23 Broken Promise

After a short drive through the busy streets of Manhattan, Adam finally arrived at the 32nd precinct and bid Mark farewells.

'Someone might be here. ' Adam turned towards a small coffee shop on the opposite side of the street. It was the only coffee shop in the area. 'They're probably alright... ' He thought with a heavy heart.

*Ding! *

*Ding! *

A small bell rang as Adam walked into the cozy cafe.

It had a rather classic feel to it, with carved wooden furniture, classical music playing in the background, and a single counter at the back of the shop with an old man standing behind it.

Adam walked towards the counter where the old man busied himself with wiping teacups using a small handkerchief for what seemed like a slow day in the cafe, as no one was there except for Adam.

"Hello! How may I help you, young man? " The old man asked with a gentle smile when he saw Adam approach him.

"Hi, I wanted to ask you about a customer that might have come here a few days ago. " Adam answered with a slightly hopeful expression.

"Well, we don't get many customers, except for the regular police officers. " The old man urged Adam to talk in a welcoming tone.

"She has blonde hair and hazel eyes, about 5 feet 6 inches, and her name is Hazel Green. " Adam immediately described everything he remembered about Hazel.

"Oh! Yes, Miss Hazel came here a few days ago and said that someone might come here looking for her. " The old man's eyes lit up with delight. He seemed to have misunderstood the situation. "You have a wonderful girlfriend. "

"Oh no, she's not my girlfriend, we're just friends... " Adam replied to the old shopkeeper with a nervous smile. "Did she say anything else? "

"She kept coming for three consecutive days, but on the last day, she left me this note and told me to pass it on if a guy asks for her. " The shopkeeper took out a small piece of paper and handed it to Adam before continuing, "there were other people who came with her on the first day, but she was the only one to keep coming after that. "

"Thank you for your help, mister... " Adam took the note and wanted to thank the man.

"It's Gary, you're welcome. " Gary told Adam his name with the same gentle and warm smile on his face, "I'm glad this old man could help a young couple reunite. "

"Thank you so much, mister Gary. " Adam thanked the man with a smile, "but we're not a couple! " He refuted with a slightly flushed face before leaving the cafe.

After leaving the coffee shop, Adam looked at the contents of the paper that Hazel left for him. It contained an address in Brooklyn with a slight note asking him to meet her at that location.

'Did something happen to her? ' He thought with a worried expression, 'why did she stop visiting the coffee shop? '

'What if those bastards are following the escaped captives?! '

'That means that not just Hazel, but even Cassandra and the kids might be in danger. '

'I didn't get the names of the rest of the captives, so it might be difficult to track them down... '

'I need to meet Hazel first. ' Endless thoughts crossed Adam's worried mind as he ran towards the Brooklyn Bridge.

_______________

After a quick run and a taxi ride, Adam finally arrived at the location.

'What the hell... ' Adam could not stop his shock at the horrifying scene in front of him; a half-burnt building, which seemed to be deserted.

'What happened here?! ' He questioned with a stupefied expression. 'Is this the right location?! ' He thought before double-checking the note, which was crumpled up in his hand, and found out that it was indeed the correct location.

'I need to know what happened to Hazel! ' Adam approached a man who was angrily pacing down the sidewalk in front of the building.

"Excuse me! Sir! " He called, "do you know what happened to that building? " Adam asked while pointing at the building.

"You don't know? Some crazy, suicidal b*tch just lit her gas tank on fire and damaged the building! " The man replied in a furious tone, "I used to live there, too, but now I have to look for a new place. "

"You used to live there?! " Adam asked in an urgent tone. "What happened?! Were there any casualties?! "

"No, the only casualty was the girl who caused the fire. " The man spoke before taking out a cigarette. "Why are you asking? D you know someone here? "

"Y-yeah, I do. " Adam said in a slightly relieved expression, "her name is Hazel Green, do you know her? "

The man's eyes widened at Adam's words as he threw the cigarette before speaking.

"Yeah, I know her... " He replied while gritting his teeth. "She's the b*tch who blew up the whole thing, dammit! "

"W-what did you just say...?! " Adam's eyes widened in surprise and burned with rage. "What the f*ck did you just say?! You're lying! "

"Listen, man, you don't have to believe me if you don't want to. " The man noticed Adam's furious expression and back off while speaking. "That girl, Hazel, had a reputation as a suicidal person long before the fire, okay? " He continued before quickly running away from the currently fuming Adam.

'Those bastards must have done this! ' Adam thought with an enraged expression. 'Hazel wouldn't do that to herself! ' Thick veins bulged on his forearms as he clenched his fists.

His teeth clattered as he clenched his jaw, while his eyes turned red with rage.

Adam entered a deep state of anger, just like the one he had entered when he saw his dead family in the class quest.

His breath turned heavy while he choked on the endless emotions swirling in his chest and weighing down on him.

He wasn't particularly close to Hazel, but strange thoughts circled in his mind when he thought about how she had died when he wasn't there.

'If only the class quest didn't take so long... ' He thought.

'If I told James or Darius to protect the captives before leaving... '

'If I had postponed the class quest to help them first... '

'If I wasn't so late... ' He was late once more.