Chapter Ten

Victor Steel stood up from the couch, and said, “Have you met my associates?”

Alex had no idea where the two refrigerator sized men who were now flanking him had been hiding, but was more concerned about what the two refrigerator sized men had in store for him and how he might avoid whatever it might be because, honestly, he really didn’t want to know.

The giant on his left grabbed Alex and held him tightly.  Alex struggled, but the man’s grip was like iron and he quickly realized he wasn’t going to be able to slip away from him.  The other giant grabbed Alex’s bag, and rifled through it.  He started pulling things out one at a time and casually tossing them aside.  One of the things he tossed aside, to Alex’s great relief, was his envelope full of cash.

Alex wondered if it might be possible to start getting paid by direct deposit.  It seemed a little less risky.  He made a mental note to bring it up to Mr. Darcy the next time he saw him.

The man searching Alex’s bag pulled out Alex’s wallet, and opened it rather than tossing it aside.

He pulled out Alex’s driver’s license and read the name aloud, “Alex D. Minor.  Hmm.  What does the D stand for?”

“Danger,” Alex said. 

The behemoth holding him gave him a little shake, which was really more of a big, sharp, shake.  Alex thought he’d felt his brain rattle a little.

“OK, it’s David, it stands for David.  Have a sense of humor,” Alex said.

“You’ll have to excuse my friends,” Victor said.  “I didn’t hire them for their rapid wit and skillful banter.”

“Clearly,” Alex said.  He received another shake, and stopped talking.

The man who’d been digging through Alex’s bag finished his search, and dropped Alex’s bag on the floor along with everything he’d pulled out of it.

“It’s not in here,” he said to Victor.

Victor was clearly not pleased with the news.

“So, Alex Minor, I’m afraid you’ve put me in a rough spot.  I’d been hoping I’d be able to just catch you earlier and resolve the matter then, but it turns out you’re quite skilled at evasive bicycle maneuvers.  Since you gave me the slip, I drove back home and decided I’d better check to see what might have gone missing while you were visiting.  I have to thank you for knocking over one of the statues near my trophy room.  If I hadn’t heard it, I might have had to spend the whole evening going through the house looking for missing items.  As it was, I was able to head straight to the trophy room,” Victor said.

He continued, “Well, you can imagine my relief when I saw that the guns were all still right where I left them.  They’re quite valuable, you know.  I didn’t think you’d taken them, anyway, though.  It’s hard to stuff a hunting rifle into a backpack.  So I checked my display cases, and wouldn’t you know one of the treasures of my collection had mysteriously vanished.”

“Well, in many respects, it would have been much easier if you had stolen a rifle, or some of my art.  I could have just called the police then,” Victor said.  “But this spearhead… well, the police don’t really have much knowledge of antiquities, and even if they did recover it, it would be in their evidence locker until the end of your trial.  So, instead, I put the word out that I was looking for a man on a slightly worn looking green bicycle, wearing a t-shirt, cargo shorts and a backpack.  It didn’t take long for some of my associates to spot you and trail you back to your apartment.  And now here we are,” Victor said, and smiled.

It wasn’t a particularly reassuring or friendly smile, and Alex was suddenly a little worried that he would have been better off if he had been stopped by the police.   Still, worried or not, he couldn’t keep his mouth shut.

“Is it really that the police don’t have much knowledge of antiquities, or is it that they would have a little too much knowledge of that particular item, seeing how it was stolen and all?” Alex said.

“I think there’s more to this thief than meets the eyes,” Victor said to his henchmen.

“I’m not a thief, I’m a repo man.  All I did was take back something that wasn’t yours,” Alex said.

“Ah, of course, repo men, the thin, scummy, line between order and chaos,” Victor said.  “So, where is my spearhead, Alex Minor?”

“I don’t know,” Alex said.

Victor looked bored.

“OK, if that’s the way you want to play,” he said.  “Hit him.”

The goon who had been digging through Alex’s bag struck instantly, punching Alex deep in the gut.  Alex groaned and wanted to double over, but he was being held up by the other goon.

“I promise you these two won’t get tired,” Victor said.  “Now let’s try again.  Where is my spearhead, Alex?”

“I have no idea,” Alex said.

“It just vanished out of your bag then?  It fell out, silently, while you were riding today?” Victor said.

“Sure, something like that,” Alex said.

“Hit him again,” Victor said.

The air rushed out of Alex as the goon punched him as second time. 

“I’m really not into this whole violence thing, you know, Alex,” Victor said.  “And I know my associates would rather be at home relaxing than here in your, frankly, not very nice apartment.  So, maybe we’ll start with a different question.  Who hired you to take my spearhead?”

“I can’t seem to remember,” Alex said.  A small part of him was wondering how far he could push things, and was making a persuasive argument for finding out.  A different part of him wondered if Mr. Darcy actually deserved this kind of loyalty.  He clung to the hope that Mr. Darcy had been telling the truth when he’d said that they were the good guys.

Alex hadn’t been prepared to get punched in the face, and was surprised by the realization that you really can see stars if you get hit hard enough.  He would have fallen if not for the linebacker holding him up.

“You know, I think our friend Alex is a little too comfortable here in his apartment to talk about this reasonably.  Maybe we should go somewhere else where we can talk,” Victor said, then paused for a moment.

“And besides, who knows who might be listening in to our private conversation?  Perhaps we need to go somewhere where we’re less likely to be overheard,” he continued, and gave Alex a meaningful look.

“Bring him along,” Victor said, and walked out of Alex’s apartment.

Alex was fairly certain that where ever he was going to be taken, it wasn’t a place he wanted to go.   Something about the way Victor had emphasized the word overheard made him very uncomfortable. 

Victor led the way out of the apartment, followed by one of the giants.  The giant holding Alex dragged him along, bringing up the rear.

Think, think, think, I’ve got to get out of this somehow, Alex thought.  He hoped that he might bump into a neighbor on the way out.  One that would be concerned about an apparent abduction taking place right in front of him.

There’s no way I can overpower this guy.  I can’t even work up a good kick to the shins, Alex thought.  And if I try, there’s another one right in front of me who’s just as big and at least as mean.

He hoped an opportunity of some sort would present itself.

The four of them walked out of Alex’s apartment complex, and they started leading Alex towards a black Cadillac that looked awfully familiar.  Alex’s heart started pounding, and he could feel adrenaline surging through his body. 

What do I do, what do I do? He thought.

At that moment, he heard someone yell, “Oh shit! Heads up over there!”

Alex looked around just in time to see a bright red Frisbee flying right towards his face.  He turned to try and avoid it, still firmly in the grip of one of the giants.  Apparently, he moved just enough to get out of the way of the Frisbee.

The giant holding him wasn’t quite so lucky, and caught it smack in the nose.  His grip on Alex loosened just enough, and a jumped-up-on-adrenaline Alex took his opportunity, broke free, and ran like Hell.

He ran without paying particularly close attention to where he was going, and just kept running until he was certain that no one was behind him any longer.  Alex wasn’t sure when he’d lost Victor and his flunkies, but he was certain that he wanted as much distance between himself and those three as he could manage.

When he finally stopped running, he was entirely winded.  Sucking in huge breaths, trying to get his heart rate back down again, he looked around to see if he was still being pursued.  So far as he could tell, he was alone again.

He also realized that he didn’t have his wallet on him, and that he wasn’t going to be able to go back to his apartment any time soon.  If Victor was willing to take him prisoner to get a freaking antique back, he was probably also willing to keep Alex’s apartment under surveillance.

Alex checked his pockets and was very relieved to find that he did have his cell phone in one of his pockets.

But who could he call?  He didn’t want to get Marlboro wrapped up in this mess by mistake.  He hadn’t talked to his sister in nearly a year, and he wasn’t sure if she’d even answer the phone once she saw it was him calling.

He paced around slightly, still trying to catch his breath.  Alex took in his surroundings a bit, and began to recognize the neighborhood he was in.  He realized he’d run a solid mile, maybe a little more.

He saw headlights in the distance, and ducked into the shadows of some nearby bushes.  A couple of minutes later, the car passed.  It was a little green hatchback, nothing to worry about.  Probably.

He sat down on the ground and thought a little more before realizing there was really only one person he could call: Mr. Darcy. 

Alex had never actually called Mr. Darcy directly.  He was a little apprehensive about doing so.  He was also concerned that he only had an office number for Mr. Darcy, and that it was well past office hours by now.

On the other hand, he suspected that Mr. Darcy probably didn’t hold too closely to standard business hours.

After going back and forth about it a little longer, Alex realized that he really didn’t have a choice.  He could call Mr. Darcy or wait for Victor (or some of Victor’s associates) to find him.

Hoping that someone would answer, Alex turned on his phone and found Mr. Darcy’s name in his contacts.  He hit the Call button, and listened as the phone rang.

After three rings, Alex heard the line connect, and Mr. Darcy’s voice.

“Good evening Mr. Minor, what can I do for you?” Mr. Darcy said.

“I seem to have gotten into some trouble.  Victor Steel and his goons were waiting for me in my apartment when I got home tonight, and they tried to kidnap me.  I managed to get away, but now I’m a mile or so from home, without my wallet or any of my other things.  I don’t dare go back to my apartment.”

There was silence on the other end of the line, and Alex hoped he hadn’t stepped over a line he wasn’t aware of.  He was also mildly concerned that this would mean the end of his employment with Mr. Darcy.

Just when it was getting to be too much to bear, Mr. Darcy spoke again.

“I’ve got someone driving your way already, just tell me where you are exactly and they’ll be there momentarily.  You’ll recognize their car, because it’s a powder blue Camaro with mag wheels,” Mr. Darcy said.