WEIGHT OF THE WORLD ↠ Mazikeen [2]

26 | GONE

IZZY WAS LED TO A GLOOMY WAREHOUSE, and she couldn't believe she was back in one after such a short time. Nothing good ever happened in places like those, she thought, and she was understandably on edge as she snuck inside. She had seen the brute of a man drag Dan inside, but she had lost track of them in her attempt to keep a safe distance – now, she was tiptoeing quietly with one hand on her gun, ready to pull it out of its holster, if need be, following the sounds of punches followed by grunts. No doubt they were torturing Dan, and the thought sickened her.

She made it to the corner leading to a larger opening, and when she peeked from behind it, she found lots of empty space with nothing but one chair in the middle of the ground. And in that chair sat Dan Espinoza, bleeding and tied-up.

Swallowing, Izzy dug her phone out of her pocket with shaky hands and dialed Ella, hoping the woman would be able to track her phone and find out where they were. She felt stupid for not calling back-up sooner, having gotten too caught up in the moment, but she figured it was better late than never. It felt like hours ticked by, but eventually, Ella's sweet voice broke through the speaker and Izzy heaved out a relieved sigh.

"Ella, it's me. Can you track-", she began, but she couldn't finish the sentence when she was hit from behind. With a groan, Izzy stumbled forward and her phone dropped from her hand, and just as she turned around to defend herself, the goon she had seen with Dan whipped her in the face with a gun. She fell down and wasn't given time to try and get up, instead, the man grabbed her by her wrists and began dragging her over to where Dan was tied up.

At the sight of her, Dan started protesting to the man standing in front of him. "Hey, she has nothing to do with any of this. Let her go and I'll tell you what you want to know", he tried, but the fancy-looking man didn't seem fazed. He only chuckled and watched how his goon dragged in another chair and forced Izzy to sit on it. The woman tried to put up a fight, but it quickly earned her a punch in the face, sending blood flying onto the ground as he split her lip. Before tying her up, he snatched her gun from her and tossed it to the side, which made Izzy groan in frustration.

"From where I'm standing, this woman gives us a great privilege. Why would I let her go when I can push you further by doing... this?" the man in charge taunted Dan before taking his turn punching Izzy. She grimaced at the searing pain, but managed a smirk as she looked up at the man.

"I've had worse", she spat out, annoying the man greatly as she pushed through the throbbing ache all over her face. "Men always disappoint", she continued with fake dismay, and much to her surprise, he did not punch her again. Instead, he reviewed the sight of Izzy and Dan side by side and licked his lips in thought, before coming to the decision of letting them stew in their own anxieties.