Page 102 of The Guru: Shadow
He ignored her question, and it made her angry from a very deep root in her. Being ignored was a trigger she could not stand, not at least when it was important to her.
“Please, sit down,” he said, almost pushing her into the room and onto a chair. She wanted to protest, but at that very moment three men and a woman entered the room. They all looked as if they would be ready to murder.
“So, you already met Ed.” He pointed at the ‘driver’. “Edwards is my personal detail, trusted advisor, and ex-Special Forces. Then there’s Greg.” He pointed to the shortest of the men, a muscular white guy with many tattoos whose face and overall appearance screamed hardcore over him. His hair was very short, and on his neck, was a tattoo of a snake on the verge of biting the onlooker. “He caught that nasty specimen from Central Park for you, and he is also handling your case.”
“My…case?”she asked him incredulously only to be ignored again, which made her fume from inside to a point where she clenched her hands into fists until her palms hurt from her nails digging into them.
“And this is Jaz,” he said while pointing towards the black woman who sat herself at the table. She wore her hair in an amber-colored fro-hawk, which underlined the first impression she gave: strength. Everything about her was strong; her muscles toned, her posture present. Jaz’s eyes had fixed on her, and it gave her the same subtle feeling of being stripped of her masks that Deis gave her when staring at her.
“Jaz is one of the most renowned, shall we say, cyber specialists?”
She laughed. It was a magnetic laugh with a wide smile, revealing her bright teeth. “We could say,” she said with a chuckle. “Officially.”
“And lastly.” Deis went over to the older, grizzly bear-like bearded man who lingered like a shadow in the back. “This is Sam, a brilliant strategist, my oldest, and most trusted advisor, friend, and the heavy gun, if needed.”
He has friends? And a fucking Special Forces team.
This must be a fucking dream. I watch too much Netflix.
“So, Julie, as Ed already told you, we have an issue on our hands that we need to address quickly. We need to get Emma out of the fire.”
“There’s already a lot out there,” said Jaz, pulling different images onto a large screen. “Some are real, some are AI.”
Photos of me, running.
Photos of me doing things I’ve never done.
Headlines full of hate.
Comments full of hate.
Open threats.
The world around her began to spin.
This is not happening.
Her eyes became wide as she stared at the screen, more and more showing there.
This cannot be.
Her breathing erratic, while that familiar feeling of overwhelm zoomed in on her, engulfing her system with panic.
This will never go away.
All the voices around her felt far, far away. Deis, Julie, all the others – there seemed to be worlds between them.
I need to get out of here.
Someone touched her hand, she stared at it, but was it her body, though?
It doesn’t feel like my body.
Her ears rang, and everything went dumb while more and more photos, articles, headlines, and posts appeared on the screen, leaving her with an unbearable pain in her most inner world.
I can’t handle it.
And her heart stumbled over its own rhythm, only this time, a part of her, in her, separated, even detached itself.