39 The Bridegroom's Plan

Rain was bleeding onto the streets of the city when Falcon and Aurelia slipped through the hotel's back door through bare security, disguised in waiter uniforms. It felt strange to have a partner next to him, being used to performing his tasks alone and without assistance. Falcon glanced at her, her curly hair swept in a tiny bun with a few strands hanging loose, and realized he preferred having her with him than being alone.

Aurelia turned to him with wide eyes when they spied Canis among a group of well-dressed businessmen.

'You know what to do.'

He nodded, holding her eyes for a tad bit longer than intended, and angled himself behind a gigantic statue in front of the men's bathroom. He barely had to wait for five minutes, before Canis came striding down the hallway with his eyebrows knitted together in annoyance.

Snorting at the red stain on Canis's left breast, Falcon scurried behind the large man towards the bathroom. As soon as Canis banged the door behind him, Falcon placed an 'Out of Order' sign on the doors and slipped inside.

Expecting to find the man behind the doors, Falcon blinked in surprise at the empty area. He wondered if Canis had slipped inside one of the many stalls, but the cubicle doors gaped up at him, all of them empty.

Falcon heard a slight scampering behind him, and before he could turn around, something hard jabbed into his ribs.

'You have two options, turn yourself in, or give Cyan back and I let you leave.' A cold male voice said.

'You don't understand.' Falcon said, trying to stay calm, speaking each word slowly.

'Where is my friend?' Canis was trying to sound angry, but his voice cracked, revealing his desperation.

'Where is the package?' Falcon said, feeling sorry for the man.

'Oh, is this about that darned package again? I told him to stay away from the wretched thing.'

'So you know where it is?'

'I am not answerable to you. In case you haven't noticed, I am the one holding the gun to your body right now.'

'Are you?' Falcon twisted around, jutting his knee between the man's legs, who crumpled to the floor instantly. The gun was already in Falcon's hand, and he pulled back the safety catch to train the weapon at Canis, who was on the floor, wheezing, his face a nasty purple as he shot daggers at him.

'If you do anything to my friend, I swear I will murder you.' He gasped.

Just then the bathroom door opened, and Aurelia's curious face appeared. She stared in confusion at the man lying on the floor.

'What are you doing? And you haven't even locked the door.' She said, closing the door behind him.

She darted over, grimacing at Canis's purple face, and shook her head in exasperation.

'This wasn't part of the plan.'

'He pulled a gun on me.' Falcon said.

'Look, mister,' she knelt on the floor by Canis's face, 'believe it or not, we are also trying to find your friend so you have to cooperate with us. If you don't tell us where the package is, Cyan Yarrow will die.'

'Why should I believe you?' Canis wheezed.

'Because you have no other choice.' Aurelia shrugged.

XXX

Only when Falcon looked at Canis properly, did he see the terrible face under the faux cheerful expression he was trying to maintain. The bags under his eyes mocked his smile, worry taking the form of a permanent crease between his eyebrows. His eyes looked empty, a lost feel to the grey pupils as he stared at them. Even with his doleful expression, he looked handsome, his silver hair swept back with a shiny gel.

It had taken a surprisingly short time to convince him and he was paying them full attention. The gun was lying on the ground next to him. The bathroom tiles were gleaming, reflecting the black gleam of the weapon up onto them.

The cubicle door was open and Canis was sitting on the toilet, resting his elbows on his knees and his head in his palms. He rubbed at his eyes tiredly, the smile gone and worry back in his eyes. Aurelia was seated on the slab with the rows of sinks, legs up and pressed to her chest. Falcon stood with his back against the sinks, opposite Canis as he looked at the dejected man.

'How are you hiding Cyan's absence?' Aurelia asked curiously.

Canis shook his head, finally looking up at them. 'We have disguised it as a business trip, but I am afraid, it won't hold up for long. After all, he disappeared right before the buffet dinner of his launch party. People are not going to forget that easily.'

'We are trying our best to find him.' Falcon said, hoping to assure the man.

'Are you?' he said sarcastically. 'If you hadn't taken him in the first place, we wouldn't be here.'

Falcon stared. For a moment, several words swiveled around his mouth but none of them felt worthy of uttering.

'Stop it. He was just doing his job.' Aurelia came to his defense, surprisingly. Falcon's heart lurched, but he just shrugged his shoulders apologetically.

'I'm sorry.'

'What do you want to know?' Canis said simply, looking up and meeting Falcon's eyes. 'More importantly, how do you know I am aware of the ring's location?'

'We are afraid there's a rat around you. This spy has been keeping the man who has kidnapped Cyan updated on you.'

'Who?' Canis was sitting upright and staring at them with eyes wide with fear. 'How much does he know?'

Falcon glanced at Aurelia before looking back at Canis. 'Err... we don't know yet.'

'But the rat knows you are the only person aware of the ring's hiding place. It's not a bad time to upgrade the lousy security around you.' Aurelia added.

'The night of the engagement party, you disappeared for a few minutes along with Cyan. What were you two doing at that time?' Falcon said.

'Ah, yes. I remember, it was so hard to shake off all the guests and have a few minutes of privacy.' Canis said. 'Cyan asked me to do him a favor, of which I mustn't tell another human. He asked me to exchange the ring I was going to give Teal with the one he had in his hands then.'

The silence that settled over the bathroom was congested with awe, as they took in Canis's words. Then Aurelia let out a low whistle, breaking it. 'Wow.'

Falcon was struck once again by Cyan's genius. The man had taken such an obvious but foolproof step to protect the ring.

'The ring he had was an exact copy of the engagement ring. He had it fashioned to resemble the one I was going to gift Teal, which is pretty smart and stupid at the same time if you ask me.' Canis continued.

'Why stupid?' Aurelia seemed interested in all the wrong things.

'If Teal finds out there is a ring that looks exactly like hers, the world will blow up.' He smiled fondly, a light in his eyes following his words, which drooped instantly again.

'So the real ring, the one we are looking for, is on Miss Teal's finger right now.' Falcon said slowly.

'That's right.' Canis nodded.

Falcon shook his head. How the hell was he going to get the ring now? He didn't want to break into Cyan's home once again and kidnap his sister next.

However, Canis wasn't done yet. 'Because I have seen the two rings together, I can assure you they look exactly the same. Even an expert jeweler would have trouble telling them apart.'

'Are you suggesting....'

'If you ask me, I say you pass off the fake one as the real ring with the stone of power. In this way, the ring and Cyan would both be safe.'

'And Miss Teal would be left wearing a demon stone as the mark of the beginning of her new life with her husband.' He muttered.

'I doubt that would work.' Aurelia said. 'The man is very smart. I am certain he would like to confirm the ring's authenticity before he hands us Cyan.'

But there was a plan forming inside Falcon's head. 'No, I can make him believe it.' He turned to Aurelia. 'We use his little rat for this purpose.'

Aurelia grimaced. 'You do realize so many things can go wrong, and with Mr. Yarrow's life on line, we have to take the next step as if treading thin ice.'

'Not if we play all the cards right.' He turned to Canis. 'Do you have any guesses where Cyan placed the fake ring as a decoy?'

For the first time, Canis smiled. 'Of course. Cyan is an ingenious man, he hides his secrets in obviously plain sights.'

Falcon nodded along. He had experienced it himself. The small chamber behind the large chamber inside Cyan's bedroom, hidden behind the large sunset painting was proof of his simply brilliant ideas. But he was not expecting what Canis said next:

'In Cyan's bedroom, there is a scenery he painted himself. Behind the scenery is the chamber where he kept the ring.'

Falcon could have hit his head on the mirrors above the sinks. It was as if Canis had told them he had a secret to tell him, only to reveal that he wanted them to know the earth was round.

Falcon fisted his hand in annoyance, hitting the flat surface of the sinks, and groaned.

'No, that is not the place. I have already searched there AND the second chamber too, very brilliant, I know, but it contains a pebble, not the ring.' He let it all out in an annoyed rush.

To his immense surprise, Canis just smiled. 'And how did you think of a chamber behind a chamber.'

Because there are hiding places beyond hiding places, he thought quietly. Oh.

Canis must have seen his expression because he nodded in content and smiled. 'And that's the Cyan for you.'