novelraw 52: No One Other Than Him
52: No One Other Than Him
Kim:The first thing Kim did upon returning to their territory was to discuss with Aawut about the coordinates of his uncle and his family at the time of the shooting.
Pa Chalita was the designated driver for Aungpao, and they had taken an entirely different route from which Kit and Kanya had travelled, according to the CCTV traffic cams. And the most important factor was that the car had been a light grey in color and with a valid license plate. And they had been able to trace that car for quite some time after the time his own car was shot.
As for his uncle, he had been in a country club, trying to get a dealer to work for him, but he had refused him outright, knowing very well what it meant to betray Kim’s trust.
“So someone else was behind the shooting,” Aawut summarized. “That makes sense, because you leaving in a different car wasn’t planned at all, and that means whoever was responsible for it was targeting you, and didn’t know that you weren’t inside.”
“Just because my uncle and his family have alibis doesn’t mean they may not be behind it.” Kim told Aawut. “They may have contacted someone to get the target. And Kaya had openly challenged Lung Charan, insulting him and defending my family. He may have done so to scare her.”
“But didn’t you say that he seemed sincere?”Aawut dared to ask. “What if he really is sincere this time?”
“Then it means someone else has a death wish.” Kim grit his teeth as he narrowed his eyes at Aawut. “Find the CCTV footage of the car. I need to know where it went afterwards.”
They went over the CCTV footage as well as traffic cameras, but it was no use. The culprit had covered their tracks well—the windows of the black car were fully tinted, and it carried no license plate.
Moreover, the last that they saw of this car was when it rounded the bend towards a forested area and disappeared down a road that had no CCTV coverage.
“Did you scout that area well?” Kim asked Aawut. He had no doubt that his right hand man was meticulous and more than competent enough to do his job. Still… it didn’t hurt to double check.
Aawut nodded. “I did,” he said. “I found nothing. The land is surrounded by a dense forest, and even though I had a team to search within the woods, covering as much ground as possible, we still weren’t able to find any traces of the car. It had rained heavily that afternoon, so any tire tracks that may have existed before had been wiped out.”
So it’s a dead-end“Fuck this.” Kim couldn’t help but slam his curled fist on the table. He hit it with such force that his knuckles bled and his wrist stung, leaving a dent in the expensive wood, but it did little to diminish his anger. “Damn it all.”
“Sir!” Aawut protested, trying to stop Kim as he raised his hand to punch the table again. “You’re bleeding! Please, calm down. Let me get some band-aids.”
But Kim only pushed his hand away. “Leave me alone, Aawut,” he snapped, his voice harsh and unforgiving.
To say that Aawut was stunned and concerned would be an understatement. In all their years of working together, no matter how stressed Kim had been, he had never raised his voice against his trusted man. And yet, here he was, losing his temper as he tried to grapple with the situation at hand.
“Sire…are you feeling alright? Did something happen? Are you upset by the visit to Khun Charan’s place?” Aawut couldn’t help but ask in response to Kim’s sudden outburst.
Kim frowned at his questions. “Why are you suddenly interrogating me like that?” He asked, eyebrows raised in confusion.
“Sir,” Aawut tried to explain to him as calmly as possible, without making him angry again. “You have handled tougher situations than this with undeterred calm. It is only now that I have seen you lose your cool. It is… quite unlike you, sir.”
Kim realized his mistake immediately. He wasn’t one to lose his cool easily, however, the car that had been shot had been carrying two people he held dear to him, and it had been a close call that no one had gotten hurt.
“I apologize,” Kim sighed. He was the type to hold his pride closely, so he did not ask for forgiveness easily from just about anyone.
But it was true that he and Aawut had gone through a lot together ever since he became the Jao PorThis time, it seemed like the outside threat was now targeting his family.
Kim clenched his hand again, his expression hardening as he thought about ways to counter this new threat. “And if I can’t get to the bottom of this mess, it means that whoever had shot at the car with Kit and Kaya in it, was still out there, and there’s no telling when they’ll show up again. They got away once, and when they return, they’ll be desperate to finish the job in the near future.”
He unclenched his fist, flexing his hand. “And when that happens, it might not be just one bullet, and there might not be a bulletproof car to protect the ones I love.”
Aawut didn’t need to be told twice. He understood immediately what Kim was going through, and why he was so worried about all this to the point of self-inflicted pain.
“Then I will ensure, sir, that my team and I will do our best to get to the bottom of this problem. No matter what.” This wasn’t an empty promise, but even if they were still just words, Aawut hoped that his conviction would at least ease Kim’s worries.
Thankfully, Kim sighed in relief. “Yes, khob khunAawut took this as his cue to make his leave. But before he pulled the door open, he asked, “Should I send NongKim lifted his head. “Why?” he raised his brows, even though a small smile tugged at the corner of his lips at his lover’s name.
Aawut shrugged. “Nothing, it’s just that, these days…I noticed that the only person you listen to… the only person who can calm you down is none other than NongKim couldn’t help but smile. “Dai siKhob khun“You are most welcome, sir,” Aawut smiled back, happy to see his leader more relaxed. “Then, let me look for him and let him know that you need him.”
And with that, he left Kim alone in the room, closing the door with a firm hand.