Entangled

Chapter 22

Liatta's bones ached as she struggled to keep her eyes open.

She flipped through the papers in front of her doing her best to ignore her body's exhaustion.

The funny thing was, since for the last few days she had been alone in the office, she had already attempted to give into the impulse and try to sleep. But when she did, she was kept awake by her worries.

Char was still missing and Liatta still hadn't found any new information about Anita or Grimm. And even if she managed to sleep there was no rest for her there.

The only thing that waited for Liatta in her sleep was the executioner.

Her nightly escapades at least gave her a reason to be tired.

In a way she was almost glad that she had found something to do in the night, instead of lying at the sofa staring up at the ceiling hoping that being still would work as a substitute for sleep.

And that she could find someone that was going through the same thing as her.

These thoughts left Liatta feeling ashamed and afraid that, deep inside, she was wishing that someone was going through what she was, just so that she could feel less alone.

As she was thinking, her gaze caught on something strange in the document in front of her.

The contents of the document were nothing out of the ordinary, at least for Mr. Arach's files. Just an overview of the losses of life and property from a conflict from eight years ago.

Liatta wouldn't have paid it any mind, if it weren't for the fact that it mentioned a seventeen-year-old girl named Grimm.

A seventeen-year-old being involved in what appeared to be a paramilitary invasion was odd. But what had really caught Liatta's eye was the Grimm in this document wasn't on Mr. Arach's side.

The document didn't mention the last name of this Grimm, so she could have been a different person. But, fortunately, that was easy to check. Liatta pulled the file that the document was from to check the number chain. It was a match

Grimm was listed as an enemy combatant who had killed at least thirty people and the subordinate of a man named Vincent Meduça.

Meduça...

Somehow the name sounded familiar, but she couldn't place where she had heard it before.

Liatta sighed. She didn't know if she was just grasping at straws, but this felt important. Or at least she hoped it was important.

As Liatta was turning over the new information in her head, the office door opened.

The person on the other side though was not Mr. Arach as she expected, but the blond woman Liatta had accidentally found in a compromising position before.

In the time she had been there Liatta hadn't seen anyone else enter Mr. Arach's office. But, since she was allowed inside, she supposed it couldn't be a particularly private room.

Though a bit confused, Liatta gave the other woman a small smile which was not returned.

Instead the woman looked away in what appeared to be fear.

Liatta's brow furrowed. Her confusion was quickly morphing to a sense of apprehension.

Apprehension that broke away to panic when she felt a weight settle on her shoulders.

Liatta sat paralyzed as two hands gripped her from behind. The person the hands belong to leaned toward her until he was speaking directly into her ear.