"Hm? This is mine" Jessica muttered to herself after she reluctantly grabbed the cell phone Williams handed over to her. She took a glance at the headline of the news website that was left open when the phone was handed to her. Actually, it was the website of her newspaper organization where she had worked, but she didn't know what exactly concerned her with the headline that said, "ON THE RUN: THE NAMES OF SIX DANGEROUS SUSPECTS OF A BREAK IN APPEARS IN THE BLACK LIST AS THE MOST WANTED CRIMINALS."
Jessica was still thinking about how she needed to care about all that when while scrolling down the page, her face appeared to be the last of the six. Scrolling up once more, she saw that the five above her were the five that were present in the room with her. She looked at the names of each of them, looking at them to confirm their names. The one that had just handed the phone over to her, Williams White, looked like someone in his thirties, with the untidy look of his tattered beards not helping; The dude that had pinched her cheek earlier, Cole Wilson; Jason Moore, the one that claimed to have carried her, and she didn't think to consider it a lie since the little nightmare she had earlier said the same; and the two ladies right there with them to be Lily Miller and Olivia Taylor.
"What's all this?" Disturbed by why she was added to the blacklist, she read all the contents of the story and was now more dumbfounded by the sudden accusations. She played the video clip beneath the story exclusive. They had been described to be Psychopaths displaying aberrant behaviors, including public nudity and criminal actions, and she didn't want to argue with that after watching the video.
It seemed more like a replay since her dream showed the exact same thing, but it was real now, and the next moment, tears began to run down her cheeks, wondering exactly what she had gotten herself into.
"These… are all lies…" She looked up at them, her voice cracking in sorrow, and said.
"It's all lies, just as you said," Williams replied her just immediately. He didn't seem to be in a good mood either, and neither did the rest of them.
"We are all wanted criminals now, all of us completely innocent of what they claim," Cole added.
"Take a minute to sit down, let's discuss this," Olivia moved closer to her, to help her down to the seat that was not far away from her, but Jessica resisted, using her hand to shove Olivia's, and irritated, Olivia added, "See, queen, we are the ones you can trust now, believe me. You think your dog gives shit about you? You think you'll be remembered by your dog or your job if you end up dead?"
Those words struck Jessica, but she still wanted to be stubborn. "I am leaving," She went for the door. She didn't know where she was exactly, but at least she had her phone, that was enough to lead her to her workplace. It was at least normal that it was the first place that came to her mind, and all she aimed for was to speak to her boss. If even NewsNow had also branded her to be a criminal, she believed it had to be a misunderstanding, and that her boss, who had given her the mission of interviewing the CEO of PulseTech, would at least believe her if she showed him the video she got from the hidden building in the organization.
Reasoning as she walked, a thought crossed her mind, a thought for her to call her colleague, a fellow intern, one she was at least a bit closest to, Elsa, and she did right away.
It didn't take long before the call went through, and she felt a little pinch of relief.
"Hey, Elsa" After sniffling once, she cleared her throat and said
"Jessi? Where are you?" Elsa replied immediately
"I'm on my way to work, I have some things to sort out with our boss"
"With our boss? I greatly advise that you don't come to work today,"
"I have to, it's urgent. I should at least clear things out, I'm being framed, I have proof,"
"I doubt anyone would listen to you right now if your evidence is not strong enough, I mean, there's price money on your head, anyone would be willing to lie even if your story is true,"
"No, I have to. Please if you can, I would like you to come and help me in, I'm sure they'll give me in if anyone recognizes me,"
"Well, I owe you one, so I guess I can do that"
"Thank you so much, Elsa" She told herself how she made the right decision by speaking to Elsa, and how she knew she could count on Elsa. She increased her pace, walking as fast as she could to the bus stop.
When she arrived at the bus stop, She stood and rested her head on the pole just beside her, and while waiting, she noticed how people looked at her, and back at their phones, as if they were trying to verify something, and she could very well tell that it wasn't as if; they were trying to confirm that she was the one in the list.
Knowing what anyone would do as soon as they recognized her, she bolted, as fast as she could. She ran half a mile before she came to a halt. It was until then she knew how tired she was, and she also knew that she needed a cap or a mask, or something to conceal her identity. She searched for the closest store near her on her cell phone, and she was lucky enough to see that there was an outlet for cheap clothes nearby. She hastened towards the direction her map gave her, and realizing she had no cash, she just went by one of the outlets, grabbed a cap, and ran away, as fast as she could. That was the first time she stole something.
On the sight of a cab, she got in and told the driver where she was headed. She made sure to keep her head down all the time, but she overdid it, and she started to seem suspicious. But she was lucky that the driver wasn't one to look deep into all kind ofstuffs, so she just went.
After some minutes, they arrived at Newsnow, and she alighted, running away as fast as she could. She didn't want to look back, but she was sure that the driver had chased her, but she was lucky enough to have sighted Elsa. It was Elsa that helped pay her transportation fee, and Elsa let her in, telling the security guards that it was her visitor.
"Elsa, thank you so—"
"No don't mention, it's just a little price to pay,"
Relieved by Elsa's selfless gestures, she smiled. That was the first time she felt that relieved since she went to the Tech Organization.
They both walked towards Mr. Davison's office, and after two knocks, Jessica let herself in. She was furious, but when she got in, her feeling of rage quickly alternated with a confused one. It was not her boss, Mr. Davison. It was someone else in his seat. Even the name frame on the desk wasn't having Davison's name. Opposite The new man, was someone sitting, backing her. The person swiveled his seat, revealing himself to be Gregory Mason, the CEO of PulseTech Organization. But what shocked Jessica more were the words of Elsa.
"Sir, here she is. I believed we had a deal" Elsa said, not even turning to look at Jessica.
Jessica could only now understand Elsa's words after she helped her in, -"No, don't mention, it's just a little price to pay"
Without thinking about any other thing, Jessica ran out of the office.
"Get her!" The new boss shouted and Elsa ran out, chasing after Jessica.
Within seconds, there were guards around the entrance of the building, and she knew she was done for, she didn't know where to run to, when she felt this flash of wind, and there was a little stampede amongst the guards... She felt the flash of wind again, and she could feel that she was raised from the ground, and out of that place. She was confused, it all happened in a second.