The Reincarnated Hitman

Chapter 16: Kidnapped

Liam had a frown on his face as he exited the taxi with Eli.

He noticed a police cordon set up right in front of their apartment building, and a bad feeling immediately crept up on him.

"Big brother?" Eli called out as he also noticed the officers, "What’s going on?"

He didn’t respond; instead, he gripped the kid’s hand a bit tighter as he walked towards the crowd that had formed behind the police tape.

The closer they got, the more the bad feeling grew.

Slowly, Liam lifted his head and noticed a large hole in the building’s wall, and judging by its location, it was right where their apartment was.

"I’m sorry, sir, but you can’t cross the tape," an officer stepped in front of him with an outstretched hand.

Before he realized, he had already walked past the crowd and was just about to cross the tape.

"I live there," Liam said without the least bit of expression on his face.

The officer looked at him for a while and then down at Eli before letting out a sigh and raising the tape, "Detective Riley is upstairs."

The officer said, "She’ll fill you in on what happened."

Liam heard none of what the officer said as he continued walking towards the building.

Eli silently followed behind, sensing that something was wrong as they took the stairs.

The stairwell door opened onto their hallway, and the first thing Liam saw was Mr. Han standing outside their apartment door with his arms crossed and a worried expression on his face. freёweɓnovel.com

"Mr Han," he called out, "what happened?"

Mr Han’s expression turned grave at that question, but before he could say anything, a voice suddenly interrupted.

"You must be Liam," the voice pulled their attention towards the apartment’s door.

Walking towards them was a woman in a long black overcoat, beneath which was a white shirt tucked into long black pants.

Resting on her face was a pair of transparent glasses that sat before her black eyes, and between her lips rested what seemed to be a stick of cigarette.

Or at least that’s what it looked like until she pulled it out, revealing that it was just candy.

"I’m Detective Riley," she extended a hand towards Liam for a shake, and he just glanced at it before looking at her face.

"I see," Riley muttered before withdrawing her hand and turning back into the apartment as she said, "Come with me."

It wasn’t that Liam was being rude; it was just that Riley had a troublesome skill that was related to her Factor, and a shake of her hand would give her unnecessary information on him.

"Eli, will you stay with Mr Han for a while?" Liam turned to the boy who had gone quiet and crouched down.

Eli stared at him for a few seconds before finally nodding and heading toward the landlord.

The landlord briefly met Liam’s gaze before giving him a subtle nod.

Liam then walked into the apartment and was presented with exactly how much damage was done to it.

The wall that had previously housed the TV was now completely blown open, and the wall directly opposite it was covered in cracks.

There were no other forensic officers around because Riley hated her crime scene being tampered with; after all, it messed with her readings.

"According to the reports we received, this seemed to have been done by an organized group," Detective Riley spoke up.

She was a little surprised that the kid wasn’t showing any emotion, unlike what she had expected.

Riley prided herself on her observational skills; hell, even her Factor was a result of them, and yet she couldn’t tell whether the kid was simply hiding his emotions or genuinely felt nothing about the scene before him.

Which shouldn’t be the case since this involved his family.

"What happened?" Liam asked, still sounding terrifyingly calm.

Riley looked at him for a while before letting out a sigh and saying, "How about I just show you?"

He just nodded in response and started waiting.

"You see, my Factor allows me to establish a zone I call [Crime Scene]," she began, "within that zone, every piece of evidence and every anomaly is revealed to me. With enough information, I can then create a [Replay]."

The next second, what seemed to be green holographic figures, and as if time was being rewinded, the figures moved in reverse until the wall fixed itself, leaving only two holographic figures in the living room.

"I’m guessing that’s your sister?" Riley said as she pointed her candy in her hand towards the holographic Lea.

The other girl’s, Noa’s, facial features were blurry because Riley didn’t have enough information on her.

Lea, on the other hand, she had seen a photo of.

"She is," Liam said as he continued looking at the [Replay].

He watched as the events of an hour earlier unfolded before him. He watched as a fast-moving object broke through the wall and slammed into the opposite end.

He continued watching as Noa pulled Lea down before Lea suddenly stood up to run, only to be interrupted by another figure without features.

A second figure walked through the hole in the wall, and Liam watched as Noa’s figure seemed to freeze in place.

He saw exactly how Lea was knocked unconscious by the figure before her, and the same was done to Noa before they walked out of the hole in the wall.

After that, the holographic figures faded, leaving a quiet Liam still standing there, looking at the direction they headed out of.

Riley finally spotted a change in his expression, but the kid was quick to hide it.

"In summary," she broke the silence, "your sister has been kidnapped by an unknown group."

Liam turned to look at her, and Riley could’ve sworn she felt a chill go down her spine.

But before anything else could be said, a voice coming from just outside the apartment pulled their attention.

"Y-you’re not allowed in there," a voice that Liam identified as belonging to the officer he met earlier, was heard.

He seemed to be trying, and failing, to stop someone, and the moment the person walked through the door, Liam understood why.

"Hello, Riley," the man said as he reached the door.

Detective Riley’s expression immediately turned dark as she looked at the man standing by the doorway, before she said through gritted teeth,

"Sable."