Is This is Hostage Situation, Mr. Colton?

The noon sun was almost at its peak, but Delta was still running across the streets. She held her worn-out blue coat against her body that cold day, and her breath huffed as she made her way to where the people were. The inauguration of the new building was scheduled today, and she might just make it if she ran faster and evade the incoming people better.

“Over there! Don’t lose her!” A man pressed on his ear microphone and ran off to intercept her. At his words, seven of them emerged from the thin crowd Delta just passed.

“Oh, no… there’s more of them today!” Delta huffed as she glanced behind her. She didn’t need to see a uniform on them to know which men were chasing her.

She then looked up ahead. When she saw a pair of men moving furniture into an alley, she picked up her knee-length skirt and held it to her waist. Then she leaped across the long table like it was just a simple hurdle. The moving men grew shocked, but they were trampled by three men who were chasing Delta.

The woman dropped the hem of her skirt and continued in her direction. The people were thickening around the new building at the corner of the street. With so many people in there, she would surely shake them off her tail. 

She glanced behind her again and saw how she lost two pursuers. It alarmed her, more when she ended up running into a streetside café. The lady jumped over the tables, hoping not to land poorly on the ground. The diners were all screaming and getting out of her way, soon retreating again when the five men took her path as well.

Delta groaned as she was hit by a bouquet of flowers on the table. She fell to the ground and rolled off to regain her momentum fast enough. Her lithe body was not made for this, but her terror made her invincible. There was nothing that could stop her from running. Not even the bouquet and a plastic vase she hugged along the way.

“Got you!” One man jumped at her from the side, but Delta spun to avoid him. She also dropped the vase on him, knocking him out from the hit.

“I’m almost there!” Delta could see the crowd and hear the speech of the company speaker. Once she dove in here, those men would not find her anymore. Hugging the bouquet to her body, she continued to run toward the unsuspecting crowd.

Most onlooking people at the unveiling of the new building were not employees. They were just bystanders who saw what was happening and decided to watch. After all, they heard that a certain elusive person would be showing up. No one had laid their eyes on him after a long time. Some didn’t even know what he looked like.

No matter. That person was still inside the car parked right in front of the thickening crowd. The moment he showed up, the people would see his face very clearly.

“And now! It’s time for me to hand the stage to the secret man of the hour! Let’s all welcome, Mr. Wolfram Colton!” The speaker started to clap, and so everyone followed him.

The man inside the car’s backseat only looked out the window. He seemed to be frowning at the speaker, who was smiling awkwardly at him. Since it was his family’s new building, he should show up at least. His father was already too old to indulge him, so it was his turn to indulge the press with his image.

He sighed and opened the car door. In his custom dark-blue suit, he walked out into the light. Cameras began to flash as he took steps toward the podium placed in front of the building. He discreetly reached into his inner breast pocket for his cue cards, only for screams to come from the side.

Actually, it sounded like a car was running people over. However, it was just a woman who dove into the crowd like a missile. The people saw her come and evaded her. Her legs were like little machines that helped her plow through the crowd.

Delta’s eyes grew wide from the strange action of the people. Why were they evading her? No, if she didn’t collide with someone, she wouldn’t be able to stop and blend in.

“Stop her!” Someone yelled from the side, and Delta felt very scared. She ducked down in an instant, missing the arms of the guards keeping the crowd from getting too close.

When she looked up from the flowers on her face, she ended up running into the man standing right in the middle of the clearing!

Thud! Delta felt how her body was stopped by the powerful arm of the man, but her momentum made them spin once before he could slam her body against his. The flowers that were in front of her were crushed, and they puffed with pollen all over the two humans’ faces.

“What… are you doing?” The man who caught her held her close to him as if not letting her run away. It’s just that the pollen got all over his dark-blue suit and on her blue coat.

“…uh… I…” Delta couldn’t say anything. Her speed just now had taken all of her energy. If she forced her brain to think, she might just faint. However, never did she count on arriving here and finding a man’s face too close to hers. It was even the kind of handsome that women loved.

The man released her slowly, and she immediately thought of the bouquet. She suddenly raised it to his face. “Congratulations on the building, Mr. Colton!”

At the very least, this was Mr. Colton, right?

The man only stared at the crushed flowers and then at the woman’s pollen-colored hair. He then held the bouquet down to find her panicking gaze. The color of her eyes was like the green leaves of a perfect tree in an everlasting spring. Her face was also flushing red like newly-harvested apples.

“Thank you.” Mr. Colton chose to smile and receive the flowers. However, he grabbed her arm all of a sudden. Without dusting his suit and face, he walked the woman toward the pedestal. He whispered, “You made me stand there longer than necessary. Now join me.”

“Oh, no, I should be hiding…” Delta gasped as she walked, trying not to look forced or struggling from his eagle grip. She glanced to the side and saw her pursuers calling in the situation and simply shadowing their steps. For some reason, this might be a better scenario.

“There are cue cards inside my suit. Take them and read them out.”

Delta frowned at the man who just spoke. “Why does this sound like a hostage situation, Mr. Colton?”

Mr. Colton glanced at her with a smile. “Because it is. Now move properly if you don’t want me to make you suffer for all of this.”

Delta only glanced at him before finding herself at the podium. Mr. Colton held her against him, but he still let them face the same direction. He then spoke, the microphone barely catching his voice: “My throat is not doing well yet. I’ll have my wife read out my speech to the people.”