Capítulo 16: No Use Hiding.
"I should have trusted what he said."
Layla ran back and forth inside the academy's storage, having nowhere to hide. She was being chased by a tall man in a mask along with his gang, their steps were slow and rhythmic, almost hypnotic and downright terrifying.
The rows of boxes in front of her were covered with dust, notes in the margins, scribbles and pictures, indicating that the place had not been tidied for some time. Layla was trying to take care of them all at once: not just the tall man in the mask, but everyone else that came to her mind. If she could relate the newly acquired information to what she already knew, she would assimilate the pieces of the huge puzzle much more easily. Layla was scared and alert, waiting for each new bit of information, whatever it was, like a dog under the dinner table.
''Damn it! Shit, SHIT!'' The girl heard the footsteps getting closer and closer, as she silently despaired.
At that moment, with her mind extremely focused, she formulated countless ways to try to get out of that situation, her stomach turned over and over, in small spasms of courage and panic. It felt like a lifetime had passed since she started running away from these people, it was as if there was no one who could help her, they had carefully planned that attack, they knew the shifts and the times of the security team's rounds, and when the people in the academy went to bed.
"He can see me." Layla thought, as the masked man walked past where she'd squeezed into hiding.
"I have to get out of here, at any means!" The desperate thoughts were useless, there was no way out.
Layla's arm throbbed with pain, and she wanted to scream madly. The wound she'd acquired from a cut in the walls with sharp nails was soaked with blood, and the girl was getting the feeling that she was getting slower and lighter, her blood draining away, as she got drier and drier.
Suddenly the row of boxes in front of her was flung away like a mere children's toy. The wires and cables, along with the materials inside the boxes, were pulled hard, and the girl stumbled backward, being knocked over. She regained her balance and looked up in time to see the masked man strike in her direction.
"Fuck you." Layla said, before falling unconscious on the frozen storage floor.
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Welcome to the Seed Agency Pilot Academy! - A digital sign was animatedly written, saying hello to influential visitors from the noble families.
The mirian competition event was in its second day, and today the last match of the virtual competition would take place, having as its finalists 'Alice Kura Linjol' and 'Lucas Hina Vortfort', both fabulous pilots in training with great potential.
Alice and her group of friends walked together through the academy as they chatted excitedly about the end of the virtual competition and the beggining of the physical dueling competition that Mary would participate in as a representative of the Veritas Class.
Quagmire, who was one of the members of the group, looked disinterestedly sideways as if looking for something or someone who should be around that place. His eyes, which constantly looked out at the world in a dead, cold way, were now relatively alive, almost frightened and startled at the same time.
The group didn't notice that slight change in Quagmire's expression, except for Alice, who was looking interested at Quagmire, trying to understand what was going through the boy's head, who was completely lost in his own thoughts.
Quagmire was wondering where Layla was, after all the girl who was always seen around the group watching Olivia, was now nowhere to be seen. Normally he wouldn't worry about these problems and would just assume the girl had other chores to take care, but he's studied her the past few days while also studying the patterns of those who followed her, exactly, the girl had been under surveillance for some time now and apparently now the people who were behind it took the next step, perhaps having kidnapped her, or maybe even killed the girl.
"Hey," Quagmire said in his usual expressionless tone, drawing the group's attention to himself, "You guys can go ahead, I've got a few things to take care of around here."
"Okay, but what would it be?" Mary asked curiously.
"No biggie, just some assignments Professor Ana asked me to complete as soon as possible," Quagmire replied, showing no hesitation as he lied.
"I see, well, we'll meet at the Arena then!" The group nodded at Alice's response as they turned and walked towards the Arena for the last match of the virtual competition that would start in a few minutes.
"Where are you?" Quagmire glanced at his watch as he tried to find somewhere unobtrusive enough, so that he could analyze the recordings of his stealth drones.
The boy looked furtively to the sides, quickly finding an unused room which he hurriedly entered, as he closed the door turning to check if he had done it correctly. He tapped the clock a few times, which revealed a small device inside on the side of the pointers, showing a holographic screen that floated close to the boy's face.
He flipped through the pages quickly using his fingers as he searched for recordings of the stealthy drones he'd scattered throughout the academy at strategic points, in case situations like this ever occurred. It didn't take long for Quagmire to find the recording he was looking for, analyzing it carefully as he tried to formulate in his mind the parts the drone was unable to capture of the situation.
''She's been kidnapped.'' He said, as he tapped his chin, ''I assume it was someone from the crime organization of the King of Crime or the King of the Seas, after all, Smuggler was never one to get involved in cases like this one.'' Quagmire was formulating theories in the room, talking to himself.
"Now what would be the point of risking this far to kidnap a daughter of a noble family, who's been disinherited years ago?" Quagmire's chin was turning red as his nails were scraping against his own skin.
"Maybe wealth or influence isn't their goal after all." A little blood began to trickle down from where he was touching, as his nails turned into a nice red color.
"But then what the fuck do they want," Quagmire shook his head as he thought, "I have no idea."
He closed his eyes, trying to think of something that could have taken the King of Crime and his henchmen to take such a risk, but nothing came to mind, leaving the boy surprised to be a step behind for the first time in a long time.
"Similar people have to help each other, right?" He smiled as he braced himself for the consequences of what this kidnapping would entail.
"The academy and the government certainly won't just watch this situation. It won't be long before some special team is formed."
The smile on Quagmire's face grew even wider than before as he stared out the window that reflected sunlight through the thick curtains he had used to block the view of the room.
''You don't need to worry, everything is under control. I'll save you." He ran the sleeve of his pink dress shirt over his bloodied chin, leaving a faint red stain on his clothing.
"This is a fucking war." And then he just broke into laughter that reverberated through the room for some time.
PENSAMENTOS DOS CRIADORES 
kouboutes_07
kouboutes_07 First of all, I would like to apologize for the two-day delay without publishing chapters! I had some problems working on the chapters, but now I'll go back to publishing normally.
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