CHAPTHER 73: CONFIDENTIALLY RESTRAINS
"You’ve always been a terrible liar, Elena"
Like a noose, Elias's voice slithered around me, getting tighter by the second. With his arms folded
and the detonator still in his grasp, he stood across the dimly lighted room.
I took a deep breath. My face was unreadable, but my heart hammered against my ribs. I had to
maintain my composure.
I retorted, "You'd already be dead if I was lying."
Elias grinned. "That's the problem with you. Instead of folding, you'd rather gamble. Even when
you're up against the odds.
He was not mistaken. However, this was no longer only a game. With lives on the line, he had actual
leverage. And I was the one with the blade that might send them hurtling into the abyss or severing
them.
"Elias, let's stop the drama. What do you truly desire?
Like a predator waiting for its victim to make a mistake, he leaned against the table and watched me.
"I told you already. One final task. Not a trick.
"And then?"
"Then you walk away."
I laughed a little dryly. "You expect me to believe that?"
Elias's smile remained unwavering. "Sweetheart, believe anything you want. But those people perish
if you don't do this. He cocked his head. "And we both know you’re not that heartless."
I balled my fingers into fists. I was trapped by him. He was aware of it.
However, I wasn't going down gently.
The Devil's Deal
"Fine," I muttered, squeezing the word out of my mouth like poison. "Tell me the job."
After examining me, Elias nodded and moved in closer.
"A shipment is scheduled to arrive at the South Pier tomorrow evening. I require it. Not touched. Not
found. When you get it and bring it to the place I've given you, this?"—he held out the detonator
—"disappears."
"What’s in the shipment?"
Elias tsked. "Now, Telsa, that’s none of your concern."
"If I’m the one stealing it, I need to know what I’m walking into."
He tilted his head and groaned. "You never learned to control your curiosity. To put it simply, it's
valuable. And hazardous.
I didn't learn anything from that. Which implied that it was worse than I had anticipated.
"And if I say no?" To test him, I asked.
Elias smiled and gestured toward the hostage screen. "Then you get to hear their screams."
I took a deep breath.
There was nothing I could do.
"Alright," I replied. "I’ll do it."
Elias grinned. "Smart girl."
However, he ought to have realized by now that I never followed the rules.
The Configuration
I had run out of time. No other choice.
However, I was still fighting.
Feeling for weakness, I tugged at my bindings as soon as Elias left the room. Though tight, the ropes
were manageable. I was understimulated by him.
A huge error.
I was released a few minutes later.
All I needed now was a plan.
I reached for my earphone and turned it on. "Come in."
A crackling. Then a voice.
"Telsa? What on earth have you been up to?
I felt a wave of relief. "I don't have time to elaborate. I urgently require an extraction.
"Location?"
I looked around. It was an ancient, industrial building. The warehouse district. I told them.
"I got it. Ten minutes is the estimated time of arrival.
Until then, all I had to do was survive.
The Catch
I walked quickly, moving silently through the dimly lit hallways. Elias, of course, had guards.
Before he even spotted me, I had already taken out the first one. A hushed fall, a brief chokehold.
Eight minutes are remaining.
I located the control room. The monitors' security feeds flickered. The captives were there.
The bomb, too.
Sh*t.
"Telsa, update?"
It's worse than I anticipated. The place is rigged by him.
"Can you disable it?"
I wasn't certain.
I had to try, though.
A Risky Game
Five minutes.
I rewired the bombs quickly. It was over after one misstep.
As I cut a wire, sweat trickled down my temple. The timer blinked.
30 seconds.
No. No, no, no.
"Telsa, what’s happening?"
I tightened my jaw. "Elias set a failsafe."
"Can you stop it?"
I was forced to.
The timer stopped when I severed another wire.
I gave a trembling breath.
"It’s done."
"We’re moving in now."
I took a revolver from the fallen guard and made my way to the exit.
Elias stood by.
Grinning.
"Did you think it would be that easy?" asked the man.
I pulled the trigger.
"You lose, Elias."
His smile got bigger.
"Do I?"
The second bomb was then heard.
And already the countdown had started.