CHAPTER 114: THE FORTRESS

The trip to New York City was restless. I couldn’t explain what I was feeling while waiting anxiously for the plane to land. Unlike with Pamela and Marcus, who were seated calmly on their seats, I on the other hand was not. The feeling inside of me was overwhelmingly in disturbance. Mixture of nervousness, worry and uncertainty all bundled inside of me that was making me crazy as time went by. 

Although I had been told countless times that everything would be alright, I still couldn’t force myself to be at ease, not until I saw with my very eyes my daughter and her current condition. A part of my being a father to Michelle was convicting me on why I allowed these things to come upon her. Why did I let myself be persuaded by Pamela, our eagerness to have revenge on Penelope through this way and go with this sick plan, which I was fully aware would endanger the life of my beloved daughter yet still indulge with it. But regardless of how many times I blamed myself and how often I cursed myself for the wrong decision I made, everything was done with. There’s no room now for repentance whatsoever, because what’s done is done. I couldn’t take back everything that happened. 

The only thing I could do now is to hope and pray that Michelle was unharmed and unbruised. I will never ever forgive myself if I see an inch of mark on her skin because of her abduction. God forbid me, but I might kill those men if ever my daughter was hurt by an inch while in their custody. 

After a mind-fatiguing and nerve-wrecking wait, the plane had finally landed. As agreed upon, a heavily tinted black car awaits the three of us outside the airport and a bulky bearded man immediately approaches us at first sight. 

“Good to see you again, Marcus. It’s been a while.” 

“It’s nice to be back here in New York, Dennis, and do business with you guys. Where’s Ivar?” Marcus happily stated right after shaking the hand of the bulky bearded man, who could immediately be distinguished as a bad guy just by looking at his facade. 

“At the hideout. He’s already waiting for you and your friends.”

The man who Marcus called Dennis gazed at me first before fixing and setting his eyes on Pamela. His stare lingered at her, trailing his eyeballs from Pamela’s face down to her body that literally sickened me. 

I am a man and I know those stares this man was giving now to my fiance. There was a deeper kind of admiration and undescribable fascination in his eyes, an alarming lust and bothersome desire that started to make my blood boil. I was about to speak up and put this man in his place when Marcus spoke first before me.   

“By the way, this is Michael Smith and his fiance Pamela Watsons, our clients from Victoria. They were the ones who hired your group.” 

“I see. Nice to finally meet you, Miss Watsons. It’s been a while since the last time our group had a beautiful client” Dennis immediately extended his large hand to Pamela and focused all of his attention on her as if he hadn’t heard who I was. 

“Hello, Dennis,” Pamela reached for his hand in a friendly manner. When she was about to unclasp their hands, Dennis slightly gripped it harder, making her unable to pull away, which made me fake a cough and finally get Dennis’ attention. I met his eyes sternly, which made him back away, but not after smirking at me haughtily.

“I guess we better be on our way then, Dennis. The sooner Ivar and my friends talk, the quicker we would be able to get our ransom money.” 

It’s a good thing Marcus spoke up the way he did, which somehow awakened Dennis from his self-made fantasy as he swiftly walked away with a haste. Perhaps Marcus also sensed the tension that was starting to build up and stood as a barricade before things got awful. 

“Get in. Business first before pleasure, as always right?” 

Dennis uncalled for comment made my eyes pierced sharply at him. “Let’s go, Michael. Don’t waste your time on him. He wasn’t the reason why we are here in the first place” Pamela abruptly uttered after holding my arm tightly. 

But before Pamela could get inside the car, I whispered something to her ear. “Stay the hell away from the man, Pamela. I don’t want to see you go near him. He’s nothing but trouble. Understand?” 

“Don’t worry, Michael. I am not here to make friends whatsoever. I am here because of our plan and it is purely business.” 

Pamela’s solid and strong statement somewhat eases me. I knew how much she loved me and how she valued our relationship. I knew for a fact that she wouldn’t do anything stupid to tarnish what we have, yet alone taint my trust in her. 

“We’re here!” Dennis announced out of the blue. 

It took us nearly two hours before the car stopped in front of an old warehouse. It stood alone in the middle of nowhere with no neighboring settlements on either side. Judging by the looks of it, no one would think that someone would be in it. A perfect spot for a hideout. 

We immediately followed Dennis' steps and headed at the back side. But instead of making our way to the only wooden door ahead of us, he took out a device from his right pocket and pressed something. The ground suddenly created a sound and gradually opened. It was an underground base, something used to avoid attention from outsiders. Once fully opened, Dennis walked first and followed by Marcus then Pamela. I was the last one to head downward. 

I was awestruck at the spacious headquarters that greeted me. Unlike outdoors, every wall here was made of pure solid steel, like a shielded bunker. It was like I was inside a bulletproof and an army-built facility where not even a tank would be able to get through. The place was heavily equipped with high technologies and like a cyber lab from the future. 

“Welcome to The Fortress, Michael and Pamela. Let’s go meet the man himself, so we could start milking Penelope and get rich” Marcus stated excitedly before leading the way ahead of us.