Chapter Nine
Later…
The three captives froze in their places when their captor returned with another man behind him in tow.
"Well, I see that my guests are comfortable at the moment." The man said with a peculiarly creepy smile.
"Interesting that you would call us guests." Don spat
Unfortunately for Don, this only caused the man to get angry and got punched several times in his stomach until he started coughing up blood.
"Leave him alone!" Charlie shouted at the top of his lungs while Malone was trying to get out of his rope, hoping to somehow help Don
Finally, after an agonizing minute and a half by Charlie's count, the man finally stopped and put on that same creepy smile
"Well, hope that teaches you a lesson, Agent Eppes." He said as Don was still coughing and struggling for breath
The man turned to Charlie and Jack and just simply said, "This is to show you what happens when you say something that I don't like, got it?"
Charlie almost didn't say anything, as at first he didn't want to cause more problems but he was angry at what that man had done to his brother so he started to talk, even when he probably shouldn't.
"Stay away from Don, and who are you?" Charlie started to say
"To answer your second question, I am Thomas Moore and to your first question…" He said while he took out a gun and pointed it at Don, "If you don't stay quiet, I will do much worse to your brother."
Charlie was shocked by what the man was threatening to do but he knew had to cooperate for now to ensure his brother and, by extension, his and Jack's, survival until they found a way out of there or, more likely, the team finds them.
"All right, all right, I'll do what you want." Charlie finally said
The man smiled and, thankfully, put his gun away, at least for now.
"Good to have your cooperation, and now I want you to do something, Dr. Eppes."
This made all the captive men perk up, as they wondered what he wanted to Charlie to do and they soon got their answer
"Professor Eppes, I would like you to look at a hard-drive for us, as it has some evidence that we need to have disposed of."
"And if I don't?" Charlie asked, before he could stop himself
"Then I will kill agents Eppes and Malone and if you still further resist, I will also go after your families."
"Charlie…" Don started before Thomas grabbed his throat, causing him to stop talking
"All right, I'll do it, just don't hurt any of them." Charlie begged
"Good, you are coming with me while my guards will make sure the agents don't try anything."
Charlie didn't know what to do, if he helps them, it could cost them the case against these people but he didn't, they'll harm his brother and Jack.
'I better come up with something soon, or we will all end up dead anyway.'