Tʜᴇ Bᴇʟʟs

______________________________________
"Cleo, do you actually know where you're going?" JJ asks as they trudge up a hill
Cleo points, "We can hole up here. It ain't the Taj Mahal, but..."
"It'll do." John B nods while JJ sighs
"I get the biggest room." Cleo says as they continue on. As soon as they make it to the abandoned hotel, they duck down.
"Over there!" A guard shouts as they pass by on ATVs
"Go, go, go, go!" JJ whispers
"Come! Quick!" Cleo says as they run further into the hotel. They hide behind a pillar watching as another ATV passes.
"All clear!" A guard yells
"Go!" Cleo whispers before leading them upstairs
"You sure this is safe?" John B says
"You got a better idea?" Cleo responds leading them around a corner, "We can stay here. It's an old hotel. Terrance and I squatted here before."
"Five stars." JJ mumbles as they take in the room. He, Pope, and John B walk over the huge hole in the ground to look for anymore guards.
"Watch your step." Cleo says, "Massive sinkhole."
"Oh. Home sweet home." Charlotte breathes
"We gotta get Estrella and Kiara out, guys." JJ says, "Does anyone have anything?"
"Well, we can't storm the fort." Pope says, "We can't call the cops."
"It's not helping, Pope."
"We can't even negotiate. We don't know what they want." He says, "It's got to be about the cross or the gold."
Cleo shakes her head, "Mm-mm. Guys like Singh, it's always about money."
JJ sighs placing his hands on his hips. Sarah walks over to John B, "What are you thinking?"
"I don't know. We all just gotta get off this damn island."
______________________________________
Estrella curled up on the bed while Kie sat by her legs. Estrella had her eyes shut, but hadn't quite let sleep take over. Estrella could feel the bed shake slightly as Kie shook her leg up and down.
She could tell that Kie was becoming restless the longer she sat there without a plan. Estrella had been thinking over what to do as she sat there. The only real plan she had involved the one person they wanted nothing to do with.
"Kie?" Estrella whispers. Kie's head immediately snaps over, "Are you okay?"
"No." Kie answers honestly
Estella nods in understanding, "Listen, I kind of have a plan, but the only way it'll actually work is if we use him to get out of here."
When Estrella mentions "him", Kie notices the girl look over to Rafe who had taken a spot on the floor. Kie immediately shakes her head, "No."
"Kie-"
"Estrella, no." Kie whispers harshly, "Are you seriously asking me to trust this psychopath?"
"No, Kiara. I'm telling you he's our only way out." Estrella says sitting up and scooting closer to her friend, "Knowing him, he probably has a boat or something to help us. If we use him to get away from here, we can take his boat, get the others, and get the hell off of the island. We just have to make him think we trust him for now."
Kie's jaw clenches as she lets out a sigh, "I'm not trusting him."
"Neither am I. But I trust you." Estrella says softly, "And I know neither of us would let him hurt the other. I just need you to trust me. That's all I can really ask for right now."
Kie's eyes soften as Estrella stares back at her. There's a flicker of determination in Kie's eyes before she stands up. Estrella watches the girl approach the window, "Kie?"
Kie turns to her putting her finger up to her lips telling her to stay quiet before turning back, "Hey! Hey. I need to talk to Mr. Singh." Estrella swings her feet off of the bed. Kie knocks again grabbing the attention of a guard, "Hey, go get Mr. Singh."
"What are you doing?" Rafe says. His voice laced with sleepiness.
Kie turns to him for a few seconds before turning back, "Hey, you! I need to talk to Mr. Singh."
Rafe jumps up, "Shut up. Shut up. Shut up. Hey. What are you doing?"
"Like I owe you an explanation." Kie says walking past him to the door
"Think for a second!" Rafe tries, "Kie, what are you doing?"
Kie knocks on the door, "Hello?"
Rafe runs over, "Hey! What're you doing?"
"Don't talk to me!" Kie yells knocking on the door again
"You're lying about this diary thing. You know where it is."
"No, I don't." Kie says walking back toward the window. Estrella finally stands up.
"You don't? Okay." Rafe shrugs
"You wish."
"Kie, what are you doing?" Estrella says
"Trying to get us out of here." She says looking out of the window
"Okay, listen, I wouldn't tell me either." Rafe says
"Hey!" Kie says knocking on the window
"But he's never gonna believe we don't know something, all right? Singh killed that-"
"Hey!" Estrella yells pushing him back
"Look around, Estrella. I'm the only friend you guys got." The three look over as the door opens. Kie immediately walks over with Rafe watching her, "Hey."
"I need to talk to Mr. Singh." Kie says, "I have something to tell him. It's urgent."
The guard looks over at Estrella and Rafe before looking back at Kie, "Yes."
Kie turns to Estrella, "I'll be back."
Estrella nods to her before the guard leads her out and closes the door before locking it. Estrella takes her seat on the bed while Rafe paces with his hands on his head, "Shit."
______________________________________
It was quiet as the teens sat around the hotel. Charlotte sat with her back up against a pillar with JJ on her right. The girl turns toward him and her brows furrow, "What is that?"
"This is a little souvenir that I plucked from Portis' pocket."
"You have a phone?"
"I forgot I had it." He says, "It was in my back pocket. That's my bad."
"Oh my God, dude. Can we go anywhere without you stealing?" Pope asks sitting up
"You know the answer."
"Let me see it."
"Nice work, rude boy." Cleo says as JJ stands making his way over to Pope
"I steal shit. That's my job."
"How'd you get this unlocked?" Pope asks as he takes the phone from him
"No passcode. Portis keeps it loose."
"What are you looking for?" Charlotte asks
"The kidnapper."
"Any information that'll help us negotiate with this guy." Pope says, "The only problem is I don't see a Carlos Singh in the contacts."
"That's the problem."
"It's just a bunch of nicknames and shit."
"Wait." Sarah says, "Didn't Portis call him something else?"
"Right. Yeah, he called Singh something when we were jumping his ass." JJ says, "It was like Rockfish or..."
"Can't remember." Cleo says
"Oh shit! No, no, no."
"Catfish?" Pope tries
"What was it? Holy crap! Um..."
"Kingfish." John B mutters
JJ points to him, "That was it. Kingfish."
"Kingfish. That was it." Pope says scrolling, "Kingfish. There he is, Kingfish."
"And we in business." JJ nods, "All right, phase two. Text him, okay?"
"And say what exactly?"
"You know, you said it. Negotiate, right?" JJ says, "Pretend to be Portis, ask him to meet somewhere in private. That was... that's really important. Just solo. Bam! We jump his ass, tie him up, and then politely request for Estrella and Kiara in return for his life. That's the plan."
"That's gonna work." Sarah says sarcastically
"Not a bad idea." John B shrugs
"Not a bad idea? It's terrific!" JJ says
"Okay, I'm gonna say it. We should think this through." Pope says
"What's rule number one?" JJ says, "Thinking never helps when you already have the idea."
"No, hang on. I agree with Pope." Charlotte says, "This could make things ten times worse for us and Estrella and Kiara."
"How much worse can it actually get?" John B says
"I can think of a few ways." Sarah says
"Okay, great. While you're thinking, why don't you just let it rip?"
"Thank you." JJ says before taking the phone and typing the message
______________________________________
Bạn đang đọc truyện trên: AzTruyen.Top