Chapter Eleven: Stephan
Imade my way around to the back entrance of Natalia’s home the minute the sun finally went down, noticing that there was only one car in the driveway. All of the surrounding guards were on high alert, almost as if they had been expecting me to show up. Everything about this kidnapping seemed off like it was set up perfectly, waiting for me to walk right into a trap. I didn’t care much, because all I could think about was getting Annika safely back in my arms. After all, whatever Natalia’s plans were, Annika shouldn’t have to suffer because of them.
I wondered for a moment if all of this really did have something to do with me, and that’s when I thought about the painting that was sitting comfortably in the trunk of my car, knowing how many people seemed to be obsessed with it. I thought back to the night of the break-in at the party, remembering the words I exchanged with the men who came in looking for that very painting. In my entire career, I never saw a piece that was in such high demand, but I was willing to give it up if it meant that I could save Annika.
Something clicked inside of me, making me realize that I shouldn’t be trying to storm this home empty-handed especially because I was probably going to need something to turn over if I was caught before I could get Annika out of there. I ran back to my car, opening up the trunk and carefully slipped the painting out of its cardboard enclosure before returning with just the cardboard in my hand.
It was only going to buy me a few seconds, but that was all I needed if the time came. I made my way around the back again, managing to subdue two of the guards around the perimeter, so I could slip in through the open back door before any of the others seemed to notice they were missing. It was amazing to see how they all managed to stay at their posts, making it incredibly easy to slip in and out of this place.
The mansion was far quieter than I imagined, and that’s when it dawned on me that it was quite possible Natalia’s parents weren’t even here. That would’ve explained why everything occurred so haphazardly, and why someone hadn’t done more to get my attention yet if they were really trying to get the painting off of me.
Natalia still has a lot to learn about how these things work, but it’s a shame she’s never going to get the chance before I rescue Annika and take her far away from here.
Holding the cardboard cylinder at my armpit, I continued to sneak through the house with my gun in hand, making sure to stay as quiet as possible. I heard voices coming from the upstairs corridor, and I realized it was Natalia who was speaking to one of the mansion staff about cleaning up a mess.
I realized then that she probably had Annika stuffed away in a room somewhere, so I hid for as long as I could until she came down the stairs and went off into the study before I quietly took the opportunity to head up to find her.
There were far too many doors that I could see, but I decided to make my way to the end of the hallway, feeling at the doorknob, but I couldn’t get in because it was locked. Realizing that the other bedroom doors had been slightly cracked open, I turned my attention to the lock, fiddling with it until I got it to give way.
It opened up to reveal a horrific scene. There Annika was chained up to the wall like an animal while a little wooden chair and cut rope sat at the other end of the room. It appeared as though their first attempt at keeping her contained had failed, and they had to resort to other measures.
I looked down at the floor to see a man with a knife wound in his neck, completely bled out, and laying in a pool of his own blood. It was a terrible sight, and no one on the property seemed to think about cleaning it up, but that didn’t surprise me.
I glanced over at Annika to see that her entire body had been covered in bruises, like she was beaten, battered, and bloodied due to her first attempt at escaping. I rushed over to her, begging her to come to, so we could get out of there, right as she began to murmur something incoherently.
“Annika, it’s me, Stephan. I’m going to get you out of here, okay?”
“S-Stephan?”
“Yes, Annika. I’m so sorry this happened to you. I’m going to get you out of here,” I said, quickly searching the room for anything I could use to break her free. I managed to use the end of a lamp to break away at the chains, even though it was loud enough to alert those around that something strange was happening in here.
“Stephan, we can’t...”
“We can’t what, Annika? We’re going to get out of here. I’m not going to let anything happen to you.”
“She’s going to kill you,” she said, staring back at me with a blank expression on her face.
“She’s not going to get the chance. Let’s go,” I said, lifting her up to get her out of there, as I heard footsteps coming up the stairs.
“The painting, Stephan. She wants the painting.”
It didn’t take Natalia long to find us both, while I desperately tried to get Annika out of there, but it was no use. She stood there with a gun in her hand, staring back at me like my attempt had been laughable.
“Welcome, Stephan. I’ve been waiting for you to stop by for quite some time now. I was beginning to think that I had been wrong about you and that you didn’t fancy my dear old friend enough to come to her rescue, but I’m glad I was able to read you right,” she said, and the tone of her voice made my stomach turn.
“I know what you want, Natalia. You don’t have to say it, but I didn’t come empty-handed. I came to get Annika. You can have the fucking painting, I don’t even know what to do with it anyway,” I said, and that part was true. I stayed alert, knowing that the minute she moved over to open up the cardboard enclosure, I only had a few seconds to subdue her before she turned back to start shooting.
“I’m glad that we have an understanding then. I’m willing to let you both go once you hand that precious painting over,” she said, lying straight through her teeth.
“It’s over there,” I said, pointing to the bed at the other end of the room, while she moved over to get it, never letting her gun leave the two of us.
She bent down for a moment, and I set Annika down, pulling out my gun, managing to take my shot. I didn’t have a clear aim, because some of the bedroom furniture was shielding her body, but I managed to get two clear shots into each of her legs, hearing her scream out in excruciating pain, while I scooped Annika up and ran out of there as fast as I could.
I heard her shouting back for her guards, alerting everyone to the breach, but I already planned the escape in my head, and I was out into the gardens before her guards could even find where I had been, making my way out onto the street and into my car where I slid Annika into the passenger seat.
I heard them barreling down the sidewalk, coming for us while I got into the driver’s seat, starting up the engine and taking off before they could reach us. Gunfire rang high in the air, and I could’ve sworn I heard Natalia’s scream just as it all began to disappear into the distance.
It reminded me of that wonderful night we spent together, Annika and I working as the team we both were. Now it was just the two of us, and I had to figure out how I was going to get someone to look at her injuries before they got any worse.
