Our heroes, Bruce and Lilac, have been captured and flown into a remote and heavily guarded compound. Is rescue even possible? Will Grady keep his promise?
Grady, beginning to sweat, ushered Bruce and Lilac into the room. He dismissed the guards who had escorted them, then entered.
The room was nicely furnished, but it was obviously not a place where people spent very much time. There were no pictures, decorations, or personal items, and the furniture and rug appeared to be new.
"Hello Grady, please escort our guests to their seats." Said a middle aged man in casual but expensive clothes.
"Nice Rolex," Lilac thought to herself, as she looked at the expensive watch adorning his arm.
He motioned towards the two leather chairs in a corner of the room. As Bruce approached them, he noticed that they were situated so that he and Lilac would be sitting lower than the other people.
"Mind games..." he thought to himself.
After they were settled, Lilac took a mental note of the layout, in case things turned ugly. She also studied the people in the room.
There was a guard standing by the door, relaxed but ready for action. He had a pistol and walkie talkie. The apparently wealthy man and woman who had spoken were sitting on a loveseat. While obviously in good shape, neither appeared armed. Grady took the only remaining seat, a comfort chair which was a match for the loveseat.
"Welcome to my home, allow me to introduce myself. My name is Evan. Would you like some refreshments before we talk?" asked the man with the Rolex, with what was a good attempt at a warm smile.
"Yes, thank you." said Lilac before Bruce had a chance to refuse. She was hoping to buy time in case INTERPOL was still able to track them.
"What would you like?" asked the woman.
"Some hot tea and soup, and maybe a large pepperoni pizza would be wonderful." said Lilac.
"And you?" She asked Bruce.
"I don't suppose you have any beer, beef jerky, and chips?" he asked.
Evan looked at the guard. "Michael, you heard what they said. Please request lemonade for Sandra and I."
"Yes, Sir." replied the guard. He then took out the walkie talkie, and quietly gave the request to someone.
Evan looked at Bruce and Lilac. "The food will be ready shortly. Until then, feel free to use the facilities to refresh yourselves. Please don't try to leave, you won't get far and I want to keep this civil."
"Thank you, Sir. I will appreciate the time, especially after last night. Do you by any chance have a bathtub?" Lilac asked hopefully.
Sandra spoke up. "Right this way," she said, rising from the loveseat.
Bruce sat there for a few seconds longer. "Is this their way of trying to get what they want without violence? Or is it just an excuse to separate us?" he thought silently.
"Is everything okay?" asked the man.
"Fine," Bruce replied as he rose.
His thoughts were still less than hopeful, though. "What if Lilac refuses to tell them the location of the Goddess, and how to care for it? How far will they be willing to go?" he wondered, as a tight knot formed in his stomach.
A slightly edited version was first published by me on Uptrennd, a now dead platform
To be continued...
To read the whole series, click here
Cover image made in Canva Pro using their gallery