Chapter six-The prisoner's Gambit

Satera

The silence that followed my declaration was a weapon sharper than any knife. It was the absolute, unhurried stillness of a predator that knows its prey cannot escape. I stood there, legs braced, heart hammering against my ribs, daring myself to meet Khaid Jager's eyes.

He didn't move. He didn't even shift his weight. He simply watched me, the dark glass walls of his office reflecting the single, menacing line of his smile.

“No deal” he repeated, his voice dangerously soft, laced with an amusement that made my skin crawl. “Is that the official statement, Bluey? Or is that just your nerves talking?”

I took a shaky breath, forcing the scent of the sedative and sterile cold out of my lungs, replacing it with sheer indignation. I walked the two steps to the shimmering glass table and slammed the leather bag containing the remaining vials onto its surface. The muffled thump was the only sound in the enormous room.

“It's my statement” I hissed. “I pay the rent you pay, I deliver the product you requested, and we part ways. I am a supplier, not your employee, and certainly not your prisoner.”.

“You think I paid three months of rent?” His eyes narrowed in mischief.

“Isn't that what I was owing?” I fired back fearlessly. Momentarily forgetting where I was and whom I was talking to.

“You're as dumb as I pictured you to be” He muttered.

“I am not dumb” I frowned.

Khaid chuckled. A low, resonant sound that felt more like a vibration in the floor than an expression of humor. He leaned back against the stone chair, his posture communicating absolute control.

“You're a debtor who failed to pay her rent, an infiltrator who breached my security, and a supplier who attempted to cheat her client by withholding the formula” he listed, ticking off my crimes with a long, elegant finger. “I wiped your debt clean. I spared you from Kael’s hospitality after the breach. And now, I’m offering you a job. That’s not a prison, Bluey. That's a chance at salvation.”

He picked up the vial he had examined earlier, letting the emerald liquid catch the light. “You see this? I don't just want the herb. I want the control that comes with it. You, standing here, refusing me? That tells me your recipe is more valuable than any money I can offer. Which means I simply have to acquire the source. And the source is you.”

My anger flared, hot and protective. “My formula is my secret. I spent years cultivating those herbs and perfecting the process. You think you can just take it?’

“I don't think I can, I will” he corrected, putting the vial down. He finally stood up, moving with a fluid grace that seemed impossible for a man his size. He stopped only a foot away, forcing me to tilt my head back to meet his gaze. The dominance was suffocating.

“The rules of this game are very simple” Khaid continued, his eyes unwavering. “You can't pay me back in cash. You can't run. So, you work for me. That is the payment.”

He gestured again toward the hidden door, the one that had revealed the opening to the rest of his compound.

“The challenge remains: figure out how to get out of my building without me knowing. If you succeed, you prove you have the intelligence to be a true asset, and you can come back tomorrow with your next delivery. Your formula remains yours for now. You'll be compensated, and we’ll discuss terms.”

He paused, a dark, velvet thread of menace entering his voice. “If you fail… if you fail, you belong here. You become my captive employee. You give me the recipe, and you will live a very comfortable, albeit permanent, life as my personal perfumer. I will not have to chase you again, and you will not have to pay me rent, ever.”

“And if I refuse to play your game?” I challenged, my throat was tight.

Khaid simply smiled, but this time, it was colder than the polished ice floor. “Then you become a lesson, Satera. A warning to every small-time supplier who thinks they can defy Khaid Jager.”

I looked at this bulky man. He wasn't bluffing. He wouldn't just hurt me, he would obliterate me to prove a point.

“What is out there?” I asked, my voice barely a whisper, nodding toward the open door.

“The maze” he replied. “Three floors of integrated security, fifty cameras, twenty-four guards, and a panic room I haven't shown you. Good luck, Bluey. Your time starts… now.”

He clapped his hands once, a sharp, authoritative sound that echoed off the glass walls. I heard a distant, mechanical click. The sound of his control room locking down, leaving me with only one exit.

I stared at the black-steel opening, then back at Khaid. He was already turning away, walking back to his stone chair, his back a statement of complete disinterest in my choice. The debtor runs. The employee shows up. The prisoner figures out the escape. I picked up the bag containing my life's work. I was not going to be his perfumer. I took a deep breath, and with a silent promise to myself that this wasn't an escape, but a temporary retreat, I proceeded to walk through the open door and plunged into the opulent, deadly silence of Khaid Jager's maze but for his commanding voice.

“Just go home, you're not worth the thrill”

I didn't know my knees had locked and my shoulders stiff from what? Fear of the unknown but as soon as I heard his words, I felt the stiffness unlocked. I wasn't relaxed but I wasn't as tense as I was. But I was determined to not let him see my excitement.

“I’m worth every thrill and every penny and every worthy thing. You see this?” I brought out my amethyst crystal lake necklace. “It is purple which signifies royalty. It might not be as expensive as to your standard but it represents more than I am worth. So no, I am worth every thrill”

His eyes darkened as he stared at the necklace. I couldn't read his expression but I definitely know he's no longer amused. Have I said anything to upset him? I instinctively took a step back.

He chuckled humourlessly. “This is a purple coloured metal that signifies poverty, you mean”

“You. . .”

“You do not interrupt me, Bluey” His voice sent chills down my spine. His veins rose avidly with each laboured breathing he was mustering. I went mute.

“Get me a bitch, Kael” I think he just spoke into the intercom. He looked at me blankly“And get this thing out of my abode”