CHAPTER 40
JORDAN.
CLICK. CLICK.
Neville desperately kept trying to fire the gun even though it should have registered by now that he was out of bullets. The man with the megaphone on the chopper said “This is the PRPB. You have been surrounded. Release the hostages and surrender your weapon.”
Poor Neville looked terrified as I strode towards him, and started scrambling back “No! Stay back” he yelled.
“It’s over. Neville,” I said. Even though he was no longer a real threat, he was scared and cornered. People tended to get creative when they were scared and cornered.
As I predicted, he picked up the nearest chair and flung it at me, then went back to trying to fire the gun. I evaded the chair and finally got to him, taking hold of his gun hand and twisting it behind his back until he cried out and fell to his knees.
He looked at the gun on the floor as tears filled his eyes “But..how?”
“That’s a six–gun revolver. It’s really old so I assume you’ve had it in your family or it’s the cheapest one you could get at the pawn shop. You didn’t come here with an intention to use it so no extra bullets and you didn’t check to see if the chamber was full.” I supplied. He might as well know.
I surveyed the room “Quiet” I snapped, irritated by all the noise they were making. Someone had finally deemed it fit to attend to Barrymore so both his legs were wrapped in cloth already soaked with blood. From his pale face and sweating, It could tell he was getting delirious from all the blood loss.
“I need something to restrain him with,” I said. Baileys, who I saw Melanie refer to as ‘the mixed race man‘ in her notes when I’d peeked, came forward unwinding his tie. He handed it to me and stepped back.
1 secured Neville’s hands with it while he sobbed, feeling a stab of pity for him.
When I was sure he wasn’t going to be any more trouble I straightened and walked over to his boss Marcel. He’d always been a bit of a weasel and I never liked him but now I knew the extent of his behavior, and now that he’d tried to feel up
Melanie even in the middle of a situation, I wished there wasn’t a camera hovering above so I could punch him in the face. He looked up at me with his watery blue eyes.
“Do you know who I am?” I asked.
He nodded.
“So you’ve heard the rumors about what I do” I continued. He nodded again, fear entering his eyes. Good. I tapped the list Neville dictated and leaned down until I was talking directly into his ear.
“If you don’t carry out every single pertinent thing on that list, or you’re even one dollar short in paying him off for the slave labor you’ve put him true, I will personally make those rumors come true. Do you understand?”
He whimpered and nodded until I thought his head would fall off. A weird smell made me look down before stepping away, revolted. The bastard had peed his pants.
The men in the chopper must’ve alerted the others allegedly surrounding the building about the situation as the next thing I knew they were busting open the locked door.
People didn’t hesitate to dash out but Melanie and Allie still maintained their seats. The uniformed police helped the people get out of the room and called in the paramedics to wheel Barrymore out on a gurney.
As he passed his eyes fell on Allie who’d been sitting calmly all the while he was on the floor in pain and she gave him a big grin “Get well soon boss!” she called out with a wave.
This was what happened when you didn’t treat your employees right or inspire loyalty in them. They flirted with other men while you bled out on the floor.
“Are you hurt, sir? The witnesses say you were in direct contact with your captor,” one of the police said to me as another one hauled Neville to his feet and muscled him out of the room.
“I’m quite alright. I just want to leave with my assistant. She’s really shaken up,” I said loud enough for Melanie to hear, giving her a cue.
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CHAPTER 40
She instantly covered her face with her hands and let out a convincing choked sob.
You saved your colleagues, sir, and you’ll be required to give a statement,” the man said, stopping me. I needed to get Melanie out of here now. The longer she stayed in this place swarming with law enforcement officers, the more she ran the risk of being recognized and we couldn’t have that.
I handed him a business card “I’m afraid the wellbeing of my employee takes paramount importance over anything else. Feel free to call at my office later if you want a statement,” I said and crossed to Melanie.
She continued to sob into her hands as I guided her out of her seat and towards the door with Allie behind us.
The outside was calmer than I expected but once we exited the building we were greeted with chaos. Reporters were everywhere, shoving microphones into people’s faces and shooting rapid–fire questions. Allie waved and veered off, fighting her way through the crowd until she got to her vehicle.
I made sure Melanie’s face was still downturned as cameras flashed and one reporter got all up in my face “Mr. Alonso, how did it feel to be trapped in that room with a man who had a gun?”
“Mr. Alonso, did you ever feel like your life was in danger in there?”
“Mr. Alonso, witnesses report that you were calm throughout the encounter“.
I said nothing as we made our way to the car. I opened it and helped Melanie in and she immediately doubled down as if overcome, her shoulders shaking. I was starting to wonder if she was actually shaken and had just been holding steady all this while.
As I went over to the driver’s side I spotted Marcel with four or five reporters and a fresh pair of pants, drinking in the
attention.
Our eyes met and he gulped visibly, seeming to stutter over his next words.
One of the reporters laid a sympathetic hand on his shoulder and he turned to her with a smile, breaking eye contact. Satisfied he would keep to his end of the deal, I shoved another camera out of my face and got in the car, immediately driving off.
Once we were a good distance away I glanced at Mel “Are you actually crying?”
She straightened and wiped her eyes and then I saw the mirth in her eyes. She’d been laughing all along. “Ahh, that was fun. All this acting has made me hungry” she said, still smiling.
Used to her behavior now, I shrugged “It’s nearly lunchtime. Let’s go eat something greasy and unhealthy.
