No Man's Land

13- Croatia, August 2018

  August, 2018
***
Jana didn't know that someone had been tailing her. This was three months ago, two weeks after the 840 World Conference.  Public transit housed too many cameras and so she had resorted to walking back to her hotel, talking on the phone as she went. People tended to not want to bother someone on the phone.

"Ja, ja, Vi vil være i kontakt." Jana spoke rapidly, pulling her coat around her.

"Og du er sikker på at alt har blitt avgjort?" And you're sure everything is settled?

"Ha litt tro! Ha det." Show a little faith. Goodbye. As soon as she ended the phone call, someone pulled her into an alleyway, arm around her neck.

"All done, djevojka?" A voice growled, ominously close to her ear. Jana struggled weakly, letting out a stifled yelp.

"Molim te, nemoj me povrijediti!" Please, don't hurt me!  "Što želiš? Novac? Mogu ti zaraditi novac!" What do you want?! Money?  I can get you "

"You made sure it's the right lady, right?" Hissed another man. The first man scoffed, tightening his grip on her neck as she continued to struggle.

"Of course I did. Stop playing dumb,  Ms. Odele." Jana froze at the mention of her last name-something she tried to keep secret to protect her family. 

"That's right, we know who-" Before he could continue his sentence, Jana threw her head back into the man's nose, shuddering slightly at the crunch. Immediately she ducked her head in and threw her elbow back into his ribs, using the other arm to pull the man by his shoulder. The size advantage  was obvious, however, and before she could react, Jana was in his hold again. 

"Enough, the rag, please?" Jana struggled against his hold, writhing and trying to flip the man over.

"Chloroform?" Jana asked, now speaking English, before being stifled by a punch to the stomach. "How cliche." With his legs wrapped around her waist and an arm around her neck, the man held out his remaining hand.

"Oh no," the man grunted as Jana sent her elbow into his gut, "The rag is for me. Everyone knows Chloroform takes time, which we don't have. We're doing this the old fashioned way."  Before Jana could react, the man had been handed a gun. Seconds later, white flooded Jana's vision as the man whacked the gun against the side of her neck. It was a professional move- you had to hit the carotid artery very carefully to stun someone, let alone knock them out.

Jana groaned, barely moving on the ground. With a second strike she was out cold.

"Pfft. I thought they said she would be a challenge." The second man roughly pulled the girl into his arms and stood up. "They on time?"

"Should be at the curb."

At some point in the drive, Jana had woken up. She rolled her wrists individually, trying to figure out what was binding her. Zipties- easy but painful to break. Her feet were also bound, presumably also by zipties. Jana sighed under her breath as the anxiety began to set in- she wouldn't be escaping this anytime soon.

"I know you're awake, girl." A voice growled, new to her. Jana stayed silent, closing her eyes beneath the blind fold. A sharp punch snapped against her jaw, throwing her onto her side as she spit out blood. "You don't have to talk, but it's in your best interest that you do. I have time."

"Ne razumijem." I don't understand.

"Don't play dumb, girl, you understood English earlier."

"En dag finner du veien til helvete." Coughs racked her body as someone sent a kick to her ribs. Obviously someone here spoke Norwegian.

"Fine, then. Enjoy the ride, Ms. Odele."    

A couple minutes later, the car made a sharp turn, sending Jana flying into the car wall.

"Sranje! Slijedili su!" Shit! They followed!  Jana almost laughed as the men started to argue in mishmashed Croatian and English. The car suddenly shook with impact as something rammed into it. Someone certainly wanted her back.

"Get the girl!" Someone shouted, and Jana struggled as someone grabbed her roughly and passed her to the man. With a second impact, the car flipped onto it's side. Still in the man's grasp, Jana struggled to regather her senses. She faintly smelled smoke and sirens echoing as people shouted to each other outside of the car.

The man seemed to overcome the shock much faster than Jana had, roughly wrapping his arms around her waist and pulling her up through the shattered car window. Jana struggled against his grip as he wrapped his arms around her neck.

"Make any move and I snap her neck!" Jana clawed at his arms as he squeezed tighter, depriving her lungs of oxygen. Within the crowd of black clothed agents, she could make out the faces of Michael and Carrie, two of many guns pointed at her captor.

"You aren't getting out of this alive, you know?" Jana hissed.

"At least I'll get to bring you down with me. And so young, too. What a shame. People speak a lot of you where I'm from, it'll earn me a lot of respect post-mortem. Goes to show- sometimes the little girls should just stay at home or be killed before they can even start their career."

"This little girl is more than you'll ever be." Before he could respond, Jana threw her head back into his nose, a move that had proved effective now twice in a single day. She felt a bone pop in her neck as she strained against his arms and threw herself forward. The force of her weight made the man stumble, facing his back to the cluster of agents. In that split second window, a volley of shots rang out, sending the two of them to the ground. Hot blood spilled from the man's head onto Jana's neck, pinned to the ground. Within moments she had pulled herself up, no doubt looking like a mess. For a moment, she stared down at the man who had almost taken her life, ignoring everyone around her, even as someone pulled her over to an EMT. For the first time in years, someone had almost won.

Someone had almost killed Jana Odele.

Okay okay okay this update is a day late soz. Anyways, whaddya think? The next one of these backstory chapters is gonna be pretty crucial, so get ready. Don't forget to drop a star on your way out! Also, why Jana's last name is so important will be explained later.

Luv, -K