Page 67 of Count Down
The van turns again and again. I can tell we must be on side roads now. Then it stops and I hear the door slide open. I’m hoisted off the van floor and I can feel the ground sliding under my feet. I’m being carried along by my arms, one man on either side of me.
I hear another door open, and the air feels different. I’m back inside a building. It’s humid, heavy with unfamiliar spices. It smells like cooking. I get my feet beneath me and feel smooth floor, like tile.
Nobody’s restraining my feet. I lift my legs, being carried by the two men. Then I kick both legs down and to the right side of me as hard as I can.
I connect with the leg of the man who’s holding my right arm. It trips him up and he falls to the ground, pulling me down with him while the man on my left side stumbles. I hear him groan and swear as I’m stretched between the two men. I also hear metal rattle and dishes break. We’re in a kitchen.
“Skhavatit’ yeye za nogi!” I hear the man on my left yell.
The man holding me on my right gets back up while the third man grabs my legs. The three of them continue carrying me fully restrained. I can feel the man on my right is now limping. I smile to myself underneath the hood.
The men twist me around and place me in a chair. Someone yanks the hood off of my head and my eyes struggle to adjust.
I’m in a restaurant. It’s dimly lit. The curtains across the windows glow orange from the lamplights outside. The sides of the room are lined with booths, overhung with multicolored glass lampshades. Woven rugs hang on the walls above the tables. I’m in a chair in the middle of the room, feeling like I’ve been transported halfway across the world.
The man who pulled my hood off limps back toward the other men. I see that his head is shaven, his face scarred and tattooed. There are two other men, both much bigger than the first guy. They must have been the three in the van.
But staring right at me is one more man. Fat and round. He’s crouching toward me. He must be the one in charge as the others glance at him sideways, watching for any orders.
“Your father is an asshole,” the fat man says to me in a thick accent. I continue to look around the room. They haven’t restrained me, but the two big men behind this guy are pointing guns at me.
“Do you hear me, bitch?” The fat man spits at me.
I don’t answer him, I just glare back.
He straightens up. “Get your phone out. We’re going to call your fucking father.” He gestures for me to get out my phone. “We’re going to make a deal with him.”
“I don’t have my phone,” I pat my pockets showing they’re empty. “They threw it out,” I gesture at the men behind him.
“Fuck,” he replies. He turns to the men behind him and yells, “levaya simka!” He gestures for them to hand him something.
I’m surprised how easily he turns his back to me when I’m unrestrained. I consider attacking him from behind, but one of the big men still has his gun pointed in my direction.
The other big man lowers his gun and pulls a phone out of his pocket. He hands it to the fat man who turns back around to me.
“Call your father,” he demands.
“I don’t know his number,” I shrug.
“Liar!” He yells.
“Why would I memorize a phone number? It’s just stored in my phone!” I lie. The only option I can think of right now is to stall and make this as hard for them as I can.
“Grebanaya suka!” He yells. He turns back to the men. “Get Nicoletti’s number!” He yells to the small scar-faced man. Then he turns to one of the other men. “Verevka. I instrumenty.”
The man with the gun nods and grins at me. He follows the scar-faced man back out of the dining area, toward the kitchen.
The fat man turns back to me. “You want to do it the hard way, we do it the hard way.”
My heart races. I’m afraid to find out whatinstrumentsthey’re going to bring back.
“Your father,” the fat man turns back to me. “Has been a pain in my ass.” He leans back down to bring us face-to-face. “He will pay. He arrested my men tonight. He cost me a lot of money. But I have his bitch daughter.”
I’m surprised to hear about the arrests. But I’m sure Luca already knows about it. He’s probably the one that tipped off my father in order to distract and weaken the Russians. And he did it to protect me. To try to shut down the Russians so they wouldn’t be able to come after me.
Remembering what Luca has done for me so far somehow makes me believe he can still help me. I know Luca is doing whatever he can right now to find me.
But it doesn’t look like I have much time. This man is going to use me as ransom in some deal with my father. But I know that he also wants revenge and would love to do some harm to me in the process. I’m also not that confident my father will negotiate with the Russians at all. Even for me.