Page 30 of Mysterious Teacher : Arrival
April giggled and shrugged. “It worked the first time,” she said through a bright smile. “I hid in the very same spot when your friend came up.”
“He’s not a friend,” Igor said. “He’s my partner.”
“Same difference.”
“No. The man is an idiot. I could never be friends with such a dimwit.” He squeezed, tightening his hold of her wrist. “Speaking of which...where is he?”
Giggling, the young girl shrugged. “How would I know?”
“Does your father often leave you home alone?”Igor said, trying to pry a little information out of the valuable girl.
“I’m a big girl,” April said. “I can take care of myself.”
“Your father appears to be a very important man,” Igor went on. “A very wealthy man.”
“He’s done very well for himself. He’s smart, innovative and has a work ethic like no other.”
“An industrialist, this Doctor Ang?”
“Father studied science and worked as a scientist until a few years ago. He became fascinated with engineering, and this led him to inventing a variety of gadgets.”
“Gadgets? Like weapons?”
April shrugged. “I guess you could say that.”
Licking his lips hungrily, Igor looked at the young woman and tried to calculate just how much she might be worth to Dr.Ang. How much would the old man pay to have his innocent, young daughter back? The papers strewn across his desk had indicated interest in weapons and the development of a superweapon...exactly what Russia would need to regain power over Europe.
“Come on,” he said, yanking the young girl’s arm. He had to find a way to exchange this girl for control over those weapons, weapons Russians could put to good use.
“What are you doing? Where are you bringing me?”
“Does your father love you?”
Frowning, April looked up at him. “Of course, he does.”
“How much does he love you?”
“He is a devoted father and would do anything for me.”
“Anything?”Igor said with a cunning grin. “Exactly how much to you think you are worth to him?”
“Worth? What do you mean, worth?”
“How much would your father give to see you again...safe and sound?”
A loud clatter from downstairs caught his attention and he momentarily released his hold of April and looked over the banister. Seconds later, he turned to her, but she was gone.
“Hey!”he called out. “Hey, you littletramp!”
Down the hall a door closed, and he headed in that direction.
“Think you can outsmart a Soviet spy, you brainless little girl?” He marched to the door and pushed it open. The lights instantly went out.
“We’ve played this game before,” he said into the dark room. “You ladies like to use the cover of darkness to hide behind. Well, it’s not going to work.”
The sound of scrambling footsteps crossed the large room.
“It’s pointless. Come out.” He pulled a lighter from his pant pocket, flipped the cap back and flicked it on. “Where are you hiding?”
