Chapter 314 Danger III: Action
Cecilia was clearly startled.
Cassius, however, remained calm, as if he had anticipated it, showing no reaction.
"What do we do now?" Cecilia asked Cassius, somewhat agitated.
Cassius said, "What else can we do? He's already gone, we can't call him back. We have to go find him."
"Where do we look for?"
"Who knows? Anyway, we just have to find him." Cassius seemed clueless too, but he was trying to stay composed.
Cecilia bit her lip, trying to calm herself down.
She thought Alaric wouldn't be so foolish to think he could handle a group of people on his own.
So he wouldn't impulsively do something he wasn't sure of!
"Let's leave the hospital first," Cassius said.
Cecilia turned to Tom, "You stay here for treatment and remember to notify your family to pick you up. We might not leave for a while."
"Okay," Tom quickly replied, "You guys be careful too."
"Don't worry, take care of yourself."
Cecilia followed Cassius out of the hospital.
They got back into the car.
Cassius said to Augustus, "Find a hotel to stay in."
"Why?" Cecilia frowned, "Shouldn't we be looking for Alaric right now?"
Cassius said, "You just asked me, where do we look for?"
"You said we just have to look for"
"We need a destination," Cassius said bluntly.
"But there's no need to check into a hotel now. We should think of a plan," Cecilia was a bit speechless.
Cassius was too calm.
She was on the verge of breaking down.
"Let's go to the hotel first," Cassius said firmly, without further explanation.
Cecilia tried to calm herself and followed Cassius to check into a hotel.
"A standard room," Cassius said to the receptionist.
The receptionist glanced at Cassius, Augustus, and Cecilia.
From her stare, Cecilia felt she was being mistaken for a prostitute.
Actually, Cecilia didn't understand why Cassius asked for one room when there were clearly more available.
After thinking it over, she decided to respect Cassius' choice.
She felt he must have his reasons.
They checked in and got the room key.
The three of them walked into a room with a very poor environment, even the wallpaper was moldy.
"Can't expect much, no decent hotels around here," Cassius said as he flopped onto one of the beds and looked at Cecilia.
It seemed he was used to this kind of environment.
After all, Cassius was Mr. Blackburn of the Blackburn family, a man of privilege. It was unusual to see him so indifferent to such shabby conditions.
Cecilia, on the other hand, was clearly uncomfortable.
"It's fine," she said. "We're here to find Alaric, not to enjoy a vacation."
"Get some rest then," Cassius said, already closing his eyes. "Don't worry, even if you were the only woman left in the world, neither Augustus nor I would lay a finger on you."
Cecilia pressed her lips together.
If she were afraid of what Cassius and Augustus might do, she wouldn't have followed them into the same room.
"We'll be on the move tonight," Cassius continued. "So we need to be well-rested."
Cecilia nodded, then settled onto the other small bed.
The mattress was hard, the blankets damp, and there was a musty smell. Cecilia frowned but forced herself to sleep.
As she closed her eyes, her mind was consumed with thoughts of Alaric.
She thought, 'That man never gives anyone a moment's peace.
'Who did he think he was, a savior?
'Going off alone to confront a drug lord?'
Cecilia tossed and turned, her frustration burning. She wished she could just strangle Alaric for putting her through this worry.
The dinner had been taken care of by Augustus, who had gone out to get takeout and brought it back to their room.
After eating, Cassius began changing into his gear, preparing to head out.
Suddenly, he handed Cecilia a black vest.
Cecilia froze for a moment.
As she took it, she could feel it was significantly heavier than a standard vest.
"It's bulletproof," Cassius explained.
Cecilia's hand trembled slightly as she held the vest.
"Scared?" Cassius asked with a smirk, his tone tinged with a hint of disdain.
"No," Cecilia said as she put on the vest. "I'm just wondering what you're wearing if you're giving this to me."
"Don't worry, I've got one, and so does Augustus," Cassius said, already donning his own vest.
She thought, 'Everyone has their gear.
'But does Alaric have any?'
Cecilia controlled her emotions, slipped on the bulletproof vest, and then the group headed out.
Augustus was still driving, and their destination was the hospital.
"What are we going to the hospital for?" Cecilia couldn't help but ask.
"We're picking up someone who'll lead us," Cassius replied.
"So you're looking for a drug dealer?" Cecilia asked.
"Yep," Cassius confirmed with a nod.
She thought, 'So, Cassius isn't clueless; he is just waiting for the right moment.'
"Will this drug dealer be willing to cooperate with us?" Cecilia asked.
"Most dealers are addicted themselves. It's not hard to control them with drugs," Cassius explained.
Cecilia nodded in understanding and suggested, "It can't be just any small-time dealer. They wouldn't know the whereabouts of the big boss."
"That's why we're going after someone significant," Cassius agreed.
"Who?" Cecilia asked.
"Jason Moore, the second-in-command of the drug ring. I paid special attention to his name when I reviewed the list of the injured. He's currently in critical condition at the hospital, under police surveillance," Cassius said plainly.
"How do you know Jason is the second-in-command? Have you investigated this gang?"
"Since Alaric decided to take on this gang, we've done a thorough investigation."
"So Alaric told you about this in advance."
"Yep," Cassius nodded.
Cecilia fell silent for a moment.
"Don't be jealous. Alaric usually keeps dangerous things like this from you. But don't worry, he won't die," Cassius offered what he meant to be comforting words.
Whether it was comforting or not was up for debate.
"It's not that," Cecilia said. "I'm just suddenly unsure of who you all really are."
"It doesn't matter who we are. What matters is that you know Alaric loves you," Cassius said.
Cecilia swallowed, then nodded silently.
The car arrived at the hospital.
Cassius was fully geared up, wearing a doctor's coat. "Wait here for me," he said before heading into the hospital.
Cecilia watched as Cassius walked away.
"He's going in alone?" Cecilia was surprised.
Augustus nodded.
It seemed Augustus was used to this.
Still, Cecilia couldn't shake her worry and fidgeted in the car.
About two hours later, Cassius still hadn't come out.
Cecilia was getting restless. "Is Cassius still not back?"
"It doesn't happen that quickly," Augustus said.
"We should go check on him."
"We'd risk alerting anyone and disrupting his operation."
"Let's say we're visiting Tom. It shouldn't raise too much suspicion. Trust me!" Cecilia insisted firmly.
Augustus hesitated but eventually agreed.
He was beginning to think that Cassius had been gone for too long.
Cecilia and Augustus headed into the hospital, making a beeline for Tom's room.
They weren't just visiting Tom; they were also scanning the area, trying to figure out where Cassius was.
At that moment, Augustus suddenly yanked Cecilia behind a wall in the corridor to hide.
Cecilia, wide-eyed with disbelief, watched as Tom was being dragged away.
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