Must the Flowers Die

Chapter 14: Boundaries

He bowed when he was a few feet away and spoke deferentially, "Miss. My name is Joseph, and I am here to make your stay more comfortable. Would you like anything to drink? Coffee, tea, wine?"

Mia almost laughed at the absurdity of it all and requested the most ridiculous drink she could think of. "How about an appletini?"

Joseph bowed and walked out of the room as Mia hurried to join her parents and Jessica.

Her parents pulled her into a fierce hug as soon as she was within reach.

"Are you ok?" Her dad asked urgently in Mandarin. He always had a habit of slipping into Chinese in times of extreme emotions.

Mia nodded. She glanced at T, who had migrated to the side of the room to join her fellow thugs. Joseph came back in short order with what appeared to be an expertly-executed appletini. Xiao looked at the drink next to Mia and disapprovingly transferred it to her side. Mia signed. Good to know that her mom still observed the legal drinking age in this absurd situation.

Soon, Jessica's parents and younger brother Sam wandered disconcertedly into the room. After some desperate assurances that everyone was unhurt, they began piece together the information. Xiao, Gary, and Mr. and Mrs. Kingston were understandably unnerved and confused. They had all gone to sleep normally and woken up in a luxury estate guarded by polite but tightlipped jailers. Mia had a pretty good idea what happened, but she found herself unwilling to implicate Liam. Her parents loved Liam. Their opinion would surely diminish after learning that he had kidnapped them.

In the end, she told them the truth but left out the complicated details of Olympus. She told them that Liam had gotten it into his head that something bad was going to happen in Piston and took it upon himself to protect them.

Xiao stared at Mia after she finished in disbelief.

Mia flinched as Xiao started hitting her hands hard against marble counter.

"That bastard. That is insane. He's insane. He's a rich, insane person. What should we do?"

Mia shrugged. She had no idea, but she wanted to take stock of her surroundings.

Mia turned to T. "Can you give us a tour? If we are going to be stuck here...how long are we going to be stuck here?"

T didn't respond. Of course she didn't.

"Well, if we are going to be stuck here, might as well see what this place has to offer."

It had a lot to offer. Indoor and outdoor pool. Sauna. Spa rooms where they could get massages. Exercise facility, dance studio, and yoga room, along with instructors and trainers. A prayer room facing Mecca. They also had access to ATVs, skis, snowmobiles, all with the proper supervision, of course. And if they wanted to do anything that wasn't readily available, they could request it. Mia had a feeling that their requests would be competently and speedily satisfied. It was the most indulgent place Mia had ever experienced. If she hadn't been kidnapped, she would have been in absolute paradise.

No one seemed particularly won over by the amenities except Sam, who was thoroughly impressed by the videogame collection. Ten-year-olds. After a few hours of moping around, Mia feigned a headache and told T that she wanted to take a walk. She waved away Jess as her friend stood to follow, earning a suspicious glance from the ever-perceptive Jess.

Mia walked for a long time. Besides the compound, there were no other signs of civilization around. As far as she could tell, there was one road in and out. There was a garage. Mia guessed it housed the vehicles, as a gaggle of guards with vicious-looking guns patrolled the vicinity.