“How do you do, Martin? I’m Alec.”
Chapter Nine
In which Alec’s PA is forced to make an Executive Decision.
Charles…
In London…
If I could go back in time to when I was a fresh-faced graduate from Cambridge, I would never have applied to work under Alec Davies. I could have had a simple job at a legitimate firm and been perfectly…
Okay, I never would have turned down this job. The money was insane, Alec was, for the most part, a good boss and nothing could ever top the level of excitement and intrigue I experienced on a daily basis.
Then, this shit happened.
How could a man as powerful as Alec Davies, billionaire and Mafia King just disappear? My first thought was that those mud-covered environmentalists were responsible, though I discarded that theory after remembering they couldn’t even manage to unchain themselves from the construction equipment. The foreman, laughing uncontrollably, had to fetch an enormous bolt cutter to free them when the keys to their locks were lost, buried somewhere in the muck during all their thrashing about.
Criminal masterminds? I think not.
It’s been four long, sleepless days, and going through all the potential suspects from the very long list of enemies of the Davies Mafia would take months.
Our IT hacker geniuses, Lucy and Terrence, have had even less sleep than me, subsisting on Red Bull and takeaway while combing the dark web, looking for any chatter or clues about who’d taken our boss, utilizing our facial recognition software… And coming up with nothing.
It didn’t help that we had yet to receive a ransom demand.
While I knew Alec considered himself bulletproof, therewasa protocol in place in case of a kidnapping. Keep the damn thing quiet. Letting out even a whisper about an abduction was like screaming, “One of the most powerful mafias in Europe is up for grabs, have at it!”
The second move would have been to call Alastair Taylor.
My boss’s falling out with his best friend and business partner was a mystery. He never said a word about it. I showed up one morning a few months ago and he was already drunk, and he told me to start divesting Davies International’s interests in any shared ventures with Alastair. Our attorneys for both sides of the business, legitimate and mafia, were mainlining Xanax and plaintively asking me why.
As if I would know. I’m just the personal assistant. Though, come to think of it, a Xanax sounded perfect just now.
Staring at my phone, I knew I was at a crossroads that could end with a bullet in the back of my head if Alec’s stance on hating Alastair was unwavering. But there was nothing left to do. I’d kept any hint of a kidnapping out of the press, but it was only a matter of time.
With a groan that sounded pathetic even to me, I dialed Alastair’s number.
“Charles?” Alastair’s tone was sharp and concerned. He knew I’d never call him just to chat about the stock market or Taco Tuesday at the Connaught Bar. “What’s going on?Is Alec all right?”
“Well, about that,” I coughed, trying to clear my suddenly dry throat. “The thing is, he’s been kidnapped.”
Silence for a moment.
“When did this happen, Charles?”
“Four days ago, after we visited a work site in Lancashire. He gave his security the slip and… he’s gone.”
“Why has it taken you four fucking days to contact me?”He roared.Ah, shite. If Alec doesn’t kill me, Alastair will.
“Sir, you know that your recent uh… falling out with Mr. Davies has changed our protocol here,” I wheezed. “I’m certain that I’m going against his wishes just by contacting you, but even with our considerable resources, we can’t find even a trace of him.”
“You are an idiot, Charles. I’ll be there in fifteen minutes.”
Alastair hung up the phone and I buried my head in my hands, awaiting my doom.
Chapter Ten
In which Alec gets a tour and Fee nearly takes a ride.
