Chapter 2 The Incidence

People are shouting to step aside. Others are in poor condition because of the explosion inside the restaurant. The police and ambulance arrive fast, unlike in every movie where the police always arrive too late to save the protagonist and others.

"Please, make a way!" The man said wearing an apron.

He is the owner, Mr. Lim Nguyen, a Vietnamese who owns the building with a restaurant beside it.

Megan was driving and saw the commotion on Avenue Street. She parked nearby and went there.

"Uncle Lim, what happened here?" Megan asked.

"Good you're here, can you please call Jess and tell her that I'm fine." Mr. Lim said.

"I will call her." Megan said.

She called Jess.

"Jess, where are you?" Megan ask.

"I'm driving. I heard the kitchen exploded. I'm gonna check dad." Jess said.

"He's fine Jess, don't worry. I'm at the restaurant, I'm gonna help outta here. Just drive slowly, okay?" Megan said.

"Thank god. Alright, I'll be there in a minute, Meg. Love ya." Jess said.

"Love ya, careful." Megan said.

Megan went in front of the building where Mr. Lim was smoking and watching his restaurant on fire into ashes.

"Uncle Lim, Jess is on the way. I told her that you're fine." Megan said.

"Look at this, the first restaurant my wife and I built 8 years ago is burning and will soon turn to ashes." Mr. Lim said.

Jess arrived and ran to her father. They hugged each other.

"Dad, I'm worried. Don't do that again." Jess said.

"Someone sabotage the oil tank. They want our restaurant to vanished so that they don't have any competition or whatever it is." Mr. Lim said.

"You mean the Chinese restaurant nearby, Uncle Lim?" Megan asked.

"What else, right? The police are there for an investigation." Mr. Lim said.

"Who's the culprit?" Megan asked.

"My sous chef." Mr. Lim said.

"A traitor, I see." Megan said.

"Where is he, dad?" Jess said.

"He's at the police station." Mr. Lim said.

"Let's go." Jess said.

"And what are you gonna do?" Mr. Lim asked.

"I'm gonna beat his ass. All this time he's fooling you, dad. He needs a lesson." Jess said.

"It's okay, sweetheart. I'll go there tomorrow morning. But first, I need to clean this mess." Mr. Lim said.

"Dad, let me talk to him. I'll go to the police station right away." Jess insisted.

"Jess, listen to me. Don't provoke him. He has some men out there. I'm just protecting you." Mr. Lim said.

"No. He cross the line. Tiago betrayed you, dad." Jess said.

"I know and he will never do that for no reason." Mr. Lim said.

"Why your defending him?!" Jess said.

"I'm not. I just want to know the reason why he agreed at the neighbour restaurant. You know, he's working for us for a whole year." Mr. Lim said.

"If I see him. I'm gonna kill him." Jess said.

"Megan, can you please take my daughter away here." Mr. Lim said.

"Jess, stay out of this. I'm gonna help your dad, okay?" Megan said.

"I know that. But I can't just rest knowing my Dad and the restaurant got in a real mess and Mom is still in the hospital." Jess said.

"Sweetheart, can you rest for me? It's all I ask, and do not worry we will visit your Mom tomorrow evening. Just rest for now, you just got out from your work." Mr. Lim said.

"Come on, Jess. You're a nurse. You can't drained yourself, you have shift tomorrow. Let me help here for tonight and I'm gonna call the troops." Megan said.

"Okay. But promise me that you will get that bastard's in jail." Jess said.

"I will." Megan said.

"Just go home. Take a rest, we were gonna clean the mess here." Mr. Lim said.

"Alright. I love you both." Jess said.

Jess left. The people are starting to get back to their business. The police and ambulance left. Only the firefighters and investigators are there to help and take care of the mess. Megan started inspecting the kitchen area while the investigator checked it.

"That's how it started. Tiago left the oil tank opened and it exploded. Luckily, no one died but a few got injured." Mr. Lim said.

"What a bastard." Megan said.

"He change a lot after her sister went missing." Mr. Lim said.

"Are they tracks of her where she went missing?" Megan said.

"Nothing. No witness. It's like she vanished suddenly." Mr. Lim said.

"Where?" Megan asked.

"Cipher Street. At the under construction site, nearby from your area. Didn't you get the news?" Mr. Lim asked.

"No. Never heard of it. When did she went missing?" Megan asked.

"Last month. The police speculate, she might be kidnapped by traffickers. She's a good sister and still young and have a lot of dreams." Mr. Lim said.

"Whoever did it will have a special place in hell." Megan said.

"The detective still investigating the case. It's hard for him." Mr. Lim said.

"Whatever reason does he have, Tiago almost killed you and the people nearby. It's not an excuse for taking his emotion to your restaurant and the people here." Megan said.

"It's already midnight, Megan. You should go now." Mr. Lim said.

"I'll help tomorrow Uncle Lim. Take care." Megan said.

"You don't have to. Save your tomorrow, Megan. Take care of yourself." Mr. Lim said.

Megan bid goodbye and drove away. She parked the car in front of the Blue Lounge Bar.

"How y'all doing?" Megan said.

"Yo, Meg. What's up?" David asked.

"Hi babe." Vivienne said.

"Aye babe, did David put works all on you?" Megan said.

"You bet." Vivienne said.

"That's not true. I always help you." David said.

"There's an incident at Avenue." Megan said.

"Yeah, we heard about it. How's Jess father?" Vivienne asked.

"He's okay and the people there. No one died but injured." Megan said.

"I'll help there tomorrow morning." David said.

"So what's up?" Vivienne asked.

"I just need a cool off." Megan said.

"Right away, buddy." David said.

He takes the whiskey and pours it into a glass. He puts it on the counter. Megan takes it.

"There's a missing person around the Cipher Street. Tiago, the one who cause the explosion. Her sister went missing there at my area." Megan said.

"Poor lady. When did it happened?" David ask.

"Last month. But I never heard of it. Nobody talk about the missing person." Megan said.

"What can I say, Cipher Street is a very busy area. Almost people there didn't even bother to greet each other." Vivienne said.

"You're been living there for five months, Meg. You just moved. It's not your fault for not knowing it." David said.

"It's sad nobody talks about it and there's no witness. The police speculating it as kidnapping. I bet they find something useful from a security camera." Megan said.

"And whoever did it have a special place in hell." Vivienne said.

"I said that before to Mr. Lim." Megan said.

"We have a great connection, Meg." Vivienne said.

They talked for a while until David closed the bar. Vivienne left first. David walked beside the bar where he resides. Megan drove on a cold, quiet, and busy street of Cipher.