Chapter 2886
Chapter 2886
She looked ahead, her eyes piercing the darkness. Judging from the elevation she was at, she figured
that the cliff might not be too far from where she stood.
Midway, Nicole stopped and pondered if there was still a way ahead. She was wondering why Damien
and the rest of his entourage had chosen to hole themselves up in a place that was so isolated and
claustrophobic.
All of a sudden, she heard some rustling noises emanating from the thick, lush vegetation before her.
Startled, she darted off the trail she was on and hid herself behind the thicket to her right, and there,
she carefully observed the movements of the silhouettes ahead.
"Let's stay here for a few days. We can leave once things have simmered down," a man said with a hint
of caution in his voice.
"Why don't we just leave now?" another voice asked.
Upon hearing the second voice, Nicole's eyes widened.
'Isn't that Damien? Patricia was following him, but why isn't she here?' Nicole wondered.
As their footfalls grew louder, Nicole crouched over and looked through the gaps in the thicket, trying
not to place herself in their direct line of sight.
As expected, two figures emerged from the grove up ahead, of whom one was Damien. They were
strolling along the pathway as they conversed, shooting bullets of glances behind their shoulders every
now again to ensure that they were not being followed.
"Do you think we've really shaken that woman off?" Damien asked, sounding a little worried.
"Vaio is keeping an eye on her. She won't have her way with us," the other man assured.
However, Damien still seemed uneasy as he remarked," She's quite formidable, you know."
"You have nothing to worry about, because Vaio is more than capable of taking care of her," the man
asserted. "Let's go. With Vaio distracting her, we can take this opportunity to get into hiding."
"Okay." Damien agreed, and followed the other man around a corner.
Then, they disappeared from sight.
What they failed to realize was that someone had managed to track them here; after Nicole had gotten
a bead in the direction which they had taken, she went after them, moving in a half-crouch with her
back lowered so as to muffle her footfalls.
Based on what she had gathered from their conversation, it was evident that this individual by the
name of "Vaio" was not someone she should trifle with. In all likelihood, he was skilled in combat,
stealth, and mind games.
With that in mind, Nicole quickened her pace until she could hear a commotion up ahead. Judging by
the sound of grunts and yells, Nicole figured that they came from Patricia and Vaio, who must be
locked in combat.
The voices drew closer and louder until they sounded as if they were right next to Nicole, and that was
when she caught sight of two figures grappling and wrestling. With her heart pounding, Nicole squinted
her eyes and quickly advanced to get a good look of the situation.
As it turned out, Patricia was still capable of going toe-to- toe with Vaio, though it was challenging for
her to gain the upper hand. Just as Nicole was about to step in to help, she caught a glimpse of Vaio
producing a slender hilt of some sort from the holster at his back.
"Shit!" Nicole grabbed a tree branch and hurled it at Vaio, knowing she would be unable to get to them
in time.
"Ah!" The tree branch struck Vaio's arm, causing him to yelp in pain, and the baton-like weapon he was
holding fell to the ground with a loud clunk. Content (C) Nôv/elDra/ma.Org.
A needle-like appendage with rows of feathers lining it ejected from the tip of the baton, making it clear
to Nicole that it was a concealed tranquilizer baton.
Vaio then stumbled back and clutched his arm in pain.
Not expecting someone else to join the fray, he looked around and shouted, "Who's there? Show
yourself!"
Patricia shot a quick glance at Nicole's direction, and though she did not see her, she knew right off the
bat that Nicole was there to aid her.
Without another second of delay, Patricia quickly attacked Vaio. Deprived of his weapon now, he
quickly realized that he was now at a disadvantage. But just when he was retreating, he suddenly felt a
sharp, stinging pain in his neck.
Clutching his neck, Vaio looked around, struggling to see and understand what had just happened.
Unfortunately for him, his vision began to blur, and once the last wave of stars had obscured his line of
sight, blackness engulfed him, and he tumbled to the ground with a grunt.
"Ms. Riddle." Patricia joyfully held her arm up upon spotting Nicole. "I knew it was you."
"I saw the markings you've left behind." Nicole studied Patricia from top to toe.
And when she was sure that Patricia was unscathed, a smile crossed her face.
"Something unexpected occurred last night. I couldn't contact you, so I changed the plan on my own,"
Patricia explained.
Nicole nodded, "Yeah. We've figured that out. We were all worried about your safety because we
couldn't reach you."
"I'm okay, but they're all still lying unconscious over there," Patricia said, glaring at Vaio, who was still
lying on the ground with his limbs splayed like a starfish.