Chapter 194: Rescued Again

Words : 1547 Updated : Oct 15th, 2025

Chapter 194: Rescued Again Zane was still surprised that he had actually found Athena. He remained unmoving, even after Athena called his name tentatively, making her think that she was hallucinating. He watched her shake her head slowly as if to shake him out of her vision, watched her lift her eyes again to him, brow furrowing, most likely wondering what he was doing in front of her as an illusion. "Why am I seeing you then?" He heard her mutter intermittently, as she rested her head on the tree and closed her eyes, finally giving up on shaking him away, while her hand tightened on the gun. It was then that he snapped out of his haze, and took a good look at her. She was looking bloodied, from head to toe, like she had swum in blood. Was all that blood hers? He wondered, stepping closer to her. As his boot scrunched the crawling vegetation, Athena’s eyes flew open, and she pointed the gun at him. Zane instantly threw his hands up out of habit. "Athena, it’s me, Zane. I am sorry I didn’t speak at first; I was just too shocked," He spoke out hurriedly, seeing the expert way Athena held the gun. Athena furrowed her eyebrows, ignoring the headache pumping her head. "Zane? You are real?" Zane nodded and slowly knelt in front of her. "It’s me, really." Athena stretched her bloodied hand and tapped him on the cheek. When she was assured of its soft matter, she dropped the gun by her side, sighing heavily. "How are you here? Where is Aiden?" Zane pointed at the vegetation in front of her, needing to keep her active as he could see her voice tiring out, and her eyes drooping shut at intervals. He couldn’t have her dying. He had made that promise with Sandro to Ewan; it had been the only way to keep him from zooming out of the house to the location of the accident when some netizens had uploaded the video file, which had depicted some masked fellows shooting, some feet away from the car. It had taken the black scorpion tattoos on the hands of the masked men as they raised their hands and shot the guns into the air to inform the netizens that the masked men were members of the Black Scorpions gang. And who else would dare provoke the gang in such a way that they would be that careless? Athena. The realization had set off another pandemic; even the higher security details of the country, apart from the local police, were involved, seeing as she was a national treasure, considering the level of evidence that Aiden had presented in the news about an hour ago. "He is coming with the others..." Zane finally said, sitting close to her, taking her head and resting it on his thighs. "Everything is fine now. Only don’t shut your eyes to the darkness. Remember the twins are waiting for you. You still have patients waiting too. And not just that... the lives and economy of our nation and others are depending on you. So, don’t give in." Athena, who had been just about to surrender to the enticing darkness, opened her eyes. "I won’t die," She muttered, or tried to, because she couldn’t hear herself. She clutched Zane’s clothing to remind herself she was alive and safe. She could hear, as if from a far distance, his phone beeping at intervals, and knew he was communicating with the others to come and pick them—to be on the safe side. Who could say that the gang might not have a backup plan? Meanwhile, Zane just sent Aiden their location. "The first tree in the bushes," He had typed before sending a message to Ewan: "I have found her, big man. You can rest easy. Remember to take your drugs." "Thank you, Zane." He got a reply from Ewan immediately. A soft smile touched his lips as he rested his head on the tree, absolutely grateful that he had found Athena and that they would be on their way soon. "Zane..." He heard Aiden and Sandro’s worried voices later. He looked down at Athena. Her eyes were still open, focused on a grass with pink and yellow coloring, as if studying it. But from experience, he knew that this was the only way she could keep away from the darkness—to keep focus on something else. "We are here..." He finally said. Immediately, Aiden and Sandro appeared in front of him, breathing harshly. Zane willingly surrendered Athena to Aiden, who carried her gently in his arms and nodded at him. "Thank you, Zane." Zane nodded, taking note of the security detail behind his friend. "What the hell, man! When did you disappear from my sight? How did you know where to find her?" Sandro asked as they followed Aiden out of the bush area. As they walked along the path, Zane pursed his lips, seeing dead bodies here and there. The gang had clearly anticipated a face-off; why else would they send more than ten skilled men on this mission? "Aiden told me to go look for her. He told me to follow the blood trail. I had to obey. Sorry about leaving you in the midst of a gun battle." Sandro sighed. "That’s okay," He said, giving the big gun in his hand to one of the security men behind him. "So long as she is fine, all is well." "Are you sure?" Zane asked as they broke out of the bush confines, seeing the citizens that had crowded around the area with their phones raised, their faces tainted with curiosity and sorrow. "Is she okay?" came the echoes around the crowd. When Aiden nodded, before placing Athena on the stretcher, a cheering began, and people even hugged each other as if they had just won a football match. "Are things well? I think things might just get worse from here on out, especially with the public involved." Zane continued, entering the car that had brought him and Sandro to the junction, watching as the stretcher was lifted and put into an ambulance. "You are right," Sandro agreed. "This is far from over. Knowing Athena, she won’t be pleased with the amount of security detail that will be following her from henceforth. Ewan mentioned that the eyes of the government of other nations are on her. Our nation too. As a matter of fact, our government sees her as a treasure now. And you know what they do to treasures..." Zane nodded tiredly. He knew, and he believed it would only make things worse—more casualties, more deaths. As he thought of this, he remembered the innocent driver that they had pulled out from the car first. Dead already on impact, he had guessed, noting the twisted nature of his neck. All because he wanted to convey a passenger to the hospital. "She should have stayed back at the station, waited for Aiden and the rest..." He heard himself speak, but even as he did so, even as Sandro met his gaze, he already knew the reply to that. If Athena had stayed at the station, there would have been deaths, this time in the police force. Three policemen had died in the gun battle today, but more would have died if she had remained in the station. He sighed and looked away. "Where should I go, sirs?" Ewan’s driver asked, breaking the silence. "After the ambulance, or to the house?" Sandro and Zane exchanged furtive glances. "To the hospital," Sandro finally answered. There was no need to go to the house now. Ewan would have their heads if he found out that they didn’t go to the hospital to get a doctor’s report on how Athena was doing. An hour and two surgeons later—after they had gotten to the hospital—Zane and Sandro were pleased to hear the news from Aiden that Athena would be fine. "Thank you two for coming," Aiden spoke, as he accompanied them out of the hospital, for the doctors hadn’t allowed visitors for Athena until the next day. "It’s nothing, Aiden. You already had it covered," Zane spoke, coming to a halt before the car. Aiden shook his head. "She probably wouldn’t have made it if you two hadn’t come. So, thank you." Sandro and Zane nodded, throwing a glance at the dark hallway. "You spending the night?" They both asked, swishing their noses at the same time when they realized they had spoken the same thing at the same time. "Yes, I have to. The twins can come in tomorrow," Aiden said, then paused. "Will the shareholders meeting still hold tomorrow, considering Athena is one of the shareholders?" Sandro shrugged his shoulders. "I am not sure. They might not consider her because the shares were not bought, just handed over by Ewan. Also, she is not really around in the company..." Aiden wanted to say that those conditions didn’t matter, but he was too tired, and Ewan’s company was the last thing on his mind. So, he nodded and wished them a good night. "Say hello to Ewan for me. And of course, a ’thank you’ to him too," He said with a thin smile.

Chapter 194: Rescued Again

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