Prodigy Eternal (book 2)

Chapter Thirty-Three

Mara slowly walked over to the hostages and began untying them. The Fox kept an eye on her the entire time, but did nothing to stop her. She was curious as to why he would let her do that since the more people she could have on her side the better. While Mara was busy rescuing the kidnapped victims, Alex tried to get inside The Fox’s head in an attempt to diffuse the situation.

“It’s okay, Taranya, I’m going to get you out of here,” Alex said calmly, taking a step forward.

“I wouldn’t be so sure of that,” The Fox said. “You’re not as in control as you think you are.”

“You know how I know you weren’t going to shoot me when I walked through the door?” Alex asked.

“Let me guess, you can see the future?”

“Something like that. I had a vision of you becoming the Leader, and in my vision you were wearing those glasses — the kind that can easily tell the difference between a hologram and an actual object. The shots you fired were warning shots only; you knew I wouldn’t be harmed. See, I know your type,” Alex said, taking another step. “You’re a coward. You hide behind fake monikers, use tricks to get people to like you, and remain mysterious to instill fear. But that only exposes your weaknesses. You long for the approval of others because deep down you know what you truly are, and it shames you. You look at people who have something over you — power, popularity, intelligence — and you resent them because they are what you can never be.”

“Take another step, and I’ll blow her brains out.”

“No you won’t,” Alex said confidently. “I may not be as smart as I once was, but I’m still smart enough to know when a person is bluffing. Something’s not right about this situation. Look around — there are three people tied up and bound, and one in your arms — it doesn’t add up. If she was a hostage, where are the ropes that bound her and the blindfold that was over her head? They’re nowhere, because she was never a hostage, was she? Let me guess, Taranya’s your daughter?”

At that moment, The Fox removed the gun from Taranya’s head and released her.

“You’re clever, but it doesn’t really matter anyway,” Taranya said, lunging forward with a clenched fist.

Alex saw the punch coming, but her fatigue slowed her reaction time. The blow didn’t land with full impact, but it was still enough to stagger her backward. Before Alex could react, Taranya charged forward again. This time, she grabbed Alex by her hair and slammed a knee into Alex’s face. Alex’s head snapped back and then she fell to the floor. Though she wasn’t unconscious, she was in all kinds of trouble. Her dazed eyes scanned the room, trying to regain a grip on reality. Blood began to gush out of her nose and mouth.

Mara was about to rush in, but The Fox reminded her that he was still in control of the situation. He aimed his gun at Mara, and told her to remain where she was. Mara reluctantly yielded to his superficial authority and stopped in her tracks.

“You know, I never really liked you, Alex,” Taranya said, strutting around confidently. “If your father hadn’t wiped my dad’s memory and stolen his algorithm, I may have had a better life, and you can’t exactly compensate someone for that, can you? Your family took something from my family, and I’m here for retribution,” Taranya said. She stood over Alex and viciously stomped on her ribs before making her way over to Mara. Approaching Mara with a distasteful look on her face, she said, “And I don’t even know you, but if you’re related to her, I don’t like you either.” Taranya attempted to slap Mara, but Mara caught her wrist and twisted her arm around, causing Taranya excruciating pain. With Mara’s free arm, she punched Taranya in the face so hard that her pink pigtails flipped up as she fell to the floor.

“That was for my daughter,” Mara said proudly.

Almost as soon as the words left her mouth, a loud gunshot rang out. Mara was startled and wasn’t sure what had happened. Even after looking down and seeing the blood pouring out of her abdomen, Mara had yet to make the connection that she had been shot.

“And that was for my daughter,” The Fox said nonchalantly, lowering his weapon.

Mara was in shock. She clasped both hands over the wound to slow the bleeding, and dropped to her knees. Link, Yuri, and Dalia did not move an inch for fear The Fox might shoot them next. Through Mara’s heads-up display, her crew watched in horror from the other side of the door.

Taranya returned to her feet and followed her dad into another room. As soon as they were gone, Glitch broke through the door with one kick, allowing everyone to pour in. When they entered, both Mara and Alex were on the floor. Several people ran to Mara’s aid, offering whatever they could do to help while Milo rushed to Alex and scooped her head up in his arms. Alex’s face was badly damaged and covered in blood.

“Alex, are you okay?” he called out. Alex mumbled some incoherent gibberish in response.

When Dalia saw Glitch, her face lit up. “Glitch, oh my gosh, I can’t believe you’re here,” she said, running to her man. The couple quickly embraced as Glitch wrapped his muscular arms around her and picked her up.

“You’re safe now, Dalia. I’m sorry I let that man harm you. Are you okay?”

“I’m fine, but you’re kind of crushing me.”