Page 27 of Marcellus: House of Drakos
“Yes sir.”
“Do you understand me, Freddy?”
“Yes sir.”
“I did not leave the peaceful confines of my island to come here to listen to bullshit all day. The press wants us shut down, and that’s exactly what’s going to happen if we don’t have answers for the American people. Congress wants me up onCapitol Hill and I have nothing to say because me, the owner of this entire fucking operation, don’t know shit to say!”
“It’s just a witch hunt,” said Olivier.
“But it’s a bipartisan witch hunt. Which means no matter how you try to spin it, I’m screwed. So get your asses to work and do your jobs!” he bellowed out.
But before his sons could even turn to leave, the double doors opened and Scottie Drakos, the chief of security for all of Drakos Aeronautics and the only child Marcellus fathered around the same time he fathered another child: Olivier. Although they were the exact same age, Olivier was the oldest by four hours.
But unlike Olivier, who was a man of few words and led with quiet strength and diplomacy, Scottie was a force of nature who led, as his father did, by brute force and might of will and anything else he could use to his advantage. He was no shrinking violet.
“We’ve got a problem, Pop,” he was saying as he walked into the office, caring not whom he was interrupting. “We’ve got ourselves a major-ass problem.”
Everybody paid attention to Scottie because he was not the kind of man who beat around the bush. He said what he meant and meant what he said. And if he said they had a major problem, they all knew they had something that went well beyond the monumental calamities they were already dealing with. Which unsettled all of them.
“I assume you don’t mean the disasters facing us right now,” said Marcellus as Scottie walked up to his desk, “or you would have said so. What is it?”
“It’s Niko.”
Marcellus frowned.“Again?”
“Don’t tell me that woman’s disturbing you too,” said Olivier.
Scottie was confused. What did he miss? Unlike his siblings, who all knew since childhood they were going to end up in the business world like their father, Scottie was a jock. The quarterback and captain of his high school and college football teams, he had his sights set on the NFL. The last person he wanted to be like was his father. Until he blew out his knee and had to reevaluate his life. His father, whom he loved despite their constant disagreements, threw him a lifeline and he took it. But he never developed that business etiquette his siblings had. He never learned diplomacy and tact. He looked like a bulldog and was a bulldog. “What the fuck are you talking about, Olivier? What woman?”
“Forget her.” Marcellus was impatiently. “Just tell me what’s going on.”
Scottie let out a harsh exhale. Even he was showing signs of distress. “They have Niko, Pop.”
Another frown from Marcellus. “What do you mean they have him?”
“They have him. As in possession of him. They kidnapped him.”
Olivier and Freddy let out audible gasps.
Kalayna nearly dropped her phone. She immediately ended her call, as if plane crashes couldn’t compare to what her brother had just said to them.
And Marcellus, when he heard that K word he dreaded for all of his children all the days of their lives, his heart grew faint. “Are you certain they have him?” he asked in a voice filled with so much concern that his children hardly recognized it.
But Scottie nodded. “I confirmed it myself. I know how you are: I wasn’t coming to you without confirming it. They put him on a live feed with me. They have him.”
“But I don’t understand,” said Kalayna. “We were on a videocall with him earlier today. He said he was fine. How did he look when you saw him, Scottie?”
“He looked unharmed if that’s what you mean. When did you talk to him today?”
“Earlier today. Around three. He said he was fine. And he looked fine and sounded fine.”
“Which means he could have been abducted after you spoke with him,” said Olivier. “They may have just snatched him just after that.”
“Or they scared the shit out of him,” said Scottie, “and ordered him to say whatever the hell they wanted him to say to y’all. They could have had him ever since he got off the grid.”
“Which is probably the case,” said Freddy. “We’ve spoken to him, but he hasn’t been seen in person in weeks.”
“Which isn’t unusual,” said Olivier.
