THIS GIRL?

While Ian was still staring at Sammy, he rushed towards him again to punch him a second time. But this time, Ian blocked him and punched him back.

Helium became excited. He got up and began to clap.

"Wow! I love this guy, I love this guy. Go on, Sammy, fight back."

Sammy went again and punched Ian in his belly, and all the men left what they were doing and began to cheer.

Helium kept watching. He moved away from his chair and was staring happily at the fight.

When Sammy tried to punch Ian again, he held both his hands and kneed him in his groin. Sammy screamed in pain and bent down, clutching the bulge of his pants.

However, Ian took advantage of this opportunity and hit him with his elbow on his back, causing Sammy to fall flat on his face. Everyone cheered for Ian while he stood erect and, tried to catch his breath.

"I like you, I like you very much!" Helium exclaimed. "You know what? I think you are good enough. As a matter of fact, you are ready because you have impressed me. I will let you go with the guys.

I'm not surprised though, that you can fight. I read your background and it says you had a rough life growing up. If the deal today goes successfully, I'm going to give you something good enough so that you'll be better. I'm in a very generous mood right now."

"Thank you very much," Ian said excitedly.

"Sammy, you guys should take him along," Helium said to them.

Turning to look at Ian, he said, "Freddy, they are going for a delivery. I want you to join them and learn a thing or two. And as I said before, I will compensate you generously. After this, you can start working fully with us."

Ian was not comfortable going with them. The moment he heard they were going on a delivery, he knew that they would be carrying drugs with them, but he had no choice. He wanted to get close to Helium, so he could find out who it was that called him using Helium's phone. But the only way he could do this was by gaining Helium's trust. If he backed down now, Helium would suspect him, so he nodded and thanked Helium.

After a few minutes, Sammy and Luke left and climbed up the ladder to exit the room. Ian followed them, noticing the bags they carried with them, which he knew contained illegal substances. They eventually reached the back of the club, where a black Jeep was parked.

Luke took the wheel and Sammy sat in the front with him. They placed the bags in the trunk, and Ian settled in the backseat. Sammy glared at him, clearly upset about their fight earlier.

Ian felt cornered because he knew the men he was with probably had weapons and might seek revenge on him later. He hoped for a smooth ride and success for his mission.

As they continued on their delivery, they unexpectedly encountered a police checkpoint. Numerous officers were standing there, inspecting the cars.

Luke expressed his frustration. Ian anxiously asked what was happening, and Sammy urged him to stay calm, suggesting it might just be a routine procedure. Ian tried to follow Sammy's advice and remain composed.

However, when the police officers stopped their car, they instructed everyone to step out. Ian promptly complied, not wanting any trouble with the police.

Sammy joined him outside, but Luke remained in the driver's seat, refusing to come out. An officer aimed his gun at Luke and ordered him to exit the vehicle. Realizing he was at a disadvantage, Luke eventually complied.

The officers conducted a thorough search but couldn't find any incriminating evidence. Ian wondered where they might have hidden the gun he had seen earlier.

He breathed a sigh of relief when one of the officers said, "You can all get into your car and move."

They all happily got into the car, but before they could move, a Lieutenant, who seemed like their leader, said, "Hold on. Stop right there."

Luke killed the engine, which he had already turned on.

"Open the trunk, I want to see what you have in there," the lieutenant ordered.

Ian closed his eyes as he panicked inwardly, "Oh no, this is not happening, this is not happening, damn it."

"Open the trunk right now!" the lieutenant repeated himself.

Sammy got out of the car and grudgingly went to the back. He handed the keys to the lieutenant, to open the back of the car but the Lieutenant ordered him to open it.

The moment he did, the lieutenant saw bags in the trunk. He unzipped the bags and saw coke wrapped in small, plastic bags.

When Sammy realized that he had been caught, he turned and began to run away. Instantly, the lieutenant shot at him, firing one of his legs. He fell to the ground screaming out in pain.

"You are under arrest," the lieutenant said to Ian and Luke, while other officers surrounded their car.

They were quickly handcuffed, put in a van, and taken to the station. In that van, the lieutenant sat with them at the back, staring at both of them. Sammy was taken in a different vehicle with two other officers. He was rushed to the hospital to be treated.

When they arrived at the station, the lieutenant took both of them into a dark room and said to them, "Listen to me. My name is Lieutenant Jack, and I'm in charge of the Special Investigation Section. From merely looking at your bag, I know that you belong to the Helium cartel.

I need you to cooperate with me, and if you do so, I will let both of you walk free. If you try to play smart, you will spend the rest of your life rotting. Tell me the truth, not what you think I want to hear. Go on, I want to know everything."

Luke began to speak, exposing all their plans and telling the lieutenant who they wanted to deliver the drugs to. Ian was surprised. He had expected that Luke would be more hardened since he had been with the cartel for longer.

When Luke was done speaking, Lieutenant Jack looked at Ian and asked him, "What do you have to say? Cat got your tongue?"

Ian shook his head, not knowing what to say.

"This was his first ride," Luke said. "He just joined the cartel recently."

Jack nodded, "I see. Are you a user or only a peddler?"

Ian kept silent, not wanting to speak.

"Oh, you're trying to act up, isn't it? Don't worry, I have a much better treatment for you."

The lieutenant held Ian by his shirt and dragged him into a different room.

The moment he got there, Ian said, "I will tell you whatever you want to know. I couldn't speak in front of Luke because I did not want to be exposed."

"Sit down," the lieutenant said, pointing him to a chair he probably would need. "So, what do you think I would need to know?"

Ian began to explain to Jack why he went to Helium's cartel, and how he came all the way from Evanston to look for his girlfriend.

Jack laughed, "What an interesting story. Do I look stupid to you? Do you think I'm going to buy that? Your ID card says otherwise."

"That is fake," Ian told him.

He gave the lieutenant his real name, address, and everything else. When the lieutenant looked it up in the system, he came back to him and said, "This is interesting."

"Do you see?" Ian said. "My father is so wealthy that I do not know what to do with money. I have no reason to peddle drugs."

"Yes, but you may be a user."

"I'm willing to undergo a drug test," he said. "I have never tasted coke in my life. As Luke said, today was my first ride. I just want to find Kim, that's why I came."

"In that case, I will run the blood test right away."

The lieutenant had his blood taken and quickly went to run the test. He came back an hour later and said, "So, you are not a user. Who is this girl, Kim?"

"She is the love of my life, and she is supposedly dead, but I received a call from Helium's number. That's how I ended up in his cartel." Ian explained.

"If she's supposedly dead, why don't you just give up? Why do you take this sort of risk?" Jack asked.

"I cannot give up, not on Kim. Even after she died, I couldn't bring myself to say goodbye. Now, when there is a glimmer of hope, how can I bear to do so? I will never say goodbye to Kim."

"Alright, cut out the emotional bullshit. Who is this Kim? I would like to see her picture." Jack said.

"You can bring my phone, and I will show you her pictures."

Jack went to where he had kept the phones they seized from them. He brought Ian's phone to him, and he unlocked it. Ian opened a folder, which led him to another folder, which he unlocked, and finally, it took him to another folder.

"It needs face recognition," Ian said as he struggled to lift his phone with cuffs around his wrists.

"You've gone to great lengths just to hide her face," Jack noted.

Ian nodded, "Yes because I cannot take the risk of Helium or anyone else finding out about my mission in their cartel. This is exactly why I did not want to speak in front of Luke, in case he walks free. I've told you I'm not a user, neither am I truly a peddler."

After unlocking the final folder with his face, Ian showed the Lieutenant Kim's pictures.

As Jack scrolled through the pictures and watched videos of them together, his eyes suddenly widened in surprise.

"This cannot be....this girl?" Jack asked.

Ian got up in surprise.

"Sit down," Jack ordered.

Ian said anxiously, "I'm sorry, sir. Have you seen her recently? Do you know where she is?"

Jack was silent for a while and finally said, "Well, I don't know for certain. She does look very familiar. You should come with me. There is someone I need you to see."

"Please tell me, is it Kim?" Ian asked.

"I told you I cannot say for certain," Jack replied.

He led Ian out of the station and took him to his car. He made him sit in the passenger seat, closed the door, and drove away.

When he finally arrived at their destination, Jack came down from the car and opened the passenger seat for Ian.

When Ian came down he looked at the top of the building in front of him, and saw the inscription "Psychiatric Hospital."

"Psychiatric hospital? What are we doing here?" Ian asked.

"Just come with me," Jack replied.

Ian moved in front while Lieutenant Jack walked behind him. They got to the front desk and he said a few words to the reception lady before she directed them on where to go.

They finally arrived at a ward. There were different beds and different patients on them. They all had chains on their hands and feet.

There was a particular girl who had her back to Ian.

Pointing at her, Jack said, "She's number two. Look at her, and tell me if she is the one."

Ian began to approach the girl sitting on bed number two and his heart was racing. She still had her back to him but she had midnight black hair, just like Kim.

With his hands still handcuffed, he walked slowly, until he finally got to where she was sitting.

He touched her shoulder and she instantly turned.

When he saw her face, Ian's eyes widened in shock and tears rolled down his cheeks as he gasped, "Kim?"