Chapter 103-A hostage situation

Chapter 103: 103-A hostage situation

"Your girlfriend?"

Aymara folded her arms across her chest and stared at Nathaniel, waiting for his answer.

"Your girlfriend?" she repeated when he remained silent for a moment. "Are you seeing someone?"

Nathaniel blinked as if he had finally understood what was bothering her, the corners of his lips slowly lifted. "Are you jealous?"

Aymara’s eyes widened. "Who said anything about being jealous?" she crossed her hands defensively.

He leaned forward, bringing his face close to hers and gazed deeply into her eyes. She darted them, unable to meet his straight on. "You look jealous," he said.

"I asked you a question!" she changed the subject, her face burning at him pointing out her jealous feelings.

"And I asked you one, too."

She glared at him. Nathaniel, however, seemed entirely unbothered by her murderous expression. If anything, the faint amusement in his eyes grew more pronounced.

Aymara had never imagined that the day would come when she would find herself questioning Nathaniel about another woman.

In her previous life, she had been so consumed by Dylan’s demands that she had neglected the person who had always been there for her. Now that she had finally decided to cherish Nathaniel, she had discovered an entirely new problem.

She had no idea how to deal with the possibility of having a romantic rival and she absolutely hated it.

"Answer the question, Nathaniel." She narrowed her eyes. "Who is Roa?"

"My number one baby," Nathaniel repeated in a teasing tone.

"I heard you the first time!" she argued.

She had just come around to barely accepting Yaya and now there was another one she had to deal with. It was becoming a tad bit problematic.

"Then why are you asking again?" he raised an eyebrow, wondering how red Aymara will turn when she realizes that Roa is an AI he made that guards and governs his bunker.

Aymara nearly choked on her own anger. ’This man!’

She had risked her life to save him, built a floating fortress capable of surviving the apocalypse for him, and stocked an entire pharmacy with enough medicine to keep him comfortable for years.

She had even tolerated his little white cat, Yaya, despite the fact that the creature seemed determined to steal all his attention whenever she was around and now he had another baby?

Was there a limit to how much she could tolerate?

Before she could voice her grievances, a sharp electronic chime interrupted them. A familiar blue screen appeared in front of her.

[EMERGENCY SECURITY ALERT!]

[Unauthorized hostile activity detected in Medical Bay B.]

Aymara’s expression changed immediately. The screen expanded, displaying a live feed from the room where she had ordered Daniel, Marcus, and Celyn to undergo medical examinations.

The three survivors were still inside, but the situation had changed dramatically.

The medical equipment had been pushed aside. One of the examination beds lay overturned, and a tray of medical instruments had been scattered across the floor.

Daniel stood behind Celyn with one arm wrapped around her neck and a knife pressed against her throat.

Marcus was standing several steps away, pointing another blade directly at the security camera.

Their earlier exhaustion and apparent helplessness had disappeared. The two men had been pretending to be harmless from the very beginning.

"Well, isn’t this interesting?" Aymara murmured. She had just received enough anger she needed to burn and targets had presented themselves to her.

On the screen, Marcus moved closer to the camera, his face twisted into an ugly expression.

"Hey, you! The woman in charge!" he shouted. "I know you can see us!"

Aymara raised an eyebrow. She could see them alright, in fact, she had anticipated their move and that’s why she’d kept Bay B locked since they arrived.

"You’re quite perceptive," she muttered.

Nathaniel glanced at her, then turned his attention to the screen. "I was just having fun with Mara. Why did these idiots have to cause trouble at this exact moment?" He complained under his breath.

Marcus continued, "Listen carefully. You have ten minutes to open this door and let us out. We want all your resources, your weapons, and control of this ship."

Daniel tightened his grip on Celyn, causing the woman to whimper. "Aa-aah!"

"And don’t even think about sending those machines in here," he added. "If we see a single security unit approaching, we’ll slit her throat!"

Marcus lifted his knife toward the camera. "That’s right! You have a beautiful ship, and we’re going to take it. You can either cooperate, or you can watch this woman die. After that, we’ll find a way to get out of here ourselves."

For several seconds the room remained silent. Aymara looked at Celyn’s terrified gaze and at the two men threatening her. She laughed.

Hahaha. Hahaha.

It wasn’t a loud laugh, nor was there any genuine amusement in it. She simply found it fascinating that two men who had been rescued from a wreckage were already making demands as if they had somehow become the owners of her ship.

She had given them dry clothes, medical attention, and the promise of food. Apparently, she should have let them continue floating in the ocean.

"How ungrateful," she remarked. "You really remind me of Marko and Pete. Oh, how I hate survivors!"

Nathaniel watched her carefully. "What are you going to do?" He asked with urgency, he needed them taken care of so they can return to their little moment.

"First, I’m going to make sure Celyn survives. She seems to have a good heart," Aymara’s eyes remained fixed on the screen. "Then I’m going to teach these two idiots the difference between being rescued and being entitled to someone else’s property."

She tapped the display.

"System, seal every entrance and exit to Bay B. Disable all manual overrides and isolate the room from the rest of the ship."

[Confirmed.]

[Medical Bay B has been isolated.]

[All access points are locked.]

[Emergency containment protocols activated.]

On the screen, Marcus immediately tried the door. "What the hell?"

He pulled the handle repeatedly before slamming his shoulder against the metal surface. Daniel looked toward him, his face darkening.

"What’s happening?"

"She’s locked us in!"

Daniel swore under his breath and pressed the knife more firmly against Celyn’s throat.

"Open the door!" he shouted at the camera. "Do you hear me? Open it right now!"

Aymara tilted her head. "No. I won’t open the door. I don’t answer to you, not now... Not ever!"

The single word seemed to infuriate him more than any insult could have. "You little..."

"Careful," Aymara interrupted. "You’re holding a knife against someone else’s throat while standing inside a room I own, aboard a ship I own, surrounded by security systems I control. I suggest you think very carefully before deciding what to say next."

Marcus turned toward the camera again. "You think you’re untouchable because you have a fancy ship? We have a hostage! If you don’t give us what we want, we’ll kill her!"