Chris Kuzneski - The Prophecy

‘Maybe so, but you have to admit this stuff is pretty mysterious.’

‘Mysterious, yes. But we’re still a long way from factual.’

‘Anyway,’ she said, not wanting to argue about it, ‘what’s scenario number three? Or have you forgotten it already?’

He shook his head. ‘Nope, I haven’t forgotten. In fact, of the three choices, this is the one that worries me the most.’

‘It worries you? What is it?’

‘What if Keller conned us?’

‘In what way?’

Payne explained. ‘What if he figured out we were out of his life.’

‘But he willingly gave us the box.’

‘True, but it’s a small price to pay if he removed the description of the actual treasure and its location. Remember, the best con jobs are the ones where the victim doesn’t even know he’s been conned. What if he sacrificed the box to remove us from the equation?’

‘Why would he do that?’

‘Simple. Now he has all the time in the world to go after the treasure himself.’

Louis Keller never even heard them coming. One moment he was sleeping peacefully in his bedroom, the next his hands and feet were being tied to his bed frame. He tried to scream, but their gag prevented it. He tried to see, but their flashlight blinded him.

He was completely at their mercy.

A few minutes earlier, he had been dreaming about the profits he would make from the sale of the items. He felt the money was rightfully his –

Then again, suffering was a matter of perception. For all he knew, the next few minutes might be far worse than the last three decades combined.

The mere thought of it made him wet his bed.

Although he couldn’t see them, Keller knew they were hovering nearby. There were at least two people, maybe more. They moved round the room with unbelievable agility. Like ghosts. Keller closed his eyes, trying to block the potential horrors out of his mind, but that didn’t last for long. One of them tapped Keller on the bridge of his nose with the flashlight. Not hard enough to hurt him, but hard enough to get his attention.

‘Listen to me,’ a deep voice growled. ‘I’m about to remove your gag. If you scream, you’ll regret it. Understand?’

Keller nodded enthusiastically. As soon as the gag had been removed, he sucked in a gulp of air, praying it wasn’t the last breath he would ever take.

‘What do you want from me?’ he said meekly.

not be hurt.’

‘Anything! I’ll tell you anything! Just don’t hurt me!’

‘Where’s the box?’ the voice growled.

‘I gave it away! I gave the box away!’

‘To whom ?’

‘I don’t know their names, but there were four of them! Three men and a woman. I swear, I don’t know their names! They showed up this afternoon!’

‘Describe them.’

‘Two Americans. One was big, and one was black.’

‘And the other man?’

‘He was fat.’

‘And the woman?’

‘She was young. And thin. She had brown hair.’

‘Where are they now?’ the voice demanded.

Keller paused, trying to remember. ‘London! They were flying to London!’

‘And they have the box?’

‘Yes! I gave them the box.’

‘Shit!’ the man cursed. ‘What about the other items? Did you give them everything ?’

‘No! I still have them!’

‘Behind you! In a plastic case on the shelf!’

‘Check it out.’ Footsteps moved across the room in the darkness. Suddenly, a second flashlight was turned on. The beam bounced from shelf to shelf in the interior of the closet until it settled on the top shelf. A moment later, the light clicked off. ‘Well?’

‘Got it,’ the second intruder replied. ‘One item.’

‘I told you,’ Keller blurted. ‘See, I was telling you the truth!’

‘Keep it up, and you’ll be fine,’ the voice whispered.

‘I will! I promise! Ask me anything!’

‘Does the box have multiple combinations?’

‘Yes! It has two!’

‘What are they?’

‘They’re dates! One is December the first. The other is the day he died!’

‘The day who died?’

‘Nostradamus!’

The voice paused. ‘Where are the other items?’

‘There were only two! And you have one!’

‘What’s the other item?’

‘A letter of instructions! It was written to me!’

‘Where is it?’

‘Your flight? Are you meeting the Americans?’

‘No! I told you, I don’t know them!’

‘Then where are you taking it?’ the voice snarled.

‘I’m taking it to Bruges!’

‘What’s in Bruges?’

‘A buyer! I found a buyer in Bruges! He’s a Nostradamus freak! Totally obsessed!’

‘What’s his name?’

‘François! His name is François!’

‘What’s his last name?’

‘I don’t know!’ Keller whimpered. ‘I swear I don’t know.’

‘Bullshit! How can you meet him if you don’t know his name?’

‘He sent me a phone! He said he’d call with directions once I landed!’

‘Where is it?’

‘Behind you on the shelf!’

‘Take a look,’ the voice ordered.

Five seconds later, his partner responded. ‘Got it.’

‘See!’ Keller said. ‘I’m not lying. I swear I’m not.’

‘What time are you expected?’

‘Seven. He’ll call tonight at seven.’

‘He’ll call! He’ll definitely call! He wants the item badly!’

The voice paused. ‘What aren’t you telling us?’

‘What?’ Keller asked, confused.

‘You’re hiding something from us. What is it?’

Keller shook his head furiously. ‘Nothing! I swear on my life!’

‘That’s exactly what you’re doing!’

His eyes widened. ‘I swear, there’s nothing else. You know everything!’

‘If you’re lying, you’ll see us again real soon. Do you understand?’

Keller nodded, terrified of that possibility.

‘Time to go,’ his partner whispered. ‘The camera’s in place.’

‘Good,’ the voice said. ‘Cut him free so we can leave.’

‘Camera?’ Keller asked. ‘What camera?’

The voice explained the device as his partner worked on Keller’s hands. ‘We’ve placed a wireless camera in your room. It is very small but very powerful. It works in darkness and in light. Our associate will be monitoring the feed from nearby. Until midnight tonight, you are to remain in this room at all times. If

‘I understand, but…’

‘But what ?’ the voice growled.

‘What if I have to use the bathroom?’

‘You already pissed the bed. One more time won’t hurt it.’

Payne and Jones crept through the woods near Keller’s house. They had managed to get him to talk without roughing him up or threatening specific acts of violence. They might have insinuated it, but the threats had not been defined. Instead, they had threatened ‘to return’ or ‘pay him a visit’, instead of saying they were going to kill him. Early on, they even promised he wouldn’t be hurt if he told the truth, yet they never said they would hurt him if he had lied.

It was a fine line, but they had done their best not to cross it.

In reality, even if they had roughed him up a little bit, it would have been understandable. Criminals were trying to kill them, and Keller had stolen an item from them that might help solve their problems. Of course, they wouldn’t fully

As they slipped through the night, Payne cleared his throat. Disguising his voice for so long had made it sore. ‘Do you think he believed the stuff about the camera?’

Jones laughed. ‘Definitely! I bet he’s shitting his bed right now. I’ll be shocked if he calls the cops or tries to warn anyone. You bought us all the time we need.’