The Strategist

Two men held Aaron as they pushed him on the floor, and he fell to Lincoln's feet.

"You are Aaron? You?" Lincoln burst out in laughter. The picture Jacob had sent to him was one in which he looked a little mature; he never thought Aaron was just a teenage boy.

"Aaron" Lara hurried to him, and he scanned her body and sighed in relief, seeing that she was unharmed.

"Where is Tyler?" he asked, and she pointed up. He clenched his fist when he saw his friend hanging up there, unconscious.

"How could you do this to him?" He stood up angrily, and Lincoln kicked him in the stomach. Aaron clasped his stomach before he chuckled.

"I know how it functions; you will kill us anyway." After all, that's what Jacob had planned to do after they completed the mission.

"I will spare you if you kindly hand over the watch."

Aaron opened his arms and turned around. "Inspect me; do you see a watch?"

Lincoln's brow furrowed when he noticed that the kid didn't bring the watch, and his anger flared up. "Where is the watch?"

"If I don't give you the watch, I will die. I give you the watch, and I die. So, here I am," he smiled, and Lincoln clenched his fist before he grabbed Lara by the hair.

"How about we start with her?" Lara's eyes widened in shock; she was so scared, but Aaron didn't flinch.

"I don't care about them; I only came for my money," he stated, and Lara's eyes widened in shock. She stared at him, trying to figure out if he meant his words or not.

Lincoln pushed Lara to the ground before he took a step closer to Aaron, but he stayed unmoved. "Rumors say you are the leader, the strategist..."

"How old are you?" 

"Old enough to beat you up," Aaron hissed, and Lincoln found his words funny.

"I will ask once again, where is the watch?"

Aaron didn't answer; he had no intention of giving up on the watch.

Lincoln signaled his men, and they grabbed Aaron. He walked to the end of the room and opened the freezer, which was filled with soft drinks. "Place him inside," he ordered.

"What?" Lara stood up with a scared look. He wouldn't survive if they kept him there. Tyler was already unconscious, and now they wanted to torture Aaron in such a cruel way, which made her wonder what her fate would be.

"When he is ready to talk about the watch, then bring him out," he ordered, and he turned to leave when Aaron yelled.

"If any of us don't make it, then forget about the watch. We both know how important the watch is to you. I mean, you have a worldwide organization searching for it," he said with a warning tone. Lincoln gritted his teeth before he left.

Aaron was placed in the freezer, and they closed it. "Nooo!" Lara screamed at the top of her voice.

"He is going to die," she kept screaming, but no one paid attention to her.

Those two men just stood there by the freezer. She picked up the iron rod beside and hurried to them. She hit the first man with it before aiming for the second one.

"He will die," she kept screaming. They tried holding her, but to no avail, as she was hitting them with the rod like a crazy person.

When she got them a little farther from the freezer, she pulled it open, and Aaron was shivering in the cold.

"Are you okay?" Lara dropped the rod and hurried to Aaron.

"Hey," one man grabbed her and slapped her hard across her cheek. Aaron jumped out of the freezer, picked up the rod, and hit the man on the back. He fell to his knees.

"You don't hit a woman," he warned. Lincoln hurried in with another man.

"Take the lady," he ordered, and Aaron shielded Lara.

"She is not a part of us; you should let her go," he said, and Lara was surprised. Even Tyler had said the same thing, but she hadn't thought twice before telling these men how to contact Aaron.

"Do you now give the orders?" Lincoln took out his gun and pointed it at Aaron. "Drop the rod before I send it straight into your throat."

Aaron had no choice but to drop the rod. Some men grabbed Aaron and Lara.

Aaron was placed back inside the freezer, and Lara tried freeing herself, but it was impossible. "He will die in there; if he dies, then how will you find your watch?" She questioned him, and Lincoln massaged his temple.

"Why will you kids ever choose this lifestyle? Don't you have a degree to acquire from school?" he asked angrily before he ordered a man to open the freezer.

Aaron couldn't breathe well; he was so cold and felt his body parts become numb.

"Don't you have any dreams, Aaron?" Lincoln asked mockingly. Didn't kids nowadays have dreams to become doctors, engineers, pilots, and so on?

"I have a dream," he managed to say between gritted teeth.

"What's your dream? I will help fulfill it; send you kids to school and all."

"My dream... it's becoming the top gangster in the world," he said, and Lincoln frowned. He had never seen a teenager have such a dream.

"Put him back in."

He was sent back to the freezer, and Lara kept crying. It had already been more than two minutes, but they didn't open it. "Please, I will convince him to give the watch; let him out," Lara pleaded. Aaron kept hitting the door to the freezer because he was finding it hard to breathe.

"He doesn't listen to anyone," Lincoln said. The kid was so stubborn.

"He will listen to me, please."

Lincoln nodded because he also didn't want Aaron to die; if the kid died, then the purpose of their organization would be gone. The watch was their main purpose.

They took him out of the freezer and handed him a blanket. "You have five minutes to make him reason things out, or else I will personally kill him."

"Can I talk to him alone?" Lara stared at the muscular men who surrounded them, and Lincoln nodded as they all walked out and locked the door.

"Aaron," she tried to hold him when he pointed at Tyler.

"Bring him down." 

She found a glass by the corner and broke it, then hurried to the rope and cut it, but she didn't let the rope go. She gripped it and brought it down slowly until Tyler was on the ground.

"Tyler," she tried waking him up, but he didn't move.

Aaron stood up with a lot of difficulty and walked to the freezer. He took a soft drink and poured it on Tyler. The drink was so cold that Tyler jolted up.

He opened his eyes and looked around. His body hurt so much that he couldn't think about anything else but the pain.

"Get up; we are leaving," Aaron said before he picked up the iron rod and used it to block the door.

"What are you doing?" Lara asked worriedly; there was no escape.

"I arrived at the building an hour ago," he mentioned; he wasn't called the strategist for no reason.

His brain was adapted to always think before reacting; he couldn't just get into the building unprepared.

He had bought aluminum cylinders from a nearby laboratory that were filled with nitrous oxide, and he had hidden them around the building. That's not all. He had more gases and formulas to test.