9. The Searching

Mark searched the forest for Aileen's tracks. But it took work to find tracks anywhere. Especially when it was already night, and there was no light in the forest except the headlights of his car.

Feeling that he would find nothing, Mark drove the car to the paved road he saw after leaving the forest area. From there, he searched for the nearest police station. For some reason, he was sure he would find Aileen there.

When he found the first police station, it was closed. Still, there was an officer on duty, and Mark saw that a woman was writing a report in front of the officer. Aileen!

Since it was closed, the officer on duty was only working on Aileen's report in the glass front room that Mark could see from outside.

He got out of the car immediately and walked with a slight limp toward the girl who had been occupying his mind. It was a relief to see Aileen in good shape. He don't know how she survived.

Aileen and the guard looked up as they saw a car pull into the yard. And Aileen even stood up when she saw that the one getting out of the car was none other than Mark.

Seeing Mark's condition, limping and bruised almost all over his face, Aileen grimaced in horror and made a face of panic. The palm of her hand went up to cover her mouth, and she was stunned by the shock of seeing the man in such bad shape.

"You're hurt like that? Oh my god, let's go to the hospital first," Aileen invited Mark, who was also coming towards her.

"How's William?" Aileen asked later. She couldn't wait to know the fate of her boss.

"Ran away. The Headquarters men came to help, but it was too late, and Sammy had already gone somewhere. They're doing a search there," Mark replied expressionlessly. He was actually very grateful to find Aileen there and in good condition.

The duty officer allowed them to leave with a nod of the head. At the same time, he asked for a report on which hospital they were going to, as one of them would follow to question the witness and complainant.

"Are you okay?" Mark looked up and down Aileen's body. She looked normal, except for the stains and dirt on her suit and her feet, which were wearing flip-flops.

Seeing Mark's eyes slightly fixated on her sandals, Aileen quickly explained,

"These were given to me by the police earlier. I was just dropped off by a nice vegetable car driver who gave me a ride on a road near the forest. And yes, I'm fine, except for some bruising and bleeding on the soles of my feet from running around in the woods without shoes."

"Man, that's bad," Mark scoffed later. As if to trivialize Aileen's suffering in comparison to his own injuries.

Aileen took the wheel because she really couldn't bear to see Mark's condition. "You should have gone to the hospital first. Why are you looking for me first?" Aileen blamed the priorities of the man next to her. Which made Mark blush slightly.

"I won't rest until I know you're safe. Because there is a possibility that William is running after you, too," he replied, looking for an excuse.

Aileen felt her cheeks warm. There was also a warm feeling in her chest. Mark's concern was probably because they were locked up together.

Mark was quite surprised by Aileen's rather wild driving style. The girl slipped between the blocking vehicles at a decent speed. This made Mark decide to put on his seatbelt because he felt his safety was being threatened.

The streets of Manhattan were still busy even though it was late at night. The downtown area was known for its heavy traffic.

"Why?" asked Aileen, who felt that the man next to her was staring at her strangely.

"I'm surprised you're driving like this," Mark commented as he tightened his seatbelt again. And even his other hand was gripping the handle on the windshield.

"This is an emergency situation. It would help if you got to the hospital as soon as possible," Aileen replied defensively. She could drive slowly or fast as needed.

Mark grimaced in amusement. He wondered how she had escaped the thugs who had been chasing her. Did they also use fisticuffs, he asked?

"Did you use fisticuffs with the thugs who chased you?" Mark asked, unable to contain his curiosity.

"A little. He was too exhausted to run after me, so he had little energy left when I turned to attack. So yeah, not bad. It's no loss to have been a member of the Taekwondo club on campus." Aileen explained what she had experienced during the escape.

"Cool!"

The compliment unconsciously escaped Mark's lips, whose corners were bleeding from the fight earlier. Seeing that there were no wounds on Aileen's body, he was quite happy. Obviously, the girl had good martial arts skills. No wonder she dared to travel alone to a city like this, Mark began to understand.

When they arrived at the hospital, Aileen carried Mark, who seemed to have a little trouble walking. But Mark brushed it off. He didn't want to look weak in front of Aileen. His self-esteem would suffer. He rushed to the emergency room by himself, where he was immediately greeted and treated by two nurses who seemed quite responsive.

Not long after, the two police officers followed and continued their interrogation. They would soon investigate William's address to find his whereabouts. Mark also added information about the scene of their capture, which had been cleared by his company's bodyguards and the remaining three thugs who had been tied up. Now, they had managed to catch the other one, the one who had chased Aileen earlier.

"All four man are ready for arrest, Sir," Mark reported to the officer.

"Yes, Sir. Thank you for your quick action. We will follow up on this report immediately and arrest the perpetrators as soon as possible."

The two policemen immediately left to process the crime scene and conduct a search for William Dawson, starting at the crime scene and also at his residence.

Mark and Aileen looked at each other. One thing remained in their minds. That the police could have been more reliable in terms of speed and accuracy. They still had to act on their own.

After Mark was treated and they waited for the x-ray results, they looked for food in the hospital's 24-hour cafeteria, whose menu was enough to make Aileen stroke her chest in concern.

"Does anyone want to eat this? No way!" she said as she put her plate down unappetizingly. She ordered fried rice, and what arrived was rice fried without any sauce, with pieces of sausage and cucumber, then sprinkled with fried onions and topped with a sunny-side-up egg.

No sliced chicken, peas or lettuce. Although, according to him, it had to be there.

Mark looked at Aileen immediately. He was the type of person who disliked people who insulted and didn't appreciate food.

"Eat it, Aileen. Many can't eat even when their stomachs are very hungry. So it's not worth it if you complain about the fried rice just because there's no sauce!" Mark said, which immediately made Aileen misbehave and regret her words.