by Newbiel
Seeing his grandson here, Robert thought he was hallucinating because of the lack of sleep until he pinch himself. Realizing he was awake and that was really happening, he started yelling.
"Are you a fu**ing moron? What the hell are you doing here? Now, none of us is going to go home! What did I do to have such a stupid grandson!"
"Well, glad that I did eighteen hours in a cramped airplane to hear that." Nathaniel said bitterly at which Khalid started laughing.
"Blood cannot be denied. I'm not surprised you made the mistakes to come here, we will do everything to make sure our family is alright." Khalid said, making Nathaniel smile brightly. Looking at that smile, Khalid starts feeling uneasy as if he had missed something important until now.
"I'm glad that you think that Khalid. You know, I have a surprise for you. Can I take a picture in my pocket without getting shot?" Nathaniel asked.
Looking suspiciously at Nathaniel for a second, the man nodded slowly saying something short in arabic. Seeing that he was not going to get shot, he took a folded picture in his right pocket with two fingers and with slow movement put it on the desk. Lifting an eyebrow, Khalid took the picture and opened it. Seeing what was on the picture, his face drained of blood instantly and he turned pale as a ghost.
Chapter 140: :
"This… this… they…" Khalid stutters, having trouble forming a sentence with his voice quivering.
"This is your entire family, yes. Your uncle, neview, father, wife and your two sons, and yes, they are wearing the same suicide vest that you are making. Thanks for having some on the side, it was really helpful." Nathaniel said with an emotionless voice.
"Please, don't do any harm to them, they are innocent!" He shouted.
"Like hell they are, I made some investigation and the whole lot is as rotten as you are." He answers coldly.
"No, listen please. Let's make a trade, I will give you your grandfather and your money back and you just let my family go! What do you think?"
"No, this is too late for that. I will give you one and only chance. Take the gun you have in your back and put a bullet through your head and they will get to live. Otherwise, you will all die." Nathaniel said icily.
"WHAT? How is that even a deal? You… You are a lunatic!" He shouted angrily.
"That's my final offer, take it or leave it, one way or the other, you will not leave this building alive."
"Yeah we will see about that! Do I need to remind you you are all alone and this building is crawling with my mens? I'm going to torture you until you tell me where they are, after that I will torture and kill your grandfather in front of your eyes and after I cut each of your fingers, I will give you a horrific death!" He yelled.
"So you choose, so be it. Guys, you have a go." He said, shaking his head.
The last part made Khalid and Robert frown until Khalid understood and an expression of alarm filled his face. Nathaniel then focuses his attention on the right hand of Khalid, seeing the situation unfolding with a lost face.
Nathaniel had tested the people who were around him now in english and beside the right hand man, the other did not know anything about english. The right hand had basic knowledge, that's why for the couple minutes, he had used a slightly slurred accent to make it difficult for him to be understood and his boss yelling had not helped him understand what was going on either.
Locking eyes with the mountain of a man, Nathaniel said slowly and clearly.
"You really should have searched me before letting me in."
The man finally understood what was going on and shouted in alarm but it was abruptly cut off when a small throwing knife lodged itself in his throat. At the same time, the backdoor of the warehouse swung open and the man beside it was shot down. Nathaniel, using the noise as a distraction, turned to the three other people who were fumbling to get their gun from their belt. They never had the chance to do it.
Using the only throwing knife left, he jumps on the closest man from him and slams his throat wide open, a fountain of blood bursting from the large cut as he falls on the floor, clutching his throat. In the same fluid motion, his knife left his hand and lodged itself in the hand of the terrorist who just got his gun and was aiming it at Nathaniel. Dashing in the direction of the left member on his escort who was not injured, Nathaniel kneeled him in the groin and followed with two quick jabs to the side of the head.
Taking the gun from the terrorist, he quickly put a bullet in the head of the terrorist who was getting to his feet with his knife still lodged in his hand and taking his gun in the other. Following that, he thoroughly put a bullet in the head of each terrorist, even the one with the throwing knife in his throat who was still moving weakly on the floor.
Looking at Khalid who wore a terrified expression on his face, Nathaniel shook his head.
"You should have known better than trying to hurt my family." He said, putting two bullets in Khalid's forehead, killing him instantly.
"Sir! Sir! Are you alright?" The voice of Scott echoed in the empty warehouse.
"Yes Scott, I'm good. Situation of the men on the roof?"
"All dead, sir." Scott said, straining his gun and searching if they were more terrorists alive.
"Amal, please free my grandfather's hands and help him walk out." Nathaniel orders Robert being out of it with a lost expression. What he had just seen his grandson doing and the lack of sleep was impending him greatly.
"Yes sir." Amal said obediently, taking his knife and cutting the rope.
"Scott, you are with me." Nathaniel said, picking the bag that Scott had brought and moving into the warehouse. "I want us out of that warehouse in sixty seconds!"
"Yes sir."
Forty seconds later, they were hurrying out of the warehouse, Amal having to lift Robert up as he was too tired to even walk. Getting into the car that Amal and Scott had used to trail him earlier; Amal got behind the wheel while Scott took care of Robert in the back seat. Driving swiftly but not so fast as it would attract attention, Amal led them to the airport.
They had made sure that the jet was fueled up and had the authorization to leave the airport so they did not have to wait. That's why upon getting into the Lyndon jet, the pilot steered the plane in the airstrip assigned to them and took off. Meanwhile, Robert Lyndon was being seated on the most comfortable couch and was being looked at by the doctor that Nathaniel hired in Italy and had brought over for that purpose.
Taking a random seat near the window, Nathaniel was glad that everything had gone according to plan. Looking by the window, he could see two columns of smoke coming from downtown and the outskirts of the city. Exhausted, his eyes closed on their own and oblivion took him.
Chapter 141: :
It was four hours later when Robert woke up because of some turbulence. Trying and failing to get back to sleep, he was still tired but his mind was much clearer than before. Seeing his patient steer, the medic near Robert starts looking at him, taking his blood pressure and looking at his pupil's response with a flashlight. Ignoring Robert grumbling, he continued his examination and finally nodded satisfied with his observation.
"Your blood pressure is still high but not as high as it was when you got on board, I'm advising you to take it easy for a week before thinking about going back to work and be careful of what you are eating. I'm also advising you to see another doctor when you get back to the US to monitor your condition." The doctor advised.
"I don't have the time for that doctor." Robert answered crossly, not liking being ignored.
"Suit yourself, this is your health not mine, I'm getting paid either way."
"You're not getting paid if you continue with that attitude of yours."
"You are not the one who is paying me so..." The doctor shrugged visibly unconcerned, going back to his seat.
Hearing that, the eyes of Robert focus on Nathaniel sleeping in a lonely seat not far away with a trouble expression. He remembers what happened in front of his very eyes not too far ago, the anger a
nd the fear seeing his grandson alone in the middle of terrorist and then seeing something even he had a hard time believing. It was not even what he did that shocked him but the way he did it. Robert was no saint and he already had to put people on the ground who wanted to hurt him or his family but Nathaniel was on another league entirely.
He was surrounded by three mens with guns, he had only one little knife and he managed to kill all three of them without even getting a scratch in the process. He even managed to make the whole thing look easy. He also remembers the way his body demeanor changed after giving the picture to Khalid as if he turned into somebody else at that time. Knitting his eyebrow, Robert gets to his feet and starts walking to the still sleeping Nathaniel, wanting to ask some question to that grandson of his but he did not even start walking that he was stopped by Amal putting a hand to his chest.
"Don't Robert." Amal said simply, shaking his head.
"I need to speak with my grandson." Robert responded, frowning.
"He's sleeping. We are going to land in forty five minutes or so in Rome, you will talk with him then."
"I don't recall you being the boss the last time I check." He frowned, not liking being stopped by his own people.
"Listen Robert, you have no idea what he did to get you back, no idea what he sacrificed. I don't believe he slept since he learned you were taken. I know you want answers but you need to let him rest." Amal sighed.
"Amal, let me pass." Robert orders coldly.
"I warn you." He sighed, putting his hand away and letting him pass.
He did not have the chance to get close to his grandson when someone else stopped him.
"Nope." Scott said without even looking at Robert.
"Move aside." Robert ordered.
"Contrary to everyone else here, I don't work for you old man. Get back to your seat or I'm going to strap you to it and I don't think anyone here is going to stop me. You are being kind of a dick right now."
"You are still in my jet, don't force me to remove you from it." Robert said, getting madder by the second.
"And who is going to remove me? Amal?" Scott asked.
"Nope." He answers without turning back.
"Matthew?" Scott calls, looking at the security guard who was still showing signs of the beating he endures.
"This is going to be a nope for me too, sir. I like living a little too much to attempt it." He said.
"Matthew? What the hell happened to you?" Robert asks, looking at the swollen face of his men.
"I was interrogated by some Italian cops, it was a rather fun interview, especially when they died."
"You killed an Italian cop? Are you insane?" Robert shouted.
"I never say I was the one who did it, sir. I was a little busy being used as a punching bag to do that at the time." He said with a wolfish smile, nodding in Scott and Nathaniel direction.
Reeling from that information Robert was going to ask about it when Scott continued speaking.
"Jason?" He called the one who had come with the suitcase earlier.
"I'm sleeping, I can't see or hear anything." Jason answered, keeping his eyes closed and pretending to sleep.
"Well, it seems this is only between us Mister Lyndon. So what is it going to be? Do I need to bring duck tape or are you going to behave?"
Looking at the well built men in front of him, it was evident who will win in case of an altercation. Moreover, Robert believed that it was not bluffing and would like nothing better than strapping him to a chair. Having suffered that for the last three days, Robert was not too fond of trying again and so decided to back down.
"Sir, your wife on the phone." Amal call, thrusting a phone in his direction.
Sighting and thankful to Amal for giving him an out without losing face, Robert took the phone and went back to his place, enjoying the sound of his wife's voice. He will deal later with Nathaniel.
Chapter 142: :
Once they had landed and passed airport security, Nathaniel could see that the mood in the group was tense. He could guess that something happened while he was sleeping but could not see why. It was too exhausted to pay attention, normal since he did not have any sleep for the last eighty four hours before his little nap in the plane. He could use ten hours more of sleep but that little nap helps him wash off some of his tiredness.
"Okay, what happened while I was sleeping? Why does my grandfather look so pissed at you?" Nathaniel asks Scott.
"Well, he wanted to wake you up and start interrogating you. With Amal, we know more than anyone that you needed that sleep so we ward him off. He insisted so I had to threaten him to go back to his seat or I was going to strap him to it. He did not appear to like that at all." He smiled ruefully.
"I can tell." Nathaniel sighed bitterly. "I will talk to him later, thanks for having my back, I needed the rest."
"It's my job. With Amal we thought you were at fifty or sixty hour without sleep."
"Give or take." Nathaniel shrugged.
"How much exactly?" Scott asked, knitting his eyebrow, he was starting to understand his employeur.
"Eighty four." Nathaniel said, not bothering to hide it and saying it like it was no big deal.
"Eighty… four? How the hell were you even standing straight, not mentioning the way you kill the terrorist in a one versus four situation with two throwing knives. Your grandfather suffers from sleep deprivation and he still manages to sleep three or four hours in three days. Are you even human?" He said quietly but with heat in his voice.
"Yes, but he's passed fifty and not really fit physically when I'm seventeen, I work my body hard everyday and I eat healthy. This is not the same thing at all and trust me in the end I don't think I could have done another fight like that one." Nathaniel answered quietly.
It was not exactly true, without the power of his soul giving him much more energy than a regular teenager, he could never have gone that long without sleep and even that was starting to run out in the end. He had told the truth to Scott, that last fight was it for his stamina. He was glad that their exit had gone smoothly because he was kind of done physically and mentally after that.
Scott simply grudged but Nathaniel knew that he was not convinced. Scott was a smart man and he was not surprised if he was a little suspicious of him. Letting it go, Nathaniel looked behind to make sure his grandfather was following him, escorted by Amal and Jason on each side as Matthew was still too wounded to work. Even if Nathaniel took care of the corrupt cops in the city, he was not naive enough to think he caught them all and he did not want to take the risk to lose his grandfather again.
Getting into the limo he rented, Nathaniel said his goodbye and thanks to the doctor as they parted ways and paid him. He was expensive but well worth it Nathaniel found out. Twenty five minutes later, they were in the hospital where Jean was being treated. Entering the room with his grandfather and Amal while the others were joining the people protecting him outside, they took a moment to look at the pale face of Jean in the bed. The harsh expression of Robert melting away and a caring one took it place on his face.
"How are you my friend?" Robert asks, sitting on the chair beside the bed.
"I'm good, still alive and kicking." Jean smiled ruefully.
Even as he said it, he was looking worse for wear and was not moving in his bed.
"I can see that." Robert laughed.
"Glad you manage to get him back Nathaniel. I'm sure it was not an easy thing to do." Jean said looking at him.
"It was not but I'll do anything for my family." He said in a tone that broke no argument. "You should have seen him when he realized I was the one who came to get him back home. He was almost crying in happiness. It was touching really." He added sarcastically.
"Please… Don't… Make… me laugh." Jean said laughing, clutching his chest painfully.
"Sorry Jean, just hang in there, okay? The second you can be transported back to the US, you will be. In the meantime, we will stay today as I have things to do bu
t tomorrow we will go back home. The people I put outside your room to protect you will stay in that period alright?" Nathaniel explains, ignoring the angry frown that Robert sent his way.
"Yes, I'm good. People are nice here and the Italian nurses are hot. I even got a sponge bath." He smiles lewdly, making Nathaniel laugh.
"Glad that you are having fun."
"Why do we have to stay here another day?" Robert asks, grumpily.
"Because there is still a loose end I need to take care of in Rome."
"You can't take care of it without me here? I want to go home."
"Of course I can but you are not getting away from me until I'm home and you are in grandma arms. Until then, where I go, you go. I also have a date scheduled for tonight."
"Wait! A date? With whom? You were not even here for two days!" Jean shouted, surprised.
"I believe it would be me." Valentina Lombardi said smiling broadly, entering the room.
Chapter 143: :
Valentina Lombardi was wearing a flowing long white dress complimenting her form and had her blonde hair tied in a knot. She had a little makeup on her face, accentuating her green eyes prettily, on and on she was stunning. Jean was looking at her, his mouth wide open when Amal was more discreet in his admiration. Robert had none of that.
"Who is she?" He asked, looking at Nathaniel.
"She's the reason you could walk out of the jet and not be waited on by two cops ready to put you in custody." Nathaniel answers with a frown. "Let me introduce you. Robert Lyndon, I present to you Valentina Lombardi, one of the best lawyers in this city. Valentina Lombardi, Robert Lyndon, CEO and founder of the Lyndon Label and my very own grandfather even if I'm still waiting on the DNA result to be sure of that." He adds the last bit with humor, making Jean and Amal turning their head to hide an amused smile.
"Thanks for your work Miss Lombardi." Robert said after giving an annoyed stare to his grandson.