CHAPTER 265: THE LEVERAGE GAME

"The best thing you can do in this situation," the man began, his tone cold and authoritative, "so your stay here is as comfortable as possible... is simple."

He paused, making sure she was paying attention.

"Don’t run. Don’t scream. Only speak when spoken to. Do you understand?"

Abby gave a hesitant nod.

Without another word, the man, Na, reached out and ripped the tape from her mouth in one swift, harsh motion. The sting of it shot through her skin, and for a split second, she almost cried out. Her lips trembled, a soft moan of pain rising to her throat.

But then Na shot her a warning look. It wasn’t threatening, just... sharp. A reminder. Like she’d already broken a rule.

Immediately, she clamped her mouth shut, swallowing the sound. She didn’t need him to say it twice.

After exiting the car, Na moved around to her side, and from his jacket he pulled out a small blade. The metal glinted in the light for just a second before he crouched down. With quick, practiced movements, he cut the zip ties binding her wrists and ankles.

For a single, dangerous moment, Abby considered bolting, just sprinting as fast as she could and not looking back.

But reason caught up with her just as fast.

That would be suicide.

She glanced around. Soldiers, armed personnel, vans. And all of them were likely faster, stronger, more trained. There was nowhere to go, and she knew it. Maybe that’s why he had said it aloud earlier, because he knew exactly what someone like her would be thinking.

Almost as if he could read her mind, Na spoke up again.

"I could run for miles without even getting tired," he said casually, straightening up. "And that goes for just about everyone here. I doubt you could even make it to the fence."

His tone wasn’t mocking, it was factual, matter-of-fact. And somehow, that made it more chilling.

"I’m warning you," he continued, eyes locking onto hers, "you’re dealing with very dangerous people here. So, listen carefully... and be on your best behavior."

Abby didn’t know what to say. She had no clue why she’d been taken. She didn’t know who these people were, or who she was about to meet.

All she could do was swallow the growing lump in her throat and nod again, because right now, that was the only thing she could control.

Na walked ahead, barely keeping pace beside Abby. He wasn’t within arm’s reach, just far enough that she couldn’t grab him, but close enough to know he was watching her.

Is he doing that on purpose? she wondered. Trying to tempt me into running? Waiting for me to make a mistake so he can use it as an excuse to hurt me? Or maybe he just wants to see how cooperative I’ll be.

The paranoia was settling into her bones now. Her eyes darted around the open area as they walked, scanning for any hint of familiarity, any clue as to why she was here. But every face she passed was a stranger. Not a single person looked familiar. No one she could recognize. No one she could trust.

Eventually, Na led her into one of the large hangars. Inside, uniformed men were hard at work, carrying boxes, reviewing papers, and speaking into radios. The echo of boots on concrete filled the space. She kept her head down, trying not to draw attention, but her mind was racing.

At the far end of the hangar, tucked away behind a wide desk littered with documents, sat a man.

Na gestured for her to step forward. Abby hesitated but did as she was told.

The man at the desk looked up and locked eyes with her. He was older than Na, maybe in his forties, with sharp features and a composed demeanor. But Abby felt no flicker of recognition. Whoever this was, she had never seen him before.

"I’m sure you’re convinced," the man said, folding his fingers together as he leaned slightly forward. "A bunch of men have kidnapped you, said absolutely nothing, and now you’re standing in front of someone you don’t even recognize."

His voice was calm, disarmingly so.

"My name is Chrono," he continued. "And before we go any further, let’s make sure we’ve got the right person."

Abby’s throat tightened.

"I want you to answer clearly. No beating around the bush. Do you go to the same school as someone named Max Smith?"

Out of all the things she expected him to say, that name was the last one on her mind.

Her lips parted. "I... I know him," she said cautiously. It felt too risky to lie, even about something so simple.

"Great," Chrono replied, nodding. "That was going to be my next question. So, are the two of you close?"

That was harder to answer.

Abby’s heart skipped a beat, and for reasons she couldn’t fully explain, even under this kind of pressure, her cheeks flushed pink. The heat crawled up her face before she could stop it.

"That’s... that’s..." she stammered, struggling for words. Even now, even here, she didn’t know how to explain the complicated mess of feelings she had about Max.

And Chrono, watching her reaction, didn’t miss a thing.

Why... why would I think about that?

Of all the things Abby could have been thinking about in this moment, after being kidnapped, dragged to some strange base, and interrogated by military-looking strangers, the image that flashed into her mind was of them. Her and Max. Kissing.

Her face burned again, but not from embarrassment this time, from confusion. From fear.

Chrono raised an eyebrow, then let out a quiet chuckle.

"I see," he said, turning his head slightly, as if he’d lost interest. "Your face already answered my question."

Abby didn’t respond. Her chest rose and fell with shallow breaths, and her eyes remained locked on him, waiting, trying to figure out what was going to happen next.

"Since you’ve been cooperative so far," Chrono continued, his tone now casual, "I suppose you deserve to know why you’re here."

He leaned back in his chair slightly, steepling his fingers again as he spoke.

"You see, Max has been working for us. Helping us out here and there, nothing too heavy, just enough to be useful."

Abby’s eyes widened slightly. Max... working with them? That didn’t make sense.

"But lately," Chrono said with a faint sigh, "he’s become... difficult. He’s starting to forget his place. Misunderstanding the nature of our relationship."

His voice turned cold again.

"And that is why you’re here."

Abby’s stomach twisted into knots.

"You’re close to him," Chrono continued. "I brought you here to remind him what we’re capable of. To show him how things really work between us."

His words landed like lead weights in her chest.

"I’m hoping," he said, his voice laced with meaning, "that when he sees you, he’ll come to his senses. And maybe, just maybe, you can convince him that everything will go back to normal. That the two of you will be just fine."

Chrono smiled faintly, but there was no warmth in it.

"So for now, you’ll be staying here. In one of the containers."

Abby blinked. "C-Containers?"

She turned her head slightly and glanced behind her. At the far end of the hangar, nestled between the machinery and vehicles, were a handful of large shipping containers. Cold. Isolated. Claustrophobic.

Before she could even form a protest, she felt a firm grip wrap around her arm, Na. Without a word, he began leading her across the hangar.

Her feet dragged slightly, her mind racing. A container? Like... like storage? Like a prisoner?

The inside wasn’t much better than she imagined. There was a thin mattress laid out on the floor, a single metal chair, and nothing else. No window. No clock. Just four cold walls and silence.

Once she was inside, Na stepped out and two more men took position by the door. Armed, alert. Guard duty.

Abby sat down slowly on the mattress, trying to keep her breathing steady.

Somewhere behind her, she heard Chrono’s voice again.

"Now," he said darkly, "time to get in contact with the man in question..."

A pause.

"...and he better pick up."