by Lee Sau Woon
Vanessa took the driver's seat, and Jordan did not protest. They are, after all, going to her apartment, and she knew the route best.
"So what do you think of... of all this?" He asked her after a while.
"Someone's trying to be funny, and I hate it when people play games with me." She informed him.
"Vanessa, have you ever thought of it from the other way?"
A car suddently cut in front of her and she pounded her fist on the horn in anger, swearing at the same time.
"Which way?" She asked after she accelerated beyond the speed limit, overtake and cut into the lane of the car which had so offended her seconds earlier.
For a while, Jordan thought she was asking for directions, until he remembered that she was asking a question to his question.
"That the game was actually not played against you, but something on a much larger scale."
She frowned. "What made you think so?"
"The appearance of the two person which promised Starling safety. Its the way you described them."
"As if they really have the ability to carry out their promise."
"That's right."
Vanessa parked the car in front of building that housed her apartment and the two agents got out.
"There," she pointed to a opposite building. "Its abit too far, but that is my best guess." Jordan had to agree with her. There were other buildings nearby but the angle would be wrong. He motioned her to follow him as he started to walk towards the building.
There was a security guard-cum-doorman at the main door, and Jordan flashed his badge at him. Obviously a good citizen, Jordan thought, as the badge brought them immediate access, no questions asked.
Vanessa's apartment was on the fifth floor. They started from the sixth, with three floors to search.
There are 4 apartments on the sixth floor and seventh floor, and all looked lived-in. There were two empty-looking apartments on the seventh floor, and Jordan tried the door for both cases. The first door opened and the agents inspected it.
The second door was locked. Getting no response from his knocking, Jordan took out his credit card and broke in. The whole house was empty.
"This one," Vanessa declared when they entered the second empty apartment and walked towards the window facing her apartment.
Jordan retrieved the photos from his pocket and confirmed the fact.
"Maybe the security guard will know something," he suggested.
The two of them made their way down again. The security guard was, as expected, very helpful.
"Apartment 7C. It is empty."
"Yes sir. The tenant just left."
"Left as in left for work?"
"No sir. Left as in no longer a tenant."
"What do you mean?"
"Well, he passed me the keys yesterday and said that he will no longer be coming back but the management can keep the prepaid rent."
"Yesterday?"
"Yes, sir. Yesterday."
Vanessa and Jordan questioned him, but could not get much information, except that the tenant came in only after Chris' disappearance.
"Very convenient," Vanessa commented, when the they left the building.
"That does not mean he is the person we are looking for."
"Does or does not, it does not matter now. I doubt that we will be able to find him. No ID, pay by cash. It sound like a lousy plot from a detective story. "
Just then, her cellphone rang.
"Vanessa."
"Nessa, Chris here."
"Chris? Where are you? Aren't you at home?"
"I'm at the hospital now. I did a little detective job on my own, Nessa. You won't like what I found."
"What did you find?"
"My stuff. All those blood that they drew from him when I was in a coma, all those medical records. They had been tampered. I did a simple blood test on all of the blood samples they had of me. Ihe blood is not even of the same blood group as me."
Vanessa swore. "I'll be right now."