Super Blogger

25. ARCHER IV

          ALAIN ARCHER'S POV

I heard the door of the van slam shut before Hank stepped on the brakes and pulled out of the building.

"Where to next, boss?" He called without looking back.

My eyes hovered around the gold-plated e-card in my hand. On it was written 'All Access Pass' and beside the bold cursive letters was a passport photo of Huan Gong in a sharp white suit. The picture was cropped to his chest.

"S.P.E.R.E" I ordered and the van thundered down the lonely road.

"Cage," my gaze shifted from the card. "Where is the billionaire's detonation switch?"

He leaned forward so that the bound, blindfolded, and gagged man in our middle wasn't obstructing his vision. His silky long black hair dangled as he did so. In the dark of night, I could barely see his tattooed face or the bulletproof vest I made all my men wear, but the red glowing object in his hand stood out bright as day. I examined it, a metal cylinder the size of a cigarette; The trigger to the bomb inside our former hostage.

"He delivered excellently," I declared, glancing at the card again. "So before I forget, disable that detonator and get rid of it."

"Aye, boss man." He withdrew the device.

"Before you get to that," I clenched my jaw, getting into the zone for what was about to happen. "Unbind our guest."

Cage revealed a switchblade and cut the bounds off the middle man's hands and feet, before proceeding to untie his mouth and then eyes.

I smiled genuinely for the first time in a long while. But Nic looked angry, the veins on his forehead bulged as he stared straight ahead without sparing me a glance.

"I thought your voice sounded familiar." He glowered.

I feigned a look of hurt. "I came all this way to check on my favorite nephew and this is the greeting I get?"

I swear my men were drama queens off-duty. In this fifteen passengers van, all nine of my ruthless mercenaries seated behind me erupted into mummers like a bunch of insufferable gossips.

Only Cage and Hank remained unflinching. The former tinkered with the detonator while the latter focused on the wheels.

"Silence!" I bellowed and a great hush followed. Clearing my throat, I turned back to Nic but he beat me to the punch.

"We're not family anymore, remember? You changed your last name from Colin more than ten years ago."

"Nic, it's-"

"But I guess you didn't want me to know that until you ruined my life and forced me to change high school. So much for 'favorite nephew', huh?"

Sigh. "I don't do apologies, boy. But for what it's worth, I feel bad that I got you caught in a crossfire."

"Ten years late, Uncle. What the heck do you want from me?"

I laced my fingers together."Some assistance."

"I'm a programmer, not a thug. And whatever problem you have with Tekeon, that's between you. Now drop me off before I get caught in another shootout."

"Tekeon? Mon ami, Tekeon est l'histoire."

"Répète?"

"Oh, the ignorant." I nodded with dismay. "Spoon-fed by the media. It's a shame you identify with them."

He scowled. "Life taught me that it's better that than identifying with you."

My composure remained steady. "I'm touched. Like I was saying, The Walking Myth has fallen. Just this evening actually."