Raina’s hands were white from gripping the steering wheel so tight The city lights blurred past “Less than two hours… two hours…” she muttered. “I have to find him. I can’t waste time” Her pulse hammered in her ears Every stoplight actually felt like an eternity Cars swerved around her, horns blaring She barely noticed A motorbike nearly clipped her bumper “Put yourself together, Raina” she whispered to herself Raina skidded into the tech shop parking lot, slammed the door and she quickly ran inside The clerk looked up with a bored eye that noticed Raina was panicking “You okay, ma’am?” Raina didn’t answer She darted to the counter instead, grabbed the first phone that she saw “Fastest one you have” she snapped. “No extras. No accessories. Just this” The clerk hesitated. “Do you need a case, for protection” It seemed like a good idea since she was always fond of throwing her phone on the wall “I don’t have time!” she hissed The clerk heaved a sigh like s

Raina’s hands were tight on the wheel but the car was parked The parking structure was empty, yet another time Leon sent her a coordinate and it was a desolate place What did he really have with empty places Nothing moved, no cars, no sound, not even a stray cat Raina was sat in her car, looking around for any sign of Leon The car radio was playing soft music that helped calmed her just a little bit Suddenly, the music paused as a newscaster sounded instead “Breaking news” a pause “An investigation of the explosion in Sir Chionadi Navero factory has showed that…” Raina immediately shut the radio off That moment she was no longer a cop, her badge was suspended, it was none of her business What concerned her the most now was getting back her son alive, from whoever has taken him She checked her phone, nothing new She checked the time, forty minutes gone alreadyShe had only an hour and twenty minutes to save her son, her pulse thumpedEvery seconds stretched

The silence lingered as Raina kept drivingThe earpiece hummed softly in her ear, just a low empty sound Not Leon’s voice not even his colleague’s voiceHer fingers tightened around the steering wheelHer chest felt tight, but she didn’t cryCrying wasted oxygen and that was not the right time Keep drivingLeon’s words echoed in her head again She focused on the black SUV ahead, it was not too close, not too farThe countryside stretched endlessly around herNo houses, no streetlightsJust a long road that seemed endless Her phone vibrated She didn’t look at it yetShe already knew what it would say and she was not ready to do the next phase with Leon***In a dark room miles away, the man watched a screenA map glowed softly in front of himTwo moving dotsOne black, one red“She is compliant” a man said behind himThe man with cigarettes nodded “She never was like this-we have her son that is why” he replied calmlyAnother screen showed a different feedA still image of a lad

Raina’s phone vibrated again, the colour in her face drained “Raina” she said quietly “What is on your phone?” Raina looked up from her phone then to Kendra Kendra didnt look frightened yet, she didn’t know what the text had just told Raina to do “Raina” Kendra said slowly “Put the gun down!” Her voice was like an order this time Raina laughed once, it was a broken and tired laughter “I can’t” Kendra frowned “You can”“I can’t” Raina repeated, teeth clenched “I have to obey every instruction”Kendra hesitated to speak, that made Kendra still Her gaze flicked aroundThe warehouse The men Then back to Raina, it only made sense to her now The way everything felt stagedThen it clicked“He is forcing you, isn’t he?” Kendra askedRaina’s lips trembled, she didn’t answer but that was answer enough She looked scared, she was infact scared She didn’t want to do it This was not the first she was holding up a gun She was a trained detective but this time felt different Anot

Raina opened her eyes, tears streamed down her face “Two” the Don’s voice sounded while he was still pressing the gun to the little boy head Victor cried harder “Mummy” “One-“Suddenly, the lights went outTotal darkness, Victor’s screams eruptedGunshots exploded and it drowned the little boy’s voice Raina couldn’t see anything in the darkness but she knew what had just happened to her son “Victor!” she shouted “Victor!” No response from the little boy Immediately, Raina’s world shatteredHer ears rang, her lungs burnedShe couldn’t see, she could barely breatheShe could only feel, pains, fear and loss“Victor!” she screamed again, her voice cracked Nothing, just silence Ordinarily her boy would respond if he was alive The lights came back and it was blinding and sharp Raina gasped, covering her eyesHer legs moved on their own, she moved around the open space “Victor! Where are you?”She was horrified to see one of the Don’s men lay on the floorClean shot to the ches