Sage of Darkness - Chapter Two

Sage of Darkness

Chapter Two

I shook my head trying to get the dizziness out of my head. Catelyn was in shock and trembling beside me. The kitchen staff from the restaurant were all out on the alley now. I could hear the police sirens coming our way. I rushed to Mr. Raffles, checking his pulse, it was quiet. No pulse. He was dead. He was shot dead. I walked up to Catelyn who was still in shock and trembling. I gathered her hand in mine, it was icy cold. Everything happened so quick, it was quite a blur for me.  

“Catelyn...” I called out.

She looked at me, her eyes were tearing, “what just happened?” She turned to where Mr. Raffles laid motionless, she was terribly shaken at this point, sobbing at the same time.

“It’s okay, I’m right here, I got you,” I said, trying to assure her that everything will be fine.

I pulled out my cellphone and skimmed through my contacts. I saw the name I was looking for and called.

‘Hey, it’s me. I need your help” I said to him.

“Yeah, when and where?” He asked,

“Meet me at the harbor tonight at midnight. I will give you the details then.” I said. I cut the call and went back to Catelyn, by that time the scotland yard were already there.

There were questioning everyone there including Catelyn and me. I stood by Catelyn’s side when they were questioning her. While the questioning was taking place, I remembered the woman that was with Mr. Raffles, where was she? She wasn’t to be seen anywhere. I walked towards the end of the alley that joined to the main street, screening the crowd, of course by this time, whoever she was, if she was involved in this shooting, she would have taken off, but something didn’t seem quite right with this whole scene.

Whoever it was who did this, I would know the connection by midnight. The scotland yard seem to think that Catelyn may be one the suspects, but I know she can’t be, she couldn’t, she was with me and to stage the murder of her own employer, that doesn’t seem to make sense as well. Once we were done talking to the police, I convinced Catelyn to stay with me for the night, it would be safer and so that she will feel a little secured. The shooting were all around the news by 8pm and BBC was doing a wide coverage of the murder.

While the media was getting the public paranoid over the random shooting and who might be the next target, I am thinking that this is a murder that was staged for money or something of Mr. Raffles belongings. And since Mr. Raffles was my solicitor on record for multi billion pound civil suit, I was also the target of the media. They seem to think that I may have been the intended target. If I was, I intend to find who and what they are after. I can’t possibly have a bounty on my head, that’s way too cool and I’m not that famous any way. But then, I am worth a lot of money, dead or alive.

Catelyn just exited the bathroom in master bedroom, “Am I in the news?” she exclaimed?

I switched off the television when I heard her sharp screech all the way from the other side of the loft. Oh wow, remind me not to get on her bad side, that could bust an eardrum.

“Calm down, Catelyn, that’s normal, you witnessed a murder today and the press saw your there. It is quite normal for them to mention you. And umm, not forgetting to mention a sea or reporters outside this building waiting to get a statement from you and me,”

“Oh no, this is sooooo not happening. I’m having a dream. I’m going to wake up tomorrow morning and this is all going to be over, just a dream.” Catelyn kept repeating the same thing said over and over.

From what I can see, she is clearly having a meltdown, she waving both her hands up and down and walking around as if she was walking around in a meadow in her dreams. It was quite hilarious but I couldn’t just let her do that. She had to get back to reality and face the situation. We have got a murder in our hands and we’re going to figure out why it happened and who was the target.

I got up from the sofa and walked up to her. I shook her a couple of times and said “Catelyn, Cate! this is not a dream, this is real,”

She gave me a dreamy look and smiled “Of course it’s a dream silly. I’m not here with you, why would I be, with a guy like you, way out of my league and Mr. Raffles is probably somewhere around London in a bar having a scotch. Believe me when I say that he is going to call me in a bit to ask me to take him home cause’ he is too drunk.”

I shook my head in disagreement and told her this is real she is going to have to face it. She started crying as soon as I said it was real and its not a dream.

“Mr. Raffles is dead, Cate, you’re going to have to let that sink in. Mourn and grief for him now, because the minute day breaks, we’re going to have to find out who did this. And I swear to you, I will not let anything happen to you.” I said trying to calm her down and put some reality sense into her.

Well, after that she sank to her knees and began sobbing like a small girl, I couldn’t get what she was trying to say while sobbing, that is good, crying is good, that means she is trying to comprehend the hard fact that Mr. Raffles was murdered and whoever was involved may be after or me. It was about half past 11pm when she fell asleep on the sofa. She looked so calm when she was sleeping, I wrapped a blanket over her, so that she wouldn’t get too cold.

I figured I’ll hit the showers before I head out to the harbour to meet Michael. Michael is my private investigator. I usually ask him to investigate my business rivals, their weaknesses and strengths. In the business I am in, it gets kind of competitive and dangerous, hence my need to use my investigator, you would know when to hit and where to hit them to bring them to their knees, before you know it, they will be at your mercy. Michael was formerly a Military Intelligence Expert, he knows things that I don’t, especially when assessing the enemy headquarters, he knows that better than I do. He’s been with me for the past 8 years and has yet to dissapoint me. So a lot my decisions hangs on his skills of investigations. Plus he owns a gun, that is cool.

As I was about to go out, I noticed Catelyn wasn’t at the sofa anymore. I panicked a little and looked around the loft. I was relieved to find her at corner of the loft looking out the glass window facing the city. The view was quite amazing especially at this hour of the night, the city looks calm shadowed by the moonlight. It was full moon tonight, it was bright with the moon light. She looked lost in her thought. I went up to her and tapped her shoulder. My heart wanted to hug her but I refrained myself. I couldn’t possibly take advantage of her that way. She was too precious to me.

“You’re going out?” She asked, looking a little surprised.

“Yes, I won’t be long. Just an hour at most.” I replied.

“You can’t leave me alone here and now, especially now,” she said with puffy eyes. Her face was swollen from all the crying and her forehead bore a scratch mark from this afternoon’s ordeal.

“I won’t be long swee… Cate,” She looked so vulnerable, I was about to say sweetheart, yes, but right now I was the best chance she has in finding out the truth and I am not going to allow my emotions take advantage of that.

“Can I go with you?” She asked wearing a hopeful expression on her face.  

I won’t deny it would be much easier if I were to go alone. It has always been that way but she was scared and vulnerable. I can’t exactly imagine what she would do next, the worse thing that could happen is she could leave the loft and he would come back to find an empty loft, that would be enough to let him drive like a mad person in the city looking for her.

I let out a long heavy breath, “okay, you can go with me but you’re going to have to listen to everything I say and you are going to have remain calm. Can you do that for me?” I asked.

“Yes, of course,” she replied with a wide smile. “But where…” she continued to ask me where we were headed but before she could finish I cut her off.

“Lay off with the questions, you will know later!”

We left the building through the back door and that’s usually my black Lexus RC F is parked. It’s a special parking bay just for me, amazing what money can buy these days. Plus, that actually came in handy in avoiding the reporters at the front of the building.

We approached the harbour a few minutes later. I filled Catelyn in who I was about to meet and what information he was about to give me. She nodded a few times but was quiet the whole time. Michael was already there waiting. He was clad in black jeans, a black leather jacket and a cap to hide his face. That was how he usually dressed. Well, if he is comfortable that way, who am I to question him, I just need my information.

“I need you to stay in the car while I talk to him, okay?” I said to Catelyn, my eyes never moving away from Michael.

“Okay,” her short reply was an indication that she was nervous.

I got out of the car and headed to where Michael was standing. He was facing the waters, never once turning his face at me. I walked up to him and stood beside him. He handed me a brown envelope and said that everything I needed to know was in there.

“What else is in here?” I asked.

“Everything is in there. All the information you wanted. Mr. Raffles, your solicitor, only appeared to be a nice man on the outside, he got mixed in with some really bad people. The details are in there.” He said pointing at the envelope. He then continued “There’s something these people wanted from him, I have yet to find out what it is, when I get more information I will find you.”

 

I shook his hand and headed back to the car. As I was walking, I heard Michael calling out to me. I turned to him and heard him say “don't trust anyone.”

I looked at him and then to the brown envelope. I looked back up to ask him what he meant but he was gone, damn he was good, somewhat like a ghost. I got back in the car where Catelyn was waiting anxiously. Before I could even say a word, she was already bombarding me with all kinds of questions.

“So, hey, are you listening?” She said when I wasn't responding to her questions.

“Not here,” I said, driving out of the harbor as fast as I could, something in my heart was saying this whole thing was something much more than some people looking for something. If they were looking for something, why kill the man? There has to be another motive to all of this. I continued driving but instead of heading back to the city, I got out on the motorway and headed towards the countryside. I have a lake house up North where the both of us can be safe for the moment. I’m hoping no one would find us there.

Catelyn fell asleep shortly after I got onto the motorway. She did ask where we were headed but my silence kind of scared her, I think. She kept mumbling strange things till she fell asleep. I noticed she was still wearing the clothes from yesterday afternoon. It was already about 3 am, the last meal both of us had was during that lunch and that was about 12 hours ago. I figured we needed fresh clothes and something to eat both of which will be available at the lake house. I called Rosita, my housekeeper at the lake house to stock up some women’s clothes.

She was more than happy to accommodate my requests, I believe her exact sentence were “Oh Mr. Q, you have company, you never have company, I will make sure you’re special someone has everything she needs and something naughty perhaps?”    

I declined anything naughty and just requested for plain clothes. Well, suffice to say she was a little disappointed. It was almost dawn when we reached the lake house. By that time, she was sound asleep. I hadn't the heart to wake her up, she looked like she was dreaming of beautiful things, of the both of them maybe, oh how I wished. Rosita was already waiting when we arrived. I got out of the car and went to the passenger side to get Catelyn out. I carried her into the lake house. She felt too light to me. I liked the way she cradled her arms around me and her head rested on the crook of my neck, I could feel her breath against my neck, it felt good. It felt like home having her that way.

Rosita followed suit and looked a little confused when she saw me heading to the guest room. She signed towards the master bedroom where I stay whenever I spend my time here. I shook my head and just headed towards the guest room. I placed her gently on the bed and covered with some blankets. It was cold night. Once she was settled in, I headed to the master bedroom, I needed some sleep as well. I told Rosita not to let anyone know we’re here and to come back a few hours later with breakfast. She nodded and left.

I kicked off my shoes and landed myself on the bed, before I knew it, everything went black.

I woke up a few hours later at the noise of the birds chirping outside the window. It took me a second before I could comprehend where I was. I realized I was at the Lake House. I glanced at the clock on the bedside table, it was almost 10 am. I got up and hit the showers. I went straight to the kitchen, my stomach was already doing an orchestra. Even before I entered the kitchen I could smell that delicious breakfast. Rosita was cooking eggs and toast.

I took a seat at the  kitchen counter, waiting for my plate. The toast looked golden brown when it came out of the toaster. The eggs were piping hot and the toast was slathered with butter. Food, heaven on earth. I took a bite of the eggs and followed by the toast and a sip of my coffee, then I realised I was forgetting something and Rosita was wearing a confused look on her face. Catelyn! I remembered.

I bolted back upstairs leaving my breakfast and headed to the guest room. She was still asleep on the bed. I was relieved and sat back on the sofa that was near her bed. I slowly walked to the side of the bed to wake her up. I shook her gently and called out her name. Her eyes lashes fluttered a little and she opened her eyes, smiling. What a relief! I thought. But I was wrong, she saw my face and she started screaming on top of her lungs.

“What, where am I?” She asked looking puzzled.

“Catelyn, calm down, you’re in my lake house.” I said, assuring her that it’s okay.

She calmed a little then asked me how did we end up there from the harbor. I explained everything from the beginning to her and she was trembling again. Every time we spoke about the murder, she starts to tremble. I took her hands in mine and assured her that we were going to get through this together. I got her out of the bed and called out for Rosita. Rosita helped drew a bath for her and I urged Catelyn to the bathroom. I told her I would downstairs, waiting for her until she’s done.

I went back downstairs, Rosita handed me a copy the day’s newspaper, the headlines read:-

“Solicitor shot Dead; crime of passion or hate?!”   

“The solicitor, was identified as Brian Raffles, 55, was shot dead in the middle of the day at Brighton alley, the shot was said to have been fired from the rooftop of one of the buildings around the area. Scotland Yard have yet to determine the motive. One of the witnesses at the scene of the crime was Ms. Catelyn Sheffield, the associate of Mr. Raffles who was said to be shaken terribly by the incident. Further, entrepreneur cum industrialist Mr. Qureshi was also said to have been at the crime scene. He was said to be one of the clients’ of Mr. Raffles Chambers. A number of the restaurant staff had said that the victim was with a woman when he entered the restaurant but hurriedly exited out the back door of the restaurant when he saw two men enter the restaurant. The Scotland Yard have seized the camera footage recordings of the restaurant to identify the men that was said to have entered the restaurant for the victim.”   

I was so engrossed with the newspaper, I needed to know who these men were. At this point, I knew more than the police or the journalists who were covering the murder. I remembered the brown envelope that Michael gave me last night and I know it was still in my car.

I didn’t notice Catelyn was already standing in front of me. She was dressed in a peach colored sweater with jeans. She looked casual, and there wasn’t a bit of makeup on her face and she looked absolutely heaven. I handed her the newspaper at the thought she might want to know what was going on. She took the paper and was reading it when Rosita brought a plate of breakfast for her. She ate her breakfast quietly. Leaving Catelyn to her breakfast I headed out to the garage where my car was parked and unlocked it. The brown envelope was still where I placed it last night.

I was about to open it when I heard a sound coming out from the bushes. The property was surrounded by 50 acres of woods and a lake few feet away from the house. Forest animals are a usual guest around here but right now, I couldn’t take the chance, I had to check it. I walked up to the bushes, clutching the brown envelope on one hand. I poked at the bushes with a long branch and out jumped a rabbit. It was just a rabbit looking for food. I breathed a sigh of relief and headed back to the house. I could still feel something stirring in the forest.

I headed to the living room of the house where Catelyn was at. I sat on the sofa opposite Catelyn and opened the envelope. Her eyes were locked on the envelope. I could tell she was interested to know what was in the envelope. I tilted the envelope and out came a sd card. I looked up at Catelyn, she was puzzled.

“I have a macbook upstairs in the study,” I said, heading up to the study. She followed suit.

“What is it?” She asked as soon as I plugged in the memory card in the Macbook. It had one folder. I clicked on the first folder and there was a list of names.

“Its a list of names, who are all these people?” I was scrolling down the list.

“Here, let me take a look, maybe I know?” Catelyn said. There was a long pause.

“Do you know them?” I asked.

“Yeah, they are a list of private clients only Mr. Raffles used to attend to. I remember this one person, this O’Callaghan,” she pointed at the name on the list and continued “he came to the office once, he looked a little scary, he had a long scar across his face. He spoke to Mr. Raffles and gave him something in a box. There was a brief argument between them but it died off after he handed Mr. Raffles the box. If I remember it correctly, he put the box in the safe that he hides behind the bookshelf in his room.”

I was amazed at the information she had, “a safe you say?”

“yeah, I only know because about a week ago, Mr. Raffles gave me a list of things in the office that he wanted me to attend to, one of involved this safe. There was a document that he wanted me to put it in the safe, and he wanted me to do it immediately. I thought it was just his usual self forgetting to do these thing but now, when you think about it, it is as if he already knew that something bad was going to happen to him.” she said with a pained look. We exchanged looks as if we were both thinking about the same thing.

“Maybe there’s something in the safe that can help us?” I said. She nodded in agreement.

“Lets go,” she said.

“Hey, hold your horses, those guys might have already been there or they might even be waiting for someone to get in the office if they haven't gotten what they want.” I said, although it sounds like a bad idea heading there, we needed to know the contents of the safe. I continued “we can’t go now, we’ll wait till dark then head out to the city.”

“Okay, but what do we do till then?” she asked, looking at me with sad puffy eyes.

“I guess we just stay in till it’s clear.” I said with a smile.  “Let me make a few calls and see what I can do.”

I took out my phone and dialled Prem’s number. He answered in one ring. I was surprised. That never happens, especially with Prem, half of the time he is usually in surgery, its normally hours before he returns anyone’s calls let alone his.

“Hey... “ I said, but was cut off by Prem.

“What the hell did you do? I went for a 36 hour shift and came out seeing your face plastered all over the news because of a murder? Man, what have I told you about these things, don’t do it. No matter how tempted you are to kill someone, don’t do it.” Prem began his nonsensical blabbering.

“Prem…” I said. He still haven’t stopped his lectures about being a responsible human being. I know I can be a little crazy sometimes, but killing someone for profit has never been in my books and never will be. “Prem!” I called out, my voice higher than normal.

“Whaaattt?!” He said annoyingly.

“I didn’t kill anyone, and no, I’m not involved directly in the murder but I may be one of the targets.” I said trying to explain the situation to him, “the reason I called is…” I explained the whole scenario to him and was hoping he would do it for me.

“You want me to do what?” He asked and from the way he asked, I could tell he was a little  bit excited at the suggestion I just made to him. “Like a stakeout? Of course I will do it.” He said.

“So you’re clear on the plan? I need  you to always stay as far as you can from the Office, but I need you to see if there’s anyone entering or exiting the office. I am planning to head there tonight. I just need to know if there’s any activity around his office.” I explained to him again.

“Yeah, I get it. I’ll do it.” Prem was more than willing to help. Well, that and the kick that he gets from solving mysteries. Prem has been a mystery junkie ever since I first met him. But ultimately, Prem has a soft heart, he likes helping people, doesn’t matter how or where, if he can help, he would. That’s why I could always count on him.

“Hey, remember, this is not one of those mystery novel things okay, you need to be careful. Call me when you get something.” I said cautioning him in the process.

“Dude, chill, I get it and ummm, did you tell her yet?” Prem asked hesitantly.

“No.” I replied, short, indicating that she is right here with me.

“When are you planning to tell her exactly?” Prem asked, a hint of curiosity in his voice.

“That something that we can discuss at another date and time, definitely not now!” I replied him with a stern voice.

“Fine.” His reply was short. Prem hung up on me!

I turned to Catelyn after speaking to him. She was still looking at the list. I called out to her but she didn’t answer. I walked up to her and tapped her on the shoulder, she looked up at me with a horrified look on her face.

“What’s wrong?” I asked, panicking a little.

“The list…” She said, her voice trailing off, trembling again.

“What about the list?” I asked looking at it. I still couldn’t catch what she was trying to say.

“Mr. Raffles’ name is on the list. So is mine and yours.” She said. “I think it’s a hit list.” she continued, her face was pale white now, and her breathing got heavier. She was having a panic attack. I heard what she had said. This is definitely not good. But why would our names be on a hit list? This day just keeps getting better.

“Are you sure? How do you know it’s a hit list?” I asked, trying to get a little confirmation from her.

“The first three names on the list are crossed off. The first name on the list, Brian Fuller, he died a month ago, suicide, was Mr. Raffles client. The second name, Jack  O’Neal, he was a client, he died a couple of weeks ago in a boating accident. These are the files that he handled himself. The third name was Mr. Raffles and the fourth is O’Callaghan. He has to be next target. If he dies, I’m going to be next one.” She said, her voice trembling.

I was trying to comprehend what she was saying, to be honest, I was a little terrified. I didn’t quite know what to do next. If this was a hit list as what she says, all the more reason we have to find out what was in the safe that Raffles wanted to guard so much and gave up his life for. I have to get Michael to do a little more digging for me. These names on the list have got to have a connection one way or another to one another.

I looked at the list, some of the names were familiar but some were not. I could understand why Catelyn’s name was on the list, it was probably because she worked for Raffles, but myself, what was the connection did I have with these people on the list? I turned to Catelyn who was now seated on the long sofa with holding her head with both her hands.

“Catelyn, calm down.” I said, she looked up at me with eyes full of tears.

“How could this be happening? What do we do now?” sobbing, she looked up at me.

“We can’t wait anymore, we need to find out where this O’Callaghan is and get to him before something happens.” I said, that’s the only thing to do that made any sense at the moment.

“But his details are at the office. There’s nothing here.” She replied.

“Come on, we have to go to the office now. I’ll call for back up.” I took out my phone and dialled  for Michael. I asked him to meet me and Catelyn a few blocks away from the office. I checked with Prem, there were a few men outside the building looking really suspicious. If we were to go in now, we will be walking into a trap. I just hope Michael has a better plan.

An hour later, we met Michael and Prem at the meeting spot as promised. Both of them looked anxious and quite honestly, excited. Am I the only one who feels a little terrified at the thought of being shot at? I told both of them that Catelyn and I will have to walk in the front door and they will be our back up. But of course it was shot down by both Michael and Prem.

Prem suggested that he goes in, no one knows him around here and no one would suspect anything. There is a pharmaceutical company at the second floor of the building, so if anyone asks he can say that he’s heading to the company. Worse case scenario, he is just going to have to climb into the office through the fire escape, if something goes wrong.

Both Michael and I agreed with the plan but was cut off by Catelyn.

“The plan is fine, but there’s just one problem.” she said looking at the three of us.

“What’s the problem?” Michael asked.

“The thing or whatever that we are after is in the safe, which would only open with a fingerprint scan, and it’s mine. Even if he gets in, there’s no way he could get in open.” she said gesturing to Prem while holding her thumb up.

“Right, who has a knife, I can surgically remove her thumb from her hand in minutes. It’s really a simple procedure,” Prem said with a serious look on his face.

Catelyn, shocked from what she just heard from Prem, “is he for real?” she asked looking at both Michael and me.

“Of course not,” I said to her taking her hand in mine, stroking her thumb. “Change of plan, I’m going in with Catelyn and the two of you back us up.” I handed each of them a cell phone with a wireless head piece. “Keep it on and stay connected. Prem, you keep the car running and once we’re done from the office, we’ll let you know and you drive up into the alley behind the office unnoticed. You think you can manage that?” I asked, Prem gave me a nod, then I continued “Michael, you wait for us at the back alley. Keep a lookout.”

Both Prem and Michael took their positions, I headed to the back alley with Catelyn, trying to be stealthy as possible. Catelyn was a little nervous. I could feel her hands trembling in mine. Once the three of us were in the alley, I took the ladder to the fire escape first, Catelyn followed suit. Once I was at the 6th floor of the building, I peered into the window to make sure no one was in the office. The window was facing the open area of the office. Once I was sure no one was in, I tried prying open the window, I couldn’t get it open, it was stuck and the ice was making it even harder.

Catelyn nudged at my leg, I looked down at her and whispered “we need to head to the roof, the window is stuck.”    

I continued climbing up the ladder and climbed on to the roof, thank god, by this time its already getting dark even though it’s just 4 in the afternoon, thanks  to winter and daylight saving! I climbed on the roof helped Catelyn up as well. I headed towards the door of the roof that led to the staircase. The door was locked from the inside, I used a pocket knife that I brought along with me, I knew it would be useful. I opened the door and entered in the doorway. The staircase was leading down, we went down the stairs as quiet as possible. Once we were at the 6th floor staircase, I opened the door trying to minimise the squeaking of the door.

We entered the corridor of the 6th floor. It was eerily quiet. Raffles chambers were the only office at the 6th floor. There was no one around and I figured the coast was clear to head to the door. Catelyn and I headed to the main door. She took out the keys and tried unlocking the door, her hands shook so much that she couldn’t get the key into the keyhole. I took the keys from her trembling hands and unlocked the door. We entered into the office. Catelyn disalarmed the alarm system and both of us wasted no time in heading towards Raffles chambers.

Inside, the chambers were a little messy, files were lying around on the floor and his table. From the look on her face, I could tell that it was untouched, her face was bright red now, her eyes straight at Raffles chair. I nudged Catelyn towards the safe. I couldn’t locate where it was hidden. She walked up to a shelf of books which read ‘The Dominion Law Reports’ and pulled out volume 256. At the back of the volume, there was a switch, she turned in on and the shelf opposite Raffles table on the far bottom corner of the left slid open revealing a small iron safe. The safe was silver in color with a black door and a black panel complete with a fingerprint scanner. There was a green light blinking on top of the panel. Catelyn scanned her right thumb fingerprint on the panel and the light that was blinking green blinked yellow twice and released the black door. The safe was open.

I went up and kneeled beside Catelyn. Catelyn was inspecting the documents. We didn’t have much time, we needed to get out of this office as soon as possible. I urged Catelyn to put the documents in an envelope, the inspection of the document could be done later at a much safer place. We emptied the safe and pushed back the safe to where it was and how it was hidden. As if we were never here.

As we were heading out of Raffles chambers, we heard the main door click open, someone was entering in the office. Catelyn and I remained hidden in Raffles chambers. I hid beside a wooden shelf and Catelyn was under Raffles table. We could see each other from where we were hiding. The door to Raffes chambers opened, someone was about to enter the room. This wasn’t good. We needed to get out of here, now, I mouthed to Catelyn. She nodded in agreement. Before the person could enter, someone called out to him.

The minute he left, I bolted to the window and pried it open. I could see Michael and  Prem waiting for us at the back alley. But from this window there was nothing to hold on to. We might fall to our deaths if we jumped from here. Michael, as if understanding our predicament pushed a big trash bin right where the window was so that we could land in the bin and possibly avoid any broken bones or death itself.  

“Jump,” I whispered. Catelyn looked at me with a horrified look.

“Are you crazy, do you know how high this is?” She protested, clearly afraid of heights. I couldn’t take the risk of whoever that’s inside this office right now to find us, so I pushed her. Yes, I pushed the woman that would probably be the mother of my children in the future, down 6 floors into the big bin. Well, in the future seems to be much much further now. She landed in the bin with a thud.

Michael got her out of the bin and it was my turn to jump. Before I could jump out, I felt someone pulling me back into the chambers, the next thing I knew, I felt a searing pain at the back of my head and everything went black.  

-END OF CHAPTER TWO-