This chapter is Jamie PoV
Lately, things had gotten crazy.
Revenant is nowhere to find and the Harvesters dropped the case for now. Loba was fuming but she couldn't do much about their choices. Gladly, Soan is still with us and Kairi joined our cause.
According to the last updates, the person who is helping Revenant must be a very good hacker too, and knows the Harvesters and their methods enough to counter them well.
And that's it. No idea if it's there is one or multiple people around him, in which city they are operating, or their limits in terms of skills and money.
We don't even know why they decided to help Revenant. None of us believe they are relative or old friends of the simulacra but they can't be stranger to him.
"Nobody in their right mind would casually visit an abandoned building, find a robot corpse and bring it back home to repair it."
It's only after saying this out and loud that I realize:
"Man, I could have gotten in an abandoned building for fun and brought back a broken bot to fix it..."
The doorbell rings. Three times, then a blank, two more times, another blank, and three more chimes finish the signal.
Must be Loba and Kairi. They were supposed to come up in the afternoon but they might have changed their plans.
As soon as I opened the door, I am greeted by a loud boom and a blinding flash. While my senses are overwhelmed, I feel strangers grabbing me everywhere. Something stings in my right forearm and soon everything goes black.
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I wake up for what felt like a few seconds, laying on a mattress directly on the floor in what seems to be an old garage. My mind immediately remembers what happened and in a single jump, I stand up on my feet. I first got surprised by the absence of handcuffs or chains around my wrists and ankles but shortly rise my head to meet two men facing me; hoods down and rifles up.
I quickly raise my hands as a sign of submission.
A third man enters by what seems to be the only door in the room, and with a simple gesture, commands the other two to lower their weapons and guard the entry.
"Greetings, young man. My apologies for the treatment you received but we couldn't afford your friends to get involved in this."
I put my hands down but not my vigilance. This man can coat his intentions with politeness, I won't fall for it. He is trying to gain some trust in me so I may sell Loba.
My facial expression must have shown too much because my abductor-engaging voice swiftly changes for a more serious one. But strangely, no sadistic tone or anger is showing.
"I guess you know exactly why you're here."
I simply nod. I don't want to say too much and prefer to see what they already know and what they expect from me.
"I understand that you're being distrustful at the moment and you want to protect your friend."
He opens his arms, turning around to display the room:
"Look, boy. If we were cruel bastards who don't care about human life, you'd been tied up on a chair and tortures with no chance to get a proper discussion. But instead, you're standing up, free to move as you wish as long as you don't try to escape. You even got some devices around because we don't want to ignore your needs."
He turns back to me and puts a break in his speech. I didn't notice it at first glance but the room got some appliances like a fridge and a microwave, the mattress I was on and they even installed some curtains with what I guess is a toilet and a sink.
The man resumes his monologue:
"The point is: We are not planning on torturing and killing you. We would like to find a solution to all of this without making any blood drop."
He gets closer to me. I'm not trusting him and get a few steps backward which makes him stop.
"Boy... Jamie. It's your name right?"
I nod.
"Glad to meet you, Jamie. Call me Rod. Look, Loba had done some... nasty things toward a friend of us."
"You mean Revenant."
"Yes. And you know what she had done to him. I am not only talking about that deal with the Harvesters but all the things she had done before too. Losing his source code, manipulating him more than once before that, abusing his immortality to make him suffer..."
They know so much. It will be hard for me to find a lie that will not conflict with their knowledge. Will I get any other option than betraying Loba?
"We don't want to harm you neither we want to punish Loba. All we want is for the Harvesters to stop their hunt and for Loba to calm down. We understand she got some drama with him in the past and rancor is something hard to go through. Revenant feels the same toward her but he is starting to ease up."
Is he? The sim hasn't made any move since he got picked up but we know that he can be very, VERY patient when he wants to mess up with us. Whatever they are trying to do, I don't believe they could make Revenant give up on his revenge. As much as we can't make Loba drop it either.
"We know you don't agree with Loba when it comes to him. We know you'd like, just like us, for her to stop all of this madness and for Revenant to vanish from her life."
He shows his phone. I get a closer look and turn pale as I read all the screenshots of my private messages being exposed. They managed to hack my system?! Soan wasn't overestimating them. They are a serious threat we must be cautious about.
He puts his phone back in his jacket and approaches me a bit more.
"I will be honest with you. We don't like to torture and kill, but we won't let this madness run for more. Because of her actions, a lot of people are in direct danger. Us, Revenant, you, and Loba included. You know it too right? We read what you said to the Harvesters. You lied to them on many aspects and it is not the few jobs she had done for them that will help when they will notice it."
I know, but Lo' doesn't want to hear it:
"What do you want from me?"
"You tell us everything we don't know yet about Loba's plan, the Harvesters, and Revenant's source code. In exchange, we help you avoid the Harvesters' wrath and we try to find an agreement for Loba and Revenant so everyone is at peace again."
This is tempting... He's right. I just want Loba to be safe again. He seems so genuine. So honest. I would like to trust him but...
"What if I don't cooperate?"
The man turns his back on me and slowly walks to the door:
"We know it's a tough decision for you. You have twenty-four hours to make your choice. If you decide to remain silent, we sadly will have to use brutality."
He opens the door and gives me a last glance at the threshold:
"Until we meet again, the guards will stay here, keeping an eye on you. I hope we can find a way to work together."
And he is gone.
One of the guards sits on a nearby chair and stares at his laptop, apparently checking security cameras. The other one stays a the door, weapon lowered.
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...
What should I do?