******************
ANNIE'S POV
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Due to some emergency at the headquarters, I had to leave the bastard for a few hours in the hands of Matt. But still, no progress was made.
He was solid, refusing to barge even a little. But I'd find his weakness regardless of Luke's advice.

**********

I flipped through the pages of the document I had been presented with. It was all the information they had gathered from the girl who was now awake, from her blood type to the very detail of her womb's history(which was unnecessary).
Her name was Sara. At least we had a name, though I still had doubts whether it was her real name.

WSG must have sent her along with Zack to distract or kill me. After all, I was their biggest enemy that needed to be taken care of lest they lose more territories.

To try and get more information about her or Zack, I had to meet her in person.
They had said she only wanted to speak to Zack who she was referring to as Jack.
Whichever mind game WSG was trying to play on me, I would definitely be the best player soon.

I walked into the blue-walled room. Its only light source was the fluorescent tube lights fixed in the ceiling, pouring enough light down on every inch and corner of the mostly empty room.
There was only a white table and two green plastic chairs opposite each other, and an unbothered Sara seated there.

Her face was angled towards the glass wall, her silky red hair pulled up in a high ponytail. I stopped just after walking in a few steps. She reminded me of Daisy, my long-gone best friend. But when she turned her head to face me, the longing vanished immediately.
Those hostile blue eyes held no trace of warmth whatsoever.

"Let me guess, you must be the person in charge of this bulshit?!"

Her insulting statement made the bitchy side of me kick in, destroying any sympathy I might have had towards her.
I continued moving towards her till I sat opposite her, pulling on my serious face.

They had at least cuffed her wrists to the table in case of any violent reaction from the possible enemy.
"Where's Jack?" She asked demandingly, as if I was supposed to throw myself at her feet and praise her for being there. She possessed a kind of arrogance that only kids from influential houses could afford.

Was she the daughter of one of the WSG heads?

"What do you want in California?" I asked in return, showing her that her proud aura wouldn't intimidate me.

She just huffed dismissively, adding an eye-roll before landing them back on me.
"I'll have you arrested for kidnapping me. Your ass is so dead."

I frowned. WSG minions or leaders wouldn't talk about the police. She was supposed to be hurling death threats at me that involved assassins and the underworld.
"Huh?"

"Are you deaf? They will realize that I'm missing. They will come looking for me. Don't say I didn't warn you when you'll be thrown behind bars to rot there!" She hissed boldly.

I couldn't help but chuckle. Hearing someone threaten me with jail was so refreshing.
"Please, let them come. I can help you call the cops."

Did she not know that if I released an order to execute all inmates, the president would obey in a heartbeat? If I wanted her dead and gone, not even the WSG could help her.
She was alive due to my mercy.

"I swear if you hurt my boyfriend I'll...I'll..."

I leaned forward, curious and intrigued about what she'd say next.
"You'll what? Sue me?"

She clenched her hands into stony fists and punched the table to scare me.
Such a naive soul. Or was she pretending to be delicate and innocent to trick me?
WSG was capable of creating all sorts of personalities in a person. I had learned it firsthand after they altered my memory like my brain was some toy to be turned on and off.

"I'll make you pay dearly," Sara spat angrily.

I was left disappointed if I was being honest. My expectations for her had been off the roof, waiting for a big threat that could reveal her identity or her mission.
Left with no other choice, I decided to put the two of them in the same room.

"Well then..." I pushed my butt off of the chair, "Let's go get your boyfriend."

Sara's head jerked up sharply, thin tears spreading in her blue eyes which so reminded me of...my Jack.
I had to look away out of fear of having a breakdown right then in front of the enemy.
"Is he okay? Has he taken his pills?" Her voice sounded like Phane had breathed fresh life into it. Hopeful. Truthful.

I would have been convinced that Zack was her boyfriend had I been a clueless outsider.

One last silent glance at her, and I left the room.

Matt was waiting for me outside in the empty hallway. His expression was flat as usual. "Gina asked me to give you this," he said, handing me a cup of what smelled like lemon tea. "She said it'll help in case of nausea," Matt added as I received the cup.

Since it was from Gina and had gone through Matt, they had probably tested its safety as they did with all my foods and drinks.
I was not allowed to eat or drink just anything from anywhere. Safety procedures had been put in place for my protection since Jack vanished.
If anything were to happen to me, then all the months and tears of planning and executing the world domination would be for nothing.

****************

Sipping on the warm cup of tea, I watched the monitor closely from the second Zack walked into the interrogation room where Sara was.
Her expression changed entirely. She beamed with merry and so much damned love in her eyes.

"Jack!" She cried shooting off her chair to stand. But the cuffs fixed on the table restricted her sudden movements.

Zack proceeded to approach her, yet his eyes were busy scanning the room for any cameras. No matter how much he stared at every inch of the wall, he would not spot the tiny camera placed all over the room.
While WSG was advanced in clinical technology, what Jack left me was far more valuable.

We had only cuffed his wrists and shackled his legs, nothing too exaggerated, hence he had the freedom to walk around the room.
"Have they hurt you?" Sara squealed emotionally.
What a romantic reunion they were having.
Straight out of a thriller novel where two lovers had been captured by the enemy.

"Why are you here?" He questioned instead of mirroring her warm emotions.

She shook her head, gazing up at Zack lovingly. "I don't know. But it's good that you're okay." She added a smile that radiated her beauty before raising her hands as far as they could go to grasp Zack's arm as he stood next to her chair.
"I was so worried about you. How can we escape from here?"

Though it was only a whisper, I heard it clearly from the many listening bugs planted all over the room.

"Hush!" He breathed and then ruffled her hair affectionately. Sara seemed to relax from his touch, sinking into her chair to let Zack perch his butt on the table. "You'll be fine."

"But that woman!"

"She's just an old friend who bears small grudges against me. Nothing deep." The level of assurance in his voice made me feel as if he was comforting a child instead of a grown-up woman. It scratched a sensitive side of me. One that had loved Jack's cute assurances whenever I was afraid or down.

This wasn't the same Zack I had encountered months ago.
He hadn't shown a speck of tenderness at all, and here he was, acting all protective and dependable to this stranger.

Wait, why was I feeling betrayed?

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