The other men in black rang out with similarly sinister laughter.
Miranda started panicking. She wasn't afraid of being killed, but she couldn't stomach being humiliated.
Tom clenched his fists in anger as he cursed out at the Vadesians in his mind for being animals with no morals.
"You bastards! I'll kill you if you touch her!" Tom shouted.
The leader declared, "Then, do as I say and bring Willow over! You have no other choice if you don't want to see her being humiliated!"
"Fine! I'll do as you say!"
Tom decided to agree with the conditions for now just to keep the situation under wraps and prevent Miranda from being harmed.
He would have to ask Willow for help after he was allowed to leave.
The bodyguards looking after Willow were all powerful fighters and would surely be capable enough to save Miranda.
They might also be able to secure some intel after they've subdued the Vadesian special agents.
Miranda panicked as Tom accepted the deal. "You can't do this, Tom! You can't put Willow in danger just to save me!"
Tom decided to play along and make it sound convincing. "You know me, Miranda. I'd do anything to make sure you're safe!"
It was just to convince them that he had really accepted their deal.
"Then get on with it, Tom. Bring Willow over to us, and we'll let Miranda go."
"I will. And you'd better keep your promise of not touching Miranda at all."
A sly grin crept up on the leader's face. "So long as you bring Willow to us. By the way, I'll have my men following you just to be sure that you're not trying to pull any tricks on us.
"I have men stationed everywhere within the city, and they will be monitoring your every move. If you were to do anything weird or ask for help, you'd be saying goodbye to Miranda forever."
They already had precautions in place to prevent Tom from outsmarting them.
They had gone to great lengths to perform their given task, after all.
Tom froze up on the spot as he realized that these men had already figured out his plans to ask Willow for help.
Miranda started crying. "I won't forgive you if you actually kidnap Willow, Tom!"
Tom certainly wasn't about to do as he was told. He had only given his word for now and would think about how to resolve the problem later.
It was just that he couldn't speak his mind out loud.
The leader impatiently shouted, "What are you still standing here for? Go get Willow here already!"
Tom was hesitating as he contemplated if he should just fight back right away.
"Go to hell!" Miranda shouted as she was worried that Tom might really go and kidnap Willow.
She immediately slammed herself into one of the men around her.
She didn't even flinch from the pain as she had already made up her mind to fight to the death.
The men were shocked. Even their leader was stunned by the sudden outburst.
They couldn't kill Miranda just yet as they still had to use her to threaten Tom.
They wouldn't be able to control Tom to do their bidding if they had to kill Miranda right away.
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