The Legend

Hana had been on the way to school when someone had ambushed her from behind and pressed a wet cloth against her mouth. When she regained consciousness, she found herself restrained and gagged in a dark room with two other girls. One of them lay in a small puddle and cried uncontrollably. Judging by Hana’s dry throat and stomach rumblings, she had probably been there for hours.

The crying girl fell silent as squeaky noises emanated from what must have been the hallway outside the door. Whoever it was, it was probably bad news. Very bad news, judging by the behavior of the other girls. Hana’s heart began to race and she started to panic like her fellow captives.

The door opened and a figure switched on the lights. The sudden spike in illumination blended Hana for a couple of seconds.

The figure who had entered turned out to be a stunning foreign woman who promptly began to free Hana from her shackles.

“Don’t worry. I am here to set you all free,” the woman said.

“Who are you? And where are we?” Hana asked.

”Call me Pamera. Pamera Andeson. Tomasu sent me. He and I are…” she said, and then paused for a second, ”...related by blood.”

Hana was still confused, and so were the other girls.

“You are in a small house owned by the Kurokawas. Don’t worry, we have dealt with the owners,” Pamera said.

“What do you mean you dealt with them? What about the police?” asked Hana.

Pamera just shook her head, then addressed the other two girls. “There is a bathroom next door, get yourself cleaned up. Then wait by the door. We’ll escort you to the nearby train station, but we have to finish our business here first.”

Pamera walked out of the room and up the stairs to a shady room on the upper floor, filled with computers and other digital equipment.

“The girls are free. Three in total. Hana included.”

“Great, thank you Sirena. I’ll be done here any minute now too.”

“What are you even up to Neo?”

“I erased their videos and photos, and made three portable copies of their customer and associate files of course.”

“Why?” Sirena asked.

“There is honor among thieves and pirates, we do not share this kind of stuff. Those people are a class of their own.”

“So… you got a list with their names or pseudonyms and ways to contact them… what do you have in mind?”

“Let’s just call it the menu for the next couple of months,” Neo said.

“Your plan sounds delicious,” Sirena said while grinning like a child promised entry to a chocolate factory.

“Thank you for the food.”