Sang has always been a little bit different. She was made fun of for being a math-whiz in school up until she was kidnapped. Growing up in the crime world from a young age, she tried to do what she was told and keep her head down...but...that was...
Over my coughing and the sloshing water, I heard some grunts as they lifted. The heavy metal groaned as it was raised up into the air.
I was blinded by bright morning light.
A cold blanket of fresh, sweet air rushed in as the top was lifted up. I basked in the feel of it on my face, even as I coughed in the sloshing water trying to clear out my lungs.
The guys were fast and efficient. Once the three had started lifting, the other two were ready at the halfway point to push it up the rest of the way. The first three then changed their grip to help hold the lid up. And then, I was being pulled from the water before I could stop coughing.
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(Nathan Griffin)
"She's clear," Nathan said, holding me tightly to his hard chest. It felt warm on my shivering body. I was still coughing and hacking as Nathan wrapped what felt like someone's jacket around me. I got the distinct scent of musk with a slight undertone. It was hard to tell. It wasn't as dominant, but it was definitely there. Perhaps...gun oil?
"And drop on three," Karl said. "One, two,THREE!"
It sounded like a detonation as it crashed back over the top of the tank.
Nathan kept me wrapped in his very thick arms. "She's freezing."
I went to turn around but my eyes stopped on Kaz. Even out of the water, my lungs burned as if they were drowning. Now that I wasn't resigned to my fate, I thought back to the thumb drive. By now, Nikolai would've killed witnesses and eradicated any evidence that could be used to tie him to countless murders. It was useless information in taking down Nikolai, yes, but it could still be helped to bring some closure to the families that had lost someone close to them. They would at least know for sure their loved one was dead and be able to begin healing.
I faced them. "I-I n-nee-d to g-go ba-ck in th-there."
"What?"
"Fuck no!" North yelled. "You're not getting back in there."
The others went to voice their opinions as well, but it was Karl, the smallest of the group, though still much larger than me, that silenced them. "Why do you need to go back in there, Sang?"
"Th-thumb d-rive," I stuttered. Nathan was against my back, rubbing large hands up and down my arms that jostled me around a bit from their strength.
"What's on the thumb drive?" Karl asked, excited.
"N-noth-thing in-crimi-nating anymore. B-but," my eyes glanced back at Kaz. "S-some closure for lots of p-people."
Between the jacket and Nathan's heat at my back, my stuttering was slowly stopping. I looked back at the men that had saved me, unsure of the expression on my face. It still felt numb to me, but there must have been something there because North went, "Fuck!" and turned back to the tank.
