Chapter Six

Living in Fear

Rodriguez sat in his office, tapping his fingers on the closed MacBook in front of him. He flexed his fingers, the urge to strangle something or someone was overwhelming. Huffing in annoyance he squeezed his eyes shut to try and get his dark urges under control. He had worked tirelessly for the information that he had gotten. Putting his life on the line, betraying alliances; this one he was sure would come back to bite his ass, but having the complete operation had been a sure way to calm them. Knowing that some things had been done for the greater good of all was the only thing that had been needed to restore peace, but he didn’t have that anymore. Things were about to fall apart for him, and he’d be damned if he let that happen.

Swiveling in his chair, he faced the floor to ceiling windows. That had been the best addition to his office. Something about being able to watch the world around you without being watched gave him a surge of power. He enjoyed that sort of thing, having control over any and every situation. It was nature for him. So feeling his control slip by him as the seconds went by, the longer he didn’t have the drive in his possession was pushing him up a wall.

Worry wrinkles creased his handsome features as he stared out the window unable to enjoy his favorite part of every day. The sun was going to set soon and it hid behind the wispy clouds, the pink and yellow rays creating a beautiful mixture in the sky. Just as he was starting to calm down, a knock came through the heavy oak wood. He sighed frustratingly, all he wanted right now was perfect silence and no interruptions, but maybe that was too much for him to ask for. Rubbing his forehead exasperatingly, he called out a ‘Come in.’ Hoping whoever it was that had created the disturbance was worth his while or else someone would be fulfilling his urge to strangle sooner than he had hoped.

“Boss.” Jared said in greeting bowing his head slightly. Rodriguez wasn’t having it though.

“Say whatever the fuck you’ve got to say and get the fuck out.” Rodriguez replied, his calm voice laced with venom.

“We’ve got the location of the Drive.” Jared delivered. Swiveling back around with enough force to have the chair squeak, Rodriguez moves with quick strides across the room taking a hold of Jared neck and applying a right amount of pressure.

“Then why are you still here Jared?” He sneered, increasing the pressure that he had on the younger mans neck. Enjoying the tears that had begun to form in Jared’s eyes as he struggled for air. Releasing his throat once he felt he had done enough. The hard look that he shot his second in command was enough to get him moving with speed. Rodriguez could feel the anticipation run through his veins at the thought of torturing whoever it was that had cause this ruckus in the first place.

Silver was shaken to the core. For as soon as the caller had said those two words, the call was ended. Who was it? Could it be the man that had been stalking her at the mall? What did he want from her? How did he know her name? How did he even get her number? These were the questions that ran the entire corners of her mind. Consuming her every thought. Every attempt to call him back and demand who he was and what he wanted proved futile. She could no longer reach him. She’d been blocked. That conflicted her even more. She didn’t know what she was supposed to do.

“Maybe we should go to the police?” Elina suggested, playing with her fingers nervously, worry coating her face.

“And say what? I have a creepy stalker and an unknown number keeps calling me? Both of those things don’t add up.” Silver replied, frustration starting to overwhelm her little by little.

“I’m sorry you’re going through these though. You can stay at my place if it’ll make you feel safer for a bit.” The sympathetic look that Elina was throwing Silver’s way was enough to push her over edge. She slumped on the bed and just let the tears run through her face. She felt terrible and a feeling in her gut told her that this was just the start of something horrible. The man from earlier, he had this look on his face that was plastered in her mind, replaying over and over again. Elina scouted her way to her best friend, engulfing her in a hug, doing her best to soothe her crying.

“It’s getting late, let’s go over to yours to pick a few things and I can drop you off at work.” She suggested.

Silver didn’t feel like working today, all she really wanted to do was lay down underneath the covers and sleep, but she knew that life didn’t work that way for people like her. Maybe one day she’d marry a rich billionaire and then she wouldn’t have to lift a finger to work, she smiled at her train of thoughts, shaking her head slightly to clear them off, knowing that it was an impossibility.

“Let’s go.” She said instead to Elina. Pushing her body off the bed and heading towards the door.

Walking into her home, Silver felt the familiar chill that she had been feeling for most part of the day, run down her spine. A soft gasp leaving her lips as she tried to figure out if something was wrong. Scanning her room quickly she couldn’t find a single thing amiss. The bed was exactly had she had left it. Even the sweatshirt that she had contemplated on wearing was in the position that she had left it; strewn across the bed, hanging of the frame. Shaking her head to clear the paranoia that she was feeling, she moved towards her closet, pulling an overnight bag and stuffing it with as much as could fit. The choking sensation not leaving her even for just a moment, she felt better knowing her best friend was just outside waiting for her.

Pulling the drawers open, she picked out a few things, taking her wife toothed comb knowing how difficult it was to get her hair done without it. Just as she was closing the drawer, something on the table caught her attention. Her eyes went as wide as saucers and a scream bubbled in her throat.

The Flash Drive was gone.