Page 44 of Chasing Hope

‘Sir, I don’t know what I would have done without your help. I’m so lost. My boyfriend asked me to meet him here and I can’t seem to locate him in this maze. He said this would be the perfect meeting place for… you know what.’ Mahika blushed and fanned her cheeks, putting on a stellar performance. She drifted closer to the less menacing-looking one. ‘Kind sir, can you please come with me as I try to locate his yacht?’

Putty in her hands, he nodded and followed her to the row of docked ships. The second he turned around the corner. Ethan gave a vicious yank, dragging the man down. Capitalising on the element of surprise, Ethan put a tonne’s worth of resolve into shoving the man’s face down straight into the pile of sand. The guard recovered a second too late and before he knew it his hands were cable tied behind his back.

‘Quick, pass the duct tape.’ Ethan held down the guard with a knee to his shoulder blades. Mahika snagged the tape and cut a piece with her teeth. Ethan plastered the douche’s mouth while Mahika sat on his legs to cable tie his ankles. ‘Good job.’ Mahika blinked as Ethan high-fived her. ‘Come on, get going. You’re not done yet.’ Tongue-tied, Mahika nodded and fled back outside.

Ethan grimaced as Mahika’s face almost met the ground but she balanced just in time to avoid the fall. Out of all the wacky things Ethan had done in his life, this particular night took the cake. As Hope clearly stated, nothing would change their minds. They were here to help him, whether he liked it or not. The dangers of this mission did not escape their minds. Nevertheless, Hope and her friends came mentally if not physically prepared to tear down the enemy. A corner of his mouth tipped up. Ten on ten for their team spirit.

If Ethan was being honest, he could do with the extra set of hands. Dealing with a gang of thugs was never easy. In fact, unlike in the movies, fighting a group of angry assailants single-handedly was a huge feat. Whatever the outcome of the night, Ethan would make sure the women left this crapyard without a scratch. By fair means or foul.

Dragging his shoulder against the massive boulder, Ethan’s eyes sharpened behind his mask. Submerged in the darkness, Ethan’s only source of light was the beacon of moon rays trickling through the clouds. Sweat dripped from his brow and he dragged the sleeve of his jacket against his forehead. Following her role to a T, Mahika snapped her fingers behind her back signalling her success. Ethan had no idea what she said to get him to follow her. Guard number two vacated his spot; another brewery figure took his place instead. Mahika got to the spot as fast as her short legs could take her.

Adrenaline coursed through his veins. In a flash, Ethan grabbed the man by his collar. Quicker with his reflexes than the previous man, the guard seized Ethan’s wrist and broke his grip. ‘You bastard.’ The punk hauled a fist, but Ethan dodged the punch, ducked and clobbered the man in the stomach. The thug growled and grasped the front of Ethan’s jacket.

‘I’m sentimental about this jacket. I’d hate for you to ruin it.’ Ethan’s eyes sparked with irritation. Performing a technique he had practised numerous times, instead of going against the scumbag’s strength, Ethan clapped him in the jaw, got his arm over, and with one fluid movement, the guy went down.

‘Oh. My. God. Where did you learn those fancy moves from?’ Mahika’s eyes went round like footballs. She stormed ahead and slammed duct tape on the guard’s mouth. Ethan’s cheeks dimpled. For all her shyness, Mahika was a quick learner.

‘I’m self-taught.’ Breathing hard, Ethan contained the man and went about securing his hands and feet. Flabbergasted, her jaw dropped. ‘I’m lying. I learnt it all from YouTube.’ She looked amused.

‘That’s somehow even crazier.’

Truth be told, Ethan was indeed self-taught. He operated best when alone. Initially he pummelled the shit out of his punching bag. Over time he slowly began to channel his energies. Every other day he practised his moves with Aarav, leaving the guy no choice in the matter. Aarav happily complied because he, too, got a good full-body workout from their gruelling sessions.

‘Two down. Two more to go.’ Ethan bent low to peck Mahika on her cheek. ‘You did great,’ His praises took her by surprise. Her pupils dilated and her hand jumped to her throat. On a deep sigh, she swooned and Ethan wrapped his arms around her to secure her. Ethan’s shoulders shook with laughter as she slid him a cocky wink and a confident smile.

Act 2:Two heads are better than one

‘Psst. Psst.’ Ethan swirled around and stared icily at the most annoying person on Earth. She gave him a death stare of her own. ‘How much longer should we wait?’

‘Jesus Christ, woman. You’re even more impatient than an infant, wanting to be breastfed.’ Run down, Ethan groaned, scrubbing his face. This had to be the longest night of his life. No matter how in sync they were in the sack. Outside of it, together they were a disaster. The electric current exploding from them could power on a generator and supply electricity to an entire village. ‘I have no idea what made Brian think we would work together as partners. I hope he’s not planning to retire any time soon.’

‘Ah! Looks like your personality is a dick too.’

Ethan looked heavenward, taking measured breaths before turning around to face her. Someone had to be the reasonable one here. ‘Okay, so here’s what’s going to happen.’ Thirsty for some action, Hope scurried forward and put a palm to her ear. Ethan chuckled and touched his mouth to her ear. She sighed and all the blood intended to pump to his brain detoured down south. Taking notice of their proximity, his dick acted wildly. Ethan had a devil of a time kicking his brain cells back into action. ‘Hope, it’s just you and me here. And we aren't in the third grade.’

Hope dropped her hand and took a step back. ‘Whatever,’ she said, slicing her hand in the air. The woman had so many layers that by the time Ethan got to the core, he would be an old man walking with the help of a stick.

Following his cue, Hope shadowed him as they made their way towards the mouth of the warehouse. By this time, the shutters were halfway down, prohibiting them from gaining a full view of the activities going on inside. This was when all the nights they had spent observing this unit would come in handy. Ethan knew the layout of the warehouse like the back of his hand. Going in blindsided alone was fine by him. But not when Hope was tagging along. Ethan did not like this one bit. He tried to use another tactic to get her to reason with him.

He drew her close to hold her face in his palms. Heart-stopping eyes gazed back at him. Ethan’s heart sailed forth like the waves kissing the shores. ‘Hope, why don’t you stay out here and keep guard? I will let out a shrill whistle if I need help, alright?’ Quick to agree, she nodded. That was a first. For a long moment. Ethan gaped at her slack-jawed. He finally found his voice, or maybe not so much. ‘So… um…’

His forehead puckered as he noticed her eyes turn wild with mischief. Unable to keep a tight rein on her laughter, Hope cupped her mouth and laughed till her eyes watered. ‘You should have seen your face,’ Ethan sighed, rubbing his temples. They throbbed like the devil. ‘Good try, though. You nearly had me with that trick with the voice modulation. And… move!’

In a snap, Ethan spun around as Hope’s fist sailed past him. She angled her wrist to use the lower part of her fist and punched the thug straight in the solar plexus. Ethan blinked and watched in horror as the enemy’s bulk pitched forward. It all happened so fast, Ethan was left reeling like the feeling one got after getting off a high-speed roller-coaster ride.

‘No fucking way.’ Ethan’s eyes went wide like frisbees. ‘You knocked him out cold.’ Aghast, he stared at the still body. He didn’t even get a good look at the unsuspecting sucker's face. He shook his head, trying to focus. This entire scene resembled a badly directed action movie stunt. Fortunately, it worked in their favour. Maybe not so much for Hope. Ethan winced at the sight of Hope’s blanched face.

Enclosing her aching fist with her other hand, Hope groaned in pain. ‘That was Bruce Lee’s famous Wing Chun Chain punch. The man who demonstrated this style in the video clip failed to mention that it would hurt like hell afterward.’ She tried flexing her fingers and hauled bitterly. ‘Fuck. I think I fractured my knuckles.’

‘Breathe.’ Ethan instructed as he held up her hand to examine it. Suffering from many such wounds in the past, Ethan could gauge by the extent of the damage that it wasn’t too serious. She hissed as he blew over it. He brought her hand to his mouth and painstakingly kissed each knuckle. ‘There, the pain’s all gone.’ His soothing voice filled the space between them. Hope laughed through her tears. ‘No more punching, alright?’ She nodded and Ethan captured her mouth to steal a quick kiss. Everything around them blurred to nothingness. A rush of love so swift and fierce overpowered him. His heart hammered and his breath froze in his lungs.

There was nothing he wouldn’t do for her. God. It was insane how much he loved this fireball.

Final Act:Birds of a feather flock together

Tonight, lady luck was definitely on his side. Pride swamped him as he took notice of each of his crew members. A crusade ready and raring to annihilate evil. Eyes blazing with the fire of single-minded resolution. These fiercely determined women were out to change the world.

Ethan’s mouth curved in a smile.

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