94 Trapped

December 21, 20XX (Friday)

Studio Near East Park- Downtown

Mei Li's eyes fluttered open and close when she felt hot and uncomfortable. Her breathing had seemed to be cut short as if there was a shortage of oxygen in her studio. In a panic, she opened her eyes with the most strength she could muster. Seeing the state of her room, she tried to get up and was helpless and hopeless when she realized that she couldn't.

Her eyes roomed at her body and found no sense of being tied but her eyes continued to drop with drowsiness while her body laid limp, unmoving. She was successful with moving a little in the bed but the feeling of sleep was heavy in her body causing her to slump. She was not a person who exercised, to begin with, so her effort was more fruitless.

Mei Li thought of reasons as to why she couldn't move and feel too sleepy when it was not the afternoon at all. She had only eaten the food she makes and even her drinks were brought in bulk. Nobody could have induced her with drugs. Suddenly, she remembered that she had added more salt than necessary because the food she had made for breakfast had tasted too bland no matter how much she had sprinkled. There must have been sleeping powder mixed with her salt.

But who could have done it?

Mei Li tried to move her body again but her eyes began to grow tired and were starting to close. Her throat clag with the thick smoke that was trapped inside her small studio. She prayed that her bodyguards would notice not too late. She had so much more to do, so much more life to live, so much more love to give, and so many words left to say.

She should have made more effort to be with Yang. She should have lived a little more happily. She should have laughed a little harder. She should have loved a little more. She should have accepted Yang's every advances. She regretted not being able to kiss Yang properly, she regretted not being able to say she likes him. She regretted being blinded by the pain of losing a stupid man to realize the joy she would have with Yang.

She wants to live, dammit!

Her eyes began to close as sleep takes her.

And now, it might be too late.

Sometimes, it is in our last moments do we realized how stupid we truly are. She had stared at love in the face yet still chose to let love wait. She hadn't just liked him, she was fucked up and had fallen for that stupid and sadistic, yet caring and handsome Zhao Yang.

'... love you,' was the last thought she had as she passed out. Seeing Yang's image in her mind eye for what she thought as the last time.

Li Zhihao, commonly known as La by Mei Li, was the first one to notice the fire. He had been watching the surveillance cameras and saw that the room of the woman they were supposed to he guarding had smoke coming from her front door. The thick smell of burning plastics smelt putrid in his next room.

Putting down everything he had on his hands; he hurried to the bathroom, turned the shower on, drenching himself in with water not caring if it was freezing cold, and his bare feet stumbling out of his studio with the extra keys that CEO Zhao Yang had provided for him in case of emergency.

He shouted to alert the people on the floor, "FIRE! FIRE! FIRE!" and slammed to break the pin that was worn on their left breast pocket to alert everyone of CEO Zhao's guards. Opening the door to Mei LI's studio, a large amount of smoke blast his face. He pressed a button on the back of his earpiece and suddenly, a black gas mask covered his nose and mouth. Thankful for every gadget that CEO Xue had provided the Zhao Family's personal guards.

Going inside the studio, he briefly thought of how thankful he was that it was a studio unit. He immediately saw Mei Li passed out in her small bed. He took Mei Li's body roughly manhandling her into his arms, adrenaline rushed into his bloodstream as the fire blocked his path. His eyes roomed the small studio and immediately realized that the fire started on the kitchen. He cursed to himself as the fire on his left side had burnt his arms and had started to eat away Mei Li's hair. He patted her brown hair roughly while braving the hot fire that surrounded them and praying a little when he runs through the blazing inferno.

Arriving near the door, he was thankful that his fellow guards had responded to his signal and were already at the door with fire extinguishers and some buckets of water, bottled water, and a tumbler full of water even. He passed Mei Li to the nearest guard with the codename Tai and commanded, "You take her outside of the building and don't leave her alone. She is more important than anything else. She is the priority. Remember, CEO Zhao will not spare us if she is harmed than she already is."

Guard Tai immediately took action after nodding briefly with a, "Yes, Sir!" He runs using the emergency exit by the metal stairs outside of their windows. Carrying the unresponsive woman on his arms like she was the greatest treasure of the world.

Li Zhihao turned to another guard with the long hair and had the codename Sai then commanded to him, "Call the firefighters, call the ambulance!"

"We already did it, Sir!" the guard, with the codename Gai, beside Sai replied in a hurry.

"We've already alerted the people in the building by the alarm," Sai said while pointing at the red button near his room inside a red case with a broken glass cover to be used in case of emergency.

"Then we must take the memory to the surveillance cameras, CEO Zhao would want to know what happened." Li Zhihao nodded with approval. CEO Zhao had provided Mei Li the best of his guards. It showed how efficient they were. They took the hard disk on Li Zhihao's room with Sai and Gai using the extinguisher to keep the fire at bay. They were halfway done with taking out the harddisks full of memory drives when the sound of ambulance and the fire truck blast into their ears. They sighed with relief especially when the pin of Gai's and Sai's left breast pocket had beeped the signal of CEO Zhao's acknowledgment and followed by a small sound of the CEO's voice that filtered into their ear using the earpiece that was always on. "I want the person who had done this; tortured then killed. I want it done as soon as possible."

The three guard's heartbeat becomes faster as the CEO growled his command, "If you don't know who had done this then all four of your lives will be forfeit. You have 10 minutes to report to me here outside and 5 hours to investigate. Time starts now."

Li Zhihao, Sai, and Gai bolted out of the room after the memory was retrieved and hurried like the devil were following after them to report to another devil in human form by the form as their boss. Seeing the fury written on the usually smiling Zhao Yang's face; Li Zhihao, Sai, Gai, and Tai, who was with Mei Li, prayed to their Gods that the cameras had taken at least a clue to who had started the fire. They might not see tomorrow if none was found.