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It was raining when we landed in Nashville. The cloth hood they had put on me was soaked as they stuffed me into the back of the vehicle that met us at the plane. The flexcuffs they had put on me were starting to dig into my wrists as they buckled me into the backseat of what I assumed was an SUV.
We drove for about thirty minutes before reaching our destination. No one said anything to me from the time they put me in the SUV to the time they pulled me out. I assumed Houston was in another vehicle because I didn’t hear his voice on the entire ride.
“I need to pee,” I said as someone pushed me to start walking.
“Too bad,” he replied. “Keep walking.”
“I’m serious,” I said. It wasn’t a lie or a ploy. It had been several hours and downing that bottle of water on the plane had pushed me over the edge. I really had to go.
“Go,” the man said as he shoved me forward.
“Alright, man, but if I piss my pants in the next few minutes, that’s on you. Well, mostly it’ll be on me, but the blame will be on you, pal.”
I heard another man mumble something, presumably to the guard walking me, as we walked through what sounded like a parking garage. The hood over my head was still damp and heavy from the rain shower, but I could see painted lines on the ground and heard the echo of a car making its way up the ramp.
“Fine, but you’re going in there with him,” I heard the guard holding my arm say.
They walked me into a building. I could feel the cold air conditioning as they opened the door. We walked a few paces and then another door opened. I felt a second hand grab my right arm and then the first released his grip.
The new guard walked me through another door and then removed my hood. I was in a restroom with three urinals and a couple of stalls.
“Look at me,” he said as he held up an opened switchblade knife. “I’m going to cut your restraints and then re-secure your hands in front of you so you can do your business. If you try anything at all, I will kill you. Do you understand?”
It was hard not to laugh in his face. He was holding the knife just inches from my face, and I could see a Glock holstered under his left arm concealed by his suit jacket. I was still sore and hurting from being shot and everything that had happened since the hospital, but I was confident I could disarm the man, take his weapon, and make an escape.
But I didn’t. Escaping would get me no further along than I was before meeting Houston. Obviously, Houston needed to die, but first I needed to see who was pulling his strings. It was clear that someone else was either financing or directing his operation.
“You have my word,” I said, looking the man in the eyes. “I really just have to pee.”
The guard stepped behind me and cut the plastic restraints, firmly holding my left wrist as he did. I could tell he had some level of training, but I was sure he had no idea how easy it would’ve been for me to reverse and use that knife against him. The training I had received from Odin had given me the confidence and ability to extract myself from just about any situation.
The man pulled out a new pair of flexcuffs and cinched them down over my wrists in front of me. The temporary relief I felt from the plastic digging into my wrists was short-lived as the new pair were just as tight.
Despite the snugness of my restraints, it was enough for me to step up to the urinal and take care of business. It was an incredible sense of relief for what seemed like minutes. The guard and I made awkward eye contact, causing him to look down at his watch as if to try to hurry me along.
When I was finished, I zipped up and walked over to the sink where I did my best to wash my hands and then turned to walk out with the guard.
The door suddenly swung open and the other guard appeared. “Jesus, what is taking you two so long? We’re already late and they’re waiting for us. Put the hood on him and let’s go.”
“Okay, okay, we’re done,” the guard said as he wrung out the water from the hood and then shook it. I appreciated the gesture as he placed it over my head. It was still damp, but slightly less miserable than before.
They took me out of the bathroom and into an elevator. By my count, we had gone up twelve floors by the time the doors opened. I had no idea what floor we started on since we entered through a parking garage, but I was trying to keep at least some idea of where we were going.
The guard holding my arm pushed me out of the elevator. We walked about twenty yards and then I heard a lock click open. It sounded like the lock on a hotel door. Someone held the door open and the guard nudged me to start walking again.
They walked me a few more feet and then made me sit down. One of the guards held my arms as the other cut off the Flexcuffs. The relief was short lived, as his next step was to secure my wrists to the arms of the chair.
“Remove the hood,” I heard from across the room. It was Houston’s voice. The more I heard his smarmy tone, the more I wanted to make the man suffer for everything he had done.
The guard did as instructed and ripped the hood from my head. It took a second for my eyes to adjust and to take in my surroundings.
I was sitting in what appeared to be a hotel room suite. The curtains were drawn, and all the lights were on. We were in a sitting area and across from me were Houston, two bodyguards, and a woman.
The woman appeared to be younger – mid to late 20s. She had jet black hair and sky-blue eyes. She was conservatively dressed in business attire, legs crossed as she appeared to study me.
“Welcome, Mr. Shepherd,” she said. “Thank you for coming.”
“I didn’t really have a choice,” I said and then looked at Houston. “I’d like to see my friends now.”
“They are fine,” Houston replied tersely.
“That wasn’t the deal.”
Houston shrugged. “You’re here now. What difference does it make?”
I tensed against my restraints. They were tight enough that I knew I could break them with enough force but chose to continue the illusion that I was trapped in the chair instead.
“If you hurt them, I swear to God-”
“Now, now,” the woman said. “There’s no reason we can’t be civil.”
Houston laughed. “Mr. Shepherd had every opportunity to be civil. Instead, he chose to attempt violence on my aircraft. Such behavior is certainly not civil.”
I took in a deep breath and exhaled slowly. Houston was trying to get under my skin and rattle me. He wanted me to be angry and hostile. He was doing a good job of it, but giving in wasn’t going to get me anywhere. I was definitely going to enjoy killing him later, however.
“I’m sorry, I didn’t catch your name, ma’am,” I said.
“My name is Veronica Carver. Do you prefer to be called Alex or Troy?”
“How about we stick with my actual name and go with Troy?”
Veronica smiled and then turned to Houston.
“Dr. Houston, you’ve been very kind to bring Troy here to meet with me. But you’re very busy. Don’t you think you should return to oversee the next phase?”
“It is already in motion. Besides, I want to enjoy this.”
“Mom, Dad, I hate it when you fight,” I interjected. “Can I go now? I’m hungry.”
“See?” Houston asked, gesturing to me.
Veronica stood and offered her hand for Houston to shake.
“It was very nice seeing you, Dr. Houston. I will be in touch very soon.”
“You’re serious?” Houston asked. He looked a bit surprised that she was forcing him out.
“I am,” she said with a polite smile. “I must insist you return to continue our work. It cannot happen without you there.”
Houston begrudgingly stood and shook her hand. He looked back at me in disgust.
“It’s a shame I won’t get to watch you die.”
“Oh, I’m sure we’ll meet again,” I said, and winked.
His face reddened as he turned and stormed out of the hotel suite. Veronica waited for him and his men to clear the room and then turned to what I assumed was the head of her security detail.
“Leave us alone for a bit, please.”
“Are you sure, ma’am?” the very serious-looking bodyguard in a black suit and red tie asked.
“If I need you, you will hear me.”
“Yes, ma’am,” the guard said. He motioned for the other two remaining men to follow him and they all left.
Veronica sat back down in her chair and crossed her legs.
“Alone at last?” I asked.
She looked around to make sure no one was listening and then leaned in.
“Let’s talk about your time with Odin, shall we?”