Kenneth was already on a phone call when Anthony and Benjamin arrived.
The mockery was obvious in Kenneth's voice when he said, “And here I thought you had hidden away with no intention of showing yourself ever again.”
Boss' voice rang out from the other end of the line. “Kenneth, you're the one behind this, aren't you?”
“I wish it'd been me, but sadly, this is not a credit I can claim.” Kenneth continued, “Anyway, I'm sure you're aware of how many people you've offended now, don't you? I advise you to stay hidden; otherwise, you might end up getting gunned down.”
Boss chuckled coldly at that. “Is that so? Well, I'm looking forward to it then.”
Kenneth clenched his teeth and gritted out, “Give me the time and location!”
“I'll send you the location, but I want ten times the money this time!”
Kenneth narrowed his eyes. “Ten times? Aren't you afraid of stuffing yourself to the point of exploding?”
“Whether I'll explode or not is my business, so I won't bother you with it. That being said, if I see there's a dime less, I won't be able to guarantee that she won't get injured.”
Narrowing his eyes, Kenneth snapped, “Don't you dare!”
Boss sniggered. “You'll find out soon enough whether I have the guts to do so or not.”
Kenneth uttered, “I need more time.”
“I'll give you a day.”
Kenneth instantly agreed, “Okay.”
“Kenneth, you'd better not be playing any tricks, you hear?” Boss threatened.
Kenneth said, “Don't worry. If money's all it takes to solve this problem, I won't do anything to jeopardize it. But if I don't see her, I'll make sure you won't get even a dime out of me.”
“That's settled then. I'll send you the address later.” With that, Boss ended the call.
Seeing this, Anthony walked over. “Daddy...”
Kenneth looked at him. “I'm afraid we're bringing forward the plan. By the way, did you receive any other message from Nat?”
Anthony shook his head.
“We can't wait any longer. We need to move the plan forward.” After saying that, Kenneth turned to look at Dave. “Dave, we need to scrap the original plan. I have an idea. Later, when I'm making the trade with him, you'll commence an operation so that Vermillion Base will focus the majority of their forces on another place. This will give us the chance to retreat.”
“I guess that's another way to go at it.” Dave nodded. “All right, we'll go with your plan.”
Anthony asked, “What about us?”
Kenneth looked at him. “I need you to try and contact Nat. Tell her we can't wait any longer, and that I'm getting ready to bring her back.”
Benjamin cut in, “Daddy, when the time comes, I'm going with you!”
Hearing that, Anthony chimed in, “Me too!”
Kenneth gazed at the kids and said, “Anthony, Benjamin, didn't we agree that you guys will stay here? Just do as I say, okay?”
Benjamin frowned. “But, Daddy...”
Kenneth added, “If you guys tag along, I'll have to worry about you too. When that happens, I won't be able to give all my attention to saving Nat. So, I need you guys to stay and help from here. Be prepared to receive us at any time. Once I return with Nat, we'll need to evacuate from here at any moment.”
Although Anthony and Benjamin were extremely reluctant to accept that, they knew the gravity of the situation. As such, they could only nod their heads. “Okay.”
Looking at them, Kenneth reached out to tousle their hair. “Don't worry. I’ll definitely bring Nat back to you.”
With grim expressions on their faces, the two kids nodded.
Meanwhile, Natasha spent a day and a night in one of Vermillion Base's rooms.
Comments
The readers' comments on the novel: You're Out, Daddy novel (Natasha and Kenneth)