A/N: I'm awfully sorry aboutt tthe LONG LONG delay but my house is under construction
and I've just came back from my holidays. Oh whatever I apologize...
The end is nearing! God I'm exhausted witht tthis wriing, but it's
pretty fun!
Chapter 27: Locked in
The truck rocked sideways as it ran through the forest. Prima had her hands tied up to her feet and couldn't feel less uncomfortable. It was not only her position which was the cause but also the stupidity of the whole affair. Here she was sitting like a captured animal just beside a boy she just kissed earlier, before getting captured. Imagine the scene: you are kissing your enemy then you've got discovered doing so by his partners. And the worst of it, they all jeered and made silly noises about it. Prima dared not look across at Kai. What made her kiss him back? No, what made him kiss her? She thought he was this heartless bloke incapable of all desires. She was probably wrong. Oh God, what is she gonna do? She can't fall in love with her enemy! Though now they were in the same position, how could she know whether the kiss was for real?
On his side, Kai was quite out of himself. He wished that he didn't kiss the girl and find himself in such an embarrassing position. But the look she gave him, the way she pronounced those words were so irresistible that even he couldn't resist. She must hate me for it now. Since he had come to know Prima, he knew that she was someone you couldn't run over easily. He had never hated her but she seemed so determined to hate him. And now we're both prisoners, he thought sadly.
"Hey, love birds! We're nearly there!"
The truck driver shouted from the front seat and laughed with his partners.
Prima felt so like killing the bastard. The resort came into view. What? They were going to be locked up here? The truck's doors swung open and two men pointed their guns at them. Another two cut off their ropes and they were guided into the resort. They walked up the second floor, then reaching their destination, one of the guards unlocked the door and threw Prima in. Kai, however was led to another room.
Prima found herself with two of her most dangerous enemies.
"Lee Chow! Ray Kon! What are you doing here?"
A minute went by during which she thought that they were here to kill her, but on the sad look on Lee's face, she realized that they couldn't possibly be the executioners.
"We're in the same position as you are," Lee said quietly.
Then he told her of how Boris had betrayed them and was threatening to capture his relatives.
"Your fellow ninjas are not safe either," Ray Kon said. "Boris had your headquarters blown and most of them captured. I think they're going to arrive soon."
Prima couldn't believe her ears.
"What about Enrique and his family? Have you heard anything about them?" she demanded.
The two Chinese shook their heads.
"This is all your fault! If you haven't helped Boris, we wouldn't be here!" she shouted.
"Of course, we all regret it now," Lee Chow said quietly.
Prima felt like dying. Everything had gone from bad to worst. Was there any hope left?
"Have you thought of a plan to escape?" Prima asked after a long silence.
The two lifted their heads but it was Ray Kon who spoke.
"We've tried everything. There are guards in front of the doors and down, under the windows. It's impossible to escape."
Prima paused for musings. Suddenly the apartment's door flung open again and a girl with navy hair and a blond boy were thrown in. Behind them were two green-headeds.
"Mariam! Max!" Prima exclaimed.
"Kevin! Joseph!" Lee Chow and Ray Kon recognized the other two.
"Hope you enjoy the company," the guards laughed as they shut the door.
Prima rushed to her fellow ninjas.
"What happened?" she asked.
"God, Prima, everything is so confusing!" Max said. "At one time we were following Mac Gregor and the next, here we are!"
"You see, we were stationing in a rent van and we saw Johnny and his gang coming out," Mariam explained. "But instead of walking to his car, he turned over to our van, tapped on the window and then had his guns pointed at us."
"Before we knew it, we were shipped off here," Max finished. "Though I can't believe you've got yourself captured too."
"Never mind that," Prima said quickly. "Do you know about the others?"
While the Angelico ninjas were discussing with each other, Lee had collected from Kevin and Joseph that his sister was still safe.
"Before we were captured," Kevin was saying, "we went to your mansion to ask Mariah whether she wants to come and have dinner with us, seeing that she was alone. But when we got there, Gary told us that she was gone with a certain young man and wouldn't be back for a while."
"Young man? Who?" Ray asked before he could stop himself.
"Dunno," Joseph answered for his side-kick. "Apparently Mariah had him a prisoner but then, according to Gary, he has somehow convince her to go out with him."
"WHAT?"
"Ray, calm down," Lee said though his voice was unsteady.
"Calm down? Mariah had gone off with a total stranger-."
"Don't worry, we have an idea who it is," Mariam cut in.
Everyone stared at her, safe Max and Prima. Mariam stared back but it was particularly at her brother her gaze was directed to.
"Tala was sent on a mission to spy on the Chows' mansion," the navy-haired explained. "I guess it was him who took her out. What is strange is that Tala normally doesn't like women…" Mariam frowned.
"Hey, is Tala the red head who is Tornatore's bodyguard?" Joseph recalled.
"Yeah, that's him."
"Oh, then don't you worry, Ray. That man's neat," Joseph tried to reassure the shocked Ray. "He won't do anything stupid."
"He, hum."
Everyone turned to the person who had coughed, which turned out to be Lee Chow.
"I think we have to put something clear," the Chinese millionaire said in an important voice. "Here we are all stuck in the same place and confronting the same enemy. I suggest that we should hold hands and fight off Balkov together."
Mariam stared from Lee to her brother. Everyone one else was doing the same. For many years, the Angelico and the Chows were rivals on every field whether it was economic, cultural or political. But what Chow said was true: they now had the same mortal enemy.
Prima put out her hand.
"I agree."
Lee put his hand on hers and so did Ray, Max and Kevin. All of them were looking expectedly at the siblings Mariam and Joseph. At last Joseph put his hand on top of Kevin's and Mariam on top of his.
"Yippee!" Max shouted with joy.
The others gazed, perplexed, at one and another as if to decide whether Max had gone off his rocker.
