Chapter 42
Kat
We were rousted out of the wretched little cell after a few hours. The door burst open, and four big, burly, gun-toting dudes rushed in. Two for Holly. Two for me.
Four? Fuck a duck. Did they not remember the elevator episode?
My skills rated at least six of these brainless turds, if not more.
If it weren’t for Holly being there, held up like a knife to my throat, I could have wiped the floor with these mouth-breathing dipshits with the greatest of ease, and looked around for more.
But that was the whole point, I supposed. Holly was there. Ergo, nothing. All my hard, ceaseless training was totally useless.
Yeah, that was the price of love. Which was to say, ruinously high.
The guys hauled us briskly over to a white van that was parked in a busy loading dock.
It was a catering van, I saw, with Orgoglio & Delizia Fine Catering in fancy lettering on the side.
Nicole stood next to the open door with a wide, self-satisfied smile on her face, beckoning us to look into the open door.
Inside was a huge metal box, bolted to the bottom of the van.
The top of the box was open. I could see the bundles of explosive material beneath the tangle of wires and circuitry on top.
“Isn’t it impressive?” she said brightly. “I built it myself. It’ll take out the entire city block, if all goes well, and probably damage all the surrounding buildings, too. Every window in the neighborhood will be broken for miles around. It’s epic.”
Wow. I stared at her, marveling. The woman was so far out in orbit, she was actually proud of herself.
“I’m just showing it to you to demonstrate that the bomb can’t be removed from the vehicle without detonating it.
See?” She gestured at the bolts welded to the bottom of the van.
“I bolted the box down, and designed the wiring just so. If you detach the box from the van, or if you pull the bomb out of the box, you will trigger it to blow instantly. Just in case you have a misplaced crisis of conscience.”
I glanced at Holly, wishing I could cover her eyes and ears.
No child should be exposed to this much toxic evil.
But Holly looked back at me with eyes that were all too aware.
She knew exactly what was happening. No stress fog, no trauma disassociation.
The kid’s mind was as clear as a bell. I almost regretted it, but I still admired her for it.
“Look at me, not her, Kat,” Nicole said sharply.
“We don’t have much time, so you have to listen carefully.
I have designated a very specific route for you to drive on your way to the convention center.
I will be watching your progress every second of the way.
We will be in constant contact with a video-call.
I have a router, a phone, and your tracker, all attached to the dash, so we can watch you being a good girl and doing what you’re told, and so you can watch what’s going on with your little friend back here.
Just in case you need some motivation, at any point in the process. ”
“What happens to…” I stopped, my voice trailing off. I realized I didn’t want Holly to hear the answer to my question. I was afraid to hear it, too.
Too late. Nicole let out a manic titter.
“What happens to your precious Holly? Oh, sweetie, that depends entirely on you. First, Holly functions as a lever to control you. And once we’ve used you up, we’ll recycle her, and she’ll be used to control her uncle.
I’m afraid her life as an extortion tool won’t be much fun. Boo-hoo for her!”
“You are super mean,” Holly said coldly. “You are the worst.”
“Oh, you have no idea,” Nicole crooned. “I have not even begun to be mean.”
Holly stared back at her stonily. Not giving an inch.
Nicole turned back to me. “Don’t deviate from the instructions I give you,” she said. “I need for you to be seen in that van by a series of public security cameras. Any funny stuff on the route, and your little friend will pay.”
I had no words harsh enough to express my disgust for that, at least not words I would use in front of a nine-year-old, so I swallowed down the hot lump of rage in my throat. “Ethan is going to make you pay,” I told her.
“I think not,” she said triumphantly. “He’s here right now.” She gestured to the large main building behind her. “Chained up. Helpless. Completely under our control.”
Holly let out a gasp of despair, and a black hole of misery opened up inside me, like a chasm that reached straight down to hell.
Holly’s eyes welled full of tears. “Can we see him?”
“Well, you can,” Nicole said briskly. “I want him to see you. That’s the whole point. But not her.” She jerked her chin at me. “She has a job to do. And she should get to it. Right now.”
“Can I hug her goodbye?” Holly asked.
“No. We have no time to be sentimental.” She gestured imperiously at the van. “Get in. The call is already live. I’ll direct you every step of the way.”
The look in Holly’s eyes made my heart hurt.
Nicole saw the glance we exchanged, and chuckled.
“Look at you,” she said. “I just knew that if we used Holly, you’d be putty in my hands.
It’s because of your little sister, am I right?
Watching her die? Awww. You thought you were so tough.
News flash, cookie. Love makes you weak. ”
I shook my head, not breaking eye contact with Holly. “No,” I said, pitching my words just for the little girl. “Love makes you strong. And it’s worth any price.”
“I’m not actually interested in your prattling bullshit, so get your ass into the van and go,” Nicole directed, her voice hardening.
“Goodbye, sweetheart.” My voice cracked. “I love you.”
“I love you, too.” Holly’s eyes were streaming.
I got into the van. There was a tablet clamped on to the dash, and the call was already open. I saw movement on the screen.
I turned the key in the ignition, and the image on the tablet jerked, spun, and resolved into Nicole’s smirking face, arm wrapped around Holly, hand resting menacingly over the little girl’s throat.
She waved, and made a fluttering shooing gesture with her fingers.
Run along, now. Be a good little terrorist. Blow up a thousand innocent people. Chop-chop!
I put the van in gear and pulled out of the building. “You see that gate, straight ahead of you?” Nicole asked. “Go out, and turn right.”
The gate was opening. I saw cars passing outside, going about their normal business, with no idea this deadly drama was taking place. I felt disoriented as I drove the van toward the gate. As if it wasn’t me driving at all, but some animated doll.
In a sense, I was. My will, hijacked. My heart, used as a weapon against me.
I had a weird moment as I pulled out, turning right onto the street as directed. Here I was, alone in a vehicle with an armed bomb, free to drive any direction I chose—if I had the stomach to pay the price. This dilemma was so fucking cruel.
“I know what you’re thinking, Kat.” Nicole’s voice, from the little speaker on the tablet.
The image of her smirking face bounced as she walked.
“You’re thinking, is it my civic duty to drive this bomb somewhere else, no matter the terrible cost to Holly?
And of course, the answer is yes. But just look at this.
” The camera’s eye shifted until it was looking at Holly, her pale face confused and frightened.
Nicole’s hand whipped out, slapping the little girl so hard, she stumbled and fell.
Nicole grabbed her arm and yanked her back up, making her yelp. There was a red splotch on her cheek, but Holly’s wet eyes burned with righteous anger.
“That’s a taste, Kat,” Nicole said. “Just the tiniest taste of what would follow if you disobeyed me. I’m sure you can imagine how bad things can get, having watched your sisters die. Am I right?” She waited. “Answer me, bitch! I need to know if the audio is working!”
I swallowed, but my mouth was dry. “Yes,” I croaked.
“Yes, what?” Nicole shrilled. “Speak up!”
“Yes, I understand. Yes, you are correct. Yes, I can imagine how bad things can get. Yes, you are in control, I promise. Just stop hurting her.”
Nicole let out a sharp laugh and kept walking, dragging Holly along.
I tried not to look at the screen. Tried to keep my eyes on the road.
Nicole’s instructions were constant and detailed.
Turn here, change lanes there, pull over here and wait twenty seconds, and on and on.
I realized after about fifteen minutes that I was retracing my steps for the third time, going in a big loop through the neighborhood.
“Where am I going?” I asked. “Anywhere in particular?”
“At the moment, you’re just being registered by all the security cameras in the area,” Nicole said.
“You are demonstrating a final agonizing convulsion of doubt about what you’re about to do, which you will be overcoming in just a few minutes.
Now pick up some speed here on the straight stretch, and—”
The connection flickered, and broke.
Shit! Pure panic exploded inside me. Nicole was going to think that was me, fighting back. She would think that I’d been the one to break the connection.
I was so horrified at what she might do to Holly, what she might already be doing, I barely braked in time to avoid rear-ending a van that had slewed right into the lane ahead of me and jerked to a stop, forcing me to stop in turn.
Fortunately, we were at a red light. Maybe Nicole would assume that I was still being compliant despite the connection failing.
I could make a case for having stopped for the light, I hoped.
Huh? The van blocking me was white…and identical to mine. Same logo on the side. I didn’t know what it meant. But the way my day was going, it could not be good.
I gasped as Mick and Jed jumped out, running to my van. Mick was holding up some kind of electronic device, like a handheld radio.