The Price of Love

◆ 7 ◆

Tommy walked over and untied me, even though I was already halfway out of my restraints. Pulling the duct tape off my mouth, I stood up and stretched, again marveling at the softness of these strangely generic clothes. Was it so far-fetched to claim witchcraft?

Through my inkling of dread, I noticed a quiet roar reverberating through the factory. Tommy and the rest of the guys didn't appear to take attention as they talked amongst themselves about the video. However, after a few moments, the noise died away. Nothing to concern myself with. After all, we were in an abandoned printing factory with machines everywhere. But the noise sounded strangely familiar, even though the thought was silly. It sounded like...like the whirring of an engine or something. Like the sound of my father's helicopters when they no landed above the manor roof whenever he fancied a ride over New York.

"I'm gonna go mail this off." Max held up the tape from the camera. "See you guys later. Nice meeting you, Daphne. Thanks for cooperating. Mostly."

"No problem, Max. Nice meeting you too, bye!" We waved him out and I turned to the guys. "Other than the whole dart-in-the-neck gushing blood and explosion thing, I can't say I mind doing this." I rested my cheek on Phoenix's arm, unwillingly coming to a truth I did not want to face. How could a momentary kidnapping be better than the life of a billionaire's daughter? The answer was simple- they were real. Not in the sense of materialism, but in personality. Back in my world, there was nothing but false compliments and silent judgement. "That sounds ridiculous, I know, I'm sorry."

"Maybe money can't buy happiness." Phoenix patted my head gently. "Life can't be so bad, can it?"

"Would I sound crazy if I said I would rather stay with you guys than go back?"

"Aw, Daphne. You can't love us that much." Lee chuckled. "I don't believe we are that fun. Man, how messed up is this? I don't think this is how kidnappings are supposed to work, you know. Where's all the screaming and little girly fits we were preparing to deal with?"

"Lee, you guys didn't even have real guns. Yeah, I noticed," I shrugged, seeing the shocked expression they instantly had at the mention of their blunder. "You probably should have painted the orange muzzle too, but Nerf guns? Thank goodness no one else noticed, huh? Hey, maybe if this deal goes down, you could probably buy some real AK-47's. But it wasn't that obvious, if that makes you feel better."

"We're the worst kidnappers in history," Lee looked at the ground sadly.

"We did the best we could. This isn't a movie." Tommy chuckled.

"Or a book we're living in," added Phoenix helpfully.

"I know. That'd be crazy, right?"

"So what now?" I asked.

"We go back to the base," Lee replied. "And wait for a response from your parents. I'm sure they've already contacted the authorities by now, so any interaction between us and them will be very closely monitored by the Feds. They will most likely suggest a bag drop at an undisclosed location, but we can't take the chance that your parents will act on their own chance. You're worth too much to sabotage, Daphne."

"As soon as we move in, or as soon as they see us, they'll move in for an ambush. We can expect that much," Tommy said. "But we also have an advantage- you."

"What they mean is," Phoenix joined the conversation. "-that, and take no offense to this Daphne, you act as the bait and the shield. The Feds will have obviously taken over by now, but your parents still have the final say on what happens. They wouldn't dare attack us if they know we still have you in our hands. So the plan is to accept the offer for a bag drop, but we will also make sure they know that if one of our own gets hurt, so do you. Just threats, of course-" He quickly conceded, noticing my panicked expression. "We shoot another video, this time as a livestream. Any sign of an ambush and we hurt you first. But they know the risk involved at an attack, so I doubt anything will happen."