Page 35 of Billion-Dollar Ransom
“You kids ever play Robbery-Homicide Division?”
“Three,” his wife cautioned. “No.”
“C’mon. It’s just a video game. Mostly driving.”
“I’vealwayswanted to play that game,” Finney said in a tone of awestruck reverence. “My friend Katie’s older brother has it.”
Four shook her head. “This is exactly the kind of thing we agreed not to do.”
“Who’s gonna tell?” Three asked. “You kids aren’t going to rat us out, are you?”
“Considering we’ve been kidnapped,” Cal said, “playing a mature-seventeen-plus-rated game is probably the least of our worries.”
“You see?” Three said.
Four sighed. Her husband was addicted to these damn games. He had a handheld console on him at all times to while away the long hours at the hospital (and Four wasn’t crazy about her husband encouraging their daughter to play too). Soon, Three, Cal, and Finney were taking turns executing a complicated getaway from a downtown Los Angeles bank. Four refused to take a turn on principle.
“You’rereallygood at this!” Finney exclaimed after Three showed her how to use the 110 exchange through Chinatown to avoid the LAPD.
Four knew she shouldn’t say anything, but she couldn’t help it. “Heshouldbe good at this. He used to be a criminal.”
Three shot her a piercing look. “I was just a kid. Barely a teenager. I did a lot of stupid things back then.”
Cal turned to face Three. “This might not be your brightest moment either.”
CHAPTER 37
Thursday, 1:03 p.m.
“YOU DON’T SEEM like an idiot,” Boo Schraeder said suddenly in the near dark of the room.
“Uh, thank you?” Two replied.
He had stayed awake almost all night, a skill that could be credited to his former career. He was used to entering a kind of low-power mode in which he was consciously aware of his surroundings while his body recharged. If anything happened, he could come back online in a half a second.
Two’s pretty captivehadslept—or at least, she had appeared to manage a few hours of slumber. He had to admit, he enjoyed watching her. The sound of her breathing was reassuring. The only interruption had been a single bathroom break for his captive, which both handled with quiet grace. No sudden moves, no awkwardness. She was fully compliant, even when itcame time to cuff her to the bed frame again. (“Ooh, kinky,” she’d joked.)
“I’m lying here,” Boo said, “wondering how you, a human being of above-average intelligence, ended up in this position. I mean, kidnapping must be the dumbest crime ever.”
“I don’t know, Mrs. Schraeder. Everything seems to have gone according to plan so far.”
“Oh, it will unravel. These kinds of complicated plots always do. I’m a bit of a true-crime junkie, so I’ve read more than my fair share of kidnapping stories. You want to know how they end? Let me give you a sneak preview. You’ll end up either dead or spending the rest of your life in a room just like this one.”
“I’m not so sure about that,” Two said. “I know a lot of crime stories too.”
“Then you know you’re doomed.”
“Aren’t we all, ultimately?” Even though the room was dim, he could see her amused smile.
“Let me assure you,” she said, “I’m not prying into the details of your precious little plot. I’m genuinely curious how you ended up in this line of work.”
Two considered her question. Despite her protestations, she was plainly fishing for useful information. But she’d happened to touch on something he’d been pondering for a while now. Especially over the past twenty-four hours.
“Sometimes,” he said, “you just have to play the hand you’re dealt.”
Boo let out a laugh that was almost a bark. “Oh, not the oldpoker metaphor! That’ssuchan alpha-male thing to say. You can’t possibly believe that.”
“Sure I believe it. Not everyone is lucky enough to marry the mega-rich, like you.”
