Page 5 of His Witness To Have

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Early Saturday morning, Brie and Rachel were out of the hospital. Scared to be apart from each other, they both agreed tostay with Rachel's grandparents, who lived quietly in the outskirts of the city. The environment was peaceful and serene, perfect for retirement, and Brie was glad to be surrounded by such loving people.

For a few days, she lived in happiness and peace, almost completely forgetting about her traumatic experience. Rachel was recuperating quite well also, and it seemed like life wouldn't go toward a bad turn anytime soon. But that wasn’t the case.

A week after Brie and Rachel had settled down, Brie got a mysterious text from an unknown number.

Welcome back, girlie. I've been waiting for you.

CHAPTER FIVE

"Two women have been missing for more than a week!" Deputy Chief Rodgers shouted as he held a meeting withall FBI officials and agents. The police had tried all they could, but all to no avail, so they had the case transferred to the FBI special team.

The deputy chief was standing in front of a whiteboard that had indecipherable scribbles made with a red marker. "The victim's families have been in and out of the police station in tears and worried every single day since then. We have to intervene," he continued before coming to a sudden halt in front of everyone else.

After what happened to Mack and with the demise of agent Dave, nobody in the FBI department wanted to be part of a rescue mission anymore. Strange right?

The room was filled with suffocating silence. Deputy Chief Rodgers didn't move from his position and looked as though he was stuck there. He stared back at the face of everyone seated, looking at him. Mack was seated at the desk on the other end of the room, lost in his own world but still chipping into the meeting they were having every once in a while.

Everyone in the department was scared of the Brotherhood of Blood, Kamal especially, and would dread every part of it if they were deployed on a search for the victims. If Kamal was the one who truly masterminded the kidnap, then they were in for a hard one.

"In the light of the recent developments, a search will be conducted on Mount Olive, which was the last place the victimswere seen. Starting tomorrow," Rodgers announced, still standing in the same spot.

The silence continued; nobody dared to defy Rodger's orders. Nobody was bold enough – nobody except Mack, of course.

"I think we should put the search on hold, sir," Mack called out from his spot at the other end of the room. Everyone turned to face him. Whispers and murmurs fly around the room.What was he doing?

Rodgers was stunned. This was the same guy who insisted on taking his own team to a rescue mission and nearly got killed.

"Agent Mack, why should we put the search on hold, if I may ask?"

"Because I don't want us to lose any more men. We have to be more calculative in our approach when dealing with Kamal. He always seems to be one step ahead of us…" then his voice trailed off. "We can't afford to lose anyone else."

The deputy chief scoffed. "So, what are you saying we do about this situation Agent Mack?"

"Let's lure him out."

"What?!" everyone shouted in unison. The murmurs in the room intensified.

"And how do you plan on doing that?" he asked in a surprised tone.

"If we find something he is looking for or someone at the very least, then we can find a way to negotiate with him for the release of the women. And maybe even pinpoint his location carefully enough to capture him."

"Negotiate with a serial killer? You must be out of yourmind!" he yelled. "First, you get Agent Dave killed in your reckless rescue mission, and you barely make it out alive yourself. Do you think we would listen to anything you say again?"

Mack kept mute. There he went with the blame game again. And for the second time, he found a way to lay everything on him again. He felt a ball of rage form in his stomach, ready to explode, but he tamed it down as much as he could.

"With all due respect, sir, I just made a suggestion to the team. I will not sit here and be the pit you toss your worries into." And with that, Mack stood up and left the office.I'll show him…

Mack took a small pistol and stuffed it in his belt. He had a plan, and he was going to execute it whether or not he had the support of his teammates and colleagues.

He exited the FBI office and headed down to the old building the Brotherhood of Blood used as their den before they were discovered. It still reeked of sulfur, and Mack could feel his lungs shriveling from within. He was alone, with a tiny pistol cocked in his right hand and a keen eye to watch out for any clue that might help him get a step further from his current dormant state in this case.

He ascended the staircase that led to the rooms on the second floor, and he heard a strange sound, like some sort of rattling going on in one of the rooms. He held his weapon tightly and positioned his finger on the trigger, getting ready to shoot when necessary. He got closer to the door and placed his ear over it to listen. The rattling got louder, and in a swift, confident move, he kicked the door down.

What he saw behind the door shook him down to his bones.

CHAPTER SIX

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