Hostile Takeover ❖ Jake Riley | ✓ [book 1]

16~ Its Own Seed

"There is no better than adversity. Every defeat, every heartbreak, every loss, contains its own seed, its own lesson on how to improve your performance the next time."

~ Malcolm X

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If the walls were made of clean cut glass panes, Max's head would've gone right through and shattered the entire building with the mere force, because that was the kind of strength Jake felt coursing through is body as he slammed Max's tinier form into the concrete wall.

"Where is Jenna!?" he roared. Max gave him a sly grin.

"Well, let's just say that she's a little locked up at the moment," he said. Jake, raging with anger now, took out his gun and placed the barrel under Max's chin.

"Here's what's going to happen. You keep that wieseley face of yours tight-lipped, I put a bullet in your skull, but you tell me where Jenna is, and I might let you live," he seethed.

"You can't kill me now, because then you won't get the answers your looking for. But I can give you clues," he said.

Jake pulled the safety off his gun and put the barrel against Max's forehead, "Then start singing,"

"She's closer than you think. She's in a box, four feet wide, six feet tall. It's a box that regularly aides you in life, and it's a box you can find in every house. She's underwater, but she's not wet," 

Jake glared at him, "What does that mean?" he asked.

"I can't give away the answers to all my riddles!" he laughed, "I may as well tell you how to stop me!"

"Well then, how about I beat the answer out of you until you're seeing four of me?" he asked.

"I don't think that would be a wise idea," he said, "Because while you're dragging me back to your superiors, interrogating me, torturing me for information, Jenna's sure to run out of oxygen,"

Jake's grip let up and he leaned away, "You sick son of a bitch,"

"We all have our quirks," he smiled, "If I were you, Jake. I'd start your search party, because according to my watch, I put Jenna inside that box precisely fifty-five minutes ago, which means that she now has five minutes and 42, 41, 40 seconds! Unless of course, she hasn't sucked up all the oxygen out of pure fear, or her heart hasn't given out from all the stress,"

Jake's fists clenched at his side, he so badly wanted to punch Max's face in until brain matter was spilling out of his ears. He couldn't bare to think about her, trapped in that little space, clawing and pounding on the door, screaming and begging to be let out. Reluctantly, he stepped back.

"This isn't over," he growled, "I'm going to find you,"

"And I look forward to it. Until we meet again, Jake,"

Jake turned on his heels and started down to the basement, moving as fast as a race car on the Indianapolis Speedway. Max just watched, feeling very satisfied as he heard the echo of Jake's heavy boots pound down the stairs. He turned on his own heel, and he made his escape.

The stairs seemed to go on and on, like the sets in M.C Escher's painting. Beads of sweat dripped down his face, and he felt like someone was sitting on his chest so he couldn't breathe properly. But the one thing that kept up his strength was Jenna. He focused on her smile instead of her tears, and her laughs instead of her screams.

"Jake!" Jake suddenly stopped when he heard his name. He looked up, where Lex stood on the level above him at the emergency exit, "Where are you going?"