Chapter 2. Tell Us, Where Is It?

The car was a dark color, and its headlights were not on. It hid in the dark night like an animal lurking. When Kate got to the middle of the alley, the car sped up suddenly, and she heard the sound of the engine.

She moved aside to avoid it. But the car passed her, turned 180 degrees, and blocked the road. The headlights were suddenly on, and she had to raise her hand to cover her eyes.

Kate frowned and opened her eyes a little. A dazzling white light came to her eyes. She took a few seconds to adapt to it and found it was a huge crystal chandelier hanging from a very high ceiling. The shining crystal beads of the chandelier reflected light to the walls of an extremely big room. Everything looked surreal.

And the next second, Kate realized that she was curled up and lying on her side on the floor. Her hands were tied behind her back, and her ankles were also bound with rope. She recalled the last scene she could remember and saw the light… She was taken aback. She had been… kidnapped!

“Awake?” A male voice asked from behind her.

She felt her body was still feeble, and it seemed that some smell was still lingering in her nose. She turned back laboredly and saw a couch with two young men sitting on it.

These men stood up simultaneously and walked towards her. She could see the outline of their muscles under their clothes. They reminded her of dangerous animals. She was scared and struggled to sit up.

The man with pale skin and curly hair bent down and lifted her chin with two of his fingers, spoke with a flighty tone, “Tell us. Where is it?”

Kate’s heart skipped a beat, but she showed nothing on her face and asked, “What is it?”

The man gave a snort of contempt. “Stop playing dumb with me. You know what it is.” And then he bit his lips and squeezed out the word “the disc.”

It felt awful being stared at so intently, and Kate shifted her eyes away. “I don’t have any disc.”

The man gave her an angry glare and said, “Ha. Keeping your mouth shut? You will not say it?” Before he finished his sentence, a white light flashed over Kate’s face, and magically, he had a dagger in his hand. The thin blade gave out an icy air under the light. And in the next second, the dagger point reached Kate’s cheek.

The man laughed insidiously. “You got a pretty face, chick, but it is a little dull. You want me to add some scars here to make it more interesting? Here? Or here?”

The dagger moved across the surface of her face, and if he wasn’t careful or experienced enough, her face would be ruined. Kate’s mind wasn’t focused on the dagger. She recalled a scene five days ago.

Caroline, Kate’s friend from home, whom she had not seen for a long time, came to see her and dragged her to a place out of the way and slipped her an envelope. Caroline instructed Kate with a mysterious expression that if she did not receive her call in a week, to mail the envelope. Whatever was inside the envelope felt hard and round.

Seeing this made no difference, the man with darker skin and a buzz cut frowned and yelled, “Stop wasting time.” And he roared to Kate in the suppressed voice, “You will end up like your friend if you don’t say it.”

At these words, Kate blurted out, “What happened to her?”

The man was going to open his mouth but instead coughed and put away his dagger. His voice changed into a gentle and coaxing tone: “Little sister, don’t be silly. You give me the disc, and I will let you go immediately, plus you’ll make a fortune.”

Magically, his hand, which had held a dagger just a few seconds ago, was now waving a big stack of money in her face. “See. This is all yours if you give us the disc.” And then he added, “My pal won’t be as nice. He might strip you.”

Seeing the fright in her eyes, this man with the curly hair was satisfied with the effect of his words and continued. “He hasn’t touched a woman for months. He has severe chemical imbalances and is as hungry as a bear.”

He was still smiling when he spoke, but his eyes suddenly turned ruthless as he saw no further reaction from Kate. He grabbed her sweater collar and pulled her towards him. Kate’s neck and collarbones were exposed, and he couldn’t help giving them a stroke. “Wow, nice skin. You feel good.”

Kate shivered and struggled violently and screamed, “Let me go! You bastards! I know nothing!”

Her fighting irritated him, and Curly-hair pressed her down against the floor, but she hit him in the ribs with her knee. Skinny as she was, she did some damage. Curly-hair called his pal for help without turning back, “Come to help me hold her down.”

The man with a buzz cut hesitated a little, then squatted and used one of his knees to press her tied legs against the floor.

Kate’s coat was unzipped, and her sweater was lifted up. Her pink-laced bra was exposed. The two masculine young men were surprised to find the skinny and malnourished girl had an hourglass figure under her clothes. Curly-hair made gestures to unbutton her pants as he gave the ultimatum: “If you don’t say it, don’t blame us for taking no mercy on you.”

“Help! Let me go!” Her face was like a fish on the cutting board. She was doomed and had nowhere to escape, but she still cried for help grievously and didn’t give in.

“What the hell is this?” Another deep male voice said suddenly.