The Rising Sun: Episode 3

  The poshly carved room boded not a whisker of beauty all of a sudden. Everything in it seemed dry, lifeless … shocking.

  “It doesn’t make sense.” said Evander, frowning.

  The men and he were standing inside of the lavish apartment that was Naxim officer Derigor’s home. Evander was standing with two other members of the high council on either side of him. A small group of Rash-cons belonging to the Naxim, and a group of men from the local authorities were moving about the flat, all of them engrossed in the investigation of the sudden vanishing of Derigor. Every face in the room mirrored the same confusion.

  When he had tried contacting Derigor on his z-com, he hadn’t answered. Repeatedly not answered.

  Sensing that something was not right, Evander had arrived at Derigor’s flat a few minutes ago, wanting to check what this was which was keeping him so busy over the past hour or so. But when he had arrived here, the flat was empty. But Derigor’s hover car was here. It was almost as though Derigor arrived in his apartment in his hover car, walked into his house, and then disappeared into thin air! There was not a trace of where he had gone, where he now was. His suspicions now realised, Evander concluded that something was definitely not right … and the authorities were now here to find out what that was.

  Two of the police officers sidled up beside Evander.

  “Sir, we think there’s one possibility.” one of them announced.

  “But it isn’t very pleasant.” said the other.

  “What?” asked Evander.

  “He’s been kidnapped.”

  Evander twisted around to look at one of the men standing beside him, and then at the other. Both of the other high council members showed little reaction at this. Almost as if they’d been expecting this.

  “Isn’t there anyway we can find out what happened here?” asked Evander, feeling a new urgency weigh upon his voice. “To know for sure?”

  “Wait a second,” ventured one of the other high council members standing beside Evander. “This flat’s gotta have a security surveillance, right?”

  Evander hadn’t thought of that. A flame of hope kindled within him. “It should!” He nodded, turning to the police officers. “Check the security recording.”

  They walked over to the large desk at the centre of the hall. As they tapped a button on the table, a holographic screen rose over the air above it. They made it replay the events of the past few hours slowly, from the beginning … and when it reached the end and had finished showing everything, a speechless, ringing silence was left in the room.