NINETY-EIGHT

Lying down on the raw concrete, I could feel the walls closing in around me. I felt the vicious pounding of my heart banging repeatedly against my ribcage.

I shut my eyes tightly. I could still hear myself yelling their names over the cacophony of a billion shards of glass as my head slammed into the mirror.

I couldn't bring myself to bask in the pain I felt. I had little to no time to do what these men wanted or my son would be dead.

Instinctively, I touched where a shard of glass had cut me. The wound had been bandaged expertly. I had to give it to them, they had thought everything through before they made their first attack. I was like a recruit thrust into the heat of a raging war, I needed to find a safe place before I was blown to bits out here in the open.

I groaned as I struggled to sit up, I had no idea on how I got here but I didn't care about that right now. I had more important things to worry about, I needed to be up on my feet, thinking. I needed my brain working overtime, everything I held dear depended on it.

My fear had toned down a little; slipping away from me like a nightmare slips away from a haunted woman, who wakes eyes-wide, gulping with goosebumps covering every inch of his cold skin, who takes deep breaths trying to recollect the terrors, making sure it was all a dream and slowly, he begins to forget it ever happened. Half of it is gone as soon as his wobbly feet hit the cold tiles in his bedroom, a quarter of it by the time he emerges from the shower; and all of it by the time his weary head hits his plush pillow.

I rubbed my eyes fervently as the door was thrown open and a man walked into the room, holding a new suit. It was the same man from yesterday that ambushed me at the restroom in Sam's kitchen.

I took a deep breath and wondered what would happen by the time everyone knew I was missing. Because I was unsure about my safety, I took several measures to ensure that I would be tracked if need be.

All I could do right now was hope that Alessandro would come back soon and come to save me and our son from what we were about to face at the hands of these strange men who I knew nothing about.

The clock on the wall struck quarter past nine. I had been out cold for nearly twelve hours. My head felt like it would explode any minute, I needed something for the pain.

"You need to change your clothes. You can't go out there looking like shit." He said.

"You don't think I'm going to do that while you're standing here, do you?" I glared at him.

"You're a prisoner here not a guest. You need to do as instructed or I'll be forced to do it for you. Do you understand?" He said in a threatening voice.

"Who's your boss?" I asked, ignoring his warning. "I need to speak with whoever it is."

"Change your clothes and you'll have the chance to do so." He replied curtly.

There was something personal about his voice, I could have sworn that I'd heard it somewhere but the details were a little bit vague in my head. I needed to bring myself to remember, if I planned on getting myself out of this mess.

"I'm fine. All I want is to see my son and know he's save before I do anything else." I rasped.

"You will see them. But, you need to see my boss first. He'll give you instructions to carry out. If you fail, your son will suffer. If you don't cooperate, you will serve our men in ways you can't begin to imagine and I'm certain that you know what I mean right...?"

He trailed off deliberately, taunting me with his words.

I stretched out my left hand as my fist connected with his jaw sending him tumbling backward, I drew back my fist and landed another blow into his solar plexus making him double over in pain. I lunged for him and at the same time he held up his hands to shield himself from more blows. My right hand slipped into the man's jacket, lifting his wallet. It was clean and fast, the man was oblivious to what had just happened.

I hadn't lost much speed after all.

My father had taught me this skill when I was little and it was still stuck to my brain. I needed every bit of knowledge I could get on these people before I walked into a meeting with their boss.

The man didn't notice anything, he was busy trying to fend off my attacks.

"Wait wait. Take a look before you do anything stupid, Gianna." He yelled.

I stopped, relaxing my stance.

The man held a small device in his hand. I knew a detonator when I saw one and that could only mean one thing.

"You wouldn't be so stupid as to plant a bomb here." I taunted him.

The man wiped his bloodied nose on his sleeve as his laughter resounded around the room.

"Don't be silly, Gianna. The bomb isn't here."

"Then where is it?" I asked, curiosity getting the better of me.

"Your son is wearing an explosive device. One little push on this red button would bring severe consequences, so think about your next line of action very carefully or I would be forced to hurt you." He paused and took a deep breath before he continued.

"You wouldn't dare." I said, forcing myself to retain my composure even as I felt my knees turn to jelly.

"The only reason I've not smacked you is because you're quite special to my boss but the moment he has no further use for you, you'll regret this." The man said, tossing the dress to me.

"You need to excuse me." I muttered, loud enough for him to hear.

"And the next time, you pull off a stunt like this. You won't have a family to return home to."