hands and ankles are tied. yuta inhales the air mixed with the smell of damp moss and burning wood. as his mind begins to gain clarity, he realizes that he's been abducted. crap!

he remembered opening the door. it was maddox. yuta's young and slow body was nothing compared to maddox's dexterity. he felt the needle piercing his throat and he lost consciousness instantly.

he knows what kind of drug he was injected with. it's already dark. how long has he been unconscious? the dose was high for a child. maddox must have planned to do something to his mother. maddox isn't the kind of person who takes such impulsive actions. what triggered him to do this? did mira say or do something?"

the sound of footsteps is getting louder. yuta pretends to be asleep. he feels maddox's cold fingers on his wrist and hears him let out a sigh of relief. maddox walks away from him. yuta starts working on the ropes.

maddox sits on the ground, leaning against the wall of the cave. it was hard to get rie and kiyohira off his trail. he managed to bring yuta to this cave. he was afraid that the boy wouldn't live. 

after meeting mira, he was angry. his plan was simple. he had planned to threatened to kill kiyohira with a gun and force rie along with yuta to follow him. if rie struggled, he would have used the syringe. but when he saw yuta, he thought that rie would follow him if he took this boy away. he injected only half of the dose, but it was still strong for the boy's little body. thankfully, the boy won't die. 

yuta's picture is everywhere. the journalists are digging into the dark hackers and the consortium. he didn't expect her to go that far. it won't be long before they find him. but who would find him first? people of the consortium or the cops? 

"yuan bo was right." maddox covers his face with his palm. "i shouldn't have come here."

it's difficult to let go. he still wants rie. is it wrong for him to love someone? what does she see in that man? he's a lot better than kiyohira. it was the same with the consortium. why did they choose christopher? he was always better than that rural boy. why was he never good enough for anyone? he is envious of his daughter who passed the test. 

consortium or his daughter?

the question was wrong. he already knows that his daughter would choose the consortium in the future whether he choose her or not. no one from the ash family can ever resist the lure of power -- not even him.

still, he would make an exception for a person. if he had to choose between rie and the consortium, he would choose her. maybe it's an obsession, but he can't get over it. 

"pathetic." a clear voice pierces through the silence in the cave. "tsk! tsk! kidnapping the son of the woman you love? did you think that she would come to your side if you do that? you must be desperate, uncle adrian. thanks to you, the consortium had to deal with a bigger mess."

maddox takes out the gun and points at the girl dressed in black. "how did you find me?"

"it's a good hiding place." mira looks up at the ceiling and walks around casually. "not many people know about it. in another life, i came to hide here when my mother went mad and chased after me with a knife in the middle of the night. i hid here for a week until daniel found me."

what is she saying? another life? has she gone mad? he wouldn't be surprised if the girl is mad. a product of incest can't be sane. "where's daniel?"

"he's trying to take care of the situation." yuta who is completely still under her pressurizing gaze. "consortium had already wiped out all the evidence of their existence. even if umezaki rie screams for the rest of her life, nobody would believe that there's an organization like the consortium."

"she might end up in prison for the cyber-crimes that she committed." maddox laughs. "i don't think that she cares."

that woman deserves it.

"you are worried about her going to prison?" she mocks maddox. "you should be worried about yourself. it seems that kamiyama kiyohira was prepared for this outcome. he's been gathering evidence against you for the last five years, madhatter. you sent the drones to his house five years ago. you threatened his wife for years and forced her to commit those crimes. what do they call it? ah… it's a crime committed under duress. you even kidnapped her son. uncle adrian, how stupid you can get?"

"the consortium can save me," maddox barks at her. "i am sylvester ash's son. my daughter is also a candidate for the throne. they have to save me."

all of a sudden, she kicks the burning wood. it lands straight on maddox's face. he screams as he grabs the burning wood and throws it away. the smell of burning flesh floats in the air. he could barely gather his wits when he feels the tip of the cold metal against his forehead. 

maddox beams at the death standing in front of him. "you are just like them."

the shot is fired.