The two finally reached their destination after traversing a dense section of the forest, where tall trees formed a wall, and a thin mist drifted silently between the trunks. Lloyd paused for a moment, then cautiously took a few steps forward, scanning the area with his sharp eyes.
But… as soon as he emerged from the trees, he froze.
A group of masked men stood directly in front of him, lined up in terrifying silence, as if they had been waiting for him all along. Their faces were completely concealed, their cold eyes fixed on him without a flicker, creating the impression of a carefully laid trap.
Lloyd's eyes widened in shock, and instinct urged him to move immediately. But before he could even assume a fighting stance, one of the masked men lunged at him, brandishing an old, rusty iron frying pan, and then struck him with tremendous force on the head.
The impact echoed harshly, like a piece of metal crashing against a rock. Lloyd staggered for a moment, feeling the world around him shake violently, before he slumped heavily onto the damp earth. Blood began to trickle slowly down his face, mingling with the mud and light rain, as his vision gradually faded amidst the cacophony of voices and muffled laughter from the masked men.
Elsewhere on the island, Albert arrived at the assembly point after summoning the rest of the team. His expression was unusually grim, his eyes darting rapidly among the faces gathered before him. Suddenly, he noticed something that changed his entire demeanor.
Lloyd… wasn't there.
A brief silence fell before Albert roared, his voice catching everyone's attention:
"Where's Lloyd?!"
The team was taken aback, each instinctively looking around anxiously, as if expecting him to emerge from the trees at any moment. They exchanged silent glances as a growing sense of unease settled over them.
Then Caprio stepped forward slightly and said, trying to defuse the situation,
"Perhaps we should wait a little longer… He might not have arrived yet, or maybe he was delayed on the way."
But Sia shook her head quickly, her tone becoming more serious.
"No… that doesn't make sense. Lloyd is faster than all of us, and it's almost impossible that he would be late to the location."
Then she crossed her arms and added sharply,
"And why would Albert have chosen him for this mission in the first place if he was as slow as you say?"
The tension rose again before Makoto spoke in a low voice, as if he didn't even want to utter the thought:
"Unless… someone finds him."
The next moment, Albert turned to him, his eyes blazing with anger, and shouted, clearly frantic,
"What do you mean by that?!"
After a brief pause, as he considered the possibilities, the man with the chains replied, "Someone might have seen him by chance… or perhaps someone was waiting for him from the start… or…"
He stopped for a few seconds before adding in a lower voice, "Maybe he ran into a bear… or some other wild animal while running through the woods."
But despite all these explanations, a heavy feeling hung in the air… a feeling that told them what had happened to Lloyd was anything but a coincidence.
Albert clenched his fist so tightly the veins in his hand stood out, his face contorted with a menacing anger. His breath came in ragged gasps, his gaze sharp and piercing, as if he could tear anything in his path. "Damn it," he said, his voice thick with frustration. "We can't finish the mission with so few team members."
Silence fell for a moment, broken only by the cold wind whipping through the surrounding trees. Tension was palpable on everyone's faces. Lloyd's disappearance in this manner was anything but ordinary, especially on a mysterious island teeming with enemies and ambushes.
Sia stepped forward, her expression strangely calm despite the gravity of the situation. "You finish the mission," she said with unwavering confidence. "Leave Lloyd's return to me."
Albert turned to face her slowly, his gaze fixed on her eyes for a long moment, as if carefully weighing her words. A look of regret mixed with concern crossed his face before he calmly raised his hand and put on his dark glasses, his expression returning to the cool demeanor that masked his true anxiety.
"We will proceed with the utmost caution… and a precise strategy," he said in a low but firm voice.
He took out his cigarette and lit it, the red tip glowing amidst the thick fog, the smoke slowly rising before his face. He took a deep breath before adding, in a tone that conveyed his complete trust in her, "I trust you… and if you hear anything, let me know immediately."
A faint smile touched Sia's face, a smile that conveyed a clear sense of self-confidence despite the perilous nature of the mission. "Your trust is well-placed, Mr. McKay," she replied calmly.
Albert remained silent for a moment, then finally turned, followed by Caprio and Makoto without another word. Their footsteps gradually disappeared among the dense trees, while Sia remained alone in the fog, gazing silently into the depths of the forest… as if trying to sense where Lloyd had vanished.