Anne-Rae Vasquez
2013
MISSION ONE ACCOMPLISHED. The next challenge was bringing in online gamers to join him on his crusade. How was he going to convince online gamers to leave the privacy of their virtual world to work with others in the real world? SERENA BENT OVER TO KISS her father good night. He barely moved, his eyes glued to his iPad, reviewing his notes from his consular meetings that day. "Good night, father.” He mumbled something that resembled ‘good night’, kissed the top of her head and returned to his notes. She straightened herself, turned and walked out of the room. Ever since the riot that devastated downtown Manila and the reports of hundreds of people who went missing a few weeks ago, her father had stayed past office hours at the consulate every night. Her thoughts raced as she walked down the hallway. Suddenly she felt a hand on her left shoulder. Parts of her wanted to start running but instead she froze in her tracks. The spicy scent of ‘Gucci pour Homme’ cologne enveloped her nostrils. She must have sprayed that scent on thousands of male customers last summer at her part time job during the ‘Shangri-la Plaza’s Back to School’ promotion. “Don’t be scared Serena. We need to talk,” a deep strong voice whispered in her ear. This clown was about to learn he was messing with the wrong girl. All she needed was an opening and her training would kick in. She nodded her head and continued down the hall. The stranger pressed his hand into the small of her back. She could feel his firm body through her pink cotton pajamas as he guided her down the corridor. She squinted to see her reflection in the twenty-foot mirror at the end of the hallway. Her short dirty blonde hair pulled back in a ponytail, revealed her pale white skin. She appeared more like a bewildered child and not the confident twenty-two year old she was known to be among her circle of friends. As they walked closer towards the mirror, she could faintly see the outline of her captor; his hooded jacket hid his fac
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