The Devilish Assassin Meets The Angelic Detective

"Did Elle go somewhere? She asked me to check on you, that's why I am here."

A glint of hope lit Erick's gaze after he heard those words coming from Bryan. He immediately held Bryan's shoulder, facing him with eagerness.

"Is that true? When did she ask you? What did she tell you? Is she okay? Did she mention where she is right now?" Erick bombarded him with so many questions while shaking him.

Bryan just gave him a weird look and an awkward smile as he replied to him.

"Whoah! Take it easy! Please, just one question at a time. And... can you release me? You are gripping my shoulders too tightly bro! I also felt dizzy, you're shaking me too hard as well." Bryan said as he complained to Erick. He was confused about why he was acting like this.

Erick suddenly released Bryan's shoulder from his tight grasp as he realized his improper action. He was just eager to hear something about Elle.

'She contacted Bryan!' This thought was enough to console Erick.

Bryan scratched the back of his head as he answered Erick's questions.

"When I woke up this morning, I saw her message. She asked me for a favor to see you. I thought you are sick and not feeling well. I told myself maybe she had gone somewhere that's why she couldn't take care of you so she asked me this. She was worried about you."

Erick didn't dare to interrupt him. He was listening attentively to Bryan.

"When I asked her why and what happened, I didn't receive any response from her. I'll try to call her but her phone is unattended. So I decided to go here directly before coming to the headquarters." 

Bryan frowned after saying that as he observed Erick. He was very silent. By just looking at his worried and gloomy expression Bryan could tell that something was wrong.

"Hmm... I think I guessed it right. As of now, you look like..." Bryan paused for a moment as he eyed Erick, assessing his appearance from top to bottom. 

After doing that, he shook his head as he continued: "You look awful. Haggard. Horrible." He didn't know whether he should laugh or feel bad for Erick.

Erick sighed deeply before saying: "Yeah. I feel like sh*t right now. I messed things up between me and Elle."

Bryan was dumbfounded after hearing that. 'So it's related to Elle. They just got married two days ago and now they got into a fight already?'

"Hmm… tell me what happened Bro. I am willing to listen." Bryan said to him.

"Let's go inside first." Erick invited him inside the house.

Bryan followed him from behind. They went straight to the living room. They both sat down on the couch.

Erick asked Bryan if he would like to drink or eat something but Bryan just refused his offer as he already took his breakfast before leaving his place.

"What time did she message you?" Erick asked him again about Elle.

Bryan just took his phone and opened his inbox. He scrolled down to find Elle's message. After he found it, he showed it to Erick.

It was just a simple message asking Bryan to check on Erick. It was sent at around 2:30 am. That was just a few minutes early before her signal disappeared from the GPS locator.

"Anyway, where is she? Did the two of you get into a fight? What do you mean that you messed up things? What did you do?" Bryan asked him curiously. 

Erick was debating within himself whether he should tell Bryan the truth regarding Elle's identity or not.

'Elle is Catseye. My wife is Catseye. I hurt her. And she ran away from me. Now, I can't find her. I didn't know where she is.'

Erick smiled grimly. He couldn't say those words to Bryan right now. In the end, he chose to lie and cover-up Elle's identity even to his best friend Bryan who, at the same, assigned in catching Catseye, his colleague.

"She went somewhere. She said she needed time and space. Everything is happening too fast between us. I guess she got scared. I pressured her too much by asking her to marry me as soon as possible. I think I became inconsiderate about her feelings and I ended up hurting her." There was sadness in his eyes and his voice was filled with regrets.

Bryan was tongue-tied. He couldn't find the right words to comfort his friend. He was not an expert in terms of love and relationship. He was not a 'Love Guru'.

But deep down, Bryan was surprised because he didn't expect this to happen.

'What? Elle ran away from home because she needed time and space? D*mn, why did she do that after a day of being married to Erick?' Bryan thought to himself as he couldn't believe it.

Then a peal of laughter could be heard in the entire living room. Bryan was laughing so hard. It seemed like he just heard a funny joke after hearing Erick.

Erick just stared at Bryan. "Why are you laughing?"

"Pfft… Erick, I am sorry… I can't help it." Bryan said in between his laugh as he patted Erick's shoulder.

"You are right! I think you really messed up, Buddy! Haha. The most handsome, famous, and capable detective in the country was ditched by his wife just two days after their marriage. D*mn, it would be a huge piece of news!" Bryan teased him to lighten the mood.

"Do you know what? Your presence is not helping me, instead, you are making me feel worse. Get up and leave!" Erick said firmly as he shot him a sharp cold stare.

'I don't know if you can still laugh like that if you learn that Elle is Catseye.' Erick thought to himself.

Meeting Erick's cold stare, Bryan decided to straighten up and behave. He stopped teasing him.

"I am just joking, alright. Don't be mad. I was just trying to lift up your mood. But kidding aside, I think both of you love each other so much. I have seen it with my own eyes. So, don't worry. Just give her time and space. Have faith in her. She will come back. See, she even asked me a favor just to make sure that you are just fine. She still cares about you, men."

Erick had to admit that Bryan's words somehow comforted him at this moment. It was really good to have a friend by your side. You could turn to them whenever you were feeling down.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Meanwhile, at the hospital, Charles already woke up. When he opened his eyes, he could feel the pain in his entire body but it was not painful compared to before when Skull Gang members were torturing him.

He still couldn't move. The light in the room made his eyes squint but after blinking several times, he had cleared his vision. Peering around his surroundings, he could tell that he was no longer inside the Skull Gang headquarters.

"I think I am in the hospital." He mumbled to himself.

Looking down, he saw a figure sitting on a chair while leaning over his hospital bed. Her head was laying in her hands as her own pillows. He was very familiar with this person.

'Elle! She saved me!' A light flashed in his eyes and a gentle smile appeared on his face.

He was very happy to see her. He thought he wouldn't be able to see her again. He was already prepared to die in that prison just to protect her.

He raised his left hand to touch Elle. He felt grateful. The moment when he was about to lose his consciousness he wished to see her even for one last time. Deep down his heart and his mind Elle was the person he wanted to see in his last moment.

Charles was gently stroking her hair when Elle suddenly woke up. She raised her head only to see Charles looking at her tenderly.

"Charles!" She softly mumbled. There was a hint of relief all over her face.

"I am sorry for waking you up." Charles softly mumbled. He looked away as he felt a little bit embarrassed. He thought Elle would scold him for doing that.

He was about to retrieve his hand away from her when he felt that a soft hand suddenly grabbed it. He moved his gaze back to Elle. She was smiling at him while holding his hand.

Charles was dumbfounded. His heartbeat quickened inside his chest.

'D*mn! Elle, don't look at me like that! You are making me more nervous. This is not the usual gaze you are always giving me. I am used to your dangerous and sharp glares.'

Then he heard Elle's soft voice, making him more astonished.

"Thank you, Charles." 

After what it seemed like ages, Charles finally found his voice and was able to utter some words.

"N-No need to t-thank me. Besides… I am your p-partner, right? How can I betray you?" he stuttered because his heart was still in a frenzy.

"Not that." Elle chuckled. "Thank you for staying alive. I won't be able to forgive myself if something bad happened to you." 

Charles felt her grip on his hand tightened. He could hear her sincerity in her voice.

'D*mn. Does it mean she really cares for me? Elle cares for me!' He was very happy with that thought.

Now, he was grinning from ear to ear like a fool.

"Sorry for coming too late. I know you suffered too much because of me. I am really sorry, Charles." Elle said to him. He could see the guilt in her eyes.

"No! This is not your fault. I am not blaming you. You don't need to say or feel sorry." Charles promptly said to her.

Elle became silent for a moment. She could see that Charles really meant it. She was really glad to have him by her side.

She realized that Charles really treated her well despite her coldness towards him. She felt lucky to have a genuine friend by her side who truly cares for her.