Page 26 of Rough Trip

“Thank you, Fiona, I’ll be in contact with you soon,” Mia said, and then the line went dead.

Mia knew that Fiona had grown to trust her since she had moved to Florida. She had been her eyes and ears within the new Hell Kats and over time, Fiona learned that Mia had been trying her best to prove she could be trusted again within the business. Mia had been reporting anything and everything she could that would be important to Fiona.

She stayed at the house, constantly going around to every window and every door making sure everything was locked. She had no idea what was going on, and she knew she could be the next target if anything had happened to Sage. She knew it would take a couple of hours before Grier arrived and so she sat in the lounge closest to the main door so that she could let him in the minute he arrived, but when the doorbell rang out throughout the house a few minutes after she had ended her call with Fiona, she couldn’t help but feel extremely scared and vulnerable. Had someone come after her now, had they rung the bell to tease her, was her house surrounded by Omens? Every question imaginable sprung to her mind. She was all alone, she was defenseless without Sage.

The doorbell had a camera just above it, so Mia went to the monitor to check who was at the door. She could see the face of a man who looked familiar, but she couldn’t remember who he was. She didn’t know if she should even bother talking to the man; she was scared.

She decided to use the intercom to communicate with him before she dared to open the door for him. Maybe he had something important to tell her, maybe it was a demand from the Omens, a ransom price so she could get Sage back.

“Hello? Who’s there?” she asked. Her voice sounded weak as it echoed back to her throughout her house.

“Hi, Mia? It’s Mike from the bar. I’ve been put in charge of the bar remember, we met a few nights ago, I was behind the bar the night Sage went missing,” he explained. His face was almost out of the camera's view as he had leaned forward to reply to her, but Mia could remember seeing his face when she had gone into the bar just days before.

“Yes. I remember you. Can I help you with anything?” she was still hesitant to let him in.

“Well, I was hoping you’d let me in so I could talk to you face to face. It’s about Sage.”

At the mention of Sage, she immediately started unlocking the front door. If he had any information for her, she needed to hear it as soon as possible.

She swung open the front door, and Mike greeted her with an extended hand. She shook it and soon showed him into the house, making sure to lock the door behind her just in case. She couldn’t be too safe now that she was on her own and unsure of what was going on.

“Please come in. Can I offer you anything to drink?” she asked. As much as she wanted the information he came with, she could not be rude. She had also been taught to always offer guests a beverage, again another lesson learned from her mother.

“No, ma’am, I’m alright. Thank you,” he said with a gentle smile. Mia instantly trusted him. She could tell from his face that he meant no harm to her. He looked like a gentleman, roughly around his early to mid 30’s she’d assume. He had a few grey hairs showing through around his beard and littered throughout his hair. She could sense he was very nervous and possibly scared of sharing the information he had. Mia only hoped it would be the information that she needed to find Sage.

“Oh, please, don’t call me ma’am. That’s what you’d call my grandmother,” she replied. “Please take a seat,” she said as she led him into the lounge she had been sitting in before his arrival. She was a little glad she had a bit of company, even under the circumstances. The empty house felt haunting when she was alone.

She took a seat and gestured to the couch in front of her for Mike to sit on.

“Thank you,” he said as he took the seat opposite her.

After a few minutes of awkward silence, Mia had to ask the question that hung in the air.

“What information can you give me?” she asked him. She couldn’t take the pleasantries anymore. If he had something he wanted to share, she needed to know, as time was ticking by.

“Well, I heard that you were asking about Sage's whereabouts, so I took it upon myself to look at the footage from the night he was at the bar, his last known location. I remember he had a few whiskeys before he left so I thought it was possible that he could’ve gone to a hotel near the bar instead of him heading home, you know, just in case he felt unable to drive,” Mike stated. Mia nodded, she knew Sage was very responsible when it came to drinking and driving so it could’ve been possible.

“And what did you find when you looked at the footage?” Mia asked. She really just wanted him to get to the point so she could find Sage.

“I looked at the footage from the camera we have located outside the bar, and I’m sorry to inform you, but it appears that Sage was jumped when he exited the bar. It would seem that two men attacked him and then put him in the back of a black vehicle before they drove off,” he said with a very serious face. Mia’s worst nightmare had just come true. She didn’t want to believe it. How could this be happening, she asked herself. She suddenly felt a bit dizzy, so she leaned forward and rested her head between her hands while her elbows rested on her knees.

“No, no, no. This can’t be happening,” she said out loud as her emotions tipped over and out of her mouth before she could do anything to stop herself. She had been in emotional hell for the past few days so it was completely understandable that her emotions had slipped to the surface without any warning. Mike sat in silence as he watched Mia process the information he had given her.

Mia could not believe what she had heard. Sage was taken. He was taken two days ago, and if he was in the hands of the Omens who she instantly thought were behind it all, she had no idea if he would still be alive. She hated herself for staying mad at him even while she had been concerned. If he weren’t alive, she would not be able to live with herself.

“Could you make out anything about the men?” she asked as calmly as she could. She couldn’t break down, at least not until she was alone.

“Yes, they were wearing the Omens cut.” The minute he said it, Mia knew it could only mean serious danger. Shit, she thought, the situation was definitely worse than she had thought, and if it were possible, she almost wished Sage had run off with someone else instead of being trapped somewhere.

“Damn it. Okay, I need that footage. Can you get it for me?” she asked. She would need to look at it herself and find out if anyone could help her identify the men. Without a word, Mike took out a see-through square plastic case that had a DVD enveloped inside from inside his jacket pockets.

“I thought you’d want it immediately,” he said as he handed it over to her. He was prepared, and Mia was grateful for that because she needed to get stuck in so she could find exactly who had taken Sage and work their way to locating him.

“Thank you so much,” she replied as she took the DVD from him.

“I’m happy to help, and please let me know if there is anything else I can assist you with,” he said as he got up and headed for the door.

“I will do that.”