Wavering Heart (2)

What did his heart really desire?

It was the question that had been occupying his mind the whole night. This was the second time in his life he felt this lost. The first time was when his parents passed away. He was only fifteen back then. Even though both his parents were not around most of the time because of their work, they still played a big part in his life. Especially his mother...

After John Carlos died, Carloine resigned her work and stayed with Ryan all the time. Even with the loss of his father, that one year he lived with his mother was the happiest time of his life. They really had fun together.

That was why when Caroline took her last breath in front of him, he felt as if his whole world was crumbled and he would not be able to stand up anymore. His life-goal was to make his mother live a carefree and happy life. So, when his goal was lost, he did not know what to live for anymore. If not for his grandfather, he would have really been a lost cause.

He kept himself busy under his grandfather's teaching so that he would not overthink. The thing he feared most at that time was that he would not have anything to do and his mind would roam free. Only when his body was tired, he would not feel... broken.

He was already living a normal life until he got the letter out of nowhere. Surprisingly, he did not hesitate to leave for City X, showing he was not even a bit attached to his achievements, his colleagues, his fiancee or even his life. He knew. He knew that this place could be where his body lay for eternity.

Even so, the next day after he got the letter, he applied for transfer for his superior, broke off the engagement with his dumfounded fiancee and made arrangements to move to City X. He did not realize back then, but now that he thought about it, it seemed he was living those fifteen years of life just for the sake of living it. He was like a robot, doing things that he should do and not otherwise.

After finding out about the true identities of his parents, he turned back to the same person he was at that time. Trying to run away from the truth and not thinking too deep about anything other than work. However, after talking with Allen, he made a decision.

He made a decision to face everything head on.

The next morning, he made a call, a call to inquire about Darren Wright, who they thought was the murderer of Caroline Carlos. However, he was told that Darren had been released two years ago after serving his time. Still, Ryan got a hold of his current address.

After checking the city Darren was in, he made another call to one of his friends who was also a police officer.

"Hey, Ryan. I haven't heard from you for a long time."

The other side picked up immediately and greeted him with a cheerful voice.

After Ryan spared some words of goodwill, he jumped straight to the point.

"Can you please check on a Darren Wright? I'll send his information with mail."

"Sure. Anything for you, my friend. I'll get back to you and good luck with the townspeople of your City X."

He chuckled and ended the conversation.

Ryan smiled and kept the phone. He might really need that 'luck'.

As it was a weekend morning, it was not really necessary for him to show up at work. However, he wanted to study the case files at the station to see if they had anything on 'Sirena'.

After Ryan had parked his car, he started walking towards the department building.

"Boom!"

The loud sound of explosion rang out, almost deafening him. It was quite near, too near. Even if it was city X, Ryan could not believe that an explosion actually occurred inside the bureau compound. He ran towards the still burning car and noticed that there was someone inside.

Because of the loud noise, some of the officers came out from inside the building.

"Call an ambulance and bring out all the fire extinguishers from inside."

"Someone also call chief."

Ryan gave out a string of commands while running towards the fire hydrant. Some officers ran towards him to help him out.

He soaked himself wet and approached the car swallowed by flames. He was not sure whether it would explode again after burning the gas tank. So, he needed to rescue the person inside... as fast as he could.

Because of the sound of explosion, his ears were still filled with ringing sound. He could not hear the sounds of his officers stopping him from getting near the fire. He shoved away anyone or anything that was in his way. The smoke was also getting inside his eyes, making his vision all blurry.

Despite all his effort, that person was already charred black when Ryan eventually got him out. It did not even take much time. The heat was that strong. He could not even identify the victim. Only the silver badge was left unharmed, shining brightly as if it was mocking Ryan.

After the fire died down, Ryan ordered his officers to set up a perimeter and call for the forensics.

"Who was it?" He asked the detective nearest to him.

"It was Corporal Bunner. He was going to go back home after his night-shift."

Corporal Bunner? Ryan frowned. He could not think of anyone who would try to harm this officer. He was just an ordinary officer and all the cases he was handling was not anything noteworthy.

"Why would anyone target him? Do you know anything?"

"I'm not sure, Captain. I can ask for his partner to come and see you. But..."

"But what?" Ryan glared at the hesitating detective. He was not very patient at the moment. Losing two of his subordinates within a month did not really feel great.

After receiving the glare, the detective dropped all his reluctance and voiced out whatever was on his mind.

"But I'm not sure about him being the target. His car broke down the other day so this car was not actually his."

Only then, Ryan looked at the car properly. Even though it was burned quite badly, he could roughly made out its shape. And the number plate... almost one third of it was still left. This...

Ryan's pupils dilated and his heart thumped faster with the adrenaline rush. How could he not recognize this familiar vehicle!

Not realizing his subtle changes, the detective still continued, "Yesterday, Lieutenant Rogers said he was going to leave with you and lent his car to Coporal Bunner."