67 Kidnapped
Athena swung the mall’s white polythene bag in her hand, containing her children’s favorite cereals, as she walked the remaining distance home.
The cab driver, whom she had patronized after shopping, had suddenly developed a fault with his car while on their journey; and because she felt the urge to walk, she had accepted his apology, refused the cash he handed her, and started walking home.
After all, there was nothing like an evening walk, to cool one’s head. And her head, for one, really needed cooling.
She had been recovering from Ewan’s visit when she had seen the news of the impending press conference.
Was that why he had left the press to tear his company apart? What was he going to say at the conference? She had wondered, after seeing the news.
Even now, the thought hasn’t left her mind.
Just then, she saw a crowd of people gathered around a famous restaurant.
What was going on?
She saw people taking pictures and cussed.
From the reactions of people around, she knew that someone might have been injured.
Shouldn’t they be calling 911?
Athena looked left and right, left again, before crossing the road to the crowd which was increasing by the passing second.
When she got there, she pushed her way through the crowd, until she was standing in front of the object of attention.
It took the rigorous years spent in training for her not to turn around, run to a corner, and vomit on the ground.
She could see and hear people doing the same.
The spectacle was a middle aged man, who from the whispers of people, was the chief waiter in the said restaurant.
He was completely naked from head to toe. His fingers have been cut off, and his face brutally squashed in as if pounded in with an iron pestle. His total features were disfigured.
His stomach was slit open too. Flies and maggots were already visiting.
Athena knew that the body had been killed somewhere else and then dumped here.
Why? To make a statement? Had the company offended anyone?
But who would do this brutally? She thought, noting the absent penis, and squashed balls.
She stopped short however, when she noticed the scar on the man’s chest.
Not wanting to believe what she was seeing, yet needing to confirm, she stooped to the
lisbelief of people around her, to check out the details.
Is she a cop”
Is she in the forensics department?”
For to them, that was the only reason a beautiful woman wouldn’t be moved by an ugly corpse..
But Athena wasn’t bothered. She checked the mark that had been carved on the man’s chest.
It was them! She screamed mentally.
Hands shaking, she picked up her phone and snapped some pictures, which she sent to Alden and then on a second thought, to another contact on her phone.
When she was done, she stood up, took one last look at the dead man in pity, and walked away, hoping he would find rest wherever he was going.
As she headed down the path to her house, she wondered about the mark, and what it entailed.
For it only meant one thing. The gang was in her city.
Who had called them here? She wondered, as she looked at her phone beeping with a text.
It was from the second person.
Where did you see this? We haven’t seen their sightings in a while…”
She replied. Right down my street. Heard the victim is a head walter at a popular restaurant. Will probably make the news soon…
A reply came in immediately. Should I send in the Calvary..”
Athena was about to respond when she clashed with an old woman.
Thoroughly horrified at her careless act, she dropped the phone inside her pocket, and her bags. on the floor, and rushed to the woman, who had fallen with her walking stick.
“I’m so sorry. She apologized as she helped the woman, who kept grunting, up.
“I’m so sorry.” She continued, bending down ngain to plek the walking stick from the ground. She never got back up.
For as she bent to pick the walking stick, the old woman deftly Injected her neck with a syringe. And before she could react, she felt a blow to her head, becoming unconscious Immediately. “Good job, Heronica…‘ was the last thing she heard before she passed out.
When she woke up, she was tied stiffly on a chair. Her mouth was gagged, and her shut with a dusty rag.
eyes were
Athena’s tongue touched the material In her mouth and recolled. It tasted of faeces and blood. She beki back the nausen that pushed to her thront.
This was not the best time. She thought. She would worry about her hyglene later.
Kidnapped
She felt for her hand. It was abnormally tied well, too tight.
She felt parched, and worried for her kids.
How long has she been here? What time is it? How would they feel?
She knew they would be safe with Gianna and Aiden, but knew it wouldn’t do anything about
the mental attack.
Who were her abductors? Could it be the gang?
They had attacked her last year, almost killing her and the children, through a hired cab.
It was the reason why Aiden had become her driver, so that she would stop patronizing cab drivers.
But she was too stubborn. And now, she has landed into trouble.
Had the cab driver from earlier been among the kidnappers?
If the gang was behind this, what was the correlation between her and the chief waiter? What was going on?
She didn’t know who had placed the order of her death years ago, and she didn’t know who had done the same now.
But maybe, this wasn’t the gang. Hopefully.
She heard a door opening. Then a shuffling of feet–three pairs, she guessed–felt the wave of a hand, before the rag tied around her eyes were removed.
“Wake wake beauty..
Athena’s eyes met with the face of the man that had haunted her children’s dreams for a year. Her heart plummeted to the ground, but she kept her cool, waiting to see the remembrance that would spell her death.
Luckily for her, there was none.
The male rather bent to her height and sneered at her, with his brownish teeth.
She looked behind him. He was with the old woman, or rather a young girl who had perfectly played the role of an old woman.
“Welcome to hell, baby. As you know, seeing the faces of your kidnappers only means one thing..
Didn’t she know? She had been lucky the first time. She hoped she would be now.
They removed the gag on her mouth.
“Any last words…”
“Who sent you?” Athena muttered, still getting around the ugly taste in her mouth. The male stood erect and shrugged his shoulders. “My lady Morgana.”
