ALAIN ARCHER'S POV

• 2 Days Later

Sweat drops gathered on my chin before falling to the ground with an echoing plop. Hank was also sweating bullets, but unlike him, I tried to look confident, unafraid. Howbeit, the sound of my pounding heart spoke of the true nature of things.

"Where's Cage?" I hushed rhetorically, glancing at the Rolex watch under my suit's sleeves. It was quarter to 18:00. They were ten minutes late.

Fear swirled inside me as a dreadful possibility crossed my mind. "Could it be..." I whispered, eyes bulging. "Did he find out about– "

A quick but reverberating squeak cut me off. I ducked down behind the large wooden crates, scraping cobwebs off my back as I crouched. Hank had followed suit, his huge body testing the integrity of the crates opposite me. I listened beyond my beating heart to the sound of the warehouse door closing. After it slammed shut, sounds of approaching footsteps followed. Slow and many.

"Boss?" A whisper from that direction eased my tension a bit.

I cleared my throat to push back any hint of relief. "Where the fuck have you been, Cage? You think I have time to waste?"

I rose to my feet so they could see me. With the only source of light being the moon's beams streaking through the big tainted glass windows, I managed to make out Cage's figure along with ten others. They began to head my way.

"Forgive me, bossman. Some people needed... motivation."

I knew it. There were supposed to be eleven others. I surmised the last one had decided to cower away from my master plan and I trusted Cage made sure he couldn't cower ever again. Or do anything else for that matter.

"Tres bien," I nodded and vaguely registered him return the nod. "Are you sure you weren't followed?"

"I can smell blood around me, if I was being followed, I would know."

"It's not human blood I'm cautious about, Cage."

There was a thick silence before he spoke in a lower tone. "We were strictly stealthy when getting the bomb."

I nodded.

*****

We formed a circle around the wooden hatch. I pulled out my revolver from within my suit. "Open it," My command was quiet yet stern. The echo chamber of a warehouse amplified my voice.

The hatch was thrown open with a creaking noise. A cramped room below held our gagged and bound billionaire, married to a chair.

In accordance with my gesture, Hank pulled up Huan Gong from the hatch, who remained slumped between the ropes and the chair. He was likely unconscious from hours of low oxygen and muffled screaming.

Good thing the chair was sturdy because the way Hank plopped it down in front of me was forceful enough to break a person's bone. To his merit though, the impact jolted the billionaire awake.

He wriggled vehemently, his dark hair disheveled and his eye bags deeper than before.

I raised my eyes to meet Hank who towered behind the chair. "Has our guest been fed?"

"A ration of bread and a red cup of water." He reported.

I feigned a look of concern. "I see. Untie his mouth."

Immediately the gag came off, he bellowed in rage."Alain, you bast--"

I pointed my revolver at his forehead and pressed my other index finger against my lips. "Shhhh."

He gulped down to silence, though his lips were snarled and his eyebrows were twitching.

I sighed and stroked my hair backward. "There. Isn't cooperation simple?"

His eyes did all the cursing he intended to do with his mouth. They were fierce, murderous, untamed. This was going to take a while.

"This is almost day three since we rescued you, Mr Gong. And this is the thanks I get? Rage?"

He spat on the floor. "Go to hell! You outlaws kidnapped me, my men would have rescued me before the bank collapsed."

"O but Mr Gong, I wasn't talking about the collapse." I pressed my revolver on his sweaty forehead. Embarrassing how everyone was sweating profusely. I brought my voice down even more. "I was talking about the cause of the collapse."

His voice quivered. "You mean the monster you're working for?"

A frown creased my face. The temptation to blow his brain off, for insinuating that the king of crimes was a henchman, was too alluring. Nevertheless, such an act would undo my master plan.

"Call the boss a puppet again, and you will be limbless like one." Hank glowered at the captive.

"Rightly said." I nodded at Hank before staring coldly into the stubborn man's eyes. "I work with the monster. His name is Kazar. He wants the world reduced to rubble, I don't. So I work against him too. He wanted you dead. I snuck you out and pronounced you dead."

His eyes broadened in comprehension. "You saved me?"

I mentally barfed at the thought of being a 'good guy'. Flexing my fingers around the handle of my gun, I said "Let me set some things straight. I will likely kill you when I'm done with you. And if you don't cooperate with me, I will definitely kill you."

He gulped as I continued. "Your coming out alive depends on how well you do what I say. Do you understand?"

Finally, fear was all that was in his eyes. "What do you want from me? How much?"

I scoffed. "We'll get to money later. If we wanted your money we would have mugged you till you caved." Leaning till I was at eye level with him, I continued. "We want your face intact for what's to come."

"And what is that?"

His trembling at my mercy had me grinning. "I need you to get me an all-access clearance to the S.P.E.R.E Science and Technology complex."

The fear seemed to dissipate as he chuckled. "How do you expect me to do that from here?"

I straightened up and concealed my gun. "I don't. You'll be set free."

All my men flinched almost in unison.

I rolled my eyes. Who taught them to be so dramatic?

"You...will let me go?" Huan's eyes blinked repeatedly.

I grimaced. "Of course, we'll put a bomb in you first, but yeah."

Everyone sighed in relief except Huan, who started wriggling like his life was in danger.

Probably because it was.

"You're only wasting your energy, Hank tied those himself." I scratched my forehead with a finger. He wasn't cooperating. He had to cooperate.

My revolver went off with a bang, the muzzle aimed between his feet. He stilled.

"I just made unnecessary noise." I released a tense sigh. "Let me tell you about the last fellow that screwed with me."

My glare intensified. "He was a hostage, just like you. He had only one job, just like you. But he deviated from my orders and destroyed the serenity of my lair as a result! Do you want to know what happened to the ol doctor? Show him boys, but watch the face."

I watched as Hank gagged him and toppled the chair to the ground. My other henchmen closed the distance and began stomping all over.

I counted down ten seconds in my head. "Alright."

They stopped and Hank propped him up.

"We finished the doc that way," I sneered. "But if you step out of line one bit, your family and the rest of the world will watch you go up in flames. Are we clear?"

He nodded between wheezes.

I smiled. "Good. Now it's nap time."

One of my henchmen stepped forward and pressed a handkerchief to the billionaire's nose. The chloroform worked almost instantly and he passed out, his head slouched to the side.

"Take him under. And have some food ready for him when he wakes up. I don't care who spoon feeds him just make sure he eats before the surgery in the morning."

"Yes, boss." Most of them replied in unison. Others nodded. Either way worked for me.

"I'll bring in the surgeon before 7 am. He doesn't like delays and charges for overtime. The bomb should be on standby."

"Yes, boss," Hank replied. "But I have a concern."

"Spill it." I crossed my arms.

"We aren't fully aware of your master plan. I'm afraid it might affect our pace of work."

My gaze swept over the others, they all seemed to agree. "Gentlemen, the plan is simple. Get an all-access pass from Huan Gong, give it to my insider at S.P.E.R.E., and my insider smuggles out the most advanced weapons they've got- along with info on how they work. Then we use them to take back our lair, even if it means killing the bastard that seized control of it."

Their faces lit up as I continued. "I for one am confident in the potential of S.P.E.R.E's secret weapons. Now, any questions?"

"Just one," Hank piped. "I thought I was in charge of keeping track of all your loyal men."

"You are." I tucked my hands into my pockets.

"How come I've never heard of the S.P.E.R.E insider?"

I feigned a smile. I didn't like revealing my personal matters to just anybody. But they already know about my son, it couldn't get any more personal than that.

"Because he's not one of my men. He's family."

Everyone gaped like idiots, including Hank.

I pinched the bridge of my nose and let out an exasperated sigh. "Alright, meeting dismissed. Hank, you'll be following me back to the lair to flag down Kazar's suspicion and find out what his next motives are." 

I recognized Hank's nod before facing the rest. "Cage is in charge till we return. And if I'm not back with the surgeon by seven...then doomsday is certain."

*****

The reason we were all sweating back at the warehouse was now standing in my 'redesigned' office. The ten-foot behemoth backed me as I entered the room. The fraction of my men that now kissed his ass were putting their backs into moving glistening white metal parts around. It seemed they were building some sort of device, though the shape of the existing framework was haphazard.

Kazar craned his head back as if sensing my presence. His dark, beady eyes held no emotions. It was like staring into a dreadful void.

I shuddered as I adjusted my tie beneath my suit. "Ah, Kazar. I trust my men's working habit is to your taste."

"You've been plotting, Archer." His voice was like gravel. "I'm disappointed."