Chyłka was quite helpless as the Bald Man held her in his iron grip. She tried to headbutt him, kick him or at least spit at him, but he knew what he was doing. When he clutched her close to his body, she smelled the sharp tang of cologne and chewing gum.
He lifted her effortlessly, slightly off the ground. When he started panting in her ear and pressed his erect penis against her, she felt sick. It took her just an instant to see what these people were capable of.
They had no intention of killing them, or even beating them as Kordian had been beaten. But it didn’t mean they wouldn’t do a whole host of other things to them – especially to her.
She heard Kordian shouting threats at the Bald Man. For an instant their eyes met, then Gorzym suddenly threw her back on the ground.
He whispered something in her ear, and twisted her arm hard behind her back. The pain was excruciating, but for her this was the lesser of two evils. She felt that he might dislocate her shoulder – and at that moment the Grey-haired Man finally raised his hand.
The attacker let go and she fell to the ground.
‘That was completely unnecessary,’ said the man on the bench. ‘You don’t have to prove your courage and fortitude. We all know your temperament.’
‘I repeat, you touch my family, and—’
‘Exactly,’ cut in the Grey-Haired Man. ‘Returning to Magdalena, you can still save her and her daughter. With Piotr, that chance was lost when I made the telephone call. If I have to make another call, the chance for your family, Joanna, will also be lost.’
She was trying to gather her strength, and didn’t reply. What could she say? Further threats were pointless, this man was not joking.
‘It’s quite straightforward,’ said the host. ‘With Kordian, I had quite a dilemma. It was hard to find a person in your life for whom you’d sacrifice everything. Normally I’d look at the family, but after what you’ve done . . .’
The trainee jerked his body frantically, but couldn’t break free from the bodyguard’s grip.
‘Then I thought, maybe a girlfriend? But unfortunately, you haven’t had many, and you parted with the few you’ve had on rather unfriendly terms. Ultimately, I can target that skinny guy in your office, what do you say to that?’
Chyłka pushed herself up on her hands, and was breathing as if she had just run a marathon. Kordian looked at her anxiously.
‘So what will it be?’ asked the Grey-Haired Man. ‘Shall we leave Magdalena and the others in peace? Or shall I make that phone call?’ He flipped the phone in his hand and waited for one of them to reply. But the response was silence. This was starting to irritate him.
‘Boss?’ said Gorzym. ‘Should I speak to them . . .’
‘No. These two are clearly a pair of cold-hearted scoundrels who have no regard for their clients, or even their families and closest friends. It’s interesting, very interesting. But what is it all for? What is so important that it overshadows other people’s wellbeing?’
‘They want to win their big case,’ prompted the Bald Man.
‘Ah, if only it was worth the struggle,’ sighed the Grey-Haired Man theatrically. ‘You don’t even know who you’re defending.’
His momentary silence suggested that he was wondering whether to tell them. Or perhaps he was just play-acting.
‘You ought to know that Piotr was a serial abuser of women, hooking himself a new one every day. He’d drink himself almost senseless, then get behind the wheel of his car. I hate to think how many tragedies he’s caused, and he never suffered any consequences. For him, every excess was an experience, and he wanted to repeat it over and over again, but twice as forcefully. I assume you know all this, because your client-checking system works well, like a well-oiled machine. I keep forgetting what that hapless skinny man is called, the one who gathers all the information.’
‘Kormak,’ prompted the Bald Man.
‘Yes, Kormak. A strange name, but I’ve heard stranger. Besides, that’s the least of his problems now.’
Chyłka and Oryński looked at the phone in the Grey-Haired Man’s hand. It was probably just a matter of seconds before he turned his words into deeds.
Kordian had had no idea that Joanna had a sister, let alone a niece. But he wasn’t surprised that she’d never mentioned them.
‘All right,’ said their host, putting the phone to his ear.
‘Touch them and everything changes,’ hissed Chyłka.
But it was too late. The leader of the Collective had directed the whole scene from the outset, and now he was going to end it with a bang.
‘Do it,’ said the Grey-Haired Man, and put the phone down.
Chyłka was the first to throw herself at him. Before Oryński realised what was happening, they were both on the ground. Gorzym and the other bodyguards dragged them to the pond, and started repeatedly submerging their heads in water.
The Grey-Haired Man got up off the bench.
‘Have fun with them,’ he said. ‘But for no more than ten minutes. And whatever you do, don’t kill them.’
A quarter of an hour later, they were blindfolded, their hands were tied behind their backs and then they were thrown into the back of an off-road vehicle. But before the doors were shut, they heard the voice of the host one last time.
‘Now I can officially tell you my offer has expired.’