The older couple scampers off.
“Get out of the car!” the drug dealer yells at us. “And don’t try anything funny, or the lady is dead!”
Slowly, I park the car and turn it off. While I fumble doing that, I slip the antique key from my pocket and drop it under the seat. It’s too dark for the goons to notice.
When I open my door, they try to tug me out. Even two of them aren’t strong enough to budge me, but I step out on my own. No strength is needed to get me moving at this moment. Not with a pistol pointed at Lucie’s head.
22
MAX
“You!” The drug dealer jabs his index finger at me. “You think you’re Bruce Lee, huh? You’re gonna be a very wet Bruce Lee very soon!”
His sidekicks snigger.
They pat us down before leading us at gunpoint into a dark alley.
What’s their plan?To beat, torture and kill us? To kidnap and ransom us?
That’s not how this is going to end up, but the fact that they think they can pull it off has me worried for this community. It needs a hero, a knight in shining armor to teach their nasty local dragon a lesson. Luck is on their side, because I descend from a clan of knights who, circa the year of grace 963, were every bit as nasty as these goons.
OK, pep talk done.
Over the next few minutes, I need to plan out my exact moves, their possible moves, and my responses if I am to prevail.
I glance at Lucie, who’s keeping it together, but the horror in her expressive eyes makes me reconsider my plan.Let’s be honest; I can’t fight my way out of this without risking her life. There’s no way in hell I’ll allow that. Suddenly, making sure the key reaches Mount Evor becomes a secondary concern. The only thing that matters now is to protect the Key to the Key.
Change of plan, then.
“Hey,” I say, “I have money. My family will pay a generous ransom, provided you don’t touch a hair on my fiancée’s head.”
The drug dealer from the last time sneers. “And what if we do? She’s a pretty little thing, your fiancée. I think I’ll have some fun with her. If your folks are as rich as you say, they’ll pay to get you back, anyway.”
“They aren’t just rich,” I say. “They’re powerful, and they have a small army at their disposal. If you touch her, you will be annihilated.”
The tracksuits exchange hesitant looks. But the drug dealer bursts out laughing, and the others follow suit. Now I know who the leader is.
“I’ll give you a number to call and a passcode,” I say. “Tell them you have Prince Maximilian. You’ll get all the proof you need.”
They stare at me like I just told them I was an alien from another planet. Which, I guess, would be in the same category as my actual statement in terms of outlandishness.
The gang leader takes a moment to mull over my proposal.
“Fine, Monsieur Prince,” he says, derision lacing his voice. “We’ll try that but with some tweaks. I’ll use a burner phone to call your special number. You and your fiancée will wait someplace less exposed.”
“Which locale do you have in mind?” one of his sidekicks asks.
He juts his chin toward a run-down playground. “The one over there.”
I realize he isn’t pointing at the playground but at the building behind it.
A short time later, two armed goons, Lucie, and I are on the ground floor in what was supposed to be a bicycle room, but the town’s ruling gang decided otherwise.
Their boss left a few minutes ago with Carlo’s number, a passcode, and the instructions I gave him. The third tracksuit went to fetch ropes and duct tape. The remaining two guards look a little nervous.
Should I act now?I try to gauge my chances. There’s no doubt in my mind that I can handle the guy pointing his gun at me. I’m bigger, stronger, and no doubt better trained. But what if the one aiming at Lucie’s temple fires before I can kick the gun out of his hand?
I’m going to be a good hostage and stick with the ransom plan.
