'I should have known..don't know why I never guessed..'
Treyton's eyes blazed on seeing who his captor was.

Mark Haffner, Treyton's accountant, who had been with him for the past four years, looked down at him, scornfully.
'You did, did you? Well, I never heard about it before, Herr Elrod!'
His voice was full of arrogance, his eyebrows raised.

'You..!!'
Treyton struggled with the ropes on his hands, trying to set himself free, and heard malicious laughter from the three men present in the room.

'Nice try, Herr Elrod..but you are helpless right now..'
Mark narrowed his eyes at his employer.

Treyton knew, the man had the upper hand right now, but his time would come..
'Why? Why have you kept me here? For money?'
He heard the man snort.
'Didn't I pay you enough? You want more? Is that it? You could have just asked..what?'
As Mark's head went back with laughter.

'You haven't figured it out yet, have you? The richest man in Vienna, doesn't know he's been duped!'
Mark clapped his hands three times in front of Treyton's furious face, before suddenly leaning down and putting his face near his.
'Huber did a good job on you!'

As realisation dawned, Treyton's anger got the better of him, and he crashed his head with Mark's, causing the man to stagger back with the impact.
'HOW DARE YOU CROSS ME, YOU TRAITOR!'

'Are you crazy?'
Mark held on to his head, which was smarting from the blow.
'You will regret this, you fool!'

'Look at your age, and look at your actions! A middle aged man, earning well in the biggest company in Austria, and you had the gal to cheat on me. Me! Treyton Elrod! I won't leave you, let me tell you that!'

'Ha! All silly promises! You will do something, only if you get out of here alive!'

'And you think you will live to enjoy all that money Huber is paying you? He will be the first suspect in my disappearance!'

Mark laughed at that.
'He's already given a statement, in which he acted all worried about you!'
Mark laughed at Treyton.
'You couldn't catch me or Maria till now! Despite your private investigation! All useless!'

'Aaaghhhh!'
Treyton roared.

'You just...'
Mark paused, as his phone rang.
Seeing the caller, he quickly picked it up.
'Yes, boss!'

Treyton wanted to punch the lights out of his employee, whom he had trusted with his company's accounts.
He was raging inside at Huber, who had the audacity to buy off his employees for his benefit.

'He's found out about us! Na! Don't worry! After this, he won't live to tell the tale. What? You are on your way? Sure! I'll be waiting!'
Mark disconnected the call, and looked down at the helpless Treyton Elrod.

'I'll kill you both! You will wish you never set foot in my office!'

'We will wait and see!'
With that, he turned, and strode out of the room, his other goons following him, banging the door shut.

Treyton let out a huge bellow, pulling on the ropes that were keeping his actions restricted.
'I'll kill you, Huber! I'll kill you!'

***************************

'That son of a bitch! We have to do something about him, before he tells on us! Nobody should ever find out that we have him! And we need to finish what we started this for! You stay there, I'm coming!'

Erisha gasped, then clamped her mouth in case she was heard, as she pressed herself flat against the wall outside David's office, at THC premises.
Did she just hear that correctly?
Was David just talking about who she thought he was talking about, with someone? Talking about 'doing something about him'..what did that mean? Killing him?
Oh, God! No!
This can't be true, could it? David, stooping so low, as to talk about killing someone..killing Treyton?
Her thoughts were interrupted, as she heard David end his call, and move about.

Looking here and there, to see if anybody had noticed her eavesdropping outside their boss's office, Erisha hurried away, the sound of her shoes muted by the thick carpets covering the floors. She heard David reach his door, and quickly reached for the handle of the first door in the corridor.
Thankfully, the door opened on the first try, and she barely managed to get in, before she heard David's voice telling his assistant that he had to go out, as he passed by the door.

Erisha looked around to see that she had taken refuge in a janitor's closet, and quickly put her hands close to herself, to prevent throwing anything and being discovered.
What was going on? David..David, holding Treyton hostage?
But why?
Oh, come on Erisha! You know David doesn't like Treyton and neither does Treyton like David.
And he did ask you to help him..but that was only because..
But still..is that a good enough reason to kidnap someone? Or kill him?
I..I can't let this happen!
With a sudden  determination in her resolve, Erisha straightened her shoulders, and opened the door of the closet.

Seeing no one around in the corridor, she hurried down the elevator, just in time to see David get in his car at the entrance to the building. She hid behind a planter in the foyer, and waited for him to move.
As soon as he did, she dashed out of the building, thanking the heavens that she had ridden her Harley over today, as she ran towards it in the parking.

Having lost precious time, she put her bike on full throttle, looking around for David's car as she tried to remain hidden as well.
She sighed in relief as she spotted his car at a signal, and kept herself a few cars behind.
She wasn't ready for him to see her, and change his plans.
I need to get to Treyton! I have to save him!

***************************

It was almost dusk, if the shadows on the wall were any indication.

Treyton had been seething, ever since his accountant had been revealed in front of him. And even more, on knowing that it was actually Huber who was behind all this.
I'll kill him with my bare hands! How dare he keep me here like this?
That manipulating, evil man!
What does Erisha see in him anyways?
Treyton closed his eyes as the thought of Erisha invaded his mind.
Why can't I stop thinking about her? She probably has not thought of me even once in all these days. Stop it, Treyton! Just stop it!
He shook his thoughts away, coming back to the situation on hand.
How will I get out of here? And David, where the hell is he?

***************************

Erisha's breath caught, as she saw the road David turned on from the highway.
Hoping against hope, that she was wrong, she followed his car discreetly, towards the countryside.
I've gotten away with the hiding till now..but if he goes down that empty road, how will I stay unnoticed? Especially with it getting dark now?

Her fears were confirmed, as David's car turned the corner.
She quickly moved towards a hidden path alongside the road, with barely enough space for her Harley. But she knew this area well, and she turned off the engine, as he moved past her towards a small street.

Erisha was very much aware of the feeling of being watched, and moved her eyes around to take a glance, at the non human eyes.
It's been so long since I came here..this place is etched in my mind forever..
A wave of nostalgia hit her like an arrow piercing her heart, and she blinked back sudden tears, forcing her mind back to the present.
Treyton!
I have to get to him!

She heard the sound of some animal's breathing nearby, and quickly started her bike, and came back on the road. Turning onto the street she knew like the back of her hand, she stayed low, till she saw the tail lights of David's car.
She followed it, her headlights switched off, till it went inside the gate of one of the old houses lining the street.
Erisha gasped, as she saw where it had stopped, and halted her bike.
No! No! It can't be!

***************************

Treyton had been struggling with his ropes, ever since he had been left alone by his kidnappers.
But in his agitated state, had only managed to work himself up, without any results.
Dammit!

Just then, he heard commotion outside, his ears having been attuned to the tiniest of noises, ever since he had been here.
He stopped fiddling with his ropes, and looked up, as the door opened, and his two guarding goons entered.
They took a look around the room, as if expecting Treyton to have escaped out of his chair, to jump on them.
Treyton rolled his eyes at that, and watched with narrowed eyes, as Mark entered, followed by David Huber himself.

'Well! Hello, Elrod! How are you doing?'
David began pleasantly, as if greeting a friend he hadn't met in a long time.
He grinned, as he saw Treyton's brooding expressions.
'Not too good, by the looks of you!'

'HUBER!'
Treyton roared, trying to move off the chair, but obviously not succeeding.
David's laughter made him want to strangle him to death.

'Easy, man! Relax!'
David put up a hand, as if warding him off.

'I'll kill you, you bastard!'
Treyton shouted.
'How dare you cross me like this? Couldn't get what you wanted legally or by hard work, so you resorted to kidnapping?'

David's laughter was getting on his nerves.
'Everything's fair in business!'

'Shut the hell up, you..!'

'You shut up!'
David suddenly leaned over him, a bitter look on his serious face.
'You are in no position to defy me, Elrod! You are at my full mercy, to do with, as I wish!'

'So? You will what? Kill me? What good will that do? You still can't win over my business, my...'

'That's where you are wrong!'
David stood up again.
'You will sign over everything to me, before you leave this business, and this world!'

'Dream on, du verdammter bastard!'

'Resorting to bad mouthing, Elrod? Tch, tch, tch! What has the world come to?'
David sneered, and folding his arms over his chest, looked down at him.

Treyton heard the other men snickering behind David, and clenched his fists.
'So, why not play fair? Untie me!'

'Ha! You wish!'
David rolled his eyes.
'Mark! Give me the papers!'
David lifted a hand, and Mark handed him some papers.

'What the hell is this?'
Treyton eyed them suspiciously.

'The legal documents which you are here for! Sign them, and I'll set you free!'
David raised an eyebrow at him.

'The hell I will! Never!'
Treyton shouted at him, his green eyes blazing.

'Oh, come on, Elrod! You know you are in no position to refuse! I wouldn't even be doing this myself, if that stupid woman had done her job right!'
David shook his head as if in frustration.

'What's wrong?'
Treyton tutted.
'Your hired pushover Maria didn't do her job well?'
Treyton made a face.
'I know your brother started seeing her just to get information out of me.'

'Oh, Maria! She did her job well! You couldnt catch her for almost a month, even with private detectives!'
Treyton hmphed, and David snorted.
'No! No! It's that stupid woman Erisha who failed me!'

To be continued...