LISA'S POV
The car drove at a steady pace before turning onto what seemed to be a deserted road. The air suddenly became chilly, almost as though we were passing through a river, even though I was tucked away inside the trunk.
Eventually, the car came to a stop. I heard a door open and close before the trunk was suddenly lifted.
The man pulled me out and slung me over his shoulder.
I carefully opened my eyes and looked around. My guess had been right. We were near a river.
He walked towards what appeared to be a container inside a ship.
"I caught a new fish today! This one is going to make us a lot of money," he announced with a laugh.
He finally dropped me onto the floor.
"Wow, you're right. She's a beautiful girl. If the boss wouldn't kill us for touching the merchandise, I would've had my way with her first," another voice said. I felt someone touch my face.
Fuck you, I cursed silently.
"Wake her up," a deeper, rougher voice commanded.
I guessed he was the boss.
A moment later, I felt a sudden rush of cold water. I gasped and opened my eyes.
"Damn! You could've just tapped me or kicked my leg. Why the hell would you pour water on me?" I snapped, glaring at the person in front of me.
"Wow! She's a feisty one," the man who had touched my face earlier remarked. I recognised his voice immediately.
I looked at their faces and noticed that they all had strange, frightening scars.
It was only when I glanced around that I realised I wasn't the only girl there. Several cages lined the room, each containing a girl. They were all trembling and crying, clearly terrified of their surroundings.
"You have a sharp tongue, but I'd advise you not to use it here," the man with the rough voice warned.
He looked surprisingly young and handsome, except for the unusual scars on his face.
"As punishment for your foul language, you'll be sent to the storage room. No food or water until the day we leave," he ordered before turning and walking away.
I could only grit my teeth and glare at him as he disappeared into the darkness.
The man who had brought me in earlier grabbed my arm and dragged me towards the so-called storage room. It was located on the lower deck, where darkness seemed to swallow everything.
"I hope that by the time you come out, you'll have learned to speak only when you're asked a question," he said before locking the door behind him.
"I'm only putting up with this because I have a reason for coming here," I muttered, taking a seat on the floor.
"Then what's your reason for coming here?"
A male voice suddenly interrupted my thoughts.
I screamed.
The voice screamed too.
A moment later, a lanky-looking boy wearing glasses came into view.
"Who the hell are you? You scared the life out of me!" I exclaimed, shuffling backwards.
"Oh, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to scare you. My name is Simon. And you are?" he asked with a friendly smile.
"Okay, Simon. First of all, you don't just sneak up on people like that. Secondly, what the hell are you doing in here?" I asked, completely ignoring his question.
"Well, I could ask you the same thing," he replied, adjusting his glasses.
"No, you couldn't. They're human traffickers. They target young girls and sell them, so it makes perfect sense that I'm here," I replied matter-of-factly.
Simon simply chuckled, looking at me as though I were some fascinating discovery.
"You're not like the others. You look younger than me, yet you don't seem frightened at all. The others cry and beg to be released, but here you are, interrogating me. So I'll ask again: who are you, and what did you mean when you said you came here for a reason?"
He stared directly into my eyes.
"Hmm..." I cleared my throat and turned my face away. "Let's just say I don't trust people enough to go around telling them everything about myself. I asked you first, so you should tell me about yourself. Then, after hearing your story, I'll decide whether you're worth sharing mine with."
I raised an eyebrow.
Simon nodded with a smile before sitting beside me.
"Well, like I said earlier, I'm Simon. The youngest hacker in the country."
I burst out laughing.
He stared at me strangely.
"Oh, I'm sorry. The youngest hacker, you say? Because, from what I've heard, that youngest hacker works for the FBI. He certainly shouldn't be locked up in a storage room in the basement of a ship in some unknown location," I said, still amused.
"Yeah, that's because I was used as bait. I joined the FBI when I was seventeen to uncover the truth behind my mother's sudden disappearance. Two weeks ago marked one year since I started working with them."
I stopped laughing.
"Wait... So you're really Simon? The famous Simon Becker everyone knows about?" I asked, my eyes widening.
He simply smiled and nodded.
"It all started when I got accepted into one of the best IT colleges in New York. I called my mum that day to share the good news. She was a single mother, and I did everything I could to make her proud. I was a good son. I never gave her any trouble."
He paused, adjusting his glasses.
"She was so happy for me. She even promised to buy chicken on her way home to celebrate. But she never came back."
His voice grew quieter.
"I reported her disappearance several times, but apparently, you can't report an adult missing in the same way you would a child. The police kept suggesting that perhaps she'd left because she couldn't handle the responsibility of raising me. But I knew that wasn't true. My mum had no reason to abandon me."
He stared into the distance before continuing.
"She had disappeared, and nobody seemed interested in finding out what had happened to her. So I took matters into my own hands. I accessed the CCTV footage from the area where she was last seen. As I investigated, I discovered that several young women had been disappearing under suspicious circumstances."
He paused to adjust his glasses again.
"I decided to dig deeper, so I accessed the FBI's security system to investigate the case. Unfortunately, I got caught. I thought I was in serious trouble, but things took an unexpected turn. Instead of prosecuting me, they recruited me."
"So, genius, how exactly did you end up here?" I asked, folding my arms.
"The case was eventually assigned to the team I was working with. They needed someone to go undercover, and I was the best option because of my age."
"So you're working undercover right now?" I asked, suddenly gasping.
Simon cleared his throat and muttered something under his breath.
"Sorry, could you speak up? I didn't catch that."
"Hmm..." He cleared his throat again, looking rather uncomfortable. "I was caught," he admitted, lowering his gaze.
I stared at him for a moment before bursting into laughter.
I laughed so hard that my stomach began to ache.
"I'm sorry. Forgive my terrible manners, but you were caught? How on earth did that happen?"
"I've never worked in the field before. I know nothing about that side of the job. My entire world revolves around coding and programming. I'm good with computers, not physical confrontations. I wasn't prepared for what happened, and they caught me."
He adjusted his glasses once more.
"My team couldn't get me out, and I doubt they'll try again. Besides, I might as well stay here. If I ever leave this place, they'll kill me."
"So, what's your story?" he asked.
My expression changed.
For a moment, I had completely forgotten the situation I was in.