"Bang!"

Woody looked up suspiciously, looking in the direction of the main complex, from where the voice must have come from-

"Something seems to be upside down," he said, half-sitting up, opening the window, and looking in the direction of the mansion, "Sounds like a gunshot, doesn't it?" ”

"Guns?" His partner, James, said suspiciously, taking off his headphones, "What gun?" Woody, you've been retired for many years, please don't be so allergic all the time-"

He didn't finish his sentence, because screams could already be heard faintly in the distance. Woody and James looked at each other, James haphazardly took off the headphones, threw them aside, and hurriedly started the car, while Woody quickly picked up the back pocket in the back seat, opened the hidden compartment and took out two guns, threw one to his partner in the car, and tucked the other into the waistband of his pants himself - normally, they don't have guns on daily bodyguard duties, but Woody, like his employer, likes to do a little better preparation so as not to need it.

As the guests gradually left, the lane was much wider, but before the car drove to the villa, it was blocked by the guests who ran out in a panic, Woody scolded "fuck" and made a gesture to James, James stopped the car, and he jumped out of the car and casually stopped a pale young man, "What happened?" ”

He received no answer, and apparently, the man was delirious with fright, and he shook Woody off with all his might, staggering off into the distance, and Woody had to try twice more to get an answer from a panting waiter.

"Gunshots - kidnapping, J.J." He said intermittently, "Ohmygod—that guy has a gun!" He hijacked J.J. and called 911! ”

"Where are they now!" Suppressing the urge to shout, Woody asked as calmly as possible, "Don't panic, where are they now?" Did he take J.J upstairs? ”

"They were on the stairs," said the waiter, "at least when we came out—he told everyone else who had nothing to do with it, so we all came out." ”

"What gun did he bring? How many other people were there at the scene? Woody asked, but seeing the waiter shaking his head, he also knew that he might not be able to extract any useful information from him—the details that people can notice when they are flustered are actually quite limited, and he is already a little timid to notice them.

With a low curse, Woody bent down with his gun in his hand and approached the villa along the side of the path, while making a quick assessment in his mind: this is a large room, with multiple entrances and exits, and floor-to-ceiling windows are everywhere, and there are many entry points, but once anything is involved with hijacking, it will be troublesome, especially-

As he approached, the scene in the hall of the villa began to unfold before his eyes through the open door - Woody's heart sank rapidly: in the most difficult case, the hostage and the kidnapper were completely bound, and there was probably no shooting point from the outside world - the kidnapper seemed to be a connoisseur.

In the spacious foyer, a grand golden staircase is divided into two spiral staircases, one leading to the second floor. And the kidnapper is staying on the platform in the middle with J.J., Woody can vaguely see his head peeking out from behind J.J, but it is just a vague black shadow, and most importantly, he occupies the commanding height, I am afraid it is not easy to shoot up from the first floor, maybe you can shoot down from the second floor, but he is very clever to use the decorative grid on the platform to find cover for himself, the whole person shrinks under the decorative grid, and uses the small space created by J.J and the decorative grid to hide himself, and it is difficult to find the angle from the second floor, besides- On top of that, he still has a gun on J.J. Such a close distance, as long as it hits the main torso, is basically enough to be fatal, and this result is of course absolutely unacceptable.

However, it also made it difficult for the kidnappers to move elsewhere with J.J., which also made Woody's heart sink even more: if he was in it for money, the kidnappers should have taken J.J. hostage to the parking lot in the chaos and got into the car. He didn't choose this strategy, but stayed where he was, I'm afraid that the chances of all this being settled with money are not high.

Except for J.J., there were a few people in the hall who remained in the area and did not move, Woody bent down and approached the door as low-key as possible, hoping to blend in into the hall, he noticed that the doors of the hall to the other two rooms had been closed, and now only the doors were still open, and besides, the windows on both sides could also see inside.

Cesare, Charles, the host of the party, and a frightened young couple, who were facing Jennifer at the bottom of the stairs, were so focused that they didn't seem to notice his arrival, but—

'Bang! Another shot rang out, and not far in front of Woody, the large vase at the entrance of the foyer exploded, and several of the abductees looked at Woody, who could clearly see that Cesare's expression had changed, but they did not communicate further, because the robbers had already begun to speak.

"Anyone walks into the hall, I shoot." Woody couldn't make out his expression, he couldn't even see Jennifer's face at this distance, he could only distinguish her movements, but her movements were not much, and it could even be said that she was as silent as a stone sculpture - the kidnappers shouted at Woody, "Anyone who tried to attack me, I shoot—anyone who walked into the second floor, anyone who wasn't my designator appeared in my sight, I shot, did I make that clear?" ”

Woody immediately raised his hands and took a step back, and he shouted back, "Understood, no one will come in - what do you want?" Are you open to negotiations? ――Can you tell me your name? ”

"Are you in charge?" The robber shouted that he hadn't bothered Woody's question, and that seemed to struck a nerve with the other girl, who suddenly shouted up the stairs, "Zad, you--mm-mm-"

Before she could finish speaking, she was covered by the man behind her, but she still gave Woody some information - it seemed that Zad and the couple knew each other, that is, he was invited as a guest, not an intruder - and the possibility of it was getting smaller and smaller for money.

"I'm the one in charge, Zade." Woody immediately said, "You can tell me whatever you want, ok?" It's just- just don't hurt them, okay? There's nothing that can't be discussed—"

"Shut up." Zad shouted, "Don't say these useless words—"

Although he was shouting hoarsely to communicate with Woody, his tone was calm, "Now I say what I want, as long as you can meet it, then they may be fine - first, let everyone back ten meters, and everyone will back back immediately." ”

Woody turned around and shouted to the security team that had gathered in hindsight, "Ten meters back, now!" ”

These security guards, who knew at a glance that they were halfway home, were originally just looking at the distance as if they were facing a great enemy, but now that they had 'official permission', they immediately retreated with relief, and James could only grin helplessly and take a few steps back. But Zade was not satisfied, and he continued to shout, "And you - you step back 10 meters too." ”

"But here's the problem," Woody called back, "if I go far - you see, I won't hear you, will I—"

"Go back," said Zade, unquestioningly, "Cesare will come to the door and communicate with you—as for you, don't move!" ”

So he knew Cesare? Woody had a bad premonition, but he didn't have time to think too much, and when Zad turned to the others and scolded them, he put his hands behind his back and made a gesture, and James bent all the way up from the flower bed, avoiding Zade's gaze, and approached the open gate, and he himself stepped back, retreating five meters away and staying still: Zad couldn't have seen how far he had withdrawn, his vision was not so wide.

Sure enough, Zade did not protest, he gave orders in the house for a while, and then Cesare slowly walked to the door, he glanced at James without moving, whispered something to him, and then raised his voice again, "Let the police not go near the house, do not force their way in, he has a gun, and if someone breaks in, he will ......"

He closed his eyes, a flash of pain on his face, but quickly swallowed it and said calmly, "He's going to kill J.J. first, and then kill himself." ”

"OK," Woody said, pulling out his gun and swinging it at Cesare, whispering, "Do you need this?" ”

Cesare nodded, snuggled at James, and said loudly, "Charles, Jon, Harry, and I, we all stayed here of our own free will, the police don't need to think about our safety, we won't be harmed by Zade, and everyone present can testify." ”

Charles, Jon, and Harry all said yes to the door, and Cesare continued, "I'm closing the door now, and from the moment I close the door, anyone who walks into the room will shoot Zad - you have to make sure no one comes in, Woody." ”

His tone became sincere, and he looked directly at Woody, "Don't let people in, understand?" J.J's safety must be ensured—"

"Cesare!" Zade yelled in the room, and Cesare shook his head, he took a few steps back and pushed a door forward, and James scurried up against it, and when Cesare pushed another door forward, the door closed and closed, and finally the gap was completely obscured by his body, he shoved his gun into Cesare's pants.

"Close the lock!"

With Zad's faint roar, the door was closed, followed by a crisp writhing, and Woody pushed back a few steps to the window of the foyer to continue to observe the room, but then, Charles, Jon, and Harry all stepped forward helplessly and closed the heavy curtains...... The area in front of the mansion was suddenly darkened, and everything in the foyer was finally completely cut off from the outside.

“shit！” After confirming that there was no longer a gap for action, James stood up, and with a loud curse, he walked over to Woody and took the initiative to report what Cesare had just said, "Stalker-this is them. Fuck the one we've been looking for, fuck, Cesare told us to restrain the police - don't let them break in, then J.J is really finished. ”

"Holyfuck," Woody said, turning around and asking, "Did anyone call 911?" ”

Some of the bold guests and a few security guards raised their hands, and Woody cursed under his breath, pulled out his phone and stepped aside, pressing a number.

"Listen, Mary." As soon as the phone was answered, he said, "No screaming, no overreacting, take a deep breath, get ready - okay?" OK, here's the situation, there's a Stalker kidnapped J.J and used her as a shield, and now Cesare is with them and three other people, locked up in the hall, and someone has called 911, and I need you to contact him immediately...... I don't know, the most reliable upper-level relationship that Big Dream has, the kind that can directly put pressure on the mayor, understand? Let the police not be reckless - if they decide to rush in, J.J will die, understand, and if possible, don't let the local police deal with it, they are not reliable, it is better to have the SWAT come and talk to me, start calling right now, don't panic - I'll wait for your news. ”

After hanging up the phone, he walked back and forth a few steps, still unable to squeeze the heavy feeling in his heart: the police had always had a great deal of discretion in similar operations, and it was difficult to be held accountable afterwards, and the focus was now on four hostages trapped in the house in addition to Jennifer, which would put a lot of pressure on the police - if they finally decided to break in......

Flipping over his watch and looking at the time, he sighed: "It's been almost 19 minutes, and the police car hasn't arrived yet...... Hopefully, their decision-making efficiency will be as low as their reaction speed......"

#

"Good."

The voice from behind her was lowered, and Zad seemed to be quite satisfied with the development of events, Jenny looked down at the empty foyer, looking at the different expressions on the faces of the four men, she twisted her wrist to make sure that she was still handcuffed by the plastic handcuffs, and that the handcuffs seemed to be hanging from something by Zade, making it impossible for her to escape at all, - she listened to the voice behind her almost numbly, "Now, go to the long table on the right, lift the tablecloth, yes, take that little black bag." Charles, you do it. ”

Charles was already sweating profusely, he twisted his fat body, bent down and struggled to crawl to the ground, took the small bag under the table, opened it and took out a DV and triangular stand. Zade gasped and laughed in her ear, and he trembled with excitement, even to the point that she trembled - Jenny could even vaguely feel his physiology, and all this seemed to arouse him very much.

"Set it up and open it." He said, "I'm going to see the red dot -- there, record it for me." ”

Charles recorded for a few seconds, then hesitantly took off the DV and slowly walked up the stairs, Zad reached out a hand from behind him, took the DV and began to check, and he whispered to Jenny and broken, "I'm sorry, I'm really sorry-"

Jenny looked at him, and there was no reaction, she didn't know how to react now, from the time she had just started - until she was kidnapped and had the gun on her back - to Zade's every move, it was as if someone had been pulled out of her shell, unable to command her limbs, muscles, or even her brain. Charles is sorry, why would he think that? Who is Zadeh and what does he want? All the questions were like clouds floating in the air, so far away from her that she completely lost her care-

"Don't think so." It was Zade's voice, his tone unexpectedly calm and softened, even with a faint relief, "Don't think so, you don't need to be sorry. ”

Charles looked at Zade in surprise, his eyes hesitating back and forth between Jenny and a point behind her, and anger flashing faintly, and Jenny could tell that he was tempted to reply to this sentence, but was obviously worried, afraid that he would make Zade angry -

In the end, he didn't answer, Zad handed him back the DV, and Charles whispered to her, "I'm sorry", and went backwards down the steps, Jenny's eyes followed him all the way down, over the stairs, over the tripod, Jon - she was shaking her head constantly, Harry - he looked at himself with a worried face, and Cesare -

Cesare was staring at her, he was standing on the edge of the stairs, a dangerous, vulnerable position—looking up at her, and his eyes, his anxious eyes—like those that were telling something—

He'd seen it, Jenny thought, she was a little dizzy, he must have seen that I had given up, or that I hadn't come back to my senses at all, and he-

And he very much hoped that she would soon come back to reality, he hoped that she would summon up all her spirit to fight Zadeh, to find life - he thought that the situation was still turning around, but it needed to be fought for, and he thought that it was not yet time to give up - it was not time to be dominated by fear - he was almost shouting with his eyes: Wake up, J.J!

Jenny was shocked, and suddenly she was completely back to reality, the tide of sound, touch, and smell surging with fear, countless cognitions flying wildly in her mind, and Cesare in her vision was her anchor, the chain of logic, the reasoning, the guessing, everything. Is he asking for money? Why did Cesare think there was still a chance for everything, why did he keep Jon and Harry and Charles, it seemed that he had already prepared-

“fuck。” Jenny whispered, it all understood. "You're the stalker...... You're that stalker. ”

"You finally remembered me," said Zadeh, his tone cheerful, even affectionate. "yes, I'm the stalker—miss me, baby?"

The expressions of Charles and the other three changed differently, but it was Jon who reacted the fastest, and she gasped and took a step forward.

"You're 'the 'stalker,'" she said accusatorically, grabbing the staircase handrail with one hand, almost rushing closer, but luckily Harry was holding back. "That stalker who broke into her house and made death threats - oh my God, how could you, Zad! How can you! ――Have you been using us, have you? ”

"Oh, Jon." Zad said that Jon's shock had clearly become his sustenance, and his tone was more relaxed, almost moaning. "Lovely Jon - if you think that's all I've done, you're very wrong, aren't you, J.J?" ”

The gun on her back thrust forward, and Jenny jolted forward, only to be pulled back by what was hanging from the handcuffs, and she felt the slight irritation in Zade's words, and she couldn't help but break out in a cold sweat: her unresponsive state seemed to displeased him, like the indifference of the most important guest in a show—and she couldn't afford to make the actor angry.

Satisfy him, follow his words, give him time to perform, the longer the chance—she found Cesare's eyes, and saw in his eyes the same instructions, and now must not provoke Zade.

"Oh?" She said, trying to be as calm as possible, "So what else did you do?" ”

“oh！” Zad said, laughing out loud, as if the unfolding of this real exchange made him even more happy, and his tone was somewhat deliberately exaggerated, "Are you deliberately pandering to me?" Honey, are you coaxing a child? Do you think you can coax me into babbling and then stall for time? So you find an opportunity? ”

This stalker is very smart...... Although the fact that he was able to escape from the pursuit of the detective agency was already probable, Jenny still reacquainted herself with it in a cold sweat, and a bad premonition gradually came to her, and she suddenly realized: it looked like he had survived the shooting, so he should know how they had dealt with Shef.

"I like your concessions, though." Zad said, his lips touching her neck, and his tone softened and became affectionate again, "We're finally talking, aren't we?" After so many times of turning a blind eye - you finally see me. ”

Resisting the urge to wince, Jenny said, "Yes, I see you—but I don't know you yet, who are you, and what is your real name?" Tell me a little bit more about you. ”

"You really shouldn't be procrastinating," Zad said softly, but with unconcealed joy, like a child with a report card in hand, he couldn't resist the urge to show off, "but since you want to know—my real name is Edward. Potter, I was born on the Upper East Side of New York - you know Harry, but you don't remember me anymore, do you? From the day your Chicago came to work, I didn't fall on every show, always staring at you in the front row, and your gaze passed over me countless times, Jenny, Jenny. Jefferson, you're so pretty, so beautiful -- I've been in love with you ever since, really, I've been in love with you—"

His fingers roamed over the side of her face, giving Jenny goosebumps all over her body, and her voice was dreamlike, "There have been so many times when I've watched you from such a close distance. You're in and out of Hollywood's big brands, you're going to go to beauty, you're doing yoga, you're moving -- I've been an apprentice in a beauty room, a plumber, a paparazzi, a temporary worker for the moving team -- you know, when you moved into Chris's house, I was right in front of you, carrying a bedside table, and you just looked at me like that -- but you didn't look at me, and you didn't know that you moved into Chris's house because of the person in front of you, because of the little gift I gave you......"

He gasped and laughed, "And you're letting those people come after me, come after me—let those sweaty fools come after me!" How you don't know me, Jenny, how much you look down on me, how can you think those people can catch me-"

His gun thrust again, Jenny stumbled, and she recovered from the state of unconsciously listening just now - even Charles and the others couldn't help but show a listening look just now, "I...... I'm sorry? I really don't know - I've never paid attention to you. ”

"Yes, you've always looked no further than me, and the most recent time, you and Salvi were in Santa Monica, and I was so close to you, but you still didn't notice me." Zad's tone turned to anger, "You've always been so unfair to me - why! Why do you always hate me so much! ”

Cesare's lips pursed into a line, and he leaned forward, and Harry shouted, "Zade! ”

Zad's tone calmed down again, and he kissed her on the side of the cheek again, "But I still love you, in spite of your vain, fickle, hypocritical, contrived, lying, cunning, and vicious...... But I still love you, J.J., and you never know how much I love you. ”

After this affectionate confession, his mood was obviously calmed down a lot, and Zad chuckled lightly, returning to the narrative tone, "That's why I always give you a chance - look, I could go on and on until the police lose patience and break down the door - and then I shoot, and a big chunk of your chest is blown off - I'll aim it at my own chest again, and I'll do it again in the exact same place-"

The yearning in his words sent everyone shudder and look terrified, and Zad paused for a moment before continuing, "I too may have left you a little time - dear, let you give me what I want, and then- open the door and let the police in, and I'll go to jail and you'll be safe—so I told you, Jenny, that your little procrastination is only killing yourself." ”

“…… What do you want? Jenny said, glancing at the camera, and a vague realization came to her mind, just not obvious enough.

"Isn't that clear enough?" Zade said, chuckling, "-Say, to the camera, let's talk." ”

"Say what?" Jenny asked, and a wonderful, massive discomfort began to rise, and the unpleasant premonition grew stronger.

"Tell everything you have, start from the beginning, all the lies, all the confessions you deserve, the benefits you draw from those lies," said Zade, who gasped breathlessly, and his voice became sharp and thin, "You know, I've been watching you, I've been witnessing you—you've been stepping on the pinnacle of lie after lie, the adoration you've gotten, the feelings of deception—you're a. A prostitute, an attention prostitute. , Jeanne, covered with lies, lies, lies, and lies hang from your fingertips, threads made of your charm, and you watch everyone dance to your lies, and thus overdraw their feelings - all over the world! You shameless little liar, you and your mates, you shameless, playful. Sons, bully the weak, and think that you will never have to pay the price to enjoy the fruits of your sin......"

"But, now is the time to pay the price," he said, with a tone of satisfaction. "Let's start with your Ring of Innocence, Jenny. Jefferson -- Oh, no, no, my fault, my fault. ”

In the midst of the stares of the four people below, Zad put his other hand around her shoulder, patted her cheek lovingly, and said with a smirk, "It should start with your name - your name itself is a lie, isn't it?" ”

Jenny looked down the stairs, at Charles, Jon and Harry, and in that moment it dawned on her - she knew exactly what Zad wanted, and at the look on their faces - confusion, doubt, genuine concern -

"I ......," she said, with a faint 'i', like a cry for help from her throat. Recite.

What this □□ drew was a snicker from Zade, who bit her ear, a slippery touch that rolled over her pinna.

He whispered affectionately, playfully, almost jokingly, "~Biach." ”