Dark Star

11. Ultimatum

“Hello, Josef,” The man said, once they were face to face. His voice was controlled, but the words were filled with loathing. “It's been awhile.”

“Damien,” Josef replied, acknowledging him with a nod of his head. “I wish I could say it's a pleasure to see you.”

“You were always quite the one with words,” Damien answered, then he turned to his men. “Check him for any weapons, and then let's go.”

With that, he turned and began to leave the grand ballroom. The two men with him patted Josef down, and found the gun in his pocket. They took it for “safe keeping”, or so they said. Then they led him out of the room after Damien.

Damien was waiting for them, and the elevator, just a little bit down the hallway. They joined him in waiting, and Josef looked around. The rest of the hotel seemed pretty deserted. Everyone must be at the masquerade. If something went bad and he needed help, no one would be around. He would have to do this alone.

“Where are we going?” He asked. “I thought we were going to do this in the party room.”

“I did tell you that, didn't I?” Damien answered, acting like he didn't remember, then shrugged. “Well, if things don't work out , I thought it would be best that we were alone. You see, that silly masquerade party always empties out this entire hotel. All the employees are working it, and all the guests wouldn't dream of leaving until it ends. It makes it the perfect time and place for our business.”

The elevator dinged, and the doors opened. The four of them entered, and the door closed once more, and the elevator began to climb. Josef watched as the floor numbers continued to rise, until they were on the twentieth story of the hotel, which was the top floor.

“To answer your question, though,” Damien said, as the elevator doors opened again. “We're going to my hotel room.”

They all got off the elevator and walked down the hallway. It was very quiet as they walked, there was obviously no one else up here. Damien lead them to room number 2024, and upon unlocking the door with his key, opened the door for the other men.

“After you, Josef.”

He entered the room and glanced around. It was obviously a nice hotel room, but it wasn't too fancy. It was a good sized room, but it wasn't huge. The furniture was nice, but nothing too expensive looking. It was simplistic, but nice.

“I must say, you've done well so far, Josef,” Damien said. “I didn't think you had it in you.”

“Well, I didn't have much of a choice, now did I?” He answered.

“However, there is one small problem,” Damien continued, ignoring what he said.

Before he realized what was about to happen, Damien punched him in his stomach, causing him to double over in pain. For a moment, the pain was so overwhelming, it was all he could think about. Then, it began to subside, and he could think coherently again.

“Where the hell is my money?” He demanded, pulling out a gun. He shoved Josef against the wall, holding the gun to him. “Did you really think you could get away with it?”

“The money is my only guarantee that you'll keep your word. I wasn't about to just hand it over! Once you show me that I can trust you, you can have it all. I don't want it!”

Damien smiled, a cruel smile. “Need I remind you what is at stake here? You're really in no position to try to bargain with me.”

He pulled out a cell phone, and dialed a number, still holding the gun to Josef. They were so close to each other that Josef could hear it ringing quietly, and then he heard someone answer the phone. The voice was muffled, but it was obviously male.

“You remember that thing I told you to do, if I had to call you,” Damien said, looking pointedly at Josef. “Josef's chosen not to do as he is told, so do it. Also, put your phone on speaker so we can all hear.”

He held out the phone so Josef would be certain to hear everything. There were screams of pain, and other noises he didn't recognize. To anyone listening in, it might not have made much sense, but it got the point across to him. He knew he had to do what Damien wanted.

“Okay, fine!” He said, giving in. “I'll get you the money, just make him stop!”

“Smart choice,” He answered, taking the phone back and giving his man the order to stop. “You have until midnight to get the money together, and I'll call you to let you know where and when we will meet.”

Josef nodded, his expression controlled, but he knew that Damien could see the defeat and worry in his eyes. There was a good chance things weren't going to end well, and he didn't see anyway for him to change it. There was too much that could go wrong, and he had so much that he could loose.

“Oh, and I saw that girl you took from the bank. She's pretty cute, you definitely know how to pick them, Josef. I want to meet her, so why don't you bring her with you to the exchange.”

Damien and his men escorted him back to the ballroom, and he was given back his gun. His men turned to leave, and he was about to follow, when he turned back to give Josef one final word.

“I must say tonight was rather fun, Josef. Until we meet again.”

He gave one last nod, and then left, leaving Josef alone in a sea of strangers. He needed to see a familiar face, now, or he felt like he would scream. He spotted Varick, but all of a sudden he realized that wasn't who he wanted to see. There was only one person who he wanted to see right then – at that moment, but she wasn't with Varick, even though he knew she should have been. He looked around the room, but didn't have any luck spotting her.

Where was Vesper?