I Have to Make It on Time

Horns were blaring all over the city. The traffic system seemed to have gone berserk, and traffic had come to a standstill. Although there had been no serious injuries during all this, there had been plenty of accidents. When people are rushing somewhere but are stuck somewhere without moving, it was to be expected.

Anna was urgently tapping on the divider between herself and the cab driver, urging him to move fast or weave through the traffic somehow.

"Listen, lady, there's nothing I can do! This gridlock ain't likely to move quickly any time soon!"

She knew he was right, but she was panicking.

"No, you're right, there's nothing else you can do."

She hesitated for a moment and then said, "Is it alright if I pay and get out now?"

She quickly handed over the fare with a generous tip and hopped out the cab.

If the traffic wasn't moving, she'd have to go on foot!

…

A hint of admiration flashed through Nightingale's eyes as she saw this.

"Decisive! Well done, you'll need to react quickly if you want to make it on time," sneered Nightingale.

With a few more taps of her fingers, the traffic started flowing again.

…

'What is this? How come the traffic started moving again as soon as I got out of the cab?'

Anna felt indignant at the injustice of the situation. What kind of rotten luck did she need to get her timing so bad?

She suddenly thought back to what Veronica Gilen had said during the board meeting: ' I thought you'd have wound your neck back in after I framed you.' Could it be that this was Veronica as well?

'Ha ha ha. No, that can't be it. No one has this kind of power, to move all these people at their will.

'I should stop blaming my own shortcomings on others.

'I have to make it on time!'

With newfound determination, Anna marched forward.

It was currently 8 a.m.; she was already late. However, as long as she got there before the presentation started, it wouldn't be too bad. Roland would understand something like this.

She occasionally tried to hail a cab, but due to the previous bad traffic, most of the cabs were still occupied. Anna could only continue to trek onward.

…

Roland was pacing back and forth nervously. The launch event had all been set up earlier; he'd only wanted to arrive earlier to do a final check. He'd perfectly memorized his speech and every planned movement, down to when he'd take a breath.

What was making him nervous was Anna's tardiness.

"Anna's never late, what could've gone wrong?"

Barov tried to comfort him. "I'm sure she's fine, sir. I heard from some of the staff over there that there's a lot of bad traffic. I'm sure she's just caught up in that."

Convinced, Roland put the issue to the back of his mind and continued his rehearsal.

…

"Yes, that's the venue over there."

Anna checked her watch; it was 8:40 a.m. She'd made it with enough time! She briefly waited at the pedestrian crossing and ran across the road.

However, the previous glitch in the system seemed to be playing up again. The lights changed once more. An inattentive truck driver noticed the green light and sped up. He looked up from his mobile phone to see a young woman running in front of him.

Beeeeeeeep!

He slammed the brakes, unsure of that young girl's fate.