Having no other choice, I took a fifty dollar bill and placed it on the counter before taking the cake and leaving.
As I walked out, I thought about how strange the store manager was.
The store manager was a young man. When he moved his headphones, his other hand was hidden in his jacket pocket.
There didn't seem to have been many customers at the mall as I entered with Hendrix earlier.
I felt a slight panic in my heart. As I noticed how relaxed Hendrix was, I calmed down and reassured myself that I was simply overthinking things.
The bell at the door of the cake store dinged as I walked out. That's when the closest elevator opened and a man dressed in a cap and camouflaged uniform stepped out. He walked in our direction.
I didn't think much of it, I just tugged on Hendrix's sleeve and walked up the escalator. The floor wasn't crowded at all, and the camouflaged guy seemed to have his eye on us. As soon as he spotted us, he headed towards the escalator next to US.
The anxiety in my heart caused me to start breathing rapidly.
The mall was quiet when we entered it. Although the stores were open, no one was around. As for the manager at the cake store, I felt like he wasn't trying to close up early, instead, he was deliberately urging me to leave.
That kind of cautious and serious attitude seemed more like... a plainclothes policeman!
When I tried to look behind me, I met the eyes of the camouflaged man. He had now taken off his cap and was leaning on the armrest. Seeing that I had noticed him, he grinned instead of avoiding my gaze.
He looked arrogant and insidious.
My heart sank. Then I quickly tugged on Hendrix's jacket, warning him with a whisper, "The man behind us doesn't seem as he appears."
As soon as I said that, a sharp authoritative voice spoke through the mail's PA system, "Harold, you have no escape. Turn yourself in right now and the organization promises to give you a second chance!"
When the elevator reached the first floor, there was a group of police officers guarding the stairway. They looked like hunters awaiting their prey.
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