The meeting that would eventually lead to the demise of the once very luxurious Leamington Hotel was about to begin in the next few moments. Mason Wilson, who was unaware of this fact- due to the unfortunate absence of a time machine- was thrilled by the opportunity of getting to sign a deal with the best security company in the country.

Mason led the way for Dylan and his team, guiding them towards the biggest meeting room of his hotel. Once seated inside, he turned to his manager, Joshua who was arranging his files in order. A thing he always did when nervous.

"The guy working right now, do you trust him?" Mason asked in a whisper.

Joshua stopped fidgeting with his files and nodded his head, "yes, he's an old friend. I instructed him perfectly on what has to be done." His eyes then moved away from his boss to the man, in the head chair, who was talking to his assistant, showing him the iPad and instructing him on the things that were inaudible to others present in the area.

"Do you think we'll be able to work out this deal with Mr VanAssche?" Joshua asked, worried after all the things he'd heard about the man.

"Of course, we planned well" his boss answered confidently. VanAssche was, no doubt, an intimidating man but, Mason was better.

"What makes you think otherwise?"

Dylan finished his little talk with his assistant. He picked up the iPad, looked up at the two men for the briefest of the second, then dropped his eyes to the screen in his hand. There was no way one could know what was going inside his head or what he was reading on the iPad as his face, ever since he had entered the building, had been devoid of any expression. Joshua observed how the man ignored everything and everyone whom he didn't consider important. People had been trying their best to grab his attention but all they managed to receive in return were unanswered questions and one-sided conversations.

Mason, his boss, was extremely confident that they'll easily bag the deal with the company but, the look Mr VanAssche had given them earlier, the manager thought. It was the look that made him think otherwise.

Mason opened the files and adjusted his mic for the start of the meeting. Joshua, on the other hand, took the time to text the guy, who was working for them, some seven floors above the conference hall.

'Do your work and leave asap Derek and for heaven's sake don't mess up'

-Josh

The phone placed on the table in the technical area of the seventh floor beeped with the arrival of the text. The person, however, had no time to read it as he had done exactly what he was instructed not to. Derek, for heaven's sake, had messed up.

Sitting inside the deserted tech area with nearly a dozen computer screens facing him, Derek tried to come up with several ways to rectify the problems, both the one that he was called upon to fix and the one that he had created himself. The file that was supposed to guide him through the complicated software had been of no use to him. Derek had read the entire document twice now but, the more he tried to comprehend it, the more complicated it became. Giving up, at last, he snapped the file shut and threw it at a corner of the table, away from his tired eyes.

Having no options left, he grabbed his phone, ignored the message from the manager, and dialled the third contact on his speed dial.

As Derek waited for the call to be answered his eyes went back to the computer screen, filled with complex codes that had stopped making sense to him about an hour ago. 'This was supposed to be manageable', he murmured to himself.

"I need your help!" He exclaimed as soon as the phone was answered.

Derek could hear the chaos, that was his workplace, through the phone and felt worse knowing he had bigger problems to deal with after this one. He should have declined to come to this place, he thought, but then, Josh was an old friend of his and the money he was offered was way too much to refuse.

"Sorry, wrong number" came the monotonous reply.

"Not funny, Nadia. Not funny! I need help!" Derek exclaimed. When there was no further reply and the continuous typing sounds of the keyboard warned him he wasn't about to get any reply, he softened his voice and begged, "I'm in a huge mess, Nadia and you're the only person who could save me. Please come here and help me. Pleaseeeee".

The keyboard sounds stopped and there was a short pause before she responded, "what did you do this time, Derek?"

"You know my friend Joshua? He called me to fix the software at Leamington. I tried fixing it but something happened and now I can access nothing on it. The software blocked me out" he complained like a little kid.

"I asked you about it in the morning and you told me nothing and now you want me to come and fix it for you?"

Derek could hear the fatigue in her voice. Their workplace was a mess, everyone had been losing their minds ever since the announcement was made. The work would never end but, he had no other option left other than ask his friend for help. Not only she was the only person, whom he knew, who could easily get through the software but also, she was the only person whom his superior, Mr Anderson, would allow stepping out of the office without making a scene.

"Yes, because you're the best person in the entire universe!" he declared.

"Yes, of course," Derek could imagine her rolling her crystal blue eyes, "In return, you'll help me with these stupid files?" She asked.

"Anything. Anything at all. Please don't tell anyone about it though, it'll be really humiliating for me" he said before ending the call.

Twenty minutes later, when Mason Wilson was being held captive inside the biggest meeting room of the place he owned, Nadia Hayden walked inside the busy lobby of the hotel, unaware of the mayhem that was about to transpire in the next few minutes.

When Derek had come to Nadia, first thing in the morning, with the software documentation of Leamington asking questions about the programs in it, she had counter questioned him about it. The hotel was one of the biggest clients of the company she worked for and Derek had no business with the place. His sudden curiosity and lack of explanation had made her wary and Nadia had refused to answer any of his queries until he answered hers.

Derek had then begged Mr Anderson for a few hours leave, which he was granted in return for tons of paperwork, and had strolled out of the office. Nadia had guessed there was something stupid going on with that dumbhead, whom she, unfortunately, called her friend, but walking inside the hotel she realized it may be more than just something stupid.

There were a lot of guards around the hotel, both outside and inside. The people in Leamington seemed oblivious to them as they weren't standing in groups rather scattered around the place. The only reason Nadia could discern them was the logo on their uniforms. It was the emblem of the one company that she could identify anywhere.

Clearing her mind of all the red signals around her and focusing on the task ahead, Nadia headed straight to the reception desk.

"I'm here to fix the tech issue," she told the woman at the reception.

"Please head to the seventh floor".

Nadia thanked her and turned left, walking towards the elevators. The cell phone inside her handbag rang and she stopped. Taking it out, she saw it was Derek being impatient. She ignored the call and went to the elevator, pushed the button and waited.

"Hayden" came the booming voice from behind her.

Nadia turned around to watch the one man, she had sworn to never meet again in her entire life, come towards her. He was as usual dressed in an expensive-looking suit, his hair neatly combed back and a subtle grin on his lips that made Nadia doubt his intention of calling her. Dylan VanAssche wasn't the kind of man who stopped people to have conversations with them, it was always the other way around.

He stopped at a short distance from her, towering over her. Nadia was nowhere close to being short when it came to her height. Being 5'7 and always walking around in heels, she was used to talking to people at her eye level so, the idea of craning her neck to look at this man didn't quite appease her.

It was after a few seconds when Nadia felt some eyes on her that she moved her head to look at the guards surrounding the place, some of whom were staring at them or, precisely, at her. Nadia had had a vague idea about the situation of the place when she had recognized his company's guards but now seeing the man himself, Nadia wondered if she would regret coming to this place at all.

"Don't worry Hayden, they won't shoot you" Nadia's eyes snapped back at him, "not unless I tell them to" Dylan added, earning the deserving glare from her.

Giving threats was one way to greet someone, Nadia thought, staring at the man and trying to maintain her composure.

She took a deep breath and was about to say something when she saw his head snap to his right and Nadia followed his gaze to look at a man who was running towards the stairs as if the world was coming to an end and climbing the stairs was his sole hope of survival.

The doors of the elevator opened with a ding noise. Dylan glanced at his guards, a few of them were already running after the guy, and he ordered the rest to stick to their spots with a simple hand gesture. Already knowing where the guy was headed, Dylan rushed inside the elevator and pushed the button for the seventh floor.

Initially, Nadia stood there stunned, not knowing what to think or do about people running around frantically and people stealing her elevator. But, when no one seemed to be affected much by the short chase that had gone up the stairs, she decided to focus on the work she had come to do, wrap it up, and get the hell out of the place as soon as possible.

Nadia slipped inside the elevator just in time for the doors to close. She noticed how the button for the seventh floor was already pressed and the man who had stolen her elevator in such a hurry was now leaning against the back wall, looking at his cell phone.

Being the curious self she was, Nadia wanted to ask him about the weird happenings of the place but recounting the earlier two encounters with the man, she decided it was better to not have any conversation with him. Nadia was one of those people who always wanted to be in control, be it when handling a difficult situation or dealing with her emotions, and some very limited people could violate that boundary and affect her. But, somehow this man, whom she had only met twice in her life, managed to get on every single one of her nerves and irritate her beyond anything and everything.

Dylan watched Nadia as she stood facing away from him, pretending to ignore his existence. He had seen the confused look on her face when she stepped inside the elevator and was waiting for her to ask the question but the question never came. Dylan wondered what made her change her mind.

He looked down, back at his cell phone. It was a text from Markus. The guards had managed to get hold of the guy by the third floor, who confessed to having run to inform the men, patrolling the seventh floor, to evacuate. Dumbhead.

Reading the email his investigator sent him earlier, Dylan was aware of the arms and drugs stored at the hotel but now, getting to know that Mason had men protecting the area, he was glad he had stayed back. The situation was much more delicate than he assumed it to be and he had to make sure everything goes as he had planned it to.

They reached the seventh floor and the elevator doors opened with a ding. Nadia was about to step outside when Dylan stopped her.

"Stop right there," Dylan said, walking out first and scanning the area for threats. The area was clear and patrollers were nowhere to be seen. He then turned to Nadia, who was staring at him with a frown.

"Now you may move but, follow me and stick close" he ordered, only to make her frown deeper.

Nadia couldn't believe him at all. How could one just order anyone and assume they're going to comply?

"No. You don't own this place, Mr VanAssche so, stop giving me orders" Nadia said in a reasonable tone, then thought for a fraction of second, "and threats" she added, looking him in the eyes.

"Of course I don't own the place, Hayden and you should know that. What happened to you? Don't tell me you stopped keeping tabs on me" an amused smile made its way to his lips, knowing very well he had hit the exact spot that would trigger her anger.

Nadia pressed her lips together and it took everything in her at that moment to not lose her sanity. One sentence and she was regretting meeting him, at that cafe, two years ago, all over again.

Taking a few deep breaths, Nadia decided to pretend he didn't exist and walked around him towards the technical area of the floor. Not more than five steps and she was stopped again, this time by one of the two men coming towards her.

Why can't anyone let her peacefully do her job and bolt out of this shady hotel?

"Can't see the sign over there?" one of them asked, pointing at the sign placed right next to the elevator, "the floor is under maintenance. Get out of here".

The tone, as well as their stance, indicated they were trying to intimidate and scare her away. Nadia clearly remembered how polite and helpful the staff had been the last time she had visited the place. What happened Leamington? She wondered.

Nadia put on her most professional smile and spoke, "I saw it and that sign" she gestured towards the sign with both her hands to put extra emphasis, "is gonna stay there till I go and fix the problem for you".

The other guard, who was standing silently till then, looked down at his watch, "send them away, quickly. I'll go and check on the guy" he instructed his partner before turning around and walking away.

"Someone is already working on it, doll" the guard who stayed back said with the creepiest smile Nadia had ever seen, "Now be a good little girl and get out of here". The forced sweetness in his voice could make anyone cringe.

Dylan was standing at a short distance behind Nadia, more interested in studying the body language of the man than in the conversation. He noticed how the patroller's left hand would move up to his waist, unconsciously, at regular intervals of time, then drop back to his side when he'll realize it. There was a slight bump beneath his clothes on the same side of his waist. He was carrying a gun.

Nadia, who was standing at a safe distance from the man, looked unfazed by the guard's bullying. "The same someone who is already working on it, called me here to help him. So now, if you would behave like a good little boy and step aside, I would go and do my job" she said, mimicking the guard's sweet tone while maintaining her professional smile.

The guards face hardened with that reply and Dylan watched as his hand once again went up to his waist. He hesitated for a split second before finally placing it above his hidden revolver.

His slight uncertainty made Dylan's lips curl upwards. A man who hesitates to touch a gun is never brave enough to shoot one.

"Let her go. She's here only to help" Dylan said, drawing the guards attention to him.

The guard who had been more interested in the girl talking back at him finally moved his eyes away to look up at the man standing behind her. His fingers curled around his pistol, unknowingly, as he scanned the man, standing before him, from head to toe, "and who the fuck are you?"

"You'll find that out. Quite soon" the phone inside Dylan's coat pocket vibrated for a brief second, signalling the arrival of a text message. Already guessing what the text was about, Dylan placed his hands inside his pant pockets and waited for the cops to make their entrance.

The guard's eyes narrowed in suspicion. Mason had handed him a huge responsibility to keep the stuff on the floor safe and he wasn't going to mess up. He looked at the man standing in front of him, with no expression on his face and wondered if he knew more than he was supposed to. Not wanting to take any chances, he decided to use the one method that was always effective in scaring people away.

He pulled out his revolver but before he could decide whether to point it at the girl, who was now stepping away from him with a horrified look on her face, or the man, who had a mocking smile that dared him to use the gun, the elevator doors opened. Armed men in police uniform filled the place, shouting orders and holding everyone at their gun points except the man who had invited them there.