Amnesia

Chapter 5

"OK, Daniel, either you get me those documents or we start the trial without them. Even if we can't put Laurent away, we'll put you away for obstruction of justice, and that will be sufficient to rile him up and provoke mistakes," Adrian said calmly as they exited the highway and headed towards the opulent suburb.

"Or I'll be killed tonight, and you'll use it to incriminate him, won't you, Adrian?" Daniel concluded with a somber tone, gazing wistfully out the window. In his daze, he was no longer afraid; he had overcome all his fear during the long drive.

"He won't harm you, you silly," Adrian grinned. "He loves you, so go and apologize for running away. You're crazy; he'll understand. He'll put you on pills, what's the big deal? In a week, be at the Alpha mall, and we'll intercept you there."

"What do you mean by 'intercept'?" Daniel looked at him with confusion, and Adrian clarified:

"Our guys will discreetly remove the documents from your bag, okay? It's a term, are you from the moon?"

"Fuck you, Adrian," Daniel pushed him away in anger and resumed staring out the window. Adrian answered the call, swiftly composing himself and adopting a serious demeanor. Daniel involuntarily turned around at the altered tone, now sounding subservient—evidently, Adrian was talking to his boss, manipulating him just as he manipulated Daniel.

"Alright, alright. When? Okay, understood," Adrian fixed his gaze on a single point ahead of him, engrossed in the phone conversation. "He'll do it, don't worry. Okay," he concluded the call, turning to Daniel with an expression tense with anger. "Alright, Bamby, change of plan. You don't need to retrieve the documents; we'll open the safe ourselves. You'll disable the alarm, okay?" He turned to the driver and inquired, "Dean, how much "sleeping potion" do you have?"

"Enough for a soccer team," Dean chuckled, not taking his eyes off the road.

"Stop fucking around, you idiot. How much exactly?" Adrian suddenly shouted, contorting his handsome face into a demonic and frightening expression that made Daniel squirm in fear. He breathed convulsively, sweating as a terrible sense of déjà vu overwhelmed him—it felt like he had never witnessed Adrian in this menacing state before.

"We've got enough for ten people, Adrian," the driver quickly interjected, slowing down and pulling over to the side of the road. "Wait a sec, I'll double-check," he rummaged in the glove compartment, retrieved a bag of pills, performed a swift calculation, and asserted confidently, "There's sufficient for eleven people with an average weight of no more than two hundred pounds."

"That's enough," Adrian nodded reassuringly and turned to find a sweaty, shallow-breathing Daniel huddled at the car door. "Give one pill to all of Laurent's bodyguards and the staff, especially if they're hefty. Exclude Laurent; he should be fully alert when we arrive. Give the "sleeping potion", disable the alarms, and then you're free to leave, Daniel. Once everyone is unconscious, and the alarm is disabled, signal by flashing the lights in the living room three times. Don't worry; no one except Laurent will be harmed. We need to catch him at home; there's intel suggesting he's stashed some stolen art pieces there."

"H-how can I be certain no one will be harmed?" Daniel whispered in a strained voice, barely breathing. His eyes widened as he observed every move Adrian made, bracing himself for the worst.

"No one will give you any guarantee at all," Adrian raised his voice angrily. "You're in no position to bargain, asshole! If his pitbulls wake up and start fighting, they'll get their asses kicked, but we're not going to kill anyone, do you understand?

"I see," Daniel mumbled. - What's going to happen to Vincent?

"What do you care? All right, well, if you must know, we'll prove his guilt when we get the documents out of the safe, and then he'll be in jail for twenty years, so you can create your paintings in peace. Hey, what, are you gonna pass out? Damn it, Dean, stop. I think he's gonna puke."