Take My Breath Away

While strolling to her apartment building, Blair thought about how she left Wesley alone in the hospital. She realized that it was a poor way to repay him, and he was as helpless as a kitten up a tree. The girl was considering paying him a visit when a man appeared out of nowhere.

The man wore a mask and a cap, and she couldn't see his face. She was startled for a moment, wondering if he was a bad guy.

She was about to run away when the man asked, "Are you Wesley's Blair?"

Blair was confused. "I'm Blair, and I know a Wesley. What's this about?"

Now that he had confirmed who he was talking to, the man looked around vigilantly before fishing something from his pocket and holding it out to her. "Please give this to him. It involves the lives of 128 people."

The man placed a micro-SD card in Blair's hand, and closed her fingers in a fist around it. Blair was more puzzled than afraid, and slowly opened her fingers, looking at the SD card in her hand. When she raised her head again, the man was gone.

She looked around, but only darkness met her gaze. She got goose bumps all over.

'This thing must be really important. I should probably call Wesley, ' she thought, closing her fist around the SD card. She took out her phone, about to call Wesley, but her battery was dead.

She had to turn around to hail a taxi; she decided to go to the hospital.

At this moment, she saw two men in masks approaching her out of the corner of her eye. Her gut instinct told her that something was not right. With that, she ran away as fast as her legs would take her.

Like she thought, the two men ran after her as well.

Blair realized that they wanted the SD card. She had to find a place to hide it. There! The perfect spot!

At the hospital, Wesley had closed his eyes, deciding to surrender to sleep. Suddenly, his phone began to vibrate under his pillow.

It was a foreign number. Wesley saw no red flags, since he did get called to service from all over. He sat up in the bed and answered it.

"Wesley Li?" The person on the other end of the phone was using a voice changer, pitched extremely low, so Wesley couldn't tell if it was a man or a woman.

"And you are?" Wesley asked.

"It doesn't matter who I am. What matters is..." The person paused, and then a woman's shriek came from the other end. "You hear that? I think you know that voice."

He did know it, to his consternation. And judging from how it sounded, she was in pain, or danger, or both. His hands balled into fists. "What do you want?" he asked through gritted teeth.

This was no accident. Whoever it was waited until he was laid up in the hospital, and then kidnapped Blair.

"She has something we're looking for. We asked her about it, but she won't talk. She's s

e couldn't drag Wesley into this. To focus away from the pain, her mind retreated. She pictured herself in a bridal gown, and Wesley in his dress uniform, medals glinting beautifully. Wedding music was playing, and everyone was happy. She could see it, hear it, smell it, taste it. It was as real as anything, and she felt safe and happy here in this secret place in her mind.

Their leader wore a black mask. He looked in his forties, based on the wrinkles around his eyes and his gray hair that spilled around the top edges of the mask. He was very thin. "Colonel Li, if you can persuade her to give us what we want, then you're free to go. Both of you," he said with a smile.

Actually, these people didn't know where it was. Who had it? Blair, or Wesley? The two men following the mysterious man didn't see anything too clearly. They just knew his plans, and lay in wait.

But even if she didn't have it, Blair was still Wesley's beloved woman. They kidnapped her to threaten Wesley. If she did have it, then torturing Wesley would be the way to make her cave. If she didn't have it, then Wesley might be able to track it down for them.

Wesley didn't fall for his trap. His eyes were locked on Blair's feet, and he said in a cold voice, "I have it, actually. I can give it to you, but you have to let her go first."

"Ha-ha! Turns out the news I bought is true! She's important to you." The man burst out laughing.

"She is." Wesley didn't deny it. Blair could hear this through her pain-filled haze. Her heart started to race wildly in her chest.

"After all, she saved my life once," Wesley added.

'I did? When did that happen?' Blair was confused.

The man sat on a chair. "You're a good man, Colonel Li. Let's cut the crap. Give it to me, and you two can leave. Otherwise, the only way you'll leave here is in body bags."