The woman soon regained her consciousness and opened her eyes slowly. Her head ached a lot and her vision was still fuzzy. She supported herself with the car's handle as she stood straight and looked around.
By the time she saw a stranger driving her car, she became frightened and held the steering to stop the car. The man seemed to be prepared for it as he shoved her hands away from the steering, while still maintaining his driving speed.
"Calm down. I'm not one of them", Alec said without looking at her. "Who are you, and what did you do to me?" The woman asked, her wariness at its peak. "You fainted when you saw a gun, I don't know why, but I had to terminate those people that wanted to kidnap you, you're welcome by the way", Alec said flatly.
The woman looked at Alec with questionable eyes as she sized Alec. She noticed there was a gun inside of his pocket, so she immediately put her hands on his pocket and took out the gun in a flash, and pointed it at him.
"Stop the car", the woman said firmly, despite her shaky state. Alec didn't seem to mind the gun on his face as he continued driving. "Lower the gun. I can't do that. If I decide to stop this car and leave you alone, I promise you, you won't last ten minutes before you get seized again".
The woman ignored his words as he turned off the safety of the gun. "I'll not ask again", the woman hollered angrily. Alec took a glance at her, then sighed and slowed the vehicle down, until it came to a stop.
"Now get out, before I blow your heads off", the woman made the gesture for Alec to leave. This was not going to happen, Alec thought. He racked his brain on how to convince the woman that he was not here for ill means.
"Woman, please listen to me carefully, and I mean carefully. I cannot leave you, not here, not now. Your son is in serious trouble, and you cannot protect him alone. I need you to believe me when I'm telling you that I'm not like the people that are after the key.
I owe your ex-husband a life favour, and I swore to protect his family at any cost, so please don't make it difficult for me to fulfil this vow, I'm begging you", Alec said. He was slightly surprised at how good he was at lying. It was almost easy to learn the art of lying.
The woman's face appeared conflicted. She could not help but take a second look at the man in the driver's seat. Who was this man, and why was he so interested in my family? From what she knew, the only reason anyone would want her family was to obtain one thing, the key.
"Are you trying to use some reverse psychology here, huh? FYI, I am a therapist, so I know a lot about this field, so if you think you can trick me with your fancy words, I'm sorry to disappoint you, but that shit doesn't work on me", the woman said flatly, still pointing the gun to Alec's head.
"You know what, why do I even care? Maybe you are right. Maybe I am one of those people pursuing that fancy key, I don't know. I have no idea why I even cared at all. You know what, do whatever you like, I don't care", Alec said slightly provoked as he took back the gun from the woman's hand before she could even react.
The woman was alarmed at how the gun was easily taken from her hands, so she immediately searched for another thing she could use as a weapon. She grabbed a spanner and brandished it to possibly fight for her life. But she saw Alec leaving the car and closing the door, making her be confused.
Was what this man says true? Maybe he was genuine, but she couldn't blame anyone. She was almost killed multiple times by some bad guys, consequently, that caused her to see anyone as a potential killer.
Sometimes she cursed her former husband for giving her son that stupid key. If it was not that her son had insisted to keep the key, she would have disposed of it a very long time ago. Although she couldn't admit it, she wished she had a person to assist her in this crisis.
While she was thinking, she realized that Alec had gone very far. She immediately drove the car and blocked his path, but Alec ignored her and re-routed his path. "What's your name?" The woman asked as she drove the car slowly to match the speed Alec was walking.
"Doesn't matter", Alec said and ignored her. The woman wasn't deterred though as she pressed on. "I'm still not sure if you want to help me, but I need help, as much as I hated to admit it", the woman said finally.
"You don't", Alec simply said. The woman was slightly frustrated but decided to press on. "You are not helping here at all. One moment you were so interested in helping me and my son, you even owed a vow to protect us, and right now, you are ignoring me. What kind of mixed message are you saying here?" The woman asked, pretending to be angry.
Then Alec stopped. He looked at the woman and stared straight into her eyes. "I also made another promise to ignore your family completely if any member of his family rejects my help.
"I get you don't believe me, but for someone that wants your key, I would have tied you up and dumped you on the back bonnet. Then I'll call your son and threaten him to give up the key, and guess what, I've obtained what I want. Do you see any of that happening?"
The woman became silent. He was, right. If he had any ill intentions, he would have gotten his way with her easily without breaking a sweat. But he didn't. The woman was in a dilemma. She struggled with her conscience as to whether this man she had never met before was telling the truth or not.
"Alright I agree, but if all this is a lie, I won't hesitate to kill you", the woman threatened with cold eyes. Alec simply nodded and climbed to the passenger seat.
Alec reckoned that this game was somewhere in the western side of the world, somewhere inside the continent of America, but he couldn't pinpoint where. As time goes on, he would find out. He has 360 days in this game anyway.
"What's your name?" Alec asked, although he knew what her name was, he didn't want to look suspicious.
"Laura".