Kerem Dinçer
I stormed into the living room behind Rüzgar, practically breathing fire. I took off my jacket and tossed it over one of the dining chairs.
"Is there anywhere left on the list?"
"We checked the last one yesterday."
"Fuck." I slammed my palm on the table, leaning my weight onto my arms. "Where the hell is that bastard hiding?"
"Calm down. Breaking my dining table won't make us find him any faster."
I rubbed my face and straightened up, taking the glass he offered. Dropping into one of the armchairs, I spoke through clenched teeth.
"It's been a week. We've turned this whole city inside out, and somehow there isn't a single person who's heard of him, seen him, or knows anything. Someone doing dirty work like that doesn't stay invisible this long. Something's off."
He poured himself a drink and sat across from me.
"What's off is you walking into a library and trying to find a book when you don't know the author, the title—only the last page."
I took a tired sip. "I'm not in the mood for your metaphors, Rüzgar."
He let out a slow breath, then spoke evenly.
"We don't know his name. We don't know his face. All we know is we're looking for a young guy around six feet tall, brown hair, who calls himself 'Teacher.' Without anything more useful than that, there's only so much we can do, Kerem."
I lifted my glass and swirled it, watching the liquid move. My brow furrowed.
"What if he isn't hiding…"
When I looked up, Rüzgar had already caught where my thoughts were going. He narrowed his eyes.
"You think 'Teacher' is someone close to us?"
I nodded once.
"I hate coming back empty-handed as much as you do," he said, "but you're reaching. That doesn't make sense."
I set my glass down and leaned forward, elbows on my knees.
"Nothing about this makes sense. We never find anything about him in the places we search. He somehow knows Duru's my girlfriend even though I only told you guys. He knows me too well. I don't buy that it's all coincidence."
"We don't find anything because we don't even know what we're looking for. You knew from the beginning that searching blindly like this had a low chance of working," he shot back. "And as for him knowing things about us—based on what you've told me, he's high enough in the chain that he can just plant a few people around us and learn whatever he wants. Why would he deal with the small stuff himself?"
"That's exactly it!" I snapped, rising to my feet. "That's why we've been missing what's right in front of us this whole time. Clever bastard."
Rüzgar's eyes sharpened.
"What are you talking about?"
I dragged my hands through my hair and turned to him.
"You remember what I told you about the guy Duru saw?"
"That imaginary guy in a black hoodie?"
"I don't think he's imaginary. Want to know what I do think? I think that guy is Teacher."
"Come on, Kerem." Rüzgar scoffed. "Forget the fact that the guards found zero trace of anyone—she admitted the guy vanished way too fast to be real. She's still shaken from what happened that night."
I shook my head hard.
"We're talking about a girl who, even while she's being threatened, doesn't hesitate to mouth off just because someone claims I'm her boyfriend. Someone like that doesn't suddenly start hallucinating out of fear."
At Rüzgar's amused look, I sighed and muttered, irritated—
"Her stubbornness annoys me more than your driving."
"You're annoyed by my driving because you lose every race you run with me."
I shot him a look and grabbed my glass again.
"I'm annoyed by your driving because unlike those idiots you race, I can see your tricks. In a fair race, we both know you can't beat me, 'Saint.'"
He leaned back with a shrug. "As long as I win, who cares if it's fair?"
My mind drifted back to Teacher. Ignoring his smug expression, I downed my drink. When I reached for the bottle to refill, I paused, staring at it for a second. I knew he was waiting for me to keep going. I set the bottle back down, picked up my refilled glass, and looked at him.
"Think about it. He's never met me face-to-face. When he went after Duru, he wore a mask. And the other guy Duru saw—he hides his face too. That doesn't fit the typical 'gang boss' profile at all. Guys like that don't need to hide. Not when their backs are that covered. But our guy is obsessively keeping his identity secret."
Rüzgar went quiet, clearly weighing it. Then he frowned.
"You're missing something. For someone to slip into our circle without anyone noticing and move around us without showing his identity—that takes serious effort. And from Duru's description, there can't be a big age difference between us and him. Which means he probably wasn't directly involved in our families' deaths. So he's likely doing this for someone else. If he doesn't have a personal problem with us, why go through all that trouble when he could use underlings and lower the risk?"
I studied his face.
"You're saying they found someone who hates us and pulled him into it?"
"If your theory is true, isn't that more logical?"
I rubbed my forehead, thinking, then slowly shook my head.
"I'm not denying we've made plenty of enemies. But I doubt one of them would go so far as to hurt a woman without hesitation. And even if someone that unhinged exists—he'd still have to stay close to us for a long time without raising suspicion from either of us. No matter how you look at it, that's impossible. If he has a problem with us, it can't be someone we personally know."
Rüzgar's voice went flat. "We've got long enough rap sheets that we can't remember every piece of shit we've stepped in… but what could we have done to someone we've never even seen that would make him want this?"
I dragged a hand over my eyes, exhausted.
"I can't think of anything either. All I know is this is getting more tangled by the day, and I'm running out of patience."
"When's the last time you actually slept?"
"I don't know." I stared at my glass. "Probably the night I slept with Duru because she was scared to be alone in her room."
At his pointed look, I rolled my eyes, grabbed my drink, and downed it.
"Don't start."
"You've had enough tonight."
I went to reach for the bottle again, but he yanked it out of my hand. I glared at him.
"If I'm being honest, the fact that I want to break the hand that took my bottle means I haven't had enough."
"Out of everyone, you should know threats don't work on me, 'Hotshot.'"
My control was slipping. I spoke slowly, tense.
"Rüzgar. Give me the bottle before this turns into a problem. I promise you, me being drunk is better for both of us right now."
He didn't budge.
"Do you remember what happened the last time you ran to alcohol to escape your problems?"
My whole body stiffened.
"That chapter is closed."
He met my eyes without blinking, just as hard.
"At this rate it's about to open again, and you know I'm right. Now do us both a favor and answer my questions."
We stared each other down like we wanted to kill one another. Finally, I exhaled sharply, raking a hand through my hair and leaning back with a bitter scoff.
"What do you want to know?"
"Start with why you've been avoiding Duru for a week."