The Absconsion

The Disappearance

The goons who daily stopped at John's house observed that he had not been coming home from roughly two days. They suspected that he might have left the city to evade the money that he owed the local thug. They asked the neighbors regarding his whereabouts politely for which they replied ' We do not have any idea about where he went. We do not talk to them that much.'

The goons did not take no for an answer, and upon threatening the neighbors, they disclosed the information about John's mother being hospitalized. The goons already knew that John had borrowed the money for her mother's treatment, but the idea to search for him at the hospital did not occur to them until now. The neighbors provided the information about the hospital, and the goons immediately left.

After reaching the hospital, they asked a nurse, if she knew someone named John. Usually, nurses or anyone, in that case, should not disclose any information about the patients or  family of the patients to any outsider, but because of their appearance, the nurse got scared, and she told them the room number, where his mother was being treated. When the goons went inside the room, they saw his mother who was unconscious and equipped with saline, and beside her bed was a young man, who was John's age. The goons grabbed his collar and asked him about the whereabouts of John.

' Who the heck are you guys, and what business do you have with John? '

' Shut your lame a*s mouth and tell us where he is or trust me you would have wished that you answered us before '

John's friend understood that he would be beaten pretty badly if he does not tell them where he was. But the problem is, he did not really know where John had gone.

' I do not know where John is. It has been days since I last talked to him. '

' This is the last time that I am going to ask you. That little piece of s**t can not escape with paying the money he owe us. '

' Trust me. I am telling the truth. All he told me was he needed to go somewhere to gather enough money and that I need to take care of his mother till he returned. That is what I have been doing and that is all I know. '

The goon raised his hand to slap John's friend.

' Hitting me will not give you the answers you are looking for. If you do not trust me, at least trust the bond, John and his mother share. He will return for sure for his mother. As soon as he comes, I will surely inform him about your little visit. I am sure that he will be back with the money. '

' We would never f*****g trust you. We will come here every now and then. When he comes, we will teach him a little lesson to make sure he understands that one who owes money to us does not get to leave the city without our permission. '

Saying that the goons left the hospital. They were furious and wanted to beat the s**t out of John if they spotted him that moment.

John's mother regained consciousness and kept asking for John.

' John is not here, Mrs. Lee. He went out of  town to adjust money for the treatment and all. He will be back in a few days. '

' John never does that, he never went out of his town, no matter how the situations were. And he knows no one outside this city. Where will he even go? I am worried about him. '

' Everything is going to be okay, Mrs. Lee. Do not worry about John now. He will be back before you even realize it. All you got to do is be peaceful and take care of yourself. '

' No. I don't feel good. Something must be wrong. How long has it been since John had left? '

' It has been over one and half days. '

' So you are saying you have no contact with him all this time? I want you to go to the police station right now, and file a missing person case. '

' Listen to me, Mrs. Lee. John is not missing. Please do no think about him and increase your stress levels. It is not good for you. '

' Your friend had asked to care of me, right. This is how you are going to take care of me. Go, now. '

Reluctantly, John's friend went to the police station. He had been to the police station quite a few times, but this was his first time reporting a complaint. He felt uneasy.

' Good Morning, sir. My name is Marek, and I would like to file a missing person's report. '

' Who is missing? '

' My friend, John Lee. '

' How long has it been since the last time you or any others have seen him? '

' It has been over a day, sir. There has been no contact ever since. '

' What about his parents? Why hadn't they come here? '

' He lives with his mother, and she is currently admitted to a hospital. That is the reason I had to come. '

' What did he talk to you the last time you met him? '

He knew that if he tells the officer what John had said while he left, then they would not file the case, because John had left the town on his own, and he was not kidnapped by anyone. Mrs. Lee would not be happy, if he tells the truth to the police as they would not consider it as a missing person case. So he decided to lie to them.

' Nothing much, sir. We just talked about his mother's condition and the usual stuff. That was all. '

' Fill the form over there and leave a recent photo of his along with the names of the one who is in contact with him. And if you suspect anyone, leave their names as well. I will update you if we find anything about him. '

                                                                            ----*----

' Nita. Good evening. I am Elly's mother. It has been over a day since we have talked to Elly. Can you hand over the phone to her, please? I tried calling her but it says that her mobile is not in the coverage area. Something must be wrong with her phone. '

' Hello, Mrs. Tucker. Actually, she had turned off her phone because it was distracting us so much. Elly really wants to focus on her exams right now, so she is neither looking at her phone nor talking to anyone. '

' I know she is serious about her studies. I promise I will not take much time. I just want to hear her voice. I just wish to to know that she is doing well. '

' I am really sorry, Mrs. Tucker. Just yesterday, I interrupted her for food while she was studying, and she burst out and asked me never to do that again. I am even afraid to go into her room. Once the exams are over, she will immediately call you. I hope you understand. '

Before Elly's mother could say anything, Nita disconnected the call. She then tried calling Elly, but it was not in the coverage area. Nita was afraid as she knew she cannot continue this charade for long. Elly's parents would be furious if I continue to decline their request to talk to their daughter. What happens if they come to my house tomorrow demanding to see Elly? What will I do? Nita became impatient and frustrated at Elly for putting her in this situation where she has to deal with unwanted drama. And on the other end, she was afraid about what happened to Elly. Where did she go? When will she be returning? Why isn't her phone in coverage area? Is she alright or did something happened to her? Many kind of questions were storming Nita's mind and she did not know what to do.

Elly's parents tried to give Elly the space she needed. But they were so worried about her. Elly had never done this before. No matter how much she had to study, she always talked at least once to let her parents know that she was okay and doing well, but was currently preoccupied with her work. This unusual behavior of Elly was what bothered them. Elly's father could not see his wife's tension, so he decided to pay a visit to Nita's house the next day to confirm that his daughter was okay.

The next morning, he went to Nita's house. And by the time he reached there, Nita came out of her house, all ready to go to school. Upon seeing Elly's father, Nita froze and her eyes were fixed on to Elly's father, who was walking towards her. She felt like she was standing on track and a train was coming towards her. It's not that Elly's father looked ferocious, but because because of the secret she was harboring. She was subjected to extreme stress and anxiety. It was because she felt like she was caught red-handed while doing something that she should not in the first place. Nita, who was glowing with radiant skin just a while ago, was now sweating rapidly. She did not utter even a single word.

Elly's father politely greeted Nita. After a few seconds, Nita gathered the courage to speak.

' Good Morning, Mr. Tucker. What a sudden surprise,' replied Nita.

' I am sorry to bother you early in the morning, but I just wanted to see Elly, to make sure that she is safe and sound. Elly's mother is so worried about her. So I came here to check-in with Elly once. Can you please call her? '

Elly's father would know that she is not in her house if Nita could not come up with a spontaneous, yet believable lie. Her brain worked faster than ever. ' She has already left to school, Mr. Tucker. You know how she is, always punctual. I did not want her to miss any classes because of me, so I asked her to go early. '

Elly's father's disappointment was evident on his long face. For some reason, he was starting to get worried too. He felt everyone else in the world was conspiring in some way to prevent him from meeting his daughter. He did not want to stay at Nita's house any longer, so he greeted Nita and he left. As he was heading back home, he felt bugged by the fact that it has been over two days since he talked or looked at his daughter. He decided to go to school to meet her there.

Elly's parents did not visit school many a time. They only visited, if it is urgent or required. Even though, he was uncomfortable visiting the school, his love for Elly overcame all the hesitations he was having.

Nita, who was relieved that she managed Elly's father, became nervous when she spotted Elly's father at the school entrance.

' Oh, God! ' She sighed. She immediately ran inside the campus to avoid a further conversation with Elly's father. Nita was already late, so there were very few students roaming around the campus, at the time Elly's father entered. He asked a few students about Elly, but none of them recognized her. So, he sat on a bench outside, waiting for the period to end, so he can look for his daughter then. He did not have enough courage to go to the principal's office and request them to bring Elly. He waited for a few hours, and then a professor who was passing along spotted a man sitting on the bench. The professor approached him and asked, ' Who are you, and why are you waiting here? '

' Sir, this is Elly Tucker's father. I am here to talk to Elly. '

' You are Elly Tucker's father? '

' Yes, sir. '

' I am the professor who teaches Elly's class. She is one of the brilliant students that I have ever seen in my life. I have been meaning to talk to her parents. '

' What happened, sir? Is everything okay? Is she doing well? '

' She has been great, Mr. Tucker. We are proud to have a student like that. She never misses a class. But she has not been attending school for two days. She has not come this day, even. Is she alright? Did something happen? '

' What are you saying, sir? She is not attending school for two days? She said that she had some exams, and she needed to do combined studies with her friend and that she would be staying with her till the exams are over. It has been two days since we last talked to her. '

' Exams? As far as I know, there are no exams in this week. Can you please tell me the name of  Elly's friend's with whom she was planning to do combined studies? '

' Nita. '

The professor immediately called Nita out of the class and seeing both the professor and Elly's father together, she realized that by this time, they both knew that Elly was not attending school for two days. By the look on Nita's face, the professor understood that something was wrong for sure.

' Nita, would you mind telling me where Elly is? Elly's father here says that she has been staying at your house to prepare for some exams. '

Nita was mumbling, but no one can understand anything.

' Nita, this is serious. No one has contact with her for two days.  If you would not tell me what happened exactly, you will be facing consequences, and I am afraid I need to call your parents. So whatever you know, now is the time to tell. Is Elly currently staying at your house? '

' No, sir. She isn't. '

' If she is not with you. Where did she go? There is a strong possibility that she might be in danger if we do not act quickly. So, please share if she had said something to you. '

' Alright, sir. I will tell you what happened. Two days ago, Elly came to me and said that she had come across an opportunity and if she would succeed in that, then her life would be changed. I asked her about the opportunity, but she did not tell me. She just told me that she will be back in a few days and that I had to cover if her parents call. I believed in her, so I promised that I will help her out. I tried calling her, but it just won't connect. I really do not know where she went. I tried asking her, but she asked me to trust in what she was doing. '

' Mr. Tucker, I think we need to file a missing person case. '

Elly's father was shivering. He was afraid about what might have happened to her daughter. No one knew where she had been for the past few days. He prayed that wherever she is, she should be safe and sound, and protected from all the negativity. The Professor, Elly's father, and Nita together went to the police station to file a complaint.

Professor: Good morning, officer. A student of mine, Elly Tucker is missing for the past two days. Here is a photo of hers. Please find her as soon as possible.

Tombeck: Do not worry, professor. I will send the photo to all the stations and come back to you soon with an update. What is her last known location?

Nita: I dropped her at some location. I do not know where she went from there. I can show you the location right now.

Tombeck: Great, let's move. And try contacting all the known relatives and friends. There is a possibility she might have visited them, if in case she is not kidnapped.

The officer and Nita left, while Elly's father was still in a depressed state.

' Sir, will the officer really search for my girl? Will they find them? The police usually do not act quickly. '

' Mr. Tucker. Officer Tombeck is one of my closest friends. He will definitely do his best in finding Elly. Stay strong and ask all your relatives, family friends whether she had visited them in the past two days. We need to search for her along with the men in blue. '

                                                                                   ----*----

' Mr. Harald, Two days ago, we tracked Zain to an abandoned shelter just outside the city. But we are not able to track him now. He just vanished into nowhere. '

' Well, Zain might not be a people person, but he is damn good with gadgets and stuff. He had been trying to sway our clients towards him. Even though we discarded him from the company, his intellect poses us a great threat. As a wise man once said, always keep your friends close and your enemies closer. I need to know what Zain is doing every minute. And if I find him now, I will end him once and for all. If he is planning something, I need to know. If he breathes, I need to know. Be his shadow and observe closely what he is doing. Track his every movement. Send some of our men to track him down first. Also, file a complaint in the police station, so things will go faster. I am giving you one week, and I expect him to be found by that time or else, you do not want to know what happens to you. Are we clear? '

' Yes, sir. I will deploy my best men on the task and we will have our eyes on him by this week. ' 

                                                                                      ----*----

' When will Jacky come? He said he will be back soon. '

' Well, he had not said me when he will be returning. '

' He said that he will be bringing me a phone which will have a lot of games in it. '

' Well, good for you and I hope he comes back soon as it is getting difficult for me to look after you all the time. '

' Jacky always takes care of me. And when he comes back, you will not need to take care of me. '

' That is what I am waiting for, and now go to sleep. '

' Can you read a story for me? Jacky reads me a story every day. '

' Ask him to read it for you when he is back. Now, go to sleep. '

' Please. I cannot go to sleep without a story. '

' Alright, fine. I will only tell you one story. I will tell you a story called Frozen.

When Princess Elsa and Princess Anna of Arendelle were little girls, they were the best of friends. Anna was one of the only people who knew Elsa's secret, which is she had the power to make snow and ice! One night, Elsa filled an empty ballroom with snow so the sisters could play together. As they played, Elsa lost control and she accidentally hit Anna with a blast of icy magic. Anna was badly hurt. Her parents went to the ancient mountains trolls for help. A wise old troll told them that Anna could be saved-she was lucky to have been hit in the head and not in the heart. As the years passed by Anna forgot about that night.

To keep Elsa's gift a secret from everyone else, their parents surrounded the castle with walls and never let anyone inside. But whenever Elsa had strong feelings, the magic spilled out. Elsa didn't want to hurt her sister again, so she stopped playing with Anna. That made Anna very lonely. Even after their parents were lost in a stormy sea, the sisters didn't spend any time together.

Years later, it was time for Elsa to become the queen of Arendelle. For just that day, the castle gates were opened.

Hundreds of people attended the coronation ceremony. Elsa worked hard to hide her feelings and powers

At the party, Anna danced with handsome Prince Hans from the Southern Isles. It seemed like they had everything in common, so they decided to get married. Elsa thought their engagement was a bad idea. Anna couldn't believe it and started arguing and Elsa started to lose control and as she shouted, ice shot from her hands. Everyone stared at Elsa in shock. Now everyone knew Elsa's secret. She panicked and fled for the mountains.

Anna felt horrible, Elsa's powers had created a terrible winter storm in the middle of summer. She left Hans in charge of the kingdom and raced after Elsa. As Anna rode through the fierce wind, her horse threw her into the snow and ran off back to Arendelle. Luckily, she met an ice harvester named Kristoff and his reindeer, Sven. Together they set off to look for Elsa. As they climbed the mountain.

Meanwhile, Hans was helping the people of Arendelle. When Anna's horse came back to the castle without her. Hans turned to the crowd and asked for volunteers. Back on the mountain, Anna and Kristoff traveled to a giant ice palace that Elsa had created with her powers. Anna told Elsa about the terrible storm in Adrendelle. Elsa was worried and didn't know how to unfreeze the town, and she thought that Anna and Arendelle might be better off without her.

Anna wanted Elsa to come home but Elsa was too scared that she would hurt more people. As the sisters argued, an icy wave of magic burst from Elsa's body and struck Anna in the chest. Anna wouldn't leave without her sister. Elsa knew what she had to do. She used her magic to create a giant snowman to chase Anna and her friends out of the palace.

The friends landed safely below. They had escaped from the snowman but Anna was worried as her hair was turning snowy white. Kristoff brought Anna to the trolls. A troll told them that unless Elsa's magic was reversed, Anna would be frozen solid. Only an act of true love could melt a frozen heart.

Anna knew she loved Hans. As she began to shiver, Kristoff got worried about her. Hans and his soldiers had just arrived at the ice palace and attacked Elsa. They brought her back to Arendelle and threw her in the dungeon.

When Anna arrived in Arendelle, she asked Hans to save her with a kiss, he refused as he had only pretended to love her. He wanted to take over Arendelle by getting rid of Anna and Elsa, Hans left Anna alone and shivering.

Kristoff was racing toward the castle, and Kristoff was the one Anna needed to kiss and Elsa had escaped from the dungeon but Hans was close behind her. Hans told Elsa that her magic blast hit Anna's heart. Elsa collapsed in the snow and closed her eyes. Everything she had done to protect her sister had failed.

Anna hurried towards Kristoff but when she saw Hans has drawn his sword, instead of saving herself she leaped in front of her sister. Hans swung his sword. but it shattered against Anna's frozen body. Elsa clutched her sister. Suddenly, Anna began to melt and the two sisters hugged. As the wise old troll had said. "An act of true love will thaw a frozen heart."

Anna's love for Elsa had saved both of them and the Kingdom. The two sisters were best friends again, and summer had returned to Arendelle. 

By this time, Aaron was in deep sleep. Aaron and Jackson's step mother, Lucy had seen Aaron for many years, but she never liked both of them. For the first time, when Lucy looked at Aaron while he was sleeping, the innocent face seemed lovely. The story reading which she did not like in the beginning, entertained her during the process. She even forget that she did not want to read a bed time story for Aaron. For some reason, she felt whole. She felt that she was a mother. There is a part of her, who loved her step children but the thought they are not her own dominated and contaminated her inner self  to an extent that, she unknowingly developed hatred towards them. The emotions that were leveled to the ground started to elevate, and her negative side tried to suppress and bury them again. The negative side emerged victorious and she left the room.

                                                                                ----*----

Tombeck, after investigating about Elly that day left home. He went to the location where Nita had dropped her. It is a deserted road connected to the main road. It was a perfect place to kidnap someone without being noticed. As per Nita, Elly reached there at night and there was no around at that time. 

Tom did not find any leads to work on. He was disappointed, but was determined to continue the investigation the next day with a new perspective. 

 He relaxed for a while and called his friend, who was also an officer in another city.

' Hey, Daniel. How are you doing, man? '

' It had been a long day, Tom. Busy with new cases. How about you? '

' Same here. Today, I received two missing person cases, and they were both missing for two days. I worked on one, but found no leads and I am yet to check up on my second one. '

' What a coincidence. A teenager came to my station to file a missing person case too. His friend was missing for two days and regarding your cases, are they related, somehow? '

' Nah. So far, my people have not found any connections between them. I need to talk to people and find out more. Do you think three missing cases in a day and all of them missing for two days is a coincidence? '

' Maybe or may not be. '

Just as Tom was talking to his friend, Daniel, he got a text, and when he looked at it, he suspected that something is definitely wrong.

' Dan, I think all these cases are somehow related. Another missing person case has been reported. We need to act fast. There might still be many people whose family might know that they are missing yet. '

' Calm down now, Tom. You are thinking way ahead and exaggerating the situation. '

' Can you do me a favor? Can you ask your fellow officers from nearby stations if there are any missing person case reported in past two days? If yes, send me a copy of the file, will you? '

' Sure, thing, Tom. I will call and ask them right away and let you know. '

Daniel asked around, and according to the officers of other stations, there had been a total of 11 missing person cases reported in the past day. Daniel, who did not believe Tom's instinct earlier was now suspecting some conspiracy.

' You were right, Tom. This is not normal. I asked my friends in two stations, and a total of eleven cases had been reported in the past day. '

' I asked around too, and a total of nine cases were reported it seems. '

' What are going to do? So many cases in so little time? We don't have enough force to handle them all. '

' Yes. We cannot investigate the cases individually. It is now clear that all these cases are interconnected, so we need to play smart. There would definitely be one small connection between all the cases, and if we find that, we can narrow it down, I guess. '

' I know that you can pull it off. Just tell me, how I can be of help. '

' All right, then, we shall split the cases and research about each of them at a deep length. I know this is hectic and a lot of reading and asking around, but searching for clues and following trails is a long shot. We need to know the reason behind all these missing cases before we can start investigating them. If we find motive, it gives us a greater shot at solving this mystery. Once you are done with your research, we shall compare our findings and deduce the common point. Hurry up, Dan. We do not have much time. '