The next day, Christine went with Trevor, leaving Eve alone in the house. Yes, they are together now. Eve was studying when the doorbell rang.
She opened the door to find 4 men in black suits entering and started checking the house.
"What are you doing? Who are you?" She shouted but the next moment, two men entered. One of them was an old man while the other was in his late 20s.
She was shocked by the turn of events. She didn't know anyone and they barged into her house.
"Who are you guys? I'm going to call the police now." She said totally in shock.
"No need, we are police. Now just calm down and listen to us." The old one said, showing her their IDs. They were from the National Security Force. Seeing this, Eve freaked out.
P....police! But...I haven't done anything wrong." She said in a slow tone.
"No, you haven't. Don't be nervous." The other man said.
"My name is Charles Richards and he is Stefan Williams. We are from NSF and are here regarding a very important matter." The old man said while Eve was still processing the whole matter.
"Yes sir," Eve said, trying to stay calm.
"Miss Evelyn, can you tell us who he is?" Charles asked Eve while showing her a photo of a man.
She instantly recognized the man in the picture but didn't know why she was asked to do so.
"Yes sir. I met him yesterday at Foody Home. His name is Ayden but I don't know him." She replied without showing them how scared she was.
"You met him there alone?" Stefan asked.
Eve didn't want to drag Chrissy in this. That's why she didn't mention her name before. Now she was confused about what to answer. She remained silent while looking down.
"We know you met him with your roommate, Christine."
"Yes sir, but we don't know them sir. Chrissy and I met him for the first time yesterday. I'm not lying." She answered, her panic mode on.
"Okay. Who was with him?"
"His brother, Bryan." She replied.
"What is it, sir?" She asked in fear.
"We have been following you for the past one month. There is something which you need to know." Charles said.
Stefan pulled a file from his bag and placed it in front of her.
"The guy you met yesterday is a very dangerous man. He is a member of one of the most infamous criminal groups in our country. This file contains his information and the deeds his group has committed. Take a look." Stefan said.
Eve was dumbstruck after hearing this. What has she got herself into? But why are they telling her everything? She just met him once and that too by accident.
'What if they think I'm a part of their group. I just met that man once. Oh god, will they arrest me now?' Her hand trembled thinking about this. She put aside her thoughts and opened the file.
First Name: Ayden
Last Name: Knight
Age: 28
Siblings: One brother, Bryan
Then, there was a full record of the charges and warrants against him. Also, there was the full detail of the atrocities their group has committed.
Her head started spinning after reading all that. The acts their group committed were heinous. They were monsters. They have killed hundreds of people. The thought made her blood boil in anger.
'Maybe they think I know him or even worse, they think I'm a part of this group.' With this thought in her mind, she trembled in fear.
All of a sudden, tears formed in her eyes. She thought of a movie in which the same thing occurred and the officials killed the girl and buried her body.
"I..swear I don't...know him or anyone...related to this. I met him... yesterday only. I'm...not lying." With tears in her eyes, she uttered.
Stefan looked at her with an amusing look. He almost laughed at the stupidity of the girl but then stopped because of his senior's stern look.
"We know that. Stop crying. There is something else we want to talk to you about." Charles said.
Eve felt relieved after hearing this. Now, Stefan took charge and talked to her.
"We've followed Ayden and Bryan for some time. They are planning something very big. They showed up in this city and were about to leave but hadn't yet." Stefan said, making Eve even more confused.
"And we found the reason for them not leaving." Stefan passed another file towards her.
Eve opened the file and saw the photos of the black car that followed them for some time, still unable to understand anything.
"The reason is you. That black car's owner is Ayden. It seems he is interested in you." Stefan said looking at the confused Eve.
Eve looked at them silently. She felt as if her body was paralyzed.
"But...how? No, you misunderstood. Even if it is true, what do you want from me?" She was anxious about all this now.
She thought of Christine. Will she be fine?
"We want you to help NSF. He is interested in you which means he will try to meet you again. We will tell you what exactly you need to do." Charles said.
"What?" Eve almost shouted, sitting up from the chair. Then continued, "You want me to meet that monster again knowing how dangerous he is!"
"Why don't you just arrest them when they are so near to you? Just arrest them and ask." Eve questioned.
"There is no evidence against them. Even if we arrest them, we will never get to know what they are planning. We've tried this before by arresting their people and got nothing. These people are so tight-lipped about their organisation that they would rather die instead of betraying the group." Charles said.
"They've kidnapped some police officers who were investigating them and after that we got no information about them. Other than this, they're planning something very big, which will be disastrous for the country." Stefan added.
"You will be safe," Stefan assured her after a long pause.
"Really! I thought you were here to warn me but you want me to be your pawn. I'm not going to do anything like this." Her face turned red.
"We don't think you have a choice here. Don't get us wrong but Ayden gets what he wants. If he wants you, you will be with him no matter what. But here, we are giving you a choice, you will be safe if you work with us. We will protect your family and friends." Stefan said.
Eve broke into tears once again. She just read about what his group can do. They were very dangerous and the thought of him hurting her family was unbearable for her. She can't lose anyone.
"Trust us. Nothing will happen to you or your family. They are national threats and you are helping us to destroy them." Stefan added.
Eve has no other option than to say yes to them. She loves her family and friends and doesn't want them to suffer because of her.
They left after telling her where she had to meet them tomorrow. She didn't sleep that night. The next morning, she got up from bed early, sleep was nowhere in her eyes.
"Hey Eve, you seem upset. What happened? Tell me." Chrissy asked, looking at her pale face.
"Nothing. I'm just worried about the history project." Eve lied while smiling.
"Don't worry too much, Eevee! You are already the topper." Christine hugged her while Eve smiled.
"And yes, you can tell me the real reason whenever you feel like it, okay?" Eve looked at her in surprise. She can't hide anything from her childhood best friend. But she can't tell anything to Chrissy, she can't put her life in danger.
"Thanks, Chrissy," She said in a sad tone. She hugged her again, holding her tears.
She reached the place at the given time. The place looked a little old. A woman came to her and asked her to enter the lift. She entered it with the woman. She was awestruck when the lift opened. There was an office with many people and lots of big screens and computers.
The whole office became quiet as soon as they saw her. She looked down all the while. After some time, Stefan came to her.
"Hello, Evelyn. She is Phoebe Marshall. She'll be with you for the time being and will explain everything." Eve was so scared that she didn't even ask the woman who she was and followed her.
"Hi Evelyn." Phoebe greeted.
"Hello," Eve responded in a low whisper.
She also got to know that the old man she met yesterday, Mr Charles, was the chief.
For the whole evening, they explained everything to her. Her next meeting with Ayden was preplanned. She had to meet him in 5 days.
For the next 5 days, they taught her many things but all of this made her restless. She was very suspicious of Ayden when they first met, but then he was a stranger. Now, she knows everything about him, she knows how dangerous he was and she will meet him knowing all this. She didn't want to mess things up but was quite ambivalent about the turn of events.
She didn't sleep well at night and was haunted by nightmares. Even she was surprised by the fact that a man she met once in her life can cause this. What would happen when she actually meets him that day?