About four hours had passed, and Charles had seen or heard no sign of any people coming closer to the basement. “Why did you have to give me a task in this current situation?” Charles spoke out bitterly. Those men had tied Charles up so tight that even if he lost a little weight now, he still won’t be able to wiggle out of the ropes. “Hello? Anyone here?” Charles called out to anyone who could hear him, but all he got was an echo. He was beginning to get frustrated, and was about to fall himself to the floor, probably progress could come out of that, but the door creaked open, and he heard footsteps. “Thank goodness.” He muttered under his breath, with relief. “Our boss just gave the orders to release you from where he is. Remember, if you act wrongly, you’ll blow up.” One of them said to him, and they all laughed out, mockingly. Charles was glad that they weren’t wearing masks like their boss, so it was going to be easy to track them, and give back to them, the treatment they deserved. “Is that clear?” One of them yelled. Charles nodded his head, and they all laughed. “Wow. It feels so good to be in control.” Another said, smiling widely. “Of course. That’s what he has been enjoying. I’m glad boss singled him out for this.” Then they released him, and Charles tried his best to act normal until he was out of the building. He got back into his car, and drove back home. FIFTEEN MINUTES LEFT As soon as he got home, he met Vera and James, looking dejected. But as they saw him, they jerked up from their seat, and gave him a tight hug. “Oh, my goodness. How did you escape? What happened back there?” Vera asked, looking at Charles with concern. “There’s no time for that right now. I’ll explain, later. Right now, what’ the fastest way to invest money without any long procedure?” Charles questioned both Vera and James, and they both threw each other strange looks. They were hoping that they had not messed up with Charles’ brain as he had just come back from a threatening place, and the first thing he wanted to settle was an investment. “Charles, are you sure you’re okay?” Vera asked, with concern. “Oh, goodness! You know what, James, I need you to fish out George’s bank account details. Right now!” Charles instructed as he paced around, uncomfortably. “Charles, is everything okay? Why are you asking about George’s bank account details out of the blue?” James asked, with a puzzled expression. “Just do what I tell you to do, James!” Charles lashed out, beginning to feel cranky. James then out a call through to the person that usually do stuff like this for him, and Charles kept staring at his watch, watching as time passed by. Each minute that passed by, made Charles feel tensed, and pressured. FIVE MINUTES LEFT “How’s it going? Has he not been able to hack into it?” Charles pressured James who was also feeling the same pressure which Charles was currently feeling. “He’ll get back to me soon.” “I need it as fast as possible, James. I have no more time to waste!” As he said that, James’ phone beeped, and Charles stood firmly, hoping it was good news, and yes, it was. James immediately called out the account number, and Charles transferred the money to George’s account. Later, he was going to think about what he was going to say to George, regarding the money that was sent to his account. “Phew! That was a close call.” Charles said as he allowed himself to fall to his sofa, feeling really relaxed. Then James and Vera came closer to him. Now that he had calmed down, they believed that he would be able to answer any of their questions, no matter how many they could be. ~ Charles had answered their questions, but didn’t give them information on why he was being hasty on having George’s bank account details out of the blue. They had agreed to have a meeting with him on how to plan things as they needed to rest from all the tension that was built up when they didn’t know where exactly he was, and what he could be going through.He stood at his balcony, and leaned on the rails, looking at the night sky. Normally, he would have felt better when he was able to complete the task when he had just a minute left, but the way he was treated, couldn’t go off his mind. He felt anger rise in his heart as his memory played out the scene at the basement. Then his phone rang, and he answered it. “I’m just pitching this in as a reminder. Don’t you dare, run. And I need George as soon as possible. If you stall, I will be the one to ensure the bomb begin to tick on a timer, and by then, no one will be able to save you. So, act wisely.” The masked man hung up, and Charles almost threw his phone out to the garden, furious. “How dare this man speak to me in a lowly manner? How dare he threaten me?” Charles voiced out loud, and punched the nearby wall. His breath became heavy and rushed because of the built-up anger. It took him about a few minutes to calm down, and meditate before he ends up doing what could ruin his chance of getting back at them. Then the system popped up. CONGRATULATIONS, YOU HAVE SUCCESSFULLY COMPLETED A TASK AND THAT HAS EARNED YOU TEN POINTS. Charles paid attention to see the skills he could purchase with his points. He hoped that he would get the skills that would be useful enough for him to help his current situation. And when the system played out the skills, he smirked, and his heart beamed with enthusiasm. “Now, you are going to really regret crossing paths with Charles Lincoln.”