4
1483 Words
The silence in the office stretched longer than Lia liked.
Nikolai Volkov sat behind the large desk like a man who had all the time in the world. His fingers rested loosely against the polished wood, his posture relaxed, but his eyes never left her.
They were sharp eyes.
Observant.
The kind that made you feel like every small movement was being analyzed.
Lia forced herself not to fidget.
She had already shown enough fear tonight.
“I’m waiting,” she said.
One of the men behind her shifted slightly, clearly uncomfortable with her tone. But Nikolai only tilted his head.
“Waiting for what?”
“You said we need to decide what to do with me,” Lia replied. “So decide.”
For a moment, he just watched her.
Then he smiled faintly.
“You’re either very brave,” he said, “or very bad at recognizing danger.”
“Maybe both.”
The corner of his mouth twitched again.
Interesting.
That word seemed to appear silently in his expression more than once.
He leaned back in his chair, folding his hands together.
“Tell me something, Lia Hassan,” he said. “How did you learn to hack systems like mine?”
Lia shrugged.
“The internet.”
One of the men behind her let out a quiet scoff.
Nikolai didn’t.
His gaze stayed steady.
“I doubt that.”
“Well, believe whatever you want.”
The room grew quiet again.
Lia shifted her weight slightly, crossing her arms tighter.
“You dragged me across the city in the middle of the night,” she said. “Are we going to talk about my hobbies all evening, or are you going to explain why I’m here?”
One of the guards stepped forward.
“Watch your tone ”
“It’s fine,” Nikolai interrupted calmly.
The guard stopped immediately.
Nikolai’s attention returned to Lia.
“You’re here because you broke into something that belongs to me,” he said. “That alone would normally be enough reason to make someone disappear.”
The words were spoken casually.
Like he was discussing the weather.
A small chill crept down Lia’s spine.
She refused to show it.
“But you didn’t make me disappear,” she said.
“No.”
“Why not?”
Nikolai’s fingers tapped once against the desk.
“Because I’m curious.”
Lia frowned slightly.
“About what?”
“You.”
The word hung in the air.
Her expression hardened.
“That’s creepy.”
Another quiet laugh escaped him.
“You’re the first person who has ever successfully bypassed my primary security network,” he said. “That makes you valuable.”
“Valuable,” she repeated flatly.
“Yes.”
“And what exactly does that mean for me?”
He studied her for a moment before answering.
“It means you’re lucky.”
She let out a dry laugh.
“Lucky is not the word I’d use for tonight.”
“No?” he asked.
“If you were unlucky,” Nikolai continued calmly, “you would already be dead.”
The room fell silent again.
Lia swallowed.
She knew he wasn’t bluffing.
Men like him didn’t bluff.
Still, she forced herself to hold his gaze.
“So what now?” she asked.
Nikolai stood.
The movement was slow, deliberate.
For the first time, Lia noticed how tall he actually was.
He walked around the desk and stopped a few feet in front of her.
Up close, his presence felt… heavier somehow.
Like the air itself had shifted.
“You’re in debt,” he said suddenly.
Lia blinked.
“What?”
He watched her reaction carefully.
“The landlord,” he continued. “Your mother’s apartment. Two weeks before eviction.”
Her heart skipped.
“How do you....”
“I make it my business to know things.”
Her stomach tightened.
“That’s none of your business.”
“It became my business the moment you hacked me.”
She clenched her jaw.
“So what? Are you going to threaten my family now?”
The room seemed to grow colder.
Nikolai’s expression darkened slightly.
“I don’t threaten families,” he said quietly.
Something in his tone made Lia pause.
It didn’t sound like a lie.
Still, she crossed her arms again.
“Then why bring them up?”
He studied her for a moment.
“Because it explains your behavior.”
“My behavior?”
“Risky,” he said simply.
Lia looked away for a second.
He wasn’t wrong.
She had taken the job knowing it could end badly.
But desperation had a way of making bad ideas seem reasonable.
When she looked back at him, he was still watching her.
Carefully.
Almost thoughtfully.
“Tell me something,” he said.
“What?”
“If I let you go tonight,” he said slowly, “what would you do tomorrow?”
Lia frowned.
“What kind of question is that?”
“Answer it.”
She hesitated.
Then shrugged.
“I’d find another job.”
“Another illegal job?”
“Probably.”
“Even after this?”
She lifted one shoulder slightly.
“Rent still exists tomorrow.”
For a moment, Nikolai said nothing.
Then he nodded once.
“Honest.”
“Was that a test?”
“Something like that.”
He walked back toward his desk but didn’t sit down.
Instead, he leaned against it slightly.
“Here is the situation,” he said.
Lia tensed slightly.
“I have a problem.”
“That sounds like a you issue.”
“It becomes a you issue if you want to stay alive.”
She sighed.
“Of course it does.”
Nikolai ignored the sarcasm.
“I need someone with your skills,” he continued.
Lia blinked.
“…What?”
“You heard me.”
“You kidn*pped me because you want to hire me?”
“In simple terms.”
She stared at him.
“That’s insane.”
“Is it?”
“Yes.”
“You’re good at what you do,” he said calmly. “And I prefer to use useful things rather than destroy them.”
“I’m not a thing.”
“Figure of speech.”
Lia shook her head slowly.
“This is ridiculous.”
“You broke into my system in under three minutes.”
“Two and a half.”
The correction slipped out automatically.
Nikolai’s eyebrow lifted.
Then he smiled again.
“There it is.”
“What?”
“Pride.”
She frowned.
“Everyone has it.”
“Yes,” he said. “But not everyone has the skill to justify it.”
Silence filled the room again.
Then Lia asked the obvious question.
“And if I say no?”
Nikolai didn’t answer immediately.
He simply looked at her.
The calmness in his expression was somehow worse than anger.
Finally he spoke.
“Then I have a problem.”
“And your problems tend to disappear,” Lia said quietly.
He didn’t deny it.
Her stomach twisted.
“So those are my choices?” she asked. “Work for you or die?”
“Don’t be dramatic,” he said lightly.
“Am I wrong?”
Another pause.
Then he spoke.
“You also have a third option.”
Lia frowned.
“What?”
Nikolai straightened slightly.
His gaze locked onto hers again.
“You could leave.”
Her eyes narrowed.
“You’re lying.”
“No.”
“Just like that?” she asked. “You’ll just let me walk out?”
“Yes.”
Suspicion crawled through her chest.
“There’s a catch.”
“There’s always a catch.”
His expression grew more serious.
“If you leave,” he said quietly, “you never hack again.”
Lia blinked.
“What?”
“You disappear,” he continued. “You find a normal job. You live a normal life.”
“That’s not realistic.”
“It is if you want to survive.”
She stared at him.
“You’re serious.”
“Very.”
The room was silent again.
Three choices.
Work for him.
Disappear.
Or die.
None of them sounded particularly appealing.
Lia rubbed her temple slightly.
“You’re asking a lot from someone you kidnapped.”
“I’m offering a lot,” Nikolai corrected.
Her eyes lifted to meet his again.
“And if I work for you?”
His voice remained calm.
“Then your family’s debt disappears tomorrow morning.”
Her breath caught slightly.
“That’s not fair.”
“No,” he agreed.
“It isn’t.”
Silence stretched between them.
Finally Lia muttered under her breath,
“I really should have stopped at the first firewall.”
Nikolai smiled slightly.
“Yes,” he said.
“You really should have.”
- Writer
