Tanya's POV "I like you, not too early and not late," he said, looking at his watch. I knew what the time was. I had been racing here when I realised I would be a minute late if I didn't. "You told me to come at 11:30, not before and not after," I responded confidently. I had to establish a sort of equality with him, even though the both of us were anything but equal. I needed to be able to demand some things from him, like getting to see Rodrigo personally. Luckily, he had already agreed to that the last time we met. "Indeed," he said. "If you continue like this, our relationship will not be strained. Might be very enjoyable for you and me." "I hope so," I said. "But that's enough small talk. Let's get to business now." He raised an eyebrow at my brisk attitude, bringing out a cigarette. "Relax," he said in response. "How about you have a drink first of all? You are about to do something very tasking." I looked at him in surprise, not having any idea what he wanted me t
Tanya's POV It took an effort for him to hold the knife. I could see it clearly from where his hands shook to balance the knife behind him. I knew then that the chances of him succeeding were very small if things would continue like this. In other words, it was fortunate that I had talked with Dante before this, and he had come up with a counter for this situation. "Just a moment," I said. I was already almost done with bringing out the syringe. I knew that the time was getting a bit too long, so I decided to say something to him loud enough for them to hear. "I hope you understand why I'm doing this," I said. "I have no choice. Either I shoot you with this gun, or he kills you either way and then kills me after. I have no choice in this." He looked at me, his eyes filled up with confusion that almost broke my heart. The only consolation that I had for that was that it meant that my words were persuasive. If I had been able to fool him himself, then maybe I had fooled the
Rodrigo's POV I was utterly worn out from the treatment they had given me. Honestly, I would have thought that after going through the same routine over and over again, I would get used to it, but I never got used to the pain they inflicted. It was a shame that he got what he wanted, or at least a part of it. I made a point of not screaming, of not letting any sound of pain come out from me, or next when it was too much, and that seemed to annoy him. He also made me feel pain, which was a win for him. With the tiredness in my bones from two long weeks of torture, when I heard the sound of people going down the staircase, I wondered whether it was time for another round. I didn't prepare myself; I had done that a lot of times, and it hadn't helped at all. The only thing that I could do was to rest and relax my body even more. Maybe this time, it would be short. If not, I would go along with it and survive. He thought he could break me? Well, he had to think again. I was going to
Tanya's POV I felt hurt that he pushed me away, but I understood he only did that because he needed to. He couldn’t fight while being distracted by me. He wasn’t looking at me anymore; he shot the gun and immediately killed one of the opponents. If he continued like this, we might not even need to use any of the weapons I had on me. He tried to shoot again, and I knew with deadly accuracy, but it didn’t hit its mark. There was no sound from the gun at all, and I realised that it was only equipped with one bullet. “Get down,” he said, pushing me to the floor just as a barrage of bullets flew at us. “Honestly, is there no more bullet in this thing?” he asked me, looking frustrated. I shook my head, realising that was the case. The resigned look on his face told me he was about to give up. Without anything to fight with, it was just a matter of time before we were removed. I put my hand into my clothes and brought out a knife. “Here,” I said. He blinked in surprise, looking
Tanya's POV We were on the run, moving as fast as possible to escape them. I knew that once we were out of danger, it was the end for him. But if we couldn't make it out, then it was the end for us. Either of us would survive - either we did or they did. I heard a couple of gunshots fired at us as the people went after us with the speed of light. Naturally, they didn't want us to escape, following us into the passage that happened to be a tunnel. "Oh my god, we are sitting ducks," I thought despondently. With the nature of the tunnel and us crawling through it, it is evident that any bullet sent through would hit us automatically. The only thing that could stop it was the general curve of it as it descended downwards to somewhere that I hadn't any idea of. But surprisingly, the bullet didn't hit us. I turned to see Rodrigo holding the metal cover of the tunnel as a shield, using it to block anything from coming through to us. "Maybe it's not a disadvantage after all," I th
Rodrigo's POV The truth is, I was not as bad as I thought regarding health. They hadn't poisoned me after all. I was only weak due to not eating enough food and also because of the vigorous torture I had gone through. Anyway, without being subjected to such conditions anymore and with dear Tanya taking care of me with much love, I was almost back to total health in just two days. I heard a knock on my office door. She had tried her best to convince me to stay at home and rest, but after one day of that, I wanted to be back on my feet. Anyway, on that first day, about a thousand people came to visit me, asking about my condition and such. It was annoying, especially when I wanted to spend all the time alone with Tanya. As long as I was at home, I wanted to be with her and have nobody else with me. The visitors were cutting the time, so I decided it would be best to meet them at the office instead. Also, in the office, I could spend my time putting things in place and getting to
Tanya's POV I didn't think that there was any way I could help him. Just because I had proved that I was smart enough by helping us get out of the last sticky situation didn't mean that I was skilled enough. There were a lot of things I didn't know about, so when he said that he needed my help, I was shocked. "Of course, I'm willing to help," I said, "but what can I do?" "Listen," he said, taking several steps to cover the distance between us. "What you did then, two days ago, means a lot. When I thought about it, I figured out that I would have died if you didn't do what you did. "I should have said this sooner. The moment I found out that you went through so much torture just so that you could keep my secret information secret, I should have known that I could trust you with everything I have and you won't let me down." The words were heartwarming to the extent that I felt like kissing him. I was a bit too flabbergasted, however, so all I could do was manage a slight sou
Rodrigo's POV A couple of days had passed since we had decided that she would help me. Honestly, it was one of the best decisions I could have ever made because it took a lot of work out of my hands. She was efficient and fast and did her assigned work wholeheartedly. It wasn't easy to find such a diligent person. However, with her efficiency came my inefficiency. It was a terrible idea to put her in the same place I was because I found myself unable to focus for anything more than 10 minutes. She wasn't helping matters either, and sometimes, I got the feeling that she was intentionally trying to seduce me. Not that I didn’t want to take her at that exact moment, but I was saving it. Our first time together would be with me having my total energy like I had today. "I think I've completely recovered," I said out loud, entering her room. I saw her seated with her laptop, typing away at supersonic speed. "What are you doing?" I asked her with a frown on my face. I wouldn’t say