The Alchemists

Endo gave a signal to Max and the big black chief of security ordered several of his men to drag Takeshi off the floor and throw him in the car. They must send him away from there so that he could go and look for Alaric.

After everyone left, Endo approached Lauriel and asked what he wanted to do with Rosalien.

"I'll take care of her," Lauriel said curtly. He still didn't want to let Rosalien die. There were things he wanted to know about Rhionen Assassins and why they were so loyal to their leader.

So far, almost no information could be obtained about them and he wanted to force Rosalien to talk, in case their plan to trap Alaric failed. He wanted all information that he could obtain to develop a backup plan.

Lauriel entered the place where Rosalien was held and saw that the girl was still bleeding excessively and was on the brim of fainting because she had lost a lot of blood, but she stubbornly persisted to remain conscious.

Lauriel removed the chains from Rosalien's body and examined her mouth. The tongue was almost completely cut off. The chances were slim that it could be connected again and that it would function normally.

This was a scary girl, he thought. He had never met such stubborn woman before. She really wasn't afraid to die.

Lauriel took two pills and forced them into Rosalien's mouth and made the girl swallow them. Rosalien looked surprised to see that Lauriel treat her wound, but because her tongue had been cut, she could not ask any questions and could only stare at Lauriel with the look of hatred.

"Apparently we still need you," Lauriel said nonchalantly. "You shouldn't expect to die quickly."

He then ordered Max's men to call a doctor and to take Rosalien to another room to be treated.

***

Takeshi woke up when it was already dark. He groaned in pain when he felt the wounds on his body. He got up slowly and realized that he had been dumped in a desolate area near the airport.

He immediately inspected his body for trackers or bugs or whatever device his captors may use to track him. There was none.

There was no cellphone to contact for help. He only had the small communication device and Aleksis' necklace that was given by Endo earlier.

Ugh ... he must immediately find a way to contact Pavel. He must not contact Alaric directly in case he was bugged.

Takeshi walked limply in search of the main road and after a while, he found a quiet public parking lot. Takeshi looked around, trying to find a piece of iron that he could use to break open the door of one of the parked cars and leave.

He was lucky to find an iron rod near a blue sedan. What a coincidence! An old car was parked in the parking lot and it could be broken into from the outside. Exactly as he needed.

He hurriedly broke open the door and immediately went inside. After dismantling the ignition system he could easily start the engine and drive himself away.

After Takeshi disappeared, two shadowy figures, who had been hiding behind the dark window of a car a few dozen meters away, got out of the car and exchanged glances.

"You're still as good as you used to be," Endo said to Marion, who smiled broadly as she extended her right hand with her palm open. Endo then took out a 100-dollar bill and placed it in Marion's hand.

"It only makes sense that he would take the nearest car for his needs. I deliberately placed the iron bar there. As expected, he disposed of his clothes thinking that we placed a tracker there, though the tracker is actually placed in the car." Marion accepted the money from their bet, smiling broadly.

Both of them then hopped into their car and returned to the penthouse. Marion must get ready to become Aleksis because their prey was almost tracked.

***

Alaric was very surprised when he heard the news from Pavel. Takeshi had been found and his condition was not good. Rosalien was still missing and possibly dead.

"What?" His face, which usually looked calm and unaffected, became red with anger. The two assassins captured were not only his men. They were his foster children whom he had cared for since they were little.

He was aware that Rosalien was guilty of causing her and Takeshi to be arrested by the police and now they were apparently held captive by another group of unknown people. Even so, he vowed that he would not let Rosalien die without doing anything.

"Takeshi also said that the group is holding Ms. Aleksis captive. They know of your relationship with her and are using it to blackmail you to obey their wishes," Pavel said again, his voice sounded as if he was trying hard to hold back his anger.

Pavel never liked Aleksis, but he tried to support their relationship anyway because he saw that Aleksis made Alaric happy. However after all that had happened, Alaric had changed and things had escalated that two of their assassins were arrested by an unknown party.

Now the enemy was even using Aleksis to trap their master. He wondered what would be their demands be later, he did not want to imagine. Pavel really hoped that Aleksis would just die and stop giving them trouble.

"They have Aleksis? How do they know about Aleksis? Do they know about our relationship?" Alaric was stunned. He and Aleksis kept their relationship and identity a secret. Who could know all this? "What is the proof that they did arrest Aleksis?"

"I will make sure that Takeshi is safe from any bugs and trackers before bringing him to see you, Master." Pavel sighed, "Do you want me to call our other members? Kai and Mischa have arrived in Singapore. They will soon be at your place."

Alaric pondered for a moment. He didn't even know what the people who held Aleksis wanted.

Oh, Aleksis ...

He felt sad because he had expected that as soon as he arrived in Singapore, he would be able to look for Aleksis. Even though the girl may not remember him, he could at least release some of his worries by confirming that she was all right.

But now he learned that Aleksis had been kidnapped again, this time by an unknown group. He remembered that Aleksis once told him that she had been given personal bodyguards by her father because she was often the target of bad people ...

Alaric felt guilty for causing Kurt Van Der Ven's death ... Certainly with the death of her father, Aleksis became increasingly unsafe.

Oh, how much Alaric wanted to find her, so he could protect her from anyone who wanted to hurt her. He no longer cared about the girl's family. He would take her to a place far and hidden, and live alone with her for as long as she lived.