You're With Me
Ten minutes later, Shania found herself in the dining room. Xander and his grandfather were already seated and talking in low voices.
As if sensing her presence, Xander turned his gaze at her standing in the doorway.
He stood up and beckoned her over. "Come here."
Shania meekly walked over. She was dressed decently this time.
"Grandfather, this is Shania." Xander briefly introduced her to his grandfather.
"Good evening Mr. Baylis. Please excuse me for not meeting you earlier." Shania stretched out a hand for a handshake.
"You can just call me Grandpa, just like this boy here." Grandpa Baylis held her hand and patted it.
His warm reception surprised our Shania for clearly, this is the first time she met the old man.
"Alright, let's start eating before the food gets cold." Grandpa Baylis ignored the surprise in her face.
Xander pulled up the chair beside him for Shania. He then sat back down on his place.
Dinner was filled with light chatters and occasional laughter. Even though on the surface it looked peaceful, at the back of their minds, they know that more dangers await them.
<=><=><=><=><=>
The Baylis Manufacturing Plant was a hundred hectare property, built in an old open-pit limestone quarry plant about twenty kilometers north from the city. Everything from electronics, devices, motorcars and warehousing were there. It stood independently from other properties in the north, as it uses renewable energy for its electricity. It even had its own water treatment facility to help conserve water consumption.
Xander made sure to uphold advocacies for the environment, which greatly attracted a lot of investors for the Baylis Empire.
On this night, just as Grandpa Baylis had predicted, the enemy started to make a move.
The whole plant was silent and no signs of people could be seen.
A masked man was strolling inside one of the curing areas where countless boxes of newly manufactured softwares were stored. After rounding the area, he went to the security room and sat down on the controls. He began to type some commands and watched the screens for a while.
He made sure that coast was clear before he stood up and grabbed a medium-sized travel bag. He went back again to the curing area then pulled out a couple of gallons from his bag. He poured the contents on the machines and some on the wall. He then walked over the main switch to plaster a small device on it. When he was sure that everything was set, he gathered his bag and ran to his car.
In the car, he got a small remote control from inside his jacket pocket. He held it for a few seconds as if hesitating to continue the plans.
"I'm really sorry, Boss Xand. I don't have any other choice."
He took a deep breath and feeling determined, he pushed the button. Almost immediately, it was connected to the plastered device where a series of muffled beeping and red blinking lights appeared on the main switch.
Thinking that he only had two minutes before the explosion, he immediately drove away from the site.
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
Just as he got on the main road, there was a series of loud explosions behind him that almost shook the ground. The dark midnight skies suddenly turned red. The curing area was engulfed in that huge fire.
The man drove further away from the city and reached a small cliff. There was another car waiting at the top and a man was leaning on it.
The masked man got out of his car.
"I did my part of the deal. Now it's your turn."
"So impatient, aren't you?" The other man chuckled.
"Where's my wife and child?!" The masked man began to run out of patience.
He had already compromised his job, and now he had nowhere to go. If the other side didn't do their part of the deal, he didn't know how to live anymore. For the sake of his family, he would everything and anything.
"All's done. You can bring them back." The other man made a quick call.
He then faced the masked man.
"You heard me. The money's been wired to your account the moment you arrived here. Remember, you don't know me. Otherwise, you know what will happen."
In just a blink, a gun was pointed right in the masked man's forehead. His breath hitched and then his face was drained of color.
The masked man stood frozen and almost stopped breathing as his eyes showed great fear.
"It's good that you know." The other man retracted his gun, turned around and drove away.
The masked man felt weak in the knees that his legs gave up supporting him. He plopped on the ground as if life left him.
<=><=><=><=><=>
"Stop!!!"
At this same time, Shania was having a nightmare.
Xander, being a light sleeper, heard Shania. Almost instantly, he ran to her room. He saw her tossing and turning, her body was covered in sweat that the bedsheets had a wet splotch from it.
Xander laid down on the bed and held her in his arms.
"Hush, love. It's just a nightmare." He began to rock them back and forth.
Tears and snot filled her face yet Xander did not mind in the slightest that his shirt was dirtied. Shania was trembling incessantly. Unconsciously, her small arms embraced back Xander tightly. Her vulnerability sparked a pang in his heart.
"It's alright now. You're safe here. You're with me." His deep, gentle voice woke her up.
When she heard his words, Shania momentarily stilled. She sniffed before looking up.
"Xander?" Shania had a small frown, seemingly unsure of what she was seeing. She blinked her watery eyes as she gradually realized what's happening.
She found herself wrapped in Xander's arms while her arms were holding him tight. Shania immediately let go of him. However, Xander held her back to him with a glare.
"You just had a nightmare. Don't say you're fine. Go back to sleep."
"But, I'm okay now. You can go back to your room." Shania meekly answered.
"Sshhh. Don't talk. Sleep." Xander began to rhythmically pat her back to coax her to sleep.
Eventually, sleep took over Shania as her eyelids began to droop. She allowed Xander to lull her back to sleep.
He was deep in thought when he noticed that Shania was back in dreamland. He adjusted his body to a more comfortable position before he closed eyes.
The next morning, as the first sign of sunlight appeared, Xander silently slipped out of Shania's room and went back to his own.
He needed to prepare for any surprise coming his way.
An hour later, Mr. Cheah was driving him to his office. While weaving through the highway, his phone rang. While weaving through the highway, Xander's phone rang, which he answered with his eyes closed.
"Baylis."
"Boss Xand, we have a situation at the factory." A solemn voice sounded on the other line.
It was Toni Bellison, the Vice President for Operations of the electronics company under the belt of Baylis Empire.