C10

When they finally emerged onto the sidewalk, Maya was relieved to find her phone lying face-up on the concrete in front of the grocery store, prompting her to bend down to pick it up before placing it back into her bag. After fumbling with her backpack for several seconds, she managed to pull out a fresh set of clothes consisting of a t-shirt, underwear, socks, jeans, shoes, and a sweater... All of which she was forced to change into while still standing on the ground since there were too many people milling around to allow her privacy.

The two men waited impatiently for nearly half an hour while watching over Maya with their guns concealed inside of their jackets, hoping to see her emerge from the grocery store but didn't expect to hear footsteps approaching them at such a brisk pace. As she hurried down the sidewalk, they turned their heads simultaneously in surprise as the tall figure in the black suit stepped out in front of her while raising his left hand in front of him as he reached his arm out in front of her chest; signaling for her to stop in the middle of the sidewalk as he spoke in an authoritative tone. "Please turn around slowly and keep your hands visible," he instructed calmly. "Do not reach for anything or attempt to run... Otherwise I will have to use force."

Maya swallowed hard at the man's threatening words, trembling violently as she obeyed his commands. She continued walking backward as the man advanced closer to her while keeping his voice low and speaking softly with the intention of not scaring the young girl. "Turn around slowly," he repeated. "Slowly and carefully."

While remaining completely motionless, Maya twisted and turned in place before facing the man directly with both of her hands hanging limply at her sides. Her hair fell loosely around her shoulders as she gazed into his dark eyes with an expression of utter fear and confusion etched across her youthful features. "How long has your girlfriend been working here?" the man asked, glancing at his watch as he continued staring at Maya without blinking.

She shook her head slightly before taking a breath and responding hesitantly: "I'm sorry sir... She hasn't worked here for very long at all... Just a few days ago actually... So how is that relevant?"

He sighed inwardly as he raised his left arm up again, this time pointing the gun straight at Maya's forehead. "Answer my question... How long has she been employed by this company?"

Her mouth opened slightly as she hesitated before answering hesitantly. "Three weeks..." she whispered.

"Did she tell you that she had applied for employment here?" the man inquired in disbelief. "Because that's illegal..."

"I just assumed that she must have told you because... Well..."

He nodded his head in understanding. "And why do you think that I wouldn't already know everything about what goes on at the office where my employees work every day? I am the owner and founder of this corporation and I personally review all of the paperwork submitted to HR on a regular basis." He lowered the gun slightly while continuing to stare at Maya as the color drained from her face. "Are you under the impression that you're safe because you haven't seen the gun yet? You're wrong."

The man removed the magazine from the handgun and tossed it aside; then pulled out another clip of bullets and reloaded the weapon; making sure to check each bullet as he slid it into place; before pulling the slide back to eject the spent cartridges and load new ones into the chamber. His fingers trembled nervously as he held the pistol tightly in his hand, aiming it directly at Maya's forehead before bringing the muzzle towards his own chin; testing the weight of the firearm against his skin for a brief moment before cocking his finger and squeezing off the first round into the air.

A loud bang echoed through the crowded street, startling everyone nearby who gasped loudly in shock; causing Maya's body to jolt involuntarily and almost knock her over in fear, stumbling backwards against the wall of the building behind her. The sound was so deafening that it sounded like an explosion had occurred somewhere in close proximity to them; sending a wave of people running in fear in all directions as they fled in panic. A small crowd of onlookers gathered together in the center of the intersection, gaping silently at the scene unfolding in front of them with their mouths agape as they stared wide-eyed at the man with his gun pointed at Maya's skull. Some of them tried to approach him, yelling angrily at the top of their lungs but he ignored the ruckus entirely as he kept firing shot after shot into the air until there was nothing left inside the empty cartridge magazines except for spent shell casings lying scattered on the pavement below.

He lowered the barrel of the gun away from Maya's head after emptying the entire clips, replacing it back into its holster and holstering his weapon. After stepping out of his hiding spot and allowing Maya some space, he began walking away from her toward his waiting friend. When he noticed that the female stranger was following closely behind him, he waved at her excitedly. "We are done here... Thank you... Your boyfriend should be arriving any minute now."

Maya watched numbly as the man walked past her without offering a word of apology or sympathy, leaving her alone in the middle of the street while staring blankly ahead while clutching her backpack to her chest. Her heart felt like it had stopped beating after hearing those gunshots while she remained frozen stiff in fear and terror... And she never expected that this would happen so suddenly or unexpectedly... Not after being so careful and avoiding trouble like this for years...

After waiting for several agonizing minutes while standing alone in the middle of the street, she realized that her captors had completely disappeared from view. "Oh god..." she moaned in relief before turning her gaze upward toward the sky in an attempt to calm herself down. The tears flowed freely down her cheeks as she cried uncontrollably for a full five minutes before forcing herself to get up on shaky legs and walk home; ignoring the stares of strangers who stared at her in bewilderment and pity while passing by with their heads tilted sideways; unable to comprehend how a person could behave so irrationally and act so foolishly. After all these years of living in complete isolation without ever having contact with anyone outside of her own family or friends... Never once did she consider that something terrible like this might happen to her one day... Even though she knew it was a possibility and accepted that it was a risk that she couldn't avoid if she wanted to live a normal life and maintain a healthy level of anonymity.

"God I'm sorry mommy..." Maya whimpered as her feet carried her steadily down the sidewalk while staring down at her sneakers with shame written across her tear-stained face. She didn't even remember walking up the driveway until reaching the front door; opening the heavy wooden lock and unlocking the deadbolt before entering her house and sitting down heavily on the couch. Tears poured down her face as she sobbed quietly, shaking uncontrollably for several more hours until finally falling asleep curled up on the sofa. She woke up the next morning feeling exhausted and sore from sleeping in the same position for most of the night while trying to ignore the ringing telephone that sat on the coffee table in front of her; picking up the receiver and listening intently while wiping the tears from her face.

"Hello?"

"Daniel?"

His deep, soothing voice brought her out of her daze immediately as he answered the phone. "Yeah? What's up?"

"Is everything okay?" she blurted before hesitating briefly, biting her lip. "You mean... With me?"

There was silence on the other end before he spoke gently: "What do you want?"

"I need your help... Please don't hang up..."

She sniffled softly while choking back her emotions to respond clearly over the line. "I've been kidnapped... I was taken right after coming back home yesterday afternoon."