He squinted and turned his head to catch a glimpse of Kara.
"We need to talk," he declared, staring intently into her eyes.
Kara felt an unexpected change in Arkam and murmured, "Wh…what? Sir."
"Why is he looking at me like that? Stay calm."
Arkam moved closer to her. "I told you to call me Arkam. Relax," he watched her closely.
He lifted her up and slowly walked toward the entrance of the third level.
Kara felt flustered, her cheeks growing warmer by the second.
He suddenly stopped in front of a door on the left side of the third level, near the entrance. He placed Kara down and thought, "Earlier, I checked this room and found a great hiding spot."
"Ma'am, I need you to hide in this room where I will show you, okay?" They both entered the small space.
Feeling confused, Kara asked, "But why do you want me to hide, si…Arkam?" He took a step closer to her.
"I can't explain it now, but for now, just stay here and hide," he locked his gaze on hers. Kara looked at Arkam and nodded slowly.
"I don't understand what's happening with him, but I know he won't hurt me or the kids," she reasoned.
"Good," he responded, revealing a large crate.
He helped her climb into the crate, reassuring her, "Don't worry, this crate has plenty of breathing holes—
It's spacious enough for you to move, though I wouldn't advise it."
He gently closed the crate and tucked it away in the back of the room.
"My hands are sweaty, and I'm shaking. This darkness will engulf me," she thought as Arkam sealed the crate, the dim light fading until she was shrouded in darkness.
Then, a cold yet familiar voice spoke, "You pleaded for me to save you and your children from this nightmare, and I will." Arkam smiled, and Kara's trembling eased.
She smiled too, genuinely and with hope, though no one was there to see it. Arkam slowly left the room and stood in the corridor.
"What is wrong with me…forget it, focus," he thought.
Arkam was consumed with thoughts of the kidnappers. He noticed the door at the end of the staircase.
After some contemplation, he realized he had to hide Kara, understanding that her presence would slow him down if the kidnappers were nearby.
As he lingered in the corridor, Arkam sighed and headed toward the staircase. Ironically, the light he stood in contrast with the oppressive darkness where Kara hid, one full of hope and the other full of despair.
The corridor fell silent, broken only by the echo of Arkam's footsteps. Even in the dim light, a cold shadow settled in his eyes, overshadowing any glimmer of hope. The silence was interrupted by the rhythm of his steps as he pressed on.
He ascended the staircase, slowly pushing through the suffocating dread he felt. Eventually, he reached a large metallic door and halted before it.
He glanced down at the keypad on the door, narrowing his eyes. Then, through his specs, he pulled up the map to locate White and the children, sending a message: "Confirm if this is the door that stopped you."
As he shared his view with White, he spotted a big metallic door equipped with an EMP jammer.
"Affirmative, sir," a message appeared on the left side of his specs.
"Then give me the passcode for this damn door," Arkam replied.
"It will take some time, sir," came the response.
"How much?" he inquired.
"A few minutes," was the reply.
He sighed. "Then let me know how much longer it'll take you to reach the surface."
"Half an hour, or possibly an hour if we keep this pace," came the answer.
"Good. How are the kids?" he asked, taking a seat on the stairs.
"They're fine. We'll rest if needed," the response came.
"Alright. If I reach the surface, contact HQ for assistance here," he messaged.
"Affirmative, sir," was the last reply.
His head slowly dropped as he tried to make sense of the situation. Hair fell over his eyes.
He breathed deeply, recalling a similar place from his past. Closing his eyes, Arkam imagined a small boy beaten before him.
"Where is my mother?" he asked a young Arkam in a combat suit middle of a battlefield.
Arkam is in front of him. "I want my mother," the kid said.
Arkam slowly puts his hand in his suit, trying to find something. He pulled out a gun, then put it to the kid's head.
Bang—
A message appeared on his screen. He slowly opened his eyes and saw a number.
He stood up and walked closer to the door with an EMP jammer. With a grim look in his eyes, he typed the code into the keypad.
The door opened slowly and quietly, as the light beyond it became brighter than that of the corridor. What Arkam saw shook him.
A bright, spacious, and tall room awaited him. Six pillars lined the sides, and a door stood at the end. Many crates were positioned against the walls and in the middle, all full of weapons and supplies.
Arkam slowly took in every detail, trying to understand. The specs displayed a possibility of where this could have originated. "92 percent chance this came from rebels."
Arkam narrowed his eyes, not surprised that it came from rebels, but shocked by the amount.
"How did a rebel group get this amount of weaponry and supplies on a different continent?" The question lingered in his mind.
"If they imported this from another continent, they would have been caught," he sighed, slowly walking toward the door at the end.
He heard a voice, commanding and cold, yet surprisingly familiar. His eyes widened, and his breath quickened as he approached the door.
Arkam stood beside the door, observing a room with a large table in the center.
Twenty-eight men were seated on either side of it.
At the head of the table, a man was speaking, and behind him was a holographic map along with chat messages displayed.
The man spoke.
He was a muscular, tall man with long black hair, wearing a brown coat and black pants.
A gun was strapped to the side of his right leg, and he spoke with authority.
"We will use captives as human bombs, okay. On the night of 29 July." A cold glimmer was in his eyes, and dark circles.
Arkam saw the men and whispered.
"Kashan." He was shocked that someone he didn't want to see was there. He quickly came out of the room where many crates were. Arkam was breathless, but slowly he calmed down.
He closed the door with an EMP jammer. And got down through stairs. Ran fast where Kara was, and knocked the crate she was in.
Kara closed her eyes after Arkam left, but a sudden knock on her crate. She screamed, as Akarm said.
"It's me, Arkam. Calm down." As Kara, who was screaming, slowly stopped, she said.
"Huh, sir. Why are you back so fast?" She was breathless and shocked.
"First, I was going to remove this crate cover, so we could talk clearly." he removed the cover on the crate and looked at Kara, sweaty and breathing heavily.
"I'm sorry, but this was an emergency." As Arkam got closer to her, impatient. Not Arkam like.
Kara, seeing this, "Wha—" he grabbed her arm and pulled it. Looking into her eyes.
"Did you know the name of the leader of the people who brought you here?" The dim light flickered.
Kara turned her face, "No, I didn't know, sir."
Arkam saw this, and he pulled his hand back. And backed away.
Arkam looked at her.
"I…am sorry, it was just… sigh." he cleared his mind.
"See, this situation just got worse, and I didn't see you being hurt. I was sorry." Arkam said.
Kara turned to see Arkam. She looked into his eyes, and anger and sadness were there.
"I knew you were doing this for us, so don't apologize. And…" she stopped, as she didn't know what to say.
"Don't worry about it," he said, looking at her.
"And please don't come out, even if there was much sound and chaos, don't come out," as he closed the cover of the crate, and came out of the room, standing in the middle of the corridor, he sighed.
"What the fuck was that situation, damn." he thought.
"Time to go," he muttered.
And he slowly got to the door with the EMP jammer.
"If someone tried to use force on this jammer, it would alarm, right?" he sent the message to the drone.
"Affirmative, sir." The message came after a few seconds.
He activated the GEAR, as black velvet covered his arms, and a blue tint shone.
He backed away as he pulled his arms back.
Then he punched the door, as the whole corridor turned red. The dim light turned red, and a loud siren activated.
Arkam narrowed his eyes as the GEAR's blue tint glowed in red. He deactivated GEAR.
As he went to the shadowed rooms in the corridor, he waited.
He heard the loud sounds of the rebels coming from the door at the end of the staircase.
He smiled, "Come, Kashan, we will settle this here and now."