Twice Taken

He cursed, “I will kill her! I will kill every female and every child in their family! I will rip their unborn children from their wombs and make their husbands and lovers watch as I kill them slowly! They took my son! My only son!”

The men of the house moved swiftly. Female servants were taken to a safe house and the mansion was stripped to a skeleton crew of buff, brawny men. Only volunteers stayed, and it was likely that some of the women would be widows by morning. Tearful goodbyes and final kisses were doled out and the house was left in silence; the only sound being that of Mirko’s wailing.

            Kobby, Mirko’s personal attendant, waited until Mirko too was silent to enter the study and found his leader passed out on the floor. He collected the man who had done so much to so many and made his decision. While Mirko was sleeping, Kobby silently and secretly loaded him into the back of one of the estate cars and drove into the night.

He called his wife, who was fully round with their first child and said, “Mirko will soon be in the hands of the Russian authorities. We will be free of him. Make ready to leave. I am not certain how the news shall be received by the others.”

She agreed quickly and asked her friends to help her prepare for a vacation with her husband. They were happy for her and soon head her most important things packed away. They asked where she was going, but she laughed, “He did not tell me, nor did he tell me for how long! You know how he can be once he has made up his mind! I do not question: I pack everything!”

The women nodded their agreement and laughed at that, and all of their belongings were soon boxed and ready to go.

After he got off of the phone with his wife, Kobby spoke to the ambassador, “I have someone that is of great interest to the Russian authorities: Mirko Jidkova. I offer him in exchange for immunity for myself and my men. What do you say? If your answer is no, I will help him escape your clutches once again or kill him before you are able to question him.”

The ambassador leapt at the opportunity to take credit for Jidkova’s capture and wrote out pardons for all those under Jidkova’s banner after taking down their true and new identities. He made copies of them all and loaded the copies into a briefcase for Kobby. They met by the river and the ambassador came alone per their agreement. He placed the briefcase on the ground and waited.

Kobby opened the rear door of the vehicle and moved toward the front on the passenger side as the ambassador moved toward the rear. The ambassador smiled at the prize he’d been given and Kobby grabbed the briefcase, silently entering the ambassador’s vehicle. He sped away and prayed that he’d done the right thing.

Thirty minutes later, he pulled over to the side of the road and replaced the license plates with the new ones left for him in the briefcase. He worked quickly and hoped that he would be able to get his wife to safety before the others discovered what had happened. He approached the house that he and his wife shared with four of the other higher-ups and their families an hour later.

When he walked up the stairs he feigned surprise and chided his wife, “I said that we were going on vacation, not moving! What is all of this?”

She played along, “You did not tell me to where we are going or for how long we will be gone! What if I have our child before we return? I want to have all of the things we may need, and I couldn’t stand the thought of not having my pretties if we were to be gone for long. Surely you will forgive and humor your wife in her condition, My Love?”

“Very well. It is all packed and we do not have time to rifle through sorting out what we truly need and do not or we will miss our transport. Come, I will settle you and our things into the car.” He lifted a large box and loaded it into the Mercedes GL450.

The ladies helped him with the rest of their things and she hugged her friends, “I will miss you all so much! I do not know when I will see you again, but I love you all!”

Kobby hugged her and dismissed her emotional outburst with a shrug, “I believe she needs much rest. Her emotions are becoming increasingly fragile, are they not?”