immediately relieved to see that Maddy hasn't managed to escape.
'I'm hungry', she says when she sees him, relieved he's finally come back home.
It's only when she speaks, does River realise that she's somehow managed to undo the pillow case gag. What he doesn't know however, is whether she's already screamed.
Chapter 9
Buck Tavern, alive and well, suns himself on a pool side lounger, while he slurps lazily from a tall glass filled with whiskey and soda, and eats peanuts from a ceramic dish balanced carefully on his oversized, pinkish belly.
Next to him, his plastic surgery enhanced wife, a mud brown from head to toe, and wrinkled in parts the surgeon couldn't quite reach, pretends to read a mildly engaging romance novel, while instead, she keeps her eyes on the athletic pool boy, built like a Greek god, who endlessly sweeps non-existent leaves out of the pool.
Another member of staff calmly approaches them from the house, this one fully dressed and much less attractive than the boy hovering around the pool, who has been employed purely as eye candy for Alicia Tavern. He stands in front of Buck, and blocks out the sun, while he waits for him to notice.
'Well', Buck says without looking up, in an accent tinged with a southern drawl, and difficult to place specifically.
'They are all dead', the man says in a matter of fact way as though he were informing Buck of the weather.
'Who's dead', Alicia Tavern says, never once taking her eyes off the curves of the pool boys chest and arms, and his tight little butt.
Now Buck sits up. 'Alex is dead? Dead, dead?' he says and takes off his sunglasses as though in doing so he'll somehow be able to gauge the veracity of the information.
'Alex, Jack, Carlos', the only one that isn't, is River Woods. It seems like the boy you sent, somehow made it out of their alive. Perhaps aided by the hostage he took with him.'
'What the fuck, how did that happen?' Buck says.
'Apparently it's all over the news. I have the channel feed if you would like to see it? There is mobile phone footage of River taking his hostage, stealing a car and making good his escape, and then real footage of Carlos and Peters being shot dead by the police. It's pretty categorical.'
'You're having me on', Buck says, his voice now sharp with worry.
'I wish I was sir.'
'Fucking idiots. Those fucking idiots.'
'That's not all sir. I've got the police on the line. They want to speak to you.'
'The police have phoned here? How the fuck did they get this number?'
'That's something you'll have to ask them yourself', the morose, matter of fact butler says.
'Why the fuck do they want to speak to me anyway? I'm on holiday for christ sake.' Buck says, defending his involvement in advance.
'They want to make sure you're not the one with the hostage, I presume. That, and I expect they might want to ask you about whether you know the person who is.'
'River hasn't called has he?' Buck says, worried he might have done.
'No, he hasn't', the butler is happy to inform him.
'Fucking hell', Buck says, and swings his legs around, ready to get up. 'And they're on the phone now? Right now?'
'That's right', the fully clothed staff member says.
'What an absolute fuck up', Buck says, and gets up, a little wobblier now, after six whiskey and sodas, than he was when he first sat down. 'Manuel, swim a few lengths, there's a good lad. Keep Mrs Tavern entertained', he shouts to the pool boy, and goes inside with the longer serving of the two present members of his household staff.
With his hand covering the receiver, Buck says to the butler, 'If he calls, tell him not to come here, though I doubt he'd be stupid enough to try', before readying himself to lie to the police, as professionally as he is capable.
River locks the door calmly behind him, clicks off the TV, puts the bags on the bed, and sits down at the edge of it opposite Maddy. It's a while before either of them speak, during which time he tries to work out
'I'm hungry', she says when she sees him, relieved he's finally come back home.
It's only when she speaks, does River realise that she's somehow managed to undo the pillow case gag. What he doesn't know however, is whether she's already screamed.
Chapter 9
Buck Tavern, alive and well, suns himself on a pool side lounger, while he slurps lazily from a tall glass filled with whiskey and soda, and eats peanuts from a ceramic dish balanced carefully on his oversized, pinkish belly.
Next to him, his plastic surgery enhanced wife, a mud brown from head to toe, and wrinkled in parts the surgeon couldn't quite reach, pretends to read a mildly engaging romance novel, while instead, she keeps her eyes on the athletic pool boy, built like a Greek god, who endlessly sweeps non-existent leaves out of the pool.
Another member of staff calmly approaches them from the house, this one fully dressed and much less attractive than the boy hovering around the pool, who has been employed purely as eye candy for Alicia Tavern. He stands in front of Buck, and blocks out the sun, while he waits for him to notice.
'Well', Buck says without looking up, in an accent tinged with a southern drawl, and difficult to place specifically.
'They are all dead', the man says in a matter of fact way as though he were informing Buck of the weather.
'Who's dead', Alicia Tavern says, never once taking her eyes off the curves of the pool boys chest and arms, and his tight little butt.
Now Buck sits up. 'Alex is dead? Dead, dead?' he says and takes off his sunglasses as though in doing so he'll somehow be able to gauge the veracity of the information.
'Alex, Jack, Carlos', the only one that isn't, is River Woods. It seems like the boy you sent, somehow made it out of their alive. Perhaps aided by the hostage he took with him.'
'What the fuck, how did that happen?' Buck says.
'Apparently it's all over the news. I have the channel feed if you would like to see it? There is mobile phone footage of River taking his hostage, stealing a car and making good his escape, and then real footage of Carlos and Peters being shot dead by the police. It's pretty categorical.'
'You're having me on', Buck says, his voice now sharp with worry.
'I wish I was sir.'
'Fucking idiots. Those fucking idiots.'
'That's not all sir. I've got the police on the line. They want to speak to you.'
'The police have phoned here? How the fuck did they get this number?'
'That's something you'll have to ask them yourself', the morose, matter of fact butler says.
'Why the fuck do they want to speak to me anyway? I'm on holiday for christ sake.' Buck says, defending his involvement in advance.
'They want to make sure you're not the one with the hostage, I presume. That, and I expect they might want to ask you about whether you know the person who is.'
'River hasn't called has he?' Buck says, worried he might have done.
'No, he hasn't', the butler is happy to inform him.
'Fucking hell', Buck says, and swings his legs around, ready to get up. 'And they're on the phone now? Right now?'
'That's right', the fully clothed staff member says.
'What an absolute fuck up', Buck says, and gets up, a little wobblier now, after six whiskey and sodas, than he was when he first sat down. 'Manuel, swim a few lengths, there's a good lad. Keep Mrs Tavern entertained', he shouts to the pool boy, and goes inside with the longer serving of the two present members of his household staff.
With his hand covering the receiver, Buck says to the butler, 'If he calls, tell him not to come here, though I doubt he'd be stupid enough to try', before readying himself to lie to the police, as professionally as he is capable.
River locks the door calmly behind him, clicks off the TV, puts the bags on the bed, and sits down at the edge of it opposite Maddy. It's a while before either of them speak, during which time he tries to work out
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