23 |

Route A1, Poland

 

Acton suspected the reason they weren’t bound and gagged, and their heads weren’t covered, was for the simple fact their captors wanted everything to appear perfectly normal to prying eyes.

And he was taking full advantage of the opportunity.

They were heading south on Route A1, and from the distances displayed to major cities, he suspected they were eventually leaving the country.

Yet that knowledge did them little good, and the fact they were afforded it, and full view of the faces of their captors, had him worried that when their ordeal was complete, they would be dead.

Their captors had already killed two and shot one, then trapped over a dozen inside perhaps to die. They clearly had no scruples that would keep him and his wife alive.

He decided to fish for information, almost nothing said for the last hour of driving. “How long will we be traveling?”

“Shut up.”

Acton frowned, this apparently a fruitless endeavor.

Perhaps I can create an opportunity.

“Well, it’s just that if we’re traveling for too long, we’re going to need some pee breaks. I have an overactive bladder, and if I don’t pee every two or three hours, I’ll be making a mess back here.”

“Bullshit.”

Acton shrugged. “Your choice. I had asparagus last night, so it’s going to get nasty in here.”

“If one drop hits this car, I kill your wife.”

“Threaten all you want, but we both know that if you touch her, I don’t cooperate, and you need me to authenticate things, not her. I’m the expert on the Amber Room, not her. Her specialty is Ancient Egypt.”

The man turned in his seat and glared at him. “If you don’t shut up, I’ll kill the both of you, and find another expert.”

Acton stared at him. “Fine, but I’ll still need that pee break in about two hours.”