THE HOSTAGE'S DILEMMA

MiaThis is it. I feel the butterflies flooding into my stomach as I take in the crowded airport. I look around the airport hoping to catch sight of my housing agent who is meant to pick me up from the airport and drive me to my new apartment. I dial his number and it goes straight to voicemail. “Excuse me.” a voice says behind me and I move away to let the woman walk by. I head to the waiting chair to avoid getting in the way of people who have places to be. The address of my new place is saved in my phone but I decide to wait for the agent for a while before heading out. My phone dings and I quickly check it only to see it’s from Noah asking if I have gotten to my place. Although he is just a few years older than I am, Noah acts a lot like an uncle. He moved to the Rio Verde sometime last year and we quickly hit it off as friends. I’m here all thanks to him and I hope I won’t go back empty handed.I dial his number instead and he answers on the first ring. “Is this the next big a

“Couldn’t you have just carried her into the car? She’s too tiny for that drug.” A voice says in frustration.“Well forgive me for following the rules.” Another voice says and I recognize it as the huge man’s voice. I’m currently blindfolded and tied to a chair. My hands are almost numb from the lack of blood circulation. I try to move them around but it’s close to impossible.“She’s awake now.” A voice says.“About time.” The huge man says in mock relief. I hear footsteps approaching and the voices around become silent. “How did it get to this?” A deep voice asks. There is a heavy Italian accent laced in each word this person said. Whoever this person is sounds pissed.“Sir, we saw her with that bitch. I-I mean Jules. We were going to let her go but we saw the contents of her bag and she’s clearly working with them.”Who? Me?Working with who?They can’t be talking about MY bag. It only had a number of books and my passport in it. “Let me see.” The deep voice says. I hear the sou

MIA’S POVAll my life I’ve thought about things thoroughly before deciding to act on them. I even plan lunch when I have breakfast so I’ll be prepared by lunch time. Don’t get me started on exams, I’m among the students that read at the beginning of the semester so I won’t get choked during exam week. But having to prepare for an interview I know nothing about a few hours before the D-day is suicide to me.I storm out of Mr Lombardi’s room angrily. What do I know about being an editor? But I can not afford to argue with the man. Who knows what he can do to me in seconds? I enter the room where I was kept earlier and spot my phone and laptop on the bed. I quickly rush to it and switch on my phone. It is already unlocked. My guess is that Mr Lombardi and his people have already gone through it. I see a series of missed calls from Noah but my mom had sent just one text.Hope you’re safeMy relationship with my mom is a shaky one. Ever since my dad passed away, she and I have drifted so f

AARON’S POVMy men outside see me approaching and they all scamper away. My blood is boiling and I know someone’s blood is about to be spilled. I enter the warehouse and see John holding a man against the wall. He notices my presence and lets him go. My eyes move to the exhibit in the middle of the room. The body on the chair still looks alive but it’s impossible with the gaping hole in her head. I feel my pulse thrum and my vision glazes.“So someone walked in here and killed our one solid link and nobody saw the perpetrator?” I ask in a low tone. My men look at each other nervously and I chuckle. “Who’s in charge of looking after her?” I ask and John pushes the man he was strangling earlier forward.Without thinking twice, I cock my gun and shoot his two legs. He lets out a blood curdling scream and I notice the other men move backwards, except John. “And the security footage?” John steps forward with a laptop in his hands. It only shows a man in black enter the warehouse and pull a

My heart beats loudly as I stare at the burner phone. It can be anything and I didn’t want to jump into conclusions immediately so I decide to take the stapler and shut the drawer back. My phone rings and it’s Drew.“Hey.” I say quickly.“He went to meet up with his mistress. I ran a background check and found out that she is his wife’s friend. It’s actually messy.” Drew jokes. I realize that the burner phone could be how he communicates with the source. I wonder if I should inform Drew about it but I decide to leave it for Aaron to decide.“Oh, I will keep looking around then.” I say before hanging up. I consider taking the phone with me but it is my first day of work, I can’t afford to screw up just yet. The shrill sound of a ringtone echoes in the room and I already have an idea where it’s coming from. I leave the office to avoid being suspected. If I’m going to get the phone for Aaron later then Mr Wilson doesn’t have to find out I know about the phone.***It’s 11pm and I've dec