Chapter 31: Kidnapping
The real me, Nobody, sat in the dimly lit room, surrounded by a wall of monitors displaying the grim events unfolding miles away.
Each screen flickered with the images of my subordinates. Their faces were obscured by faceless masks like the one I wore, as they engaged Heartstopper in a lethal dance. I watched with a detached calm as the confrontation played out exactly as I had anticipated. Heartstopper’s powers were formidable but predictable, and I had planned for this moment with meticulous care.
Guns. Electric blasts. It was an all-out brawl and Heartstopper had no backup, thanks to me timing it all.
Forty-three of my subordinates had been deployed as a diversion, and now, one by one, they were falling, their bodies succumbing to the lethal electricity coursing through their veins. The pain they endured must have been immense. But none of them wavered, none of them hesitated. They were prepared for this outcome, and they faced it with a resolve that was both inspiring and tragic.
These volunteers knew what they were walking into, and they did so willingly, driven by their own desire for vengeance against Heartstopper. I had not coerced them; I never forced anyone to do what they did not want to do. They followed me because they believed in the cause because they had been wronged by the man they now fought against. And in their sacrifice, they would contribute to something far greater than themselves.
Heartstopper’s powers were formidable, yes, but I knew how to counter them.
My abilities allowed me to make people forget—through eye contact, a touch, or simply the sound of my voice. It was a subtle kind of power, one that seeped into the cracks of a mind, erasing or altering what needed to be forgotten. And that was my edge.
Every time Heartstopper attempted to exert control over my subordinates—whether by freezing their hearts mid-beat or forcing their bodies to betray them—I spoke through their ear comms. J
ust a whisper was enough.
My voice anchored their minds, making them forget the pain, the fear, and the pull of Heartstopper’s power. It was as if I erased his hold on them, piece by piece, with each word I spoke.
It helped that my power countered Heartstopper’s so perfectly. Where his power sought to dominate, mine unraveled his efforts, slipping through the cracks and loosening his grip. It wasn’t flashy, but it was efficient.
My subordinates didn’t last long; they weren’t meant to. Their deaths were inevitable, but they stayed in the fight just long enough to serve their purpose. The perfect distraction.
I watched the live feed from Gina’s helmet.
Every step brought her closer to taking away the one thing Heartstopper held dear. The puppet—his wife—had already been incapacitated, her powers drained from the recent surge of energy she had unleashed in one of Heartstopper’s earlier battles. I had timed it perfectly. Now, she was just a body, vulnerable, an empty shell waiting for someone to steal her away.
“Good,” I whispered into the comms. “Stay focused. You know how important this is.”
“I do,” Gina replied, her breath steady. No fear, no hesitation. That’s why I trusted her with this part of the plan. She knew what was at stake. And she wasn’t like the others. She wasn’t expendable.
I shifted my gaze back to the main monitor, where Heartstopper still fought, unaware that his wife was being stolen from under his nose. He was tearing through my remaining forces now, moving faster, more violently, as if he sensed that something was wrong but couldn’t quite place it yet.
His burst of electric shocks make quick work of my subordinates—
I let him rage. Let him feel the desperation of not knowing where the real threat was coming from.
“You have three minutes to the extraction point,” I reminded Gina, watching as she neared the exit. The puppet—Heartstopper’s wife—was slung over her shoulder, limp and powerless. I could see the slight strain on Gina’s face as she carried the dead weight, but she didn’t falter. She never did.
I leaned back, fingers drumming against the armrest.
Heartstopper had fortified his heart, his mind, against every direct attack. He was a fortress, unbreakable from the outside. But I didn’t need to break him from the outside.
I was going to destroy him from within.
When he realized she was gone, when he understood that I had taken his wife—his weapon, his heart—it would unravel him. And once Heartstopper was fractured, weakened by grief and rage, that’s when I would use him. Not tonight, but soon.
“Package is secure. We’re approaching the extraction point,” Gina’s voice came through the comms again, steady as ever. I could hear the faint hum of the extraction vehicle in the distance. Almost there.
“Good work, Gina,” I murmured into the comms. “Proceed with extraction. We’ll rendezvous at the safe house.”
“Understood,” she replied simply.
On one of the screens, I saw Heartstopper limping, blood soaking through his clothes where my subordinates had managed to land a few good shots. He was weakened, distracted, just as I had anticipated. Every move had unfolded according to plan, and the fight was drawing to a close. He would survive this encounter, but he wouldn’t walk away unscathed. The real blow had already been dealt, and he wouldn't even realize it until it was far too late.
He had been playing my game all along, and soon he would learn the full extent of the web I had woven around him.
I moved through the airbase quietly, cloaked by my ability to distort the perception of those around me. It was an easy trick, making myself invisible to the guards and personnel who patrolled the area. I had done this so many times before that it had become second nature, slipping past even the most watchful eyes without so much as a glance in my direction. While maintaining my cloak, I guided Gina’s team, securing their path to the fire exit at the far end of the airbase.
This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.
Gina’s group—six mercenaries, each highly trained and loyal to our cause—followed my instructions without hesitation. They moved with precision, their weapons ready, though we encountered little resistance. Heartstopper had been too consumed by the fight to notice the subtle intrusion, and now, as he limped away, it was too late for him to stop us.
Fifteen minutes later, we were in control of a military cargo plane. Two of the mercenaries headed to the cockpit immediately, their movements smooth and efficient as they began prepping the plane for takeoff. I watched from the back of the aircraft, standing over Heartstopper’s wife, who lay unconscious in one of the seats, still bound and helpless. She was the key to his undoing.
The engines roared to life, the vibrations coursing through the plane as we prepared for takeoff. Everything had gone exactly as planned, and now it was time to make our exit.
The prize of the operation, Stephanie Holt, was slumped in her seat, effectively unconscious. Her body, once vibrant, was now nothing more than a puppet, reanimated and controlled by Heartstopper’s power.
It wasn’t an exaggeration to say Christian Holt was a necrophiliac of sorts.
Gina secured Stephanie in her seat, ensuring the straps were tight, making sure she wouldn’t move once the plane took off. As Gina finished, she walked over to me, her expression neutral. “The payment,” she said, gesturing to the mercenaries we hired. “They are a bit nervous, sir.”
Over the past month, I had amassed a considerable fortune. Before betraying Christian, I made sure to withdraw the ten million credits I had in my bank account, the first chance I got. The next move was to invest heavily in the stock market, using my knowledge of which cities would fall first to profit from the chaos. Many of the big companies on Planet Mol were deeply tied to these cities, and their fortunes were mine to manipulate.
I wasn’t lying when I said I had a lot of money.
One of the mercenaries, probably their captain, walked to us, “I am expecting a bonus on this one. We had to tussle a couple of superhumans in the hallway, unexpected, but we dealt with it.”
“You’ll get your money, mercenary,” I remarked, my tone dismissive but firm. “Have patience.”
At this moment, I wasn’t wearing my usual Mr. Nobody persona. Instead, I was dressed in military gear, blending in with the rest of the team. It was a necessary disguise, one that allowed me to move with them without drawing unwanted attention.
It was a four-hour flight, and I allowed myself the luxury of a brief but deep sleep. The mission had gone flawlessly, and I needed to recharge before the next phase. The steady hum of the plane’s engines was almost soothing.
When I awoke, the cabin was dim, illuminated only by the soft glow of the instrument panels and the faint light filtering in through the small windows. I blinked, shaking off the remnants of sleep as I glanced around. My team was still at their stations, vigilant and ready. Gina sat across from me, her eyes focused on a tablet as she reviewed the mission details, her demeanor calm as always.
“We are here, sir,” Gina remarked, her voice cutting through the quiet. She glanced up from the tablet, her expression unreadable but tinged with a hint of anticipation.
I nodded, sitting up straighter in my seat. Outside, the landscape had shifted, the barren wasteland below giving way to the faint outlines of mountains and thick forests. We were approaching the drop zone, a remote area far from any prying eyes, chosen specifically for its isolation and strategic advantages.
The mercenaries were already preparing for the descent, checking their gear and making sure everything was in place. They worked with the efficiency of professionals, their earlier anxiety now replaced with the focused determination of men who knew their job was almost done.
Stephanie Holt, still unconscious and strapped securely to her seat, was the only passenger who hadn’t moved. As the plane began its descent, I stood and walked toward the rear cargo bay. Gina followed, her steps quiet and measured. The mercenaries exchanged glances, but none of them spoke, their focus solely on the task at hand.
The cargo bay doors slowly opened, revealing the night sky outside. The cold wind rushed in, whipping through the cabin as the plane hovered just above the ground. One by one, the mercenaries began to jump, disappearing into the darkness below.
“See you on the ground,” Gina said, giving me a brief nod before she stepped off the edge.
I waited a moment longer, my eyes lingering on Stephanie’s motionless form. This was the moment I had been working toward, the culmination of months of planning and manipulation. Heartstopper and Ivory had no idea what was coming, and that was exactly how I wanted it.
With a final glance at the lifeless puppet, I stepped into the void, the cold air enveloping me as I plummeted toward the earth.
The plan had been set in motion long before the plane ever left the ground. It wasn’t just a simple extraction; it was a masterstroke designed to escalate the war between Heartstopper and Ivory, two of the most dangerous player characters in this particular planet. The plane we were aboard had been meticulously prepared for a far more sinister purpose.
As I plummeted through the night sky, I knew the chaos that would unfold once the plane reached its destination.
The twin towers were not just a symbol of wealth and power; they were the nerve center of Ivory's operations. Her empire had spread its tendrils throughout the financial markets, controlling them with an iron grip. But tonight, that empire would come under attack in a way she never anticipated. The plane was rigged with the latest in auto-pilot technology, courtesy of some well-paid tinkers who specialized in making the impossible possible. The mercenaries left behind would ensure the plane stayed on course, its trajectory locked onto the Twin Towers with a precision that left no room for error.
I wasn’t foolish enough to believe that crashing a plane into Ivory’s headquarters would be enough to kill her. Ivory was too powerful. But that wasn’t the point. The point was to light a match in the already volatile relationship between Heartstopper and Ivory, to push them into a conflict that would leave both of them weakened and vulnerable.
My parachute was caught in the branches as I landed in a cluster of trees. I quickly cut myself loose, dropping to the ground with ease. The forest was dense, but I knew the path to the cabin where my team was waiting. I moved swiftly through the underbrush.
When I reached the small, secluded cabin, the tension was palpable. The mercenaries were gathered around, their faces set in grim determination. They had done their part, but they were anxious for their payment, eager to be rid of this job and the dangers it entailed.
The mercenary captain stepped forward, his hand resting on the grip of his sidearm as he demanded, “Our payment.”
Gina, ever the professional, responded coolly, “Not until the contract has been fulfilled to a tee. The plane has to land on the Twin Towers first.”
I could see the tension in the captain’s eyes, the flicker of doubt as he considered his options. Mercenaries were always unpredictable, driven by money but also by the instinct for self-preservation. I needed to defuse the situation before it spiraled out of control.
“No, Gina, it is fine,” I interjected, my voice calm and authoritative. “Give them their payment.”
Without hesitation, Gina moved to the corner of the cabin, where she kicked aside a loose floorboard and dragged out a heavy duffel bag. She unzipped it, revealing the glittering gold bars inside, a fortune worth eight million credits. “Eight million credits upon completion, all in gold. Take it.”
The captain’s eyes widened as he took in the sight of the gold. Greed replaced his earlier doubt, and he quickly signaled his men to grab the bag. They didn’t waste any time, hoisting it up with a mixture of relief and excitement.
“Pleasure doing business,” the captain said, his tone now far more respectful. He knew better than to cross me, not after seeing the lengths I was willing to go.
“Likewise,” I replied, my voice cold. “Now, get out of here. Your job is done.”
With their payment secured, the mercenaries didn’t need to be told twice. They filed out of the cabin, disappearing into the night, eager to put as much distance between themselves and the unfolding chaos as possible.
Once they were gone, Gina turned to me, her expression still as unreadable as ever. “Do you think the plane will make it? Or if it will provoke the reaction you want?”
“It will,” I said with confidence. “And when it does, Ivory will be left scrambling for the pieces.”