The Rescue (Part II)

Kyle held onto the rope, adjusted accordingly and took a deep breath. People could see that the rope wasn't pulled tautly, and was wondering what would be Kyle's next move.

[Kay, don't panic at my next move, okay?]

Kyle already knew that Kay was down below, watching him and trying to remain calm. What he was going to be doing next is going to most likely cause a bit of a problem later on so there would be a lot of cleaning up to do. Or rather, damage control.

At that, Kyle held onto the rope tightly with one hand and held the little one against his chest close. The, lifted one leg, sliding it up the wall until it was almost at a 45 degree angle before kicking out. The momentum didn't push him off the wall but rather, he had done it so that he now stood on the wall - both of his feet were actually flat on the wall. Without missing a beat, he immediately used the momentum to run down the wall until the rope tightened. Then, he ran horizontally along the wall towards the railings.

Of course, it wasn't a straight line but at a downwards angle. So he was actually running to a lower floor and he reached the crevice between the start of the railing and the wall. Unfortunately, his positioning wasn't exactly at the railing but inbetween two floors. Thus, he was now at the railings between the floors rather than the vertical wall previously.

Kyle was now inbetween the third and second floor once the rope was exactly straight and had already anticipated this. Immediately, he kicked at the wall in the opposite direction, just to come to a complete stop - or at least, almost a stop.

His feet touched the bottom of the wall/floor and positioning himself into a really straight line, he let go of the rope and dropped down. Kyle had to do this quickly, for he knew that people would most likely try to help but it would only create problems for him. The timing had to be perfect.

As he let go, he noticed that he was indeed right. Some people were trying to grab hold of the rope in an attempt to steady it, not realising that it would only result in them causing the rope to be bent and throw Kyle off course. It would only mean that Kyle would be smashing against the wall with the toddler.

If he could control the movement and ensure that it was his back that hit the wall, it would be fine - but there was a risk that he would smash in front instead. He would not be able to protect the toddler if that was so. One hand would be holding the rope and the other was hardly enough to ensure the proper strength to block the wall. That was why he had to let go quickly.

Of course, if it was up to him, he'd rather use the rope to abseil** down. That would have been SO much easier and less showy.

He dropped down like a bullet, though the momentum was not as fast as it was initially since he managed to slow it down before letting go of the rope. He could hear people screaming or shouting as he fell, for they thought he had accidentally let go. He tuned them out as he focused on the next step.

He sailed passed the second floor but had taken out his foot to glide on the wall. This was more for traction and to slow down his descent. When he was about to pass the first floor, he reached out both of his hands and grabbed onto the edge of the floor. Just by the strength of his fingertips, he forced his body to slow down. His elbows were bent to cushion the impact and the moment his arms straightened, he let go again.

This time, he kicked off the wall just as he reached the bottom of the first floor. One hand secured around the back of the toddler, his feet landed squarely on the ground floor and he rolled once before getting up.

Kyle had executed a typical drop-and-roll move by parkour experts as the last move. He hoped that would make people be under the impression that he was not only a rock climber but also a parkour enthusiast. All this while, Kyle made sure that the toddler in his arms was not crushed by his move.

The moment Kyle stood up, the whole Mall broke out in deafening applause and shouts.

Kay walked over, her face in a big smile but Kyle could see the slight dampness on her eyelashes. Kyle slowly took out the toddler that was in the harness, who had obviously woken up from all that vigorous moves Kyle had done. She didn't appear scared however and instead, wrapped her hands around his neck tightly, not wanting to let go.

Her mother came then, face wet with tears and was thanking Kyle continuously. Kyle handed over the toddler to the mother and she reluctantly let go. Her mother wrapped her up in a tight hug, kissing her everywhere. She kept checking her baby and other than the scratches that had been sustained from the fall and hanging on the hook, her baby was fine.

Kay was also checking Kyle, taking his hands and looking at them. They were red from the rope burn and the tips of his fingers were all slightly bloodied. The outer walls and floor of the Mall were not smooth, thus Kyle had sustained some injuries on the way down.

Kay frowned as she studied his hands. There were some rope fragments and debris on it and she could see from the redness of his hands that it was not a slight burn. Unfortunately, she didn't have anything to clean his wounds with and it had been made worse when he carried the toddler earlier.

She turned to one of the security people there and said, "I need some water. Does anyone have a bottle of water? Cold, preferably."

The guy shook his head and Kay sighed. Of course, there wouldn't be anyone holding a bottle, but she had hoped they would take the initiative of getting one. However, before she could ask, there was a shout from across the barrier. Too many people were talking at the same time so nothing much could be heard.

Kyle stood still as Kay held his hands by the wrist. She told him not to move as she didn't want his wounds to become worse. His eyes, however, were studying the crowd in front of him.

[Fyi, the cover story is that I've been training rock climbing at Rock5 Gym and will be making my debut at the upcoming international competition. I'm the trump card that Cole, the owner, kept hidden but this thing has exposed the secret. Also, I'm a parkour enthusiast.]

[Your CV is becoming more and more impressive, I see] Kay mused.

[What to do. I'm just awesome that way]

[I'm glad you're safe, brother] Kay said, hugging him tightly by the waist.

[Yeah, but I don't think this is over yet]

[What do you mean?] Kay asked in puzzlement.

[There is no way that toddler could have fallen from that height and just hang on the wall. If she had slipped through the railings, it would have been a straight drop down]

Kay looked up and knew Kyle was right. She had been so worried about Kyle that she missed that strange and obvious factor.

[So someone threw her there? What was the purpose though? And how come he or she didn't get caught doing so?]

[That's the dangerous part. To do so without anyone seeing screams 'expert'] Kyle said [And if my guess is right, the move was to intimidate and torture the parent, or parents, of the child. Having your child die is bad enough but to actually helplessly watch your child while she struggled and crying, then falling to her death. What sort of impact would that be?]

[Are you getting involved?]

[No] Kyle replied and Kay was surprised.

[Why not?]

[None of my business] Kyle explained [But we need to do a background check on the parent and child. As a precaution. This screams 'Secret Underworld' to me and we're not going to dip our toes in that]

<Not yet, anyway> Kyle thought to himself.

[Why stir a hornet's nest when it's not a threat?] Kyle stated.

Kyle was no Saint. Whatever matters that the person in front of him was involved in, it had nothing to do with him. Earlier, he couldn't just stand and watch an innocent child die but it didn't mean that he would go out of his way to solve the problem. If the Secret Underworld was involved, it meant that the family wasn't exactly clean. Even if they were ... what had that got to do with him?

It may sound cruel but Kyle was a realist. He's no avenging angel or a superhuman. Whatever problems that family had, it wasn't his problem.

However, he was a cautious person. Who knows if his actions had inadvertently made an enemy? He doubted anyone would want to target him, a mere 13-year-old that had nothing to do with the other family - but he didn't want to take things for granted.

He was also unsure if those hidden people would accept the cover story he came up with, or if they would start seeing him as a threat. The exposure he is getting now would also make the other party think twice about trying anything. Right now, Kyle is in the limelight (as much as he hated it) so any actions would be done in a covert manner.

[So what sort of damage control are we talking about here?] Kay asked.

[Create a rock climbing and parkour background for me. We need something believable to cover my skills]

[On it]

By then, the mother had relatively calmed down and the Head of Security had managed to get things under control. He raised his hands and everyone quietened down as a rather distinguished man came up to them.

He came up to Kyle and was about to shake his hand when he noticed the wounds on it. So instead, he gave Kyle a nod which Kyle returned. Camera flashes were going around like crazy.

[So much for being low-key] grumbled Kay [Mum's going to flip, especially when she sees your hands.]

Kyle groaned.