I was so beside myself that I would have liked to stamp my foot. This was not the deal I had imagined! Besides, how was I supposed to get past security, armed only with a plane ticket? Very funny. Mr. Sattler really had a sense of humor.
Where was I supposed to go, anyway? I pointed the beam of my flashlight at the ticket, but found no destination. Where the airport abbreviations should have been, there were only white spots.
That was interesting. Was it perhaps something else after all? But why would you print the Lufthansa logo on a treasure map?
I ran my hand over my face again. None of this made any sense. I couldn't solve the riddle. And I didn't want to. At least not right away. I had to get out of this damned forest first. Why had I wasted my time staring at the ticket instead of looking for a way out of here?
I shone the tiny beam of light in the direction I suspected the path would be. But it didn't travel over puddles and wet sand as I expected, instead it stuck on a figure. "Hello, Ina."
I suppressed a yelp. Shit, where had he come from? Had he been standing there the whole time? I turned on my heel and staggered in the other direction, away from Ice Eyes and his bodyguard, who had taken up position right behind him. "There's no point, Ina."
I knew that myself. Grimly, I still wanted to punch my way into the thicket when a hand grabbed my arm. It held me as tight as a vice and forced me to turn around. It was Sattler's bodyguard, who had captured me and now seemed to be waiting for his boss to follow. I resisted the man's grip, but at the same time I knew I had no chance. Sattler came strolling provocatively slowly toward me until he stopped just in front of me. "It's good to see you back safe and sound. I was beginning to think you weren't going to make it."
I didn't dignify him with a response, but instead spat at his feet and pulled and tugged on my arm again. Fortunately, it was the one without a bullet wound. Still, I didn't take my eyes off Sattler, and if I hadn't known better, I could have sworn his face contorted for a little moment. But the damn night didn't begrudge me my triumph.
"I see there's more life in you than I assumed." His voice sounded piqued, and I hoped I'd hit his leather shoes. That is, if he was still wearing them. "Get rid of her, David."
What was he talking about? Where? Surely there were only trees and the picnic table nearby. I couldn't shake the feeling that I was doing exactly what Sattler had expected me to do. That I had been his plaything, his puppet, jumping in the right direction at the right time. Why was it that everyone seemed to want to use me for their own purposes?
Therefore, while the bodyguard was pushing me in front of him, I turned my head in the direction where I suspected Sattler to be and yelled, "And I see that your word is worth no more than the dirt you're standing in!"
David gave me a shove in the ribs and I gasped. Still, I didn't let him stop me from continuing, "What do you want from me? Why did you dump me here?" And why didn't you just kill me? This last question was on the tip of my tongue, but I swallowed it just in time. It was better not to remind him of obvious things.
Sattler didn't answer, instead the bodyguard pushed me further across the path until a van appeared some distance away. If its headlights had not come on at that very moment, however, I would never have been able to see it, so well did it blend in with its surroundings.
I blinked.
The elf and I had been taken away in just such a vehicle. It seemed like an eternity that this had happened, but I was pretty sure, at least I wasn't kidnapped every day. After all, how likely was it that I was kidnapped by two different organizations, but they used the same kind of getaway car? Exactly. Didn't make sense at all.
There I had my proof. Those to whom I owed my gunshot wound were right behind me. And if there was one thing I knew for sure now, it was that Sattler was more likely to shoot than ask questions.
David twisted my arms behind my back and I cried out in pain. Handcuffs clicked and then he gave me a shove that sent me straight to the back of the van.
The door closed and not even a minute later we were on the move.
I lay right on top of my wound, so that hot needles shot through my whole body with every bump. I turned onto my back and dug my heels into the rubber that covered the loading area. I would kill them all if I got the chance. Why exactly had I helped the elf back then? I would never make that mistake again. Never. Again.
Behind me, someone sobbed softly and I almost rolled back onto my wounded arm in shock. "Hello?", I asked quietly after another second.
No answer. Had I just imagined the sobbing? "Hello? Is anyone there?"
A frantic intake of breath, then silence again. I frowned. This sounded like a woman who had probably been tied up just like me. Maybe even gagged. This was starting to grow into a mass event, wasn't it? Who would we welcome aboard next? "Are you all right?"
I listened, but the only thing I heard was the sounds coming in from outside. "Listen, we'll be back out here again in no time..."
"Stop pretending to care about me."
I winced, so full of hate was the voice. Not one bit more reminiscent of sobbing. Her words had sounded more like poison darts now lodged in my chest. And then the scales fell from my eyes. It was her! The woman who had given me the letter and left me thereafter. "You!"
"Yes, me." She sounded bitter. "You knew that. And now you can cut the crap. You're not getting anything out of me, no matter how much you mime my poor fellow prisoner."
"I... I am your fellow prisoner!"
"Yeah, right."
Why didn't she believe me? I started to reply several times, but then decided I'd better not say anything. It wouldn't have done any good anyway, and she could comfort herself. Instead, my thoughts were running at full speed. What did she think I was? An informant? And if so, from whom? She had to know that Sattler had me in the palm of his hand just as much as he did with her. Didn't she?
I shifted my weight a little. If she thought I was Sattler's informant, at least that explained her hostile attitude. But then what was she? And why had she given me the letter... "Did Sattler instruct you to give me the letter?" My voice sounded breathless, and I wondered if I had already given myself away with it.
"Don't play dumber than you are. If he had been my client, I don't think I'd be sitting in here."
Ha, if she knew. I withheld a hint of my precarious situation, preferring to probe further. "Then who?"
"Wouldn't you like to know, dear."
I would have liked to slap myself. Now she had to think I worked for Sattler. But I just had to know who had sent me the letter and why. Maybe it was my only way to escape? Maybe...
The car slowed down and light flooded the loading area. I squinted and recognized Sattler's bodyguard, who pulled me roughly to my feet.
I staggered out. After a brief period of orientation, I had a rough idea of where I was: Inside a warehouse. Sea containers and other boxes were piled up against the walls, but the center, where we were, was clear. Behind me, two feet tripped over the concrete, and as I looked over my shoulder, I recognized the black ponytail. So it was indeed her.
Two masked men held her and Sattler slid toward her with exactly the predatory smile that he seemed to like to use on me as well. The woman resisted the men's grip, but could not make up an inch.
"I know you won't tell me unless I give you a good reason to do so," Sattler now began in his velvety voice. Even if I hadn't experienced him before, it was clear that this was just a facade. And that's what made him so dangerous.
The woman nodded, but I saw the uncertainty in her gaze. She seemed to suspect that this was not an offer. "And because of that I'm going to give you something to think about, beautiful."
She snapped her eyes open, but it was too late. With an almost bored gesture, Sattler kicked. Just like that. Right in the middle of her belly.
I cried out and tried to break free of David's grip, but he held me relentlessly, forcing me to watch.
Another kick and the woman made a choking sound, but continued to look Sattler in the eye. Why? Why did they do that? They had the serum, they could get the truth out of her more easily! But even as I thought that, I remembered that she had to swallow the serum voluntarily. So Sattler was preparing her to make that very decision - albeit in his own unique way.
I squinted my eyes shut and only opened them again when I heard something being dragged across the floor. They were taking her away, somewhere where she would be scared until she considered the serum the better choice. He rolled his sleeves back down and pulled his wedding ring out of his pocket. Then he spun around. "And now for you."
