âMiss Petty, Iâve untied myself just now, so please believe in me. I will keep you safe.â While tying up herself, she urged Petty, who still hadnât come to her senses. âWe will definitely escape. We will not stay here.â
Only when Ye Jian reminded her did Petty snap out of her fright. A glimmer of surprise flashed through her eyes, but before she managed to get a word out, the door opened with a bang. Two Al Qaeda members walked in with guns in tow.
Following that, the lights were turned on. Ye Jian, who sat directly across the door, instantly noticed the two Al Qaeda members walking beside them. Pabell followed in afterward.
She looked at Ye Jian. Only after around a minute had passed did she speak. âPlease forgive our rudeness, oh friend from China. Although we are quite welcome to your arrival, I had no other choice than to bring you here with us. Trust me, if the government is willing to cooperate with us, your life will not be endangered.â
She did not mention Petty because she was the most critical hostage in Pabellâs hands. The only reason they kidnapped Ye Jian was to increase the stakes.
Gray robes were probably the uniform of the members of Al Qaeda. Ye Jian, who was once again brought out of the room, noticed all of the men were uniformly wearing a gray robe while the women were wearing black shalwar kameez.
âThis is the orphanage. Why Teacher Pabell, why did you bring us here? Didnât you know that there are other kids here!? There are other kids here!â Pettyâs emotions suddenly became very agitated. She recognized where they were. It was an orphanage. All of those who lived here were orphans who had lost their families in the war.
âDo you want to put the lives of these orphans, who had finally found a home, in danger? Teacher Pabell, you canât do this!â
The only reason she was agitated was that she was worried that Pabell was going to kidnap the orphans here.
They were conversing in English; therefore, Ye Jian heard everything loud and clear.
However, it wasnât because Pabell was thinking about it, she was doing just that.
Pabell, who was leading in front, turned around. The large, black pupils underneath her veil gazed coldly at Petty. âIf it wasnât because of Mr. President, then there wouldnât be so many orphans, nor would they have lost their families! Thatâs why, Miss Petty, the person you should be criticizing is your father!â
The whole orphanage was controlled by the Al Qaeda members. The staff members here were imprisoned in one room while all of the kids were locked up in another.
Ye Jian and Petty were brought to a room that they kept the kids captive, a place that was permeated with the smell of gasoline.
Her line of sight landed on a couple of barrels that were filled with gasoline, and Ye Jianâs gaze slightly constricted.
âMiss Petty, you better stay here like a good girl and tell the kids here that you are the person who is going to save them. If you want to save them, you better cooperate with me, or elseâ¦â Pabell lifted one of the oil canisters and took out a steel lighter. âOr else, Iâm going to light this canister on fire and send you to heaven along with all these kids.â
The oldest child, there was only twelve years old, while the youngest was only four or five. These were children that had seen war, so they were susceptible to things like this. They started bawling out of fear.
Miss Petty had never encountered a situation like this. Although she lived in a country that was inflicted by war, she was the daughter of the president. She had always lived under protection. Currently, she was so frightened by Pabellâs threats that she had tears in her eyes. âWhat do I need to do? Please tell me. Please donât hurt them. Thank you.â
No matter if she was afraid or not, at the very least, she was using her own actions to save these children.
At the same time, Ye Jian was entirely ignored by Pabell and her hooligans. This way, it was easier for Ye Jian to carry out her next step.