Chapter 669 1200 Becomes 400. Does Your Heart Ache?
When Luke and the young employee reached the garage, the young employee said, “Your car is here.” Luke pointed at the driver’s seat. “Drive. Take me out.”
The young employee: “Huh?” A moment later, a stretch Lincoln limo drove out of the garage. Luke tossed the roll of cash onto the pa.s.senger seat and said, “Okay, park the car in that underground parking lot up ahead.” He didn’t know how to use the car. He had just spent the money to save time and draw the manager away. In the underground parking lot, he chased away the young employee who had obtained one last bonus before he threw the car key into the glove box.
In any case, the young employee had said that the car rental company had a tracking system, and they would naturally look for the car when the time came. Thus, Luke didn’t have to bother returning the car with his fake ident.i.ty. Getting into the secondhand Polenaz, Luke headed southeast.
Looking at the route taken by Miss Beth’s Benz, Luke smiled. “What a willful young lady.”
He felt quite relaxed on the journey.
There were no concrete targets for this operation, and it was still unclear if something really had happened to Miss Beth.
It was summer, and Poland in July was beautiful.
It was all green along the road, and now and then there were buildings with dark orange roofs and white or beige walls. They looked like small, dreamy fairytale castles. Luke could only sigh that he couldn’t linger. In fact, Warsaw’s art culture and landscapes didn’t lose out to Paris; it was also an art capital that many artists liked to visit. If he had the time, he could come back here and play for two days. When night fell, Luke left his secondhand Polonez in Poland and quietly crossed the border into Slovakia.
He took out a secondhand Vespa motorbike from his inventory which he had bought at the same time as the Polonez and rode a hundred kilometers into Slovakia. A road sign finally appeared not far away. “Natural hot springs. Scenic town Noria welcomes you!”
He turned the motorbike onto a small road.
Ten minutes later, he arrived at a small town. Like many European towns, it was small and ancient and full of culture.
Luke rode the motorbike unhurriedly through the streets, a.n.a.lyzing the scents in the air as he slowly pa.s.sed through the town. On the east side of town, he turned off the engine and stepped off the pedal. Looking at the gloomy, dark woods, the tall trees – some straight, some crooked – looked as frightening as demons and ghosts in the night. Luke didn’t stop. He went straight into the woods.
Dozens of meters in, a small, bonfire burned in a low dale, crackling every now and then. There were twenty to thirty shacks made from metal planks next to the fire.
Luke didn’t stop as he walked into the dale.
Rustling sounds rang out as kids crawled out of the shacks.
There were boys and girls, small and big; there were about seven or eight of them, but the oldest only looked ten at most, and the youngest five or six.
The kids stared at Luke silently. Luke finally said, “I want to ask you something. Three American girls in their twenties showed up here yesterday.” There was silence again. Luke searched his pockets and found a roll of cash. He tossed it to a boy who was about ten years old. “Reward.”
The boy reacted quickly. He caught the cash, tore off the rubber band, and swiftly flipped through it. He finally raised his head. “This isn’t enough.”
Luke chuckled and threw him another roll of cash.
The boy caught it, checked it again, then nodded. “Okay, we saw those three women. They came here yesterday and went east in the afternoon.”
Raising an eyebrow, Luke took out a roll of cash from his pocket and tossed it lightly in his hand. “Height, appearance, and clothes. As long as you’re right, this is yours.”
The boy rolled his eyes and nodded. “No problem. One has black hair and a square face, one has blond hair and a pointy face, and the other… is a little old and has a lot of wrinkles on her forehead. So…”
Luke, however, suddenly stepped back and stuffed the cash into his pocket before he grabbed the necks of the two boys behind him.
The two boys dropped their metal sticks as they flailed in the air in fear.
Luke grinned. “Very good. I like people who don’t behave the most.”
Throwing the two kids aside, he took out a P226 from under his armpit and aimed it at the kid who had taken the money. “Now, tell me where the three girls are, or you’ll be the first to die.”
Saying that, he looked around and nodded in satisfaction. “There are a lot of people here. If one doesn’t want to talk, I can switch to another. I’m sure there’s someone here who wants to live.”
Saying that, he raised three fingers on his left hand. “I’ll count to three. If you don’t answer, I’ll ask someone else!” “One…”
“I’ll talk,” shouted the boy. “Not bad. You’re already good at answering questions.” Luke nodded in satisfaction. He went over and picked the boy up before walking ten meters away. However, he kept his P226 aimed at the bonfire. Ten minutes later, Luke’s interrogation was over.
He reached into the kid’s pocket and took out the two rolls of cash which he had given to him before, as well as the roll of cash that he had put away earlier.
Waving the three rolls in front of the kid’s face, Luke tossed one back to the kid.
“Look, I’m a man of my word.” He pointed the gun at the boy’s head. “I gave you the promised reward.” Although his life was in danger, the boy couldn’t help but look at the remaining two rolls of cash. Luke sighed. “This is your punishment. Your original 1200 is now 400 bucks. Does your heart ache?” Looking at the frustration in the child’s eyes, Luke was satisfied. Regret was also a type of punishment, and this would be an experience that was hard to forget.
He rapped the boy’s head with his gun. “Maybe the 400 bucks will go to your friends next time, and you won’t have to do it anymore.”
With that, he turned around and left the woods.
Watching Luke disappear, the kids all looked at the cash in the boy’s hand, and their hearts ached. There had been three rolls just now, and now there was only one. That was USD!
Noticing his friends’ gazes, the boy yelled angrily, “Don’t we do this all the time? Also, he asked about that gang. Why didn’t you tell him yourself just now?”
All the children trembled and lowered their heads silently.
After saying that, the boy also grew nervous himself.