The RunAway Model

V. The Mad, Bad and Evil

"Thank you. Tell Richard to get his own ride when you see him."

"How would you like your package to be delivered?" asked Ms. Kane who appeared beside him as he walked down the tunnel to the side exit.

"How do you usually do it?" he asked.

She clucked her tongue with a shake of her head. "You're obviously new to this sort of thing. You've never bought a thing in the past. But there's always a first time, right? Don't worry, we'll do it just as we did with the others."

Theo stopped walking and turned to Ms. Kane. "Don't let Richard near her."

Ms. Kane raised her brows in amusement. "Well, well, well...rivalry, Theo?" She nodded her head with a smile. "Don't worry about that as well. We take high pride with what we do, don't we? Your package will be safe. To be delivered to your residence?"

He nodded and walked away. He checked his watch. He had a lot of time to spare. It was his stupid brother's fault. Or should he say, it was all because of his unwanted impulsiveness.

*****

Khaye was conscious even before she opened her eyes. She knew she was on a moving vehicle but she didn't want to let whoever took her know that she was awake.

What were they planning to do to her?

Who took her?

Was it him?

What did he want to do to her?

Her phone was still in her pocket. She could feel it against her bottom. A big part of her wanted to grab it and call Gian for help, but her mind knew better. She had to find a better opportunity but she had to do it fast before they found out about it.

"They're already waiting for us," a woman's voice said beside her. It was her—the female officer who gave her the cup of coffee.

Khaye should have known better.

Because of her carelessness, her life was in danger. And Gian might be too late to save her this time.

*****

They gagged her mouth and placed her inside a long wooden box. For the first time in her life, she wished she was inside a real coffin and that she was dead.

She knew better than to put up a fight. Struggling would only drain her of her strength and she might just need it if she did not end up dead.

That man, Theo, just bought her for eighty million dollars. Was he that rich to throw away that big amount of cash just to kill her?

But it was Richard who wanted her dead. For some reason unknown to her, Richard was deeply affected by Jamaica's death.

She felt she was carefully lifted off the ground, carried along a path and carefully placed into a vehicle. She heard the soft hum of an engine and then she was floating to somewhere.

She tried to fight the choking feeling of being trapped inside a small space, trying to picture out the scene outside rather than the darkness that enveloped her. To distract herself, Desiree thought of Jamaica.

For the last two days, she tried to think of some reasons why her friend would wind up dead. She had been acting weird that night, disappearing for hours and meeting people she barely knew except Petroff.

Did Petroff kill her? But why?

And why did Richard and Theo knew Jamaica? How did they know Jamaica?

She wished her friend was there to answer her questions because she couldn't bring herself to think that Jamaica had been hiding a big, dark secret from her. She had witnessed what Ms. Kane, Theo and Richard was capable of. She had had a taste of the violence of their world and she was afraid that Jamaica was a part of it. If she were, how far deep was she into this grotesque world? Desiree could only wonder in horror.