Mekong Delta, Vietnam

Prof. Nathan Gold runs in the dark of the night. It's raining heavily. His thick glasses are fogged. He keeps running into the sugar canes that tower over him at over 15 feet each as he makes his way through the muddy and slippery field.

He slips and falls, hitting his head against a sickle left there by a worker. He stands up and feels warm on his forehead. He touches the spot and brings his hand down to the front of his face. His fingers are covered in blood that is soon washed away by the downpour.

Over here! Someone yells in Vietnamese.

Shit! Nathan thinks, they had found his tracks. He resumes running.

A few feet away, circles of light beamed from tactical torches, strapped over rifles, sweep the field. Vietnamese men in dark green, almost black, uniforms hunt for their target. They have orders to capture the professor, however, if need be, the alternative is also approved - anything to ensure Mr. Gold doesn't escape.

Nathan emerges out of the field and catches himself just in time from falling into the abyss that is the cliff. He hears water. A river, he thinks, must be flowing down there. Nathan can't see in the dark how far below the waterway is.

Soon he hears footsteps. One of the circular lights grazes him. Someone quickly shouts and all lights converge onto where Nathan is. He doesn't have a choice, the professor thinks. It's the abyss or those men. Nathan takes a deep breath and remembers the promise he made to his nephew, Mason Gold, about taking him on a voyage across the Antarctic during his summer vacation, before jumping over the cliff.

Washington, United States. One week later.

Eve comes out of her house and pulls her red Raleigh cycle off the wall. She notices the chain is loose. Groaning, she kicks down the stand and squats over the pavement. With the side of her fist, she hits the top of the crank, jolting the rollchain into its place. She then rotates the crank by paddling with her hand and hits the rear brake. The chain is taut.

She stands up, takes the cycle off the stand and climbs onto it and starts paddling. Eve received the cycle as a gift from one of her father's friends for her twelfth birthday. At the time it was the best thing she had ever owned. Now she has grown tired of it and wishes she could afford to drive something with two more wheels.

Thirty minutes later, Eve parks her cycle at the two wheeler stand of Partmore High school. There are only two more two wheelers in the space. Both of them are black Ducati. With no need to lock, Eve simply gets off and walks towards the school.

By the time she's done switching her books for today's class the bell has rung. Eve walks towards Ms. Beckett's classroom when a large hand firmly grabs her arm and takes her into the empty physics lab and closes the door behind.

When Eve meets the gaze of her school's most popular student, she becomes aware how close he is standing to her. The tall and well built boy is her classmate, Mason Gold. Eve is familiar with him, but they are not close enough to be standing this near to each other in an empty room behind closed doors. Eve quickly backs away. "What?" She asks.

"I need a favor," Mason says.

This isn't the first time Mason had asked something from Eve. Their acquaintanceship goes back a few years when Mason was falling behind in maths due to his football practice. Someone suggested him to buy notes from Eve Frankfurt, the top scorer of their year, which will be more than enough for Mason to study from.

Since then Mason has been one of Eve's regulars, and the most well paying associate.

"Sure," Eve says.

"I need you to look at something for me," Mason says.

Eve glances at Mason's empty hands. "What is it?"

"It's not here. It's at my uncle's house."

"What do you mean?"

"There's some sort of small instrument. I don't know how to use it. Can you please come take a look?" Mason says.

It's an unusual request. Eve hesitates.

"I'll pay two hundred," Mason says.

"I'll take a look," Eve says.

"Great. Let's go," Mason says and walks out of the room and towards the exit.

Eve stops. "We're leaving now?!"

"This is time sensitive, Eve. We've to go now."

"But I have classes. I can't skip."

"I'll pay hundred more."

With no further qualms Eve follows Mason out of the school.

End of chapter

A/N - Welcome to ABIDE ;) Let the adventure begin!