The Traps of Black Swan

Tia was working at the flower shop when she got an order to deliver flowers at a nearby place. After checking all the delivery boys were busy, she wrapped the bouquets, locked the flower shop, and went towards the restaurant.

She strolled to the destination, thinking where to have her lunch or in that restaurant itself. Tia didn't bother to look elsewhere after dropping the flowers.

She was having lunch at the same place when she sensed some eyes on her. Danger signs were alerting her nerves, but she stayed calm. Her reactions would give her away. Attacking without knowing how many were there or running away wasn't a solution.

She thought about how to tackle them or escape while she had her lunch. She also sent her location to her team to track her quickly and reach her if in case anything goes wrong. If in case she kills any of them, they might have to clean up the scene too.

She paid the bill and carefully left from there. She didn't try to enter any secluded areas, whereas she had no choice to turn around to check who they were. She preferred not to go towards the flower shop if in case Aarvi reaches there. 

However, she didn't know they were Leon's men who never cared about the public. Numerous times, they had abducted people from crowded areas, so they were finding the right time. 

Tia was at the junction to cross the road when one by one was standing around her. It was hard to decide whether they were public or the men to attack her. She was certain that one among them wasn't just a normal civilian.

The signal turned green for the pedestrian walk. She turned to ground the man who was following her, but a sack quickly covered from top. They instantly restrained her hands from any movements. She was trying to kick; her legs left the ground. She wanted to scream, but the smell of the sack was repulsive, that she wanted to throw up. Before she could realize it, she was unconscious.

The crowd saw a few people holding the camera and laughing as they sat in the car. They thought they might be pranking or shooting something, so they just focused on their work without a hint of bother.

----

When Tia got her consciousness, she felt her head heavy. Her hands and legs were tightly tied down to a wooden chair in a cold room. She doubted if they purposefully lowered the room temperature for her or could be in cold storage or underground without insulation.

Her nauseous was back again once her brain recollected her last memory. She wanted to throw up. In the hopes of controlling it, she inhaled deeply. Instantly her nostrils flared by a pungent smell, and her sickness intensified.

She could recognize that mixture of smell. The dried and rotten smell of blood, drugs, and gun powder was in the air. She was familiar with all three, but she wasn't used to it. 

She couldn't control herself anymore. Her eyelids flung open. She didn't have time to think or focus her eyes on anyone or anywhere. She lowered another side to get rid of the stomach-lurching feeling. She threw up everything she ate for lunch. The sour air instantly escalated to another level where it would be hard for a normal person to stay.

Tia regretted eating at the expensive restaurant, only if she knew she would throw up everything.

Leon felt disgusted looking at Tia throwing up. Being self-conscious about his body and looks, he almost thought she threw up after looking at him. He glared at his man, who took his cue immediately.

The man took the vessel from the bucket of chilling cold water. He struck the water on Tia's face without an ounce of mercy. They never cared about gender if they have to torture anybody. They might go easy on women if they plan on ravishing them. But now, all they concentrated on was fearing the woman to get the truth of her mouth. They were already surprised that she wasn't screaming and yelling for help.

A jab of pain burst in her face, and the cold shivers run down her spine, waking her completely awake. Her body quivered due to the cold water that soaked her torso and head completely. 

She slowly opened her eyes. She was already aware of how the room was and how many were standing around. A man with murderous air was in front of her, sitting on a chair with his legs crossed. The three men were standing behind him, glaring daggers at her. Another two were standing on either side of her, ready to torture her to death.

When her vision cleared from the water, there was no fear in her. She neither screamed nor looked frightened by them. Her reaction was so plain that there wasn't a hint of a shock to see Leon Harmon. 

She noticed a few firearms hanging here and there and a handgun on the table, not far away. Her eyes brushed on the dark walls, which had stains of blood, making it look like a wall from a psychopathic horror movie.

However, those weren't new to her and not effective enough to scare her to the wits. She would let them kill her instead of speaking about her group. So there was no need to afraid. She also understood how dirtily Leon's works. She had high expectations from him due to his luxurious outlook.

Leon's men failed to register her reaction as her wet hair had stuck on her face. They couldn't even make out if her eyes were open or closed.

Tia was thinking if her location was still active for her team and if they had any plans to give her a helping hand or let her die a painful death. Her thoughts halted when she felt a man drown the vessel in the cold water and motion her hand towards her. She instinctively cringed aside, squeezing her eyes shut, bracing herself for bone freezing water.

Anyway, she heard the scornful laughter of men except for Leon. Tia gritted her teeth, she had been through various tortures while training, but the smell, the force of the strike, and the cold water were numbing her body from doing anything.

She opened her eyes to ask them what they want and why did they kidnap her. The next strike at her came out fierce. The man struck the whole bucket of chilling water on her.

'Thud.' The chair failed to balance against the force and rolled on the floor.

Tia was shivering like a wet puppy on the floor. She looked pathetic, and she hated that. The extreme cold numbed the pain of her head. Her teeth chatter was harshly reaching the ears of the men in the room. Her body was trying to crouch to keep herself warm, but she was tied to the chair.

Leon's brooding eyes ran over her body. She looked delicate, shaking while lying on the floor. Her soaked body should be arousing him but failed. His eyes grazed over her slender leg, but it reminded him of Ava Kelly's smooth, spotless legs on the red carpet. It riled him up.

A man who was nearby roughly grabbed her hair, making her scalp prickle. He demanded a response on behalf of Leon, "Where is Ava Kelly? If you don't speak, don't even think of leaving from here."