Mind Control

Reappearances

"You look fine! Get your ass out of here!" I hear Ary yell from inside the washroom.

"Okay, okay," Drew mutters as he makes his way to the living room. 

I'm breathtaken as I see him. His dark, chocolate brown hair complements his tanned complexion fantasically. He shifts about, staring at me, waiting for my reaction. 

"Wow," I breathe. 

"Well?"

"You look.. incredible. That colour definitely suits you,"

"Yours suits you too," he chuckles, looking relieved. 

Ary walks back to us and smirks. "You guys look fantastic. I did a pretty good job,"

"More like we were born with pretty faces," I retort. 

"Yeah, yeah," she waves me off. Suddenly, there is a muffled vibration coming from the washroom. She rushes back and comes back out, talking on her phone. "Hey Declan,"

She raises her eyebrows, then puts the phone on speaker. "They're in your building. I don't know how, but they figured out you are there. We've seen about ten of their men here,"

"Okay. Do we hide or run?" Drew asks. 

"Hide. But not in your room. Go to the staff room, on the ground floor. Try to get a uniform if you can,"

"Okay," I nod at Drew, and we get up. 

"All the best," 

We run through the halls with a gun in our hands. Ary is leading the way, peering around every corner before sprinting down the hallway. She eventually slows down, hiding behind the pillar and signalling for us to stay where we are. 

"They weren't in the kitchen or staff room. They're probably hiding in one of the bedrooms," 

I hear footsteps coming in our direction, and Ary yells, "Guys, run!" 

I step out of the corner to see Ary holding her arms in the air. She extends her arm, so it's parallel to the ground, and drops the gun. Two men in dressed in black gear are looking at me impassively. 

"Drop your gun and get on your knees," the man on the left orders with a thick European accent. "Or I will shoot her,"

Slowly, I drop to the ground and place the gun in front of me. Placing my hands behind my back, I motion for Drew to run. 

"Take me. Don't hurt her," I say with authority. 

"No guarantees, love," says a familiar voice behind me. A chill runs down my spine as I realize who it is. "After all, you're really in no position to negotiate," He walks around me, trailing his index finger along my jaw. He harshly grabs by chin and forces me to look into a pair of startling hazel eyes.  

"Take her back with us," he tells the men, nodding in Ary's direction. "I'll take care of this one. Keep searching the building for the boy. I want every piece of furniture upturned, every square inch to be looked at under a microscope. Find him,"

He looks over at me with retrained fury in his eyes. "Get up,"

"Please, don't hur-" I am cut off by him yanking me up to my feet by my arm. I squirm, trying to get out of his iron grip. He merely glances at me once before dragging me down the hall and into the elevator. "Let go of my arm,"

He doesn't respond, just dragging me out of the elevator, past the staring people in the lobby, and into the car. 

"Your door has a child lock on it. If you try to escape again, I will beat you so bloody blue you won't remember your name," he spits.

"You wouldn't dare," I retort.

He grabs the back of my neck and pulls my face inches from his. "Let's make this clear right now. I need you to be alive, but I'm under no obligation to make sure you are healthy. I will hurt you if you try something. I've killed without a second glance Lydia. Administering a beating is hardly taxing on my soul," 

"Aye, aye captain," I mutter as he removes his hand from my neck.