Page 14 of Under His Heel: A Kidnapping

The abductor waved their hand in front of the camera. “Last couple of times weren’t quite so traumatizing. I thought it was time to step up my game, just to remind you that the clock is ticking.”

A pair of pliers appeared in front of the camera, and Tracht’s vision whited out with rage. No. This was unacceptable.

“We’re trying as fast as we can!” Anna said. “Cash of that amount is hard to come by!”

“I was thinking a fingernail,” the torturer said.

That seemed to surprise Alex, who gasped and looked somewhere off camera, to where the abductor must be standing.

No. Alex thought the nail would be preferable. Tracht could see it now. He pulled up his tablet and typed out a message, then slid it over to Anna.

She looked down, startled. After a brief confused glance in Tracht’s direction, she said, “Please—Please don’t. That’s expensive to fix.”

The abductor laughed. “Yeah, wouldn’t want your fucktoy damaged, huh? Well, how about this. I’ll pull out a tooth instead. Got a preference there?”

“No!” Alex shouted and started struggling, but he was bound tightly, and Tracht wanted to yell at him to calm the fuck down, to be smart, but he couldn’t say anything.

Anna grimaced at Alex’s panic. “Yes, actually. Lower jaw, left side, first molar.”

“That’s weird, but okay. Open up, buddy! This is just like going to the dentist!”

The camera zoomed in on Alex’s mouth. A second pair of hands came on screen and pried Alex’s jaws apart. The hand holding the pliers shoved roughly inside, violating Alex’s mouth, and Alex started sobbing.

Tears mingled with the crusted blood on his face, his eyes scrunched shut, his body shaking. It should have been a beautiful scene.

Tracht hated it. He hated every moment, but he forced himself to watch. He hoped Alex realized that he’d tried to spare him.

He hoped he got time alone with that torturer, because he was going to make them regret their actions for the rest of their life.

==

“I don’t think they intend to let Johan live,” Koteas said. She looked visibly shaken, and Anna and Vasilis weren’t much better off. They’d all paled considerably.

“Don’t say that!” Anna shouted. “They’re just… toying with us.” She looked to Vasilis for reassurance, but he was holding his hand over his mouth, more ill than the rest of them.

“Are you going to trust that?” Tracht asked. “Are you going to trust that what they want is your money, and not your suffering? Because that—” that torturer, that monster “—that was a sadist. And not the gentle, tame ones you’ll find in the clubs.”

Tracht folded his arms and concentrated on breathing steadily. Keeping his cool.

“Didn’t that bother you?” Anna clenched her fists. “Are you really so cold that torture is nothing to you?”

“Throwing—” Tracht stopped. He couldn’t lose his temper. “Throwing a tantrum won’t get Alex back quicker.” He paused briefly. “Thank you, for reading my note.”

She shook her head and laughed hysterically. “Why did you even care which tooth they take? It’s all same! They’re going to torture and kill Johan and you’re more concerned about which specific tooth they rip out of your pet goon!”

“Anna!” Vasilis said sharply. “Don’t goad him. And Alex is a person too. He’s the one who got tortured.”

Tracht had wondered if Vasilis shared Anna’s callousness towards bond servants. He was, irritatingly, grateful for the support.

“I… yes. You’re right. I’m just… I’m so worried about Johan.” She slumped into the chair next to Vasilis and embraced him.

Koteas cleared her throat, startling all of them. “I just received a message. My staff might have a lead.” She pulled up a photo on her tablet. It was blurry, but they could clearly see a larger vehicle pulling away from the school.

“We’ve accounted for all other vehicles. This one does not belong to any of the families registered at the school.”

It wasn’t much to go on, and the license plate was obscured, but just that small droplet of information was enough to give everybody a glimmer of hope.

Koteas explained how she and her team were going to track down the vehicle and how best to deal with the next call they received.

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