Page 77 of Prince of Tides
“I will get her out of there,” I said with quiet confidence. “Then you can go to war and show them why messing with the daughters of Mark Stiller is a bad life choice.”
“Rip, I respect your determination,” Mark said, “but these men are highly trained professionals with years of experience in just such operations. And I’mstillhesitating over what to do.”
I stared at him, thinking.
“Are any of your men here?” I asked.
“Stationed throughout the hospital, yes,” Mark confirmed.
“Who’s the best?”
“Alex,” he replied without hesitation.
“Call him here.”
Mark started to argue, then shrugged and made a call. Alex arrived smartly, drawing irritated looks from the cops, who clearly thought he was treading on their turf.
“Come with me,” I said to both of them, walking around a corner to a deserted loading dock.
“Who the hell is this guy?” Alex asked.
“I don’t know you, and you don’t know me,” I said. “You walk and move like someone well trained. But this isn’t a job for you and your army. It’s not a frontal assault. It’s an extraction. I’m going to be the one going in to get her. Then you and your men move in and deal with everyone else.”
“Why you? We can do this job,” Alex said tightly.
I didn’t wait for a signal. I just attacked without warning. Alex snapped around, going for his weapon. My hand was on his wrist in an instant, holding it in place. He yanked hard, but I didn’t move.
“How did you do that?” he asked. “I didn’t even see you move.”
“Exactly the point,” I said. “I’m not like you. It’s not your fault.”
“Again,” Alex said, shaking me off and backing away as he dropped into a fighting stance.
Mark shuffled out of the way.
Casually, I walked up to Alex. He launched an attack. I blocked it with a hand. Easily. And then another. With the same hand. He struck with a kick and a punch in rapid succession. I used the same hand to block them both. He hit me with another kick. I grabbed his leg and casually tossed him against the wall, just hard enough that he felt it but didn’t sustain serious injury.
The wall was ten feet away.
“Satisfied that I can do this yet?” I asked.
“Who are you?” he asked.
“Someone who cares about Laurie. Now, tell Mark that I’m going to get her out. Then your men move in and exact revenge.”
Alex frowned, then looked at Mark and nodded. “He’s better than anyone I know. Faster. Stronger. Almost inhumanly so. Quiet as well.”
“Iwillbring her back,” I said fiercely. “Whole and unharmed, I swear.”
Mark walked up to me, giving me a knowing look. “You bring thembothback,” he said in too soft a voice for Alex to hear.
“What? I thought your other daughter was fine,” I said in the same tone.
Mark shook his head. “She is. But I know why Laurie was in the hospitable. You bring thembothback.”
I gave him a long look. “I’m not discussing anything without her present. But I’d die before anything happened to her.”
Satisfied, Mark nodded and pulled out a tablet. He opened an app and showed me on the map where Laurie’s ping was coming from, relative to our current position.
