Apocalyptic Rebirth: With a repairman system space, she rises again.-Chapter 706: Perfect kidnap.

Heath was in a deep slumber; he did not know what was happening around him. He was currently dreaming about sitting on a huge throne and thousands of people bowing at his feet. A fleet of dragonfly shaped aircrafts were hovering above in the sky, the one in the lead, flying a flag with his face and name. To his sides were his beautiful concubines, and many sons.

The woman beside him, his favorite mistress named Ayra, woke up as soon as the door creaked open. Her eyes popped open, landing instantly on the two figures silhouetted in the doorway. She opened her mouth to scream, a sound that surely would have brought a dozen armed guards running_ but a tranquilizer dart caught her right in the tongue.

"Oops, sorry," Paula shrugged, lowering the blowgun. "I was aiming for the shoulder, but hey, silence is silence." 𝐟𝚛𝕖𝚎𝕨𝗲𝐛𝚗𝐨𝐯𝐞𝕝.𝐜𝗼𝗺

"You do not have to be sorry" Hadrian whispered, stepping over a discarded shoe.

"She is so young, over two dozen times younger than my perverted father." Paula noticed. "She is even younger than me. He is gross."

"Help me with the Sleeping Beauty over here, complain later. When we get him to the prison base." Hadrian told her.

Heath didn’t even stir as the they grabbed his arms. He was surprisingly heavy, mostly due to the sheer weight of his beer belly, ego and the gold watch that probably cost more than a bungalow. Together, they lugged him toward the massive, container Hadrian had hauled into the room.

"On three," Hadrian grunted. "One... two... heave!"

With a thud that sounded painfully loud, Heath landed in the padded interior of the container. Paula placed the lid on top. She pressed a blinding button on the container which vanished from sight.

"These are the best inventions from the fortress," Paula whispered, patting the now-invisible container. "Okay, let’s move. We’re on a clock, and I’d really like to be out of here before the guards realize the person that pays their checks just got kidnapped."

Outside in the halls of the sprawling estate, the atmosphere was thick with tension and confusion. Arwin was moving through the corridors like a caffeinated ghost_ quick, twitchy, and trying very hard to look like he belonged there while simultaneously looking like he was about to jump out of his skin.

Some of Arwin’s people_ those that remained loyal to him_ could tell something was going down. They watched Arwin move sneakily, nodding at them with a frantic intensity.

"How is he outside?" one guard whispered to another.

"Looks like his sister set him free. Let’s go distract Mr. Heath’s guys before they see him. I bet if we start a loud argument about football, they won’t notice what is happening."

And so, the distraction began. While Heath’s loyal mercenaries were busy debating who the best player in the world was, Arwin gestured for his people to follow him. It was easy to get them together because they slept in the same area

"Look," Arwin said, his voice low and urgent. "The ship is sinking. Heath is already... well, he’s ’leaving.’ You can come with us, or you can stay here and explain to the mercenaries why the boss vanished into thin air. Choice is yours."

Most of them looked at the grim reality of the Drift Lands and nodded. "We’re in," said a burly man named Marcus.

However, Alena Croft stood her ground. She crossed her arms, her face a mask of cold professionalism. "Someone has to keep an eye on this place. Until we know why the watchers are dumping superhumans here, it is not wise for all of us to leave. Besides, at least now you will have an ally here. Just leave me with a means of communicating with you."

"Be careful, Alena," Arwin said.

She nodded and went to keep a look out for them.

Arwin handed out small blinding buttons. "Stick these on your bodies and follow me. Those who have family they want to take, wake them up, stick the buttons on them and tell them to shut up. We have five minutes to get to the aircraft."

The rest of the Burton family had been rounded up by the team. Mrs. Burton stood near the ramp of the aircraft, her eyes wide as she watched her daughter coordinate and accomplish a military-grade extraction.

When Paula approached her, Mrs. Burton let out a choked sob. "Paula? I... I don’t understand. I thought you were on your father’s side."

"I wanted to tell you," Paula said, checking her watch. "But I couldn’t say anything at the time, I am sorry mother."

Mrs. Burton’s face crumpled. The weight of the last month, the harsh words she’d hurled at Paula for ’being a bad child,’ came crashing down. "Oh, honey... the things I said. I was so cruel. I thought you were the problem. I am so, so sorry."

Paula paused. She looked at her mother_ really looked at her_ and saw the genuine terror and regret. Paula reached out and squeezed her mother’s hand. "I know, Mom. It is over. Father cannot hurt you again."

"We have to hurry." Major Grayson said.

They entered the aircraft’s, relief setting in as the doors sealed shut.

"Everyone accounted for?" Grayson barked into his headset.

"The ’package’ is in the hold, sir," Hadrian’s voice crackled back. "The family is strapped in."

Grayson sighed, rubbing the bridge of his nose. "All units, prep for immediate departure. Wheels up in sixty seconds."

Paula let out a breath that she had been holding on to a point of almost suffocation. The engines roared to life, a low, muffled thrum that was barely audible to the guards still arguing about football, unaware of the escapees leaving the Drift lands.

****

Heath Burton woke up with a groan, his head feeling like it had been used for target practice. The last thing he remembered was a very comfortable pillow; the reality he woke up to however, was a cold, unforgiving concrete floor that smelled faintly of industrial cleaner.

He tried to spring to his feet with his usual commanding grace, but his muscles felt like overcooked noodles. He stumbled, his legs tangling, before finally managing to hunch into a defensive crouch. He looked around, his eyes darting wildly. This wasn’t his bedroom. This wasn’t even the Drift lands.

There was no desert air, sand speckles and definitely too much light.

And there was the fact that he was in a room with bars! It seemed like a prison.

"Where am I?" he barked, though it came out more like a raspy cough. "What is this place? Someone, get me a glass of water and my security detail and open this damn door."

His eyes landed on the group standing_ towering outside. His breath hitched. "Martha? Paula?" He saw his wife and daughter, then his gaze shifted to Arwin, who was standing there with an uncharacteristically straight spine.

"Arwin? What’s going on boy? Why are you not locked away in the basement?" Heath bellowed.