Chapter 60: A Target
By mid-afternoon, the intense heat of the day had settled over the city’s bustling commercial core.
The streets were alive with the steady hum of pedestrian traffic, business professionals grabbing late lunches, and luxury vehicles idling along the curbs of upscale shopping plazas.
Samuel drove the black sedan down a vibrant, tree-lined avenue lined with designer boutiques and high-end cafes.
In the back seat, April was scrolling through a digital checklist on her phone, crossing off items with a profound sense of accomplishment.
Her spatial dimension was still wide open for more resources, her bank account was working overtime, and her future fortress was rapidly coming together.
"Samuel," April muttered, looking out the window as they approached a highly popular, artisanal ice cream parlor with an outdoor terrace. "Pull over right up there. I want ice cream before we head back up the mountain. Buying furniture is exhausting work."
"Understood, Miss April. I shall get you gourmet pistachio ice cream. It is really good." Samuel smoothly guided the heavy sedan toward the curb, slipping into an executive loading zone right outside the crowded plaza.
He turned off the engine, stepped out immediately, and walked around to open her door.
As April stepped out into the bright afternoon sun, adjusting her sunglasses, a sudden, sharp ring tone cut through the air.
Samuel reached into his suit jacket, pulling out his phone. He glanced at the caller ID, his brow furrowing instantly into a tight, severe line. "It’s the Greels executive security line, Miss April. It’s an encrypted patch from the boardroom floor."
"If it’s like that then it must be important. You should take it," April said, waving a hand dismissively as she began walking toward the ice cream parlor. "I’ll be right over there. Get me a double scoop if you’re done by the time I reach the counter."
"I will be right behind you," Samuel nodded firmly.
He stepped a few paces away, turning his back toward the plaza to face the quiet brick wall of an adjacent building, pressing the phone to his ear to catch the audio over the ambient city noise. "This is Samuel."
April walked ahead, enjoying the warm breeze against her face. The plaza was bustling, as if it was alive, but as she drifted past a thick row of decorative stone planters separating the sidewalk from the main road, the atmosphere around her suddenly shifted. The ambient chatter of the crowd seemed to drop into an unnatural, heavy silence.
Then, the distinct, sharp sound of a vehicle door sliding open echoed right beside her. The van had appeared out of nowhere, as if it had been timing this exact moment when she would be alone.
Before April could even turn her head, a shadow fell over her. Two massive, incredibly heavy hands clamped down onto her shoulders from behind, pinning her arms instantly to her sides.
An ambush? Here? Why? April’s mind fired at lightning speed, but before she could even draw a bat from her spatial dimension, a thick, white cloth heavily dosed with sedated liquid was violently smashed over her nose and mouth.
April inhaled sharply out of pure reflex and a powerful, overwhelming wave of chloroform rushed into her lungs, instantly short-circuiting her nervous system and her knees buckled.
How is this already happening? April thought, her body falling limply into their arms. This is why she needed to be able to read her own fortune. No fair at all.
"Secure her. Quick," a gruff, low voice hissed.
In a split second of coordinated, terrifyingly silent precision, a thick, heavy dark sackcloth was violently thrown over her head, plunging her world into absolute pitch black.
She was lifted entirely off her feet and into the van.
"Hey! What are you—" a random pedestrian down the street began to yell, but the voice was instantly cut off as the doors of the van shut close.
April was violently bundled into the back of a large vehicle. The tires screeched against the pavement as the hidden van tore away into the heavy city traffic, disappearing into the concrete jungle before anyone in the plaza could even process what had happened.
By the time Samuel ended his call, April was gone.
The phone call from the Greels boardroom floor had only lasted two minutes, but in the fast-paced world of elite logistics, two minutes was like an eternity.
Samuel lowered his phone, adjusting his glasses out of sheer habit as he turned back toward the artisanal ice cream parlor. But she wasn’t at the entrance.
She probably got distracted, Samuel reasoned, stepping into the cool, air-conditioned interior of the parlor.
His eyes scanned the counter, the modern seating arrangements, and the artisanal dessert displays but there was no sign of her.
He checked the high-end pantries and storage alcoves near the back where patrons sometimes browsed the imported ingredients, thinking she might have wandered off to inspect their bulk inventory for her hoarding habit.
But still nothing. Just a few regular customers and a confused barista.
A faint prickle of unease tightened Samuel’s chest. He stepped back out into the afternoon heat, his gaze sweeping across the bustling outdoor terrace. That was when he noticed a small commotion near the edge of the plaza, right past the thick row of decorative stone planters separating the sidewalk from the main road.
A distressed pedestrian was waving their hands frantically, speaking to a uniform police officer who happened to be on foot patrol in the district.
"...I’m telling you, it happened right here!" the passerby gasped, their voice carrying over the ambient city noise. "A dark van just pulled up out of nowhere. Two men grabbed her from behind, threw a sack over her head, and bundled her right into the back! It took less than five seconds!"
Samuel’s legs felt suddenly heavy as he instinctively moved closer, his breath catching in his throat.
"Did you get a license plate?" the officer asked, pulling out a notepad.
"No, I didn’t get to look that far! But look—this flew off her face when they shoved her inside," the pedestrian said, holding up a pair of sleek, oversized designer sunglasses.
Samuel stopped dead in his tracks. His eyes locked onto the gold-rimmed frame resting in the stranger’s hand.
It was the exact pair of premium sunglasses April had been wearing when she stepped out of the sedan less than ten minutes ago.
In an instant, the warm afternoon air turned entirely cold.
April’s effortless confidence, her supernatural foresight, her multi-million dollar shopping sprees—none of it mattered if she was locked in the back of an unmarked van.
Samuel’s blood ran entirely cold. A heavy, suffocating weight dropped straight into his stomach, dragging him down into an abyss of sudden, sharp panic.
Forcing his trembling fingers to move, he bypassed every standard administrative protocol and dialed the direct emergency line for Xavier Reed.
The line picked up almost instantly, cutting through the static. "What is it, Samuel?"
"Mr. Reed—" Samuel’s voice cracked, his usually flawless composure shattering into pieces. "Miss April has been abducted. Right off the street. An eyewitness just confirmed a dark van ambushed her outside the plaza."
