Chasing them down.
The jungle exploded with gunfire and the sounds of pursuit.
Three of them were still fleeing; we took down two.
The last one was their leader.
A teammate who was ahead of me took a bullet, clutching his abdomen.
“Marcus, are you okay?”
“I’m fine.”
He gritted his teeth, still pressing on his wounded abdomen, and charged forward.
But his stamina was failing, his face slick with cold sweat.
I grabbed him. “Medic’s on the way, don’t move.”
I hastily grabbed my comms. “Marcus is hit, medic needs to move up, fast!”
“Aubrey, don’t go!”
I just kept running, not even looking back.
“Marcus, don’t worry. I won’t let him cross that border.”
The jungle was thick with thorns, leaving bleeding scratches on my face. But in the heat of the chase, I didn’t feel a thing.
We were almost at the border.
All I knew was, I absolutely couldn’t let that bastard escape.
“Stop right there! Don’t move, or I’ll shoot!”
The man in the baseball cap turned around.
“You’re a woman?”
“So what if I am? You’re still not getting away.
He scoffed, a sneer twisting his lips.
“Not getting away? Then watch me vanish right under your nose.”
He lunged, trying to cross the border line.
I kicked off a tree, launching myself forward, tackling him to the ground.
11:00 AM
<
“You want to cross? No way.”
However, he twisted, and I felt a chill spread across my stomach.
Sure enough, the top–tier criminals always had a few tricks up their sleeves.
He was incredibly strong. He flipped me over, pinning me to the ground.
Then, a few swift, heavy blows. The chill in my abdomen deepened, turning to a searing cold.
He pulled out the blood–stained knife.
And gave me the most vicious smile I’d ever seen.
“This is a man’s fight. What’s a woman doing here?”
A drop of blood from the blade fell onto the tip of my nose.
“Let go!”
He struggled with his leg, then plunged the knife into my chest.
My vision blurred, as if red water had splashed everywhere.
“Aubrey!”
“Aubrey…”
I heard my teammates calling my name.
“Don’t move! Get down!”
My teammates tackled him.
I finally released my grip on his leg.
I heard many people calling my name.
I saw the bluest sky I’d ever seen above the jungle.
But my remaining consciousness slowly, steadily, drained away. I was so tired. I just closed my eyes to rest for a while.
8
Julian’s Journal.
The day Aubrey died.
I made several mistakes at work.
During the meeting, I, usually so decisive and sharp, was completely off my game.
I missed a crucial clause in a key contract that was highly unfavorable to me.
11:00 AM
<
If my secretary hadn’t pointed it out in time, I would have fallen right into their trap.
“Mr. Hayes, are you feeling unwell? Did you not get enough rest last night? Should you go back to the hotel and rest?”
Just then, I heard the urgent wail of police sirens on the main road.
