花季v3.0.2

The picture frame had a picture of a gorgeous young woman who looked to be in her early twenties. She was wearing a military uniform and was hugging Sir Derek in the photograph.

The photograph seemed to be quite old not because it was worn or anything because the photograph was actually a display, but rather because Sir Derek looked significantly younger in the photo. Similarly, the background of the photo resembled the bakery but many of the things such as the wallpaper were different from what they look like now.

"Her name is Mary. Mary Hilton." Sir Derek said with a warm and graceful smile on his face.

"She joined the military about 7 years ago and this was the last time that I ever saw her in person." Sir Derek continued but his smile slowly started to fade and his eyes began to sparkle a bit.

Mako was still analyzing the picture and when he looked toward Sir Derek's face, he realized the severity of the situation.

Sir Derek was crying!

"Hey hey hey..." Mako said as he quickly stood up from his seat and approached Sir Derek in order to console him.

He gave him a big hug and held him in his arms for some time while Sir Derek just silently cried while looking at the photo frame.

He eventually composed himself and Malo handed him a napkin. After that Mako returned back to his seat as he was now eager to know what Sir Derek meant by "Finding his daughter".

"Tell me, Sir Derek. What did you mean when you said 'find my daughter'?" Mako asked.

Sir Derek took a couple more seconds to compose himself before taking a long sigh and saying," To understand what I am asking you to do, you must first get to know the whole story."

"Mary lost her mother at a very young age. I had just finished my time serving in the military and was looking forward to working in my father's bakery with my family. At that time, this part of town was quite unsafe with several gangs occupying a couple of blocks and having frequent fights." Sir Derek began narrating.

"One night, I left a bit early because I needed to run a quick errand before the store closed. I told my wife Emily to wait for me in the bakery and not leave before he returned. However, while I was gone someone decided to break into the bakery."

"He had the fire ability and demanded my wife to give him all the money. Emily didn't have an ability so it was useless to resist him. She complied with his request and gave him the money card that was attached to the payment machine."

"The man could have just taken the money and left but he insisted that the money card that she gave him was a fake and that he will hurt her if she didn't give him the real card. Of course, there was no other card. Emily tried to tell him that as well but he wouldn't listen. In the end, he saw that she was not going to give him anything else, so he decided to escape but not before burning her alive.

"By the time I arrived, It was all too late and she was already gone. The culprit was later caught and sentenced to life in prison. I wasn't dealing with the loss too well but it was nothing compared to how 4-year-old mary felt at the time."

"She became obsessed with abilities and wanted to become strong enough that she could face down any threat that came her way. She was at the top of every class and was very skilled in combat. She wanted to become a strong independent woman who wouldn't fear anything."

"And so on her 21st birthday, she received a letter from the military that she had been accepted into a special division of the military. She was so happy after hearing the news and left for the military base in the following week."

"I heard from her every month and she would talk on and on for hours about how the training was going, how she getting stronger every day, which new missions they were going on, etc. I couldn't be more proud of her and could say with confidence that Emily would be proud of her as well."

"Everything was going well until about a year ago when I last spoke with my daughter. She told me that she got promoted and that her team will be assigned a galactic mission on another planet, and that she won't be able to stay in contact with me for some time. I was reluctant at first but wished her luck in her mission and told her to finally take a vacation after this mission and come see me."

"She promised me that she would come back home after the mission and that I will hear from her in 8-10 months." Sir Derek paused for a bit after saying this.

Mako didn't know Sir Derek's history quite well. He didn't know anything about his family or even that he went to the military before continuing his father's business. After hearing the story, Mako was on the verge of crying as well as it was truly quite tragic what had happened to his wife. However, He still didn't understand what this had to do with his daughter's disappearance.

"Umm, Sir Derek. If you haven't heard from her in over a year, it could be possible that the mission was extended and that it is taking her a bit longer to come home. I am sure she is alright." Mako said trying to be optimistic.

"Hmm, I thought so too, Mako. But then I received this..." Sir Derek said as brought out a letter from the same drawer and handed it to Mako.

The letter had the official world military stamp and the contents basically said that during the mission on the classified planet, Mary Hilton turned rouge and attacked her own team members, leaving two of them in a critical state before fleeing. Her current whereabouts were unknown and she was now placed on the galactic blacklist of wanted criminals.

Mako could not believe what he was reading as he now understood why Sir Derek was asking for his help.

"Now you understand why I need your help." Sir Derek said in a somber tone to which Mako just nodded still shocked by what he had just read.

"Mako, my boy. I have seen all kinds of people and I know that nothing is outside the realm of possibility. I don't know what to think when I hear my own daughter went rogue and injured two people. I have seen people go mad with power before and her obsession with becoming strong was what always scared me. I don't want to believe it, I really don't but what can I do when the proof is plastering itself on my face?" Sir Derek said as he began to cry again.

Mako couldn't even begin to imagine the level of hurt that Sir Derek was going through. All he knew was that Sir Derek was there for him when he was at his lowest point and now it was his turn to pay him back for his kindness and generosity.

"Don't worry, Sir Derek. I understand how you feel. I will help you find your daughter." Mako said as held Sir Derek's hands.

"Promise me, son. Promise me I will get to see her again, alive. I don't have anyone left except her and I don't want to lose her too." Sir Derek said as he clenched Mako's hand with all his strength.

Even though Mako was strong now, he could still feel Sir Derek's strength, and it was nothing to laugh about at all.

"Don't worry, Sir Derek. You still have me and Bill. We won't abandon you under any circumstances and I promise you will meet your daughter again one day. I will make that happen." Mako said as these words finally made the smile reappear on Sir Derek's face again.

After both have then had calmed down and composed themselves, Mako still got a decent telling off for ditching work. You would think that after everything the two had gone through in the past 15 minutes would warrant a pass on the lecture, but nope. This is Sir Derek we are talking about after all.

After some time, Sir Derek finally let go and allowed Mako to leave. This time; however, Mako was not sad or upset about the lecture. He realized that disciplining someone was Sir Derek's coping mechanism and he observed the light come back on his face as he lectured him for the tenth time on punctuality and responsibility.

As Mako was about to leave the office, he said to himself in his thoughts,' Don't worry, Sir Derek. I will fulfill my promise to you if it is the last thing I do.'

*Ding!*