Lynne Heitman - The Pandora Key aka The Hostage Room

I set the machine back on the table before anyone could notice my hands shaking. I had absolutely no plan. I was going with the flow.

Drazen’s eyes brightened. “The money is there? You have it?”

Hoffmeyer held up the flash drive. “Your money is here.”

Drazen put both hands on his pistol and aimed carefully at Hoffmeyer. “This is a trick. The files were on the computer. They couldn’t be moved.”

“They couldn’t be moved without the key,” I said. “But we found the key.”

“Show me.”

The token was still in its socket. I reached down to pull it out, held it up for him to see, then tossed it at him. He caught it with one hand. He looked at it and clearly recognized it.

“We used that key to copy the files onto that flash drive. We checked some of the balances. The files are good.”

Drazen turned to Anton to show him the key. They talked quietly. Cyrus and Hoffmeyer leaned in to hear. I watched their faces for some secondhand clue to what was being said, which might tell me what would happen next. But they were spies. They looked like the more dour half of Mount Rushmore.

“Do you not wish to know where we found that key?”

Everyone turned toward me, but I hadn’t said anything. They were looking behind me to where the voice had come from. The only person behind me was Harvey. I didn’t want to turn my back on anyone, but I could hear him laboring, and I knew he was trying to push himself out of the corner.

“Harvey, stop. Stay back.”

But he didn’t stop, kept pushing, and eventually made it across to the center of the room. That put him pretty much in everyone’s line of fire. I could hear in his breathing how scared he was. I reached over to touch his arm. “Harvey, what are you doing?” He pushed my hand away.

Drazen seemed as surprised as anyone to see a man in a wheelchair before him. “Who are you, gimpy man?”

Harvey smiled slightly. “I am the gimpy man who killed your brother.”

The room had already been tense, but now I started to feel panicky. I was now convinced that there were people in the room who weren’t getting out alive and that Harvey was volunteering to be one.

Drazen shifted his aim to where he was looking, right at Harvey’s heart. “You?” He laughed. “Who cannot even stand on his own two feet? Vladi would never have allowed himself to be killed by you.”

Harvey fumbled open the flap on his saddlebag. When he reached into it, Anton took notice. He was covering Hoffmeyer, but he watched Harvey closely. Harvey didn’t seem to care. He pulled something from his bag. Trying to look casual, he tossed it toward Drazen but didn’t put enough on the throw, and it ended up on the floor between them. Anton leaned over and picked it up. He gave it a little shake before handing it to Drazen. It was the bag of Vladi’s personal items, the ones I had dug from his grave.

Drazen stared at the bag for a few seconds before telling Anton to open it. Anton did so and offered it to Drazen. Maintaining his bead on Harvey, Drazen pulled out the gold chain I had taken from around Vladi’s neck…spine, actually. He looked down at Harvey. “Where did you get these?”

“Leave now, do not hurt anyone, and I will take you to him.”

I was starting to feel sick at the thought of where this was going. “Harvey, don’t-”

“Quiet.” He turned his head just slightly to deal with me in case I didn’t follow directions. Then he rubbed his eyes. He didn’t have his glasses on. That was probably a good thing. “Please, do not interfere.”

Drazen took a step toward him, which put the barrel of his gun about six inches closer to Harvey’s heart. “How did you get Vladi’s possessions?”

“I told you, I killed him.”

“Vladi was strong. You cannot even stand.”

“Strong, yes, but not bulletproof, and I have not always been in this chair.”

“Why would you kill him?”

“Because he attacked my wife.”

Drazen had to think about that, but then he seemed to know he was talking about Rachel. “She is not your wife. She is no one’s wife.”

“She was once my wife, and to me, she always will be.” Harvey leaned in toward the barrel of the weapon. His voice was getting stronger. “Your brother tried to rape her. I shot him three times in the chest to stop him. I put him in the trunk of his gold Lexus. I drove him out of town. I dug his grave and rolled him into it. I covered him over with dirt, and that is where he lay until I learned about the token. My colleague discovered that he had been carrying the key to a fortune when he died. I went to the place where I buried him, I dug him up, and I found the token you hold in your hand.” He nodded toward Anton. “And those items.”

Drazen looked as if he were struggling with the idea but at the same time wanting to believe it. “No. You are too weak to do this thing.” He looked at me. “She did it.”

Harvey gave me no opening to respond. “For one billion dollars, a man can find the strength he needs. I did not want to share the money. I told no one. If it is vengeance you came for, take me.”

Drazen seemed unsure. “Who are these men?”

“It is not important who they are. Their business is with each other. Your business is with me.”

“He’s lying,” Cyrus said. “It wasn’t-”

“Shut up, Cy.” Hoffmeyer had produced a second piece, which he now held flush against Thorne’s skull.

“Again,” Harvey said, “leave now, and I will take you to Vladi’s grave.”

Drazen stepped back to have another quiet chat with Anton. They both nodded, seemingly in agreement.

“I accept your offer,” Drazen said. “I will take you and my money.”

“No.” I stepped in next to Harvey. “That is not the deal. Here’s the deal. This man”-I nodded to Hoffmeyer-“has the money on that flash drive. If he wanted to walk out of here with it and leave you in a pool of blood, he could, and I would have no problem with him doing it.” I tried to keep my breathing level and to make the words slide out and not tumble. “But I promised you a copy of your files. He has two. Here’s what I propose. Hoffmeyer, you give him one copy and keep one, and whoever gets to the money first wins. More than likely, you’ll each get some, and there’s plenty to go around.”

“No.” Thorne tried to get up, but Hoffmeyer stepped on his thigh. “You can’t give money to that terrorist. You can’t do it. Kill him now. He’s a cancer. He’s evil. He will sell weapons to our enemies. It’s treason if you don’t kill him or at least take him prisoner. It’s aiding and abetting, it’s-”

“Shut up,” I said. “You don’t have a weapon, which makes you not part of this discussion.” I looked at Drazen. “Honor and commitment. I made you a promise, and I’m keeping it. In return, you must forgive all debts. No matter who killed your brother, no one in this room owes you anything, and we will never see you again. That’s the best deal you’re getting today, and if you kill Harvey, you’ll have to kill all of us. Bloodshed means police. Much bloodshed means more police, more coverage in the news, more pressure to find the killers. Others know of our dealings with you. An FBI agent, for one.”

Drazen chewed at the corner of his bottom lip. When he looked at Hoffmeyer, he seemed to be sizing him up. Hoffmeyer looked right back, and when he spoke to me, his eyes never left Drazen. “Whatever I get to first, I keep? That’s the deal?”

“That’s the deal.”

He shrugged. “Okay.”

It was Drazen’s move. “I want one more thing.” He twisted his brother’s chain around his fist and held it up. “Tell me where to find Vladislav.”

“And then you’re in?”

“Yes.”