Walking in total silence with her through Providence's halls and having to think on what to say to convince the gang that the exchange would only made with him, even showing footage that Holiday was now back at Providence and ready for the deal, proved difficult. Six kept gritting his teeth, trying to leave the emotions he trained so hard to keep in check out of the conversation and pretend to be as compliant as possible.

He glanced briefly at Holiday, but the woman seemed lost in her thoughts, and he couldn't blame her for it. Six knew that their success relied on maintaining a facade of calmness and control.

The laboratory was eerily quiet as Six sat in front of one of the screens, taking out his burner phone to call the hacker. Holiday sat next to him, sighing and bracing herself for the unexpected.

"We're ready to contact them," Six said.

"Alright, let's draft a convincing letter from Providence's superiors," responded the hacker before hanging up.

As Six intertwined his fingers and waited for the monitor to turn on, he couldn't help but wonder if it would resent their relationship with their superiors even more by pretending to write an official statement agreeing to their demands. Minutes passed, but he struggled to find the right words to ease the tension radiating from Holiday. The silence stretched, and Six's mind raced with thoughts of the potential consequences. With each passing second, the weight of their mission bore down on him, intensifying the already palpable tension in the room.

Finally, the screen turned on as another masked gang member appeared before his eyes, making him notice that the attention was focused on Holiday next to him rather than on himself, who had made contact.

"Providence reserves the right to decide where Rebecca Holiday will be delivered," Six stated firmly, cutting off quickly any demands from the person on the other end of the line. He knew he needed to assert himself and clarify his role. Speaking with authority, he continued, as the attention of the gang member still seemed to be more focused on Holiday than on himself, "I am the one who will deliver her. I demand to be heard." The gang member's eyes widened in surprise, momentarily shifting their attention towards Six. "We will meet your group at 9 pm sharp. No weapons or other members of Providence will be involved, only she and I. Therefore, we expect you to honor our agreement by ceasing all attacks on our network and refraining from using brute force against her. She has willingly chosen to comply with your demands on her own accord. We trust that you understand the gravity of this situation and the potential consequences of any further aggression. We intend not to engage in a battle but to find a peaceful resolution. We hope you will reciprocate our goodwill gesture and meet us with the same intention."

Those were the stupidest words he sure ever said, but there was no other option as he couldn't continue threatening the gang without harming the woman next to him.

"The location will be a national park outside of the city to avoid any closeness to Providence or any member of the police department. Your leader can choose the exact coordinates and send them to us. We demand Rebecca Holiday is back safe and sound before exchanging her for Rex Salazar."

"How could we be sure that you will also send Rex Salazar with us and that it isn't just a trap to ambush us again, as Providence already knows the location of our organization and has hacked into our mainframe multiple times already?"

"Providence's Defense Department already made a clear statement for a cease and desist. We will not take further actions if you respect our agreements."

The gang member smiled in the widescreen as Six resisted the urge to curse under his breath. The communication ended as soon as he mentioned the name of the national park they were meeting at.

"White." Turning on his communicator, Six turned his head slightly to look at Holiday and figure out what kind of thoughts her mind could be sustaining as impassible as she could be at that moment. "The location has been successfully disclosed, and now all we can do is wait and get ready. Holiday and I will depart once we ensure everything is in check before leaving."

Six could hear the man sigh at the other end as if he was questioning himself what he was even talking about as she would leave Providence's premises without anything else, but that was something that Six couldn't explain.

Having to check in on her wasn't something he could say just like that.

Their lunch-dinner was as tense as possible, considering both were exhausted and barely slept for a few hours. It was becoming repetitive the number of times he had to remind her to at least try a few bites of her food plate. Still, he couldn't even look at the food in front of his eyes as it felt like the last time she would enjoy a proper meal that he was pretty content with preparing for her.

She seemed to ignore him again, simply standing up and walking to the couch, sitting in one corner, and grabbing one of the cushions to hold into her arms and find comfort.

Leaving the dinner table and walking towards her to gently take the cushion off her hands and replace it with his body. Six stood awkwardly in front of her, as her arms were now encircling his waist, with her head resting almost over his old wound.

"You should try and get some rest. If you aren't sleeping properly or eating, you could get sick or even pass out."

He knew she wasn't listening again, so he decided to take her arms out of his body and sit on the couch, lying as comfortably as he could, taking one of her hands and forcing her to lie her head over the cushions on his legs. His wristwatch was ticking, but he ignored the sound as much as he could by simply running his hands through her closest arm and silently praying for her to at least fall asleep for a couple of hours before they had to leave.

Six let his head fall backward and gazed at the ceiling, thinking it might be the last time he saw it. He tried to close his eyes and quiet his thoughts, not because he doubted Holiday's resilience but because he couldn't control the potential risks of the mission for her. It didn't seem very smart, as he had never cared so much in the past. She was just as capable as he was, or at least as much as her abilities allowed. But at that moment, everything was different, and he didn't know whether to hate himself for it. He was now in love with the woman in his arms, which completely changed his once cold and calculated way of thinking.

The night would soon come, and he couldn't do anything but wait.

And everyone knew how much he hated just sitting and waiting.