CW: Violence & Kidnapping

 

Consciousness returned in fragments, accompanied by a throbbing pain in my head. My surroundings were disorienting – dimly lit and echoing with distant noises. Gradually, the memories of the previous events rushed back. I had been captured, cornered by two masked men desperate to seize the classified documents.

 

They seemed to have left me unattended, perhaps confident that I was securely tied to the chair. Gritting my teeth against the pain, minutes felt like hours as I finally managed to untie the final knot. Wasting no time, I got to my feet, swaying slightly as I adjusted to the sudden rush of blood. I leaned against the wall for support, just as the sound of footsteps approached from outside the door. Instinctively, I retreated into the shadows, my heart racing as the door swung open.

 

“What do you mean she gave the documents away? We watched her the whole time.”

“What if she left them in one of the alleyways and we just didn’t notice?”

“How are we gonna report back to Cannon? He’s gonna be mad.”

 

Cannon? This can’t be the same Cannon that I know. My boyfriend and my best partner. I know it can’t be him.

 

As they argued, I seized the opportunity. My years of training had taught me to exploit even the slightest moments of distraction. I launched myself at the first man, delivering a swift front kick to his groin. He grunted and stumbled backward, crashing into a stack of crates. Before the second man could react, I lunged at him, knocking him off balance. I guess the element of surprise was on my side.

 

My heart raced as I stood amidst the wreckage, breathing heavily. The files.

I rifled through the debris, eventually locating the hidden compartment where I hid them. I slipped them inside my leather jacket and rushed out the door. The warehouse had a back exit, and I creeped through it, emerging into a narrow alleyway.

 

The city around me was shrouded in darkness, save for the occasional flickering streetlight. It had been almost a day since I started the mission. I need to report back to headquarters.

But before I could make any further plans, the sound of footsteps echoed behind me. I whirled around, my hand instinctively reaching for my blade.

 

“Whitley?”

 

A figure emerged from the shadows, and my heart skipped a beat as I recognised him – Cannon. He was bruised and dishevelled, but his emerald eyes didn’t change. They were the same innocent eyes I have known from before. Without a word, he motioned for me to follow him. 

 

Eventually, we reached the rooftop of a nearby building. The city skyline stretched out before us, a myriad of twinkling lights against the night sky. Cannon turned to me, his voice low but determined.

 

“They won’t expect us to be up here. I called the headquarters and the helicopter will be here within half an hour.”

 

“Cannon, what happened? All these bruises… Did you get kidnapped too?”

 

“Yes. They knew you would call me as soon as you got the files so they used my phone to trace down your IP.”

 

“I’m so sorry Cannon. Everything seemed to work so well at first and I thought I got rid of those men following me.”

 

“It’s fine. You got the files and that’s all we are after.”

 

My head nestled in the crook of his shoulder, as tears started rolling down my cheeks. I felt his arms intensely wrapped around me, the scent of his cologne mingled with the warm breeze.

 

Wait. But how did he know that? How did he know I have the files? I didn’t mention anything about it. I was sent on this mission alone. He wasn’t supposed to know. He’s not even meant to know I have a mission.

 

My thoughts were interrupted by a loud engine noise. The rotating blades sliced through the air as the helicopter landed. Two masked men walked out. The same two masked men from before. 

 

No. There was no way. Cannon. NO.

 

“I’m sorry Whitley. You did get rid of the men following you. These men were too dumb to even keep you in sight. It was all me.”

This must be a dream. There was no way Cannon would do this to me. It can’t…

 

Then they started walking towards me, with ropes on their hands. I had to make a run for it.

 

But there was no other way out. This was the rooftop. Cannon had planned it all out. It was all over. Unless..

 

I jumped off the rooftop.

 

Written by Kelly Ma and edited by Aaron Huang. Published on 20/8/23. Header image by Jessie Zhang.