Dark roots

Chapter 1

Hi dear reader, this story contains multiple violent scenes that may not be for everyone. Please take a look at the trigger warnings in the descriptions before you start reading this story. Thank you for your interest in the story and enjoy! <3

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It's a Friday afternoon, I'm sitting at a table just outside a café called 'Gracht' with my laptop in front of me, enjoying the beautiful day. The sun is warm on my face and the view is amazing, I love sitting at a cafe and just watching people. They have just brought me the iced tea that I ordered. Not that I have to tell them my order, since I come here every Friday, I only have classes in the morning so in the afternoon I use this place to study. You'd think that Amsterdam is crawling with people on a Friday, but it isn't that busy so the noise doesn't bother me that much and the fresh air only helps me focus more, I'm one of those people who needs sounds around me. 

An older man just walked by my table, he took a seat at the table next to me but I didn't notice him at first, I could get wrapped up in my own little world. I was typing away on my laptop trying to get as much work done as I could. The man was sitting there all alone, just drinking a cup of coffee, and just like I did a minute ago, he was just looking at the view. He is probably some tourist or at least he looked like that.  

After about 5 minutes he turned his head towards me and noticed how I was sitting all alone at the table next to him, with a big smile on his face he continued to stare a little at how focused I was working on my laptop.

"It must be interesting, you seem very into that screen." The man says with a chuckle while he took a sip of his coffee. His eyes were still focused on me, seeing if I had heard him, and in all honesty I almost didn't.

I looked up from my screen, it took a minute to register what he said with how much I was in my own head, full attention on the screen of my laptop. My eyes finally landed on the older man to my left, I immediately noticed the unusual fisher hat he was wearing which for some reason suited him. With his mug in the palm of his hands and a grin on his face, he placed it closer to his lips and took a sip while he continued to look at me with a curious expression.  

"Hardly, it's just homework." I politely answered with a small smile on my face before reaching for my own glass and taking a big sip of it.

The man softly laughed at my comment, he looked like a dad figure that would constantly be on your back telling you to do your homework. It was cute if only mine ever cared enough about anything like that. I pushed the thought of my dad back as fast as they came.  

"Is this your first time in Amsterdam?" I asked him, I don't usually like talking to strangers but there was something about him that gave me a sense of security I guess. 

"Yes it's very lovely here, and the people are so nice." 

"Yeah until you live here." I chuckled and rolled my eyes playfully before continuing. "So you're on a vacation?"

"It's more like a work trip" He kept his gaze on the people who were walking by, it seemed like he was waiting for someone so I wanted to turn back to continue working but he stopped me. "So what are you studying?"

"I'm in my last year of Uni, I study IT." Or at least that was what I told people, it was easier than explaining that I study cyber security. People always start asking a bunch of questions and most of the time they still don't understand what I do after I explain it. Especially the older generation.

He seemed a bit surprised by my answer, which I'm used to since I don't look like your typical nerd, or however you want to call it, so I didn't take any of it to heart. It wasn't what I wanted to do when I was little, but sometimes life pushes you into a direction and all you can do is go with it. And it helps that I was very good at it.

When I was little someone dared me to hack into my teacher's laptop and steal the answers to the test and I did it, I even would've gotten away with it if the little dipshit didn't rat me out to the teacher after feeling guilty. They told my parents and instead of yelling, my dad only encouraged me to keep practicing. I thought it was a little weird but I also liked it so I did. It was only later that I learned his true intentions, he was a criminal and he wanted me to help him do illegal activities. Father of the Year for sure.

My thought gets interrupted when the man's cell phone starts ringing. I shook my head and focused my attention back on the screen. Sometimes I get paid for little hacking jobs, nothing too big but it pays well and with a dad who is in prison and a mother who is an addict, the extra money helps me get by. He picks up his phone and places it to his ear. After a minute or two he ended the call without saying anything and placed it in the pocket of his jacket before he raised from his chair.

He took some money out of his wallet and placed it under his mug. Afterward, he took a step closer towards me and reached me his hand for me to shake.

"It was nice to meet you- ..."

"Ashley." I quickly interrupted him while placing my own hand in his.

The man only answered with a smile before he let go of my hand and started walking away from the cafe. I saw him disappear into the crowd that had formed on the plaza and I turned back to my laptop.

The noises around the plaza became louder and from the corner of my eyes, I saw some huge man in the same black leather jacket wandering around the church in front of the cafe. The sudden sound of a gunshot pulled me out of my focus and made me look up to see lots of people running around. Soon another shot followed and by now panic was spreading towards the cafe.

It all happened so fast that I didn't have time to look around. The people at the table in front of me yelled at me to get under the table if I didn't want to die. The fear was clearly visible on their faces and I didn't know what else to do so I grabbed my laptop and moved under the table in an attempt to hide.

My knees were pressed against my chest, holding my laptop in place while my hands covered my mouth. The sound of the shooting became louder and I was afraid that even my breathing could alert some maniac on my whereabouts. I had my eyes pressed shut and once I heard footsteps coming closer, my heart started beating faster and my hand started to shake.

The panic started to dial down and the sound of a police siren came closer which made me slowly calm down. I hadn't noticed the tear that had rolled down my face until I tasted the salt on my tongue. Close behind me I heard someone talk in a foreign language which I couldn't understand and out of nowhere the table I was hiding under, was thrown away from me.

A hand grabbed my arm and with a tight grip, I was being pulled to my feet. My eyes opened in shock and I saw a huge man with a black leather jacket, covered in tattoos and cuts on his face. He pulled me along with him until we were out on the plaza. He was too strong for me to free myself and make a run for it.

Another man made his way towards us and he placed a bag over my head before I was being pulled away again. I heard a car door open and I was being pushed inside, my back hitting the backseat. I started kicking the man who was still holding the door open, hoping I could get away from him. A hand behind me pulled me back into the backseat of the car and I felt something hard hitting my head before everything went black. The only thing I vaguely heard was the sound of the car driving away.