Chapter 192: Visit
Tavin did not know why, but he felt like Luna expected something from him. The way she looked at him after she answered his question was as if she were trying to figure something out.
Tavin immediately thought back to his prior relationship, he had not really taken it seriously, but he did learn a thing or two from the experience. Anytime his ex-girlfriend looked at him that way, it was because she was angry with him. He spent the better part of a year apologizing for things he said or did wrong. Oddly enough, those things always seemed to revolve around Luna.
In truth Tavin's relationship was a farce in many ways. The only time he and his ex spent together, was either on campus or immediately after class.
"What did I do wrong?" Tavin asked instinctively. Luna shook her head.
"It's nothing, I was just thinking."
"What were you thinking about?"
"It's not important anymore," Luna said.
----
It was well into the afternoon when Mina finished cleaning her room. A clean person by nature, she had no issue getting the tasks done, the problem was that under normal circumstances, she would have done the chores in a specific order that did not make her feel like she needed to reclean her already clean room. Not to mention that she would have the times coincide with one of the days she was supposed to air out the 'offensive' odor of her room. It had been over a month since she was brought into the Lee home, and although she was released from the dingy and dark room from behind the bookshelf, she still felt like she was living in a glorified prison cell.
Not exactly ready to end her stressful day, Mina made her way into the lower part of the mansion. She had not fully toured the place, but she was made aware of where the Lee guards congregated when they were on duty but were unneeded. Once she entered, she was immediately relieved by the familiar sight of Dom. She held a finger to her lips and gestured for those, who had seen her at the entrance, to keep their mouths shut. Slowly she crept up to the man and smacked him hard on the back of the head.
"Do you know how worried I was about you?" she yelled. Dom rubbed his dome.
"Mina, do you know how dangerous it is to sneak up on someone like me?" he asked. Her hit stung, but Dom was more annoyed that Mina had managed to sneak up on him, and that all the witnesses were now snickering.
Mina shrugged at the man's inference. She really had no fear of dying anymore and to be honest, if Dom accidently killed her because of a prank, it would be a much better fate than waiting for President Lee to torture her to death. Had it not been for the fact that her cooperation was needed to ensure her parents safety, she would have killed herself that night president Lee accused her of embarrassing his family. Every time she thought of that night and how his words made her feel, she felt the urge to slowly plunge a knife into his chest.
"It's a risk I'm willing to take. Besides, I won't live forever," Mina said.
"If you want to die, do it on your own time; don't use me as a catalyst," Dom Replied. He looked offended by Mina's choice of words.
"Understood," Mina answered, and not just Dom, but everyone in the room looked at the girl strangely. She was not aware, but the two men who Dom was speaking with were among those who knew exactly who Mina was, and how she ended up as a prisoner in all but name. Mina turned to leave, but Dom called out to her.
"Go get ready, I want to take you somewhere."
----
Mina sat in Dom's car for what felt like hours. They drove so far that she ended up just an hour away from her family home. She considered asking Dom if he would take her to visit but she did not know if it would get the man into trouble with his boss, and she did not want to unnecessarily rock the boat. Mina had been told that the person who had hired Mr. Mike and Adley to have her drugged and assaulted by President Lee, was likely the same person who arranged for Mr. Mike and Adley to be killed.
President Lee believed that the same person was likely to target Mina or her family to keep their loose ends tied. To be on the safe side, Mina had agreed to stay in the Lee mansion, that way, if the person who attempted to frame president Lee for her murder or her disappearance acted, the Lee family could arrange for her to be seen perfectly fine and well. Likewise, if the person believed that Mina had no contact with her family, it would do the culprit no good to go after them, hence she became a pawn in the Lee family chess game.
----
When the car finally stopped, Mina glanced at the time on the front consul of the dash. It was nearing her dinner time and she wondered if Carmen was given instruction as to what to do if Mina was not home when 6PM rolled around. Pushing back the annoying thought Mina analyzed the setting around her. It was a tall warehouse looking building with wrought iron fences with barbed tips. Other than that one structure, the area looked desolated and Mina started to worry that she had made a fatal mistake in following Dom.
Mina did not notice she was being watched until she followed Dom up to what looked like a nondescript portion of fencing. Two automated weapons trained on them as they approached, but Dom rattled off a series of letters and numbers that must have signified him as an authorized visitor. The fence that appeared to have no opening, opened, and Mina and Dom stepped through to the other side.
Mina asked Dom about where they were, and he told her it was a training facility. She asked about the random letters he spoke, and when she repeated it to him verbatim, Dom warned her that if she ever tried to use that sequence, she would be shot instantly.
"The code phrase to get into the place changes after every use; because I already used mine, in about half an hour, I'll get a phone call with new credentials. It's the same for everyone who can walk in and out of this place," he said.
"So, does that mean there are people who cannot leave?" Mina asked, and the silence she received as a reply was her answer.