TW : language, violence, blood, death
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I held my breath, one hand still over my mouth and the other tightening the grip around the piece of glass. I could see Jasper smiling, his face was alighted by the faint glow of the computer screen, making his facial expression even more scary.

Both men were no longer speaking. Jasper was typing fast on the computer's keyboard and Pete watched him in awe. After a while, the scary threatening man spoke "Jake's received the coordinates, he shouldn't be long now. Once he's here, make sure he won't find the girl." Pete only nodded in silence, his hands still shaking after Jasper's earlier outburst.

Jasper got up and went toward the door, Pete on his heels. As he was about to leave the room Jasper turned around and leaned against the closet where I hid. I could see him through the tiny interstices of the furniture, he was so close. I glued my back against the wooden wall, disappearing even more between the stinky jackets. My heart pounded so fast I was scared my kidnappers would hear it. I could feel the wood cracking under Jasper's weight, if I moved he would instantly notice I was hiding here. I closed my eyes tightly, waiting for the two men to leave.

"One last warning, Pete," Jasper's voice was so low that even with his closeness, I had to focus to understand what he was saying. "That little piece of shit is the only one who can pretend to break down my organization. You better not let him leave, because if I fall... You fall with me!"

I grinned, he's scared of Jake! So, there was hope. The closet slightly shook as Jasper stood back up and the two men walked out the room. I remained silent for a few minutes, not moving, my ears focusing on every noise around me. When I was sure I was alone, I exhaled a long sigh of relief. I opened the door and took a quick peek outside before stepping out of my hiding place.

I went to the computer and started looking for how to contact Jake. If Jasper was able to send him the coordinates that meant there should be Jake's contact on this computer. I opened several files but found nothing. After a while, a particular file caught my gaze, a file with my name on it.

I took a deep breath and opened it. What is that? I stared at the screen without blinking, aghast by what I found. There were pictures, so many pictures of me. When I was at work, at home, hanging out with my friends, my whole personal life was saved on that computer. And there was more, everything about my identity, where I was born, where I went to school, where I lived... as if they had been looking for me for a long time. I opened another file with my phone number on it. It seemed they tried to hack my phone. I frowned and looked at the date... last December. It was when Jake had to go into hiding after Lilly released the video. Does that mean...

Those men! There were those who tried to locate me at that time, those who hacked my phone and appeared on my screen with balaclavas on their faces, those whose Nym-0s protected me from. They had planned this long ago. My kidnapping wasn't an impulsive act, they wanted to blackmail Jake and I was a means to the success of their plan.

I closed the file. There was no time to waste. I needed to escape quickly, and I had to warn Jake. I continued to browse the computer completely unaware of my surroundings. I jumped when I heard footsteps, but it was already too late. "What are you doing here?" I heard Pete hissed.

I grabbed my makeshift weapon and stood on the defensive, "Stay away! Don't approach me," I snarled.

Pete stepped back with a fake, feared expression painting on his face, mocking me, "And what do you want to do with your little piece of glass? Kill me? Do you think a little girl like you would have the guts to kill a man?" he chuckled.

"I already hurt you, remember?" I told him point at his wounded arm that I cut with a knife at my apartment.

His grin faded, replaced by an angry wince, "it was only luck, bitch!" without warning he swooped on me.

I quickly rushed myself to my left, crashing my shoulder against the wall. Thus, I managed to dodge Pete, who frozed with surprise. I ran toward the exit and landed in the dark corridor. I tried to escape but Pete was too fast.

He grabbed me by the shoulder and slammed me against the wall, one of his hands on my throat and the other gripping my waist. "You should have gently waited on your chair instead of untying yourself... You're going to regret this," he whispers in my ears.

Pete slipped his finger under my shirt and I gasped with disgust. "Too bad your beloved hacker isn't here to protect you," he chuckled.

"I can protect myself!" my voice was quite weak because of Pete's grip on my throat but I managed to gather my strength and push the piece of glass deep into his stomach. I felt some blood sink on my hand. I was nauseous. What did I do? Pete yelled, walking away from me. He watched his stomach in bewilderment then, he looked at me with anger. He brutally kicked me on my belly and I fell down to the ground.

Everything that happened next seemed to be in slow motion. Pete pulled a gun out of his jacket and pointed it at me. He was stumbleling because of his injury but I could see so much hate on his face. I was terrified, I couldn't move or think. I just closed my eyes.

I heard a gunshot but instead of feeling an excruciating pain, I heard a body fall next to me with a thud. I opened my eyes and turned my gaze to the body, my eyes widened at the sight of Pete's lifeless eyes, blood was flowing from his head.

I raised a hand to my face and wanted to scream but I stopped looking at the blood on my hand. Time had stopped, I didn't understand what happened. It's only when I saw, from the corner of my eyes, a tall figure walking slowly toward me, that I could move again.

Jasper?!

I got up awkwardly and ran down the corridor, without knowing where I was going. I heard footsteps running behind me. The tall figure took me by my arm, I struggled into his grip but he was too strong. He opened a door and pushed me in a small storeroom sticking my back to the wall with his hand on my mouth preventing me from screaming.

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Thank you for reading and for the support. ❤️