In The Darkness (Project Artemis #1)(15)
Drist began to unravel there in front of Nick, and he wondered if he should push him for any more details. The guy clearly had a very tenuous grasp on reality to begin with, and whatever the hell he was rambling on about concerning real estate already had upset him.
“I get it, man. Three bedrooms. Hell, I grew up in a two bedroom apartment, and we thought we had it pretty damn nice. We didn’t starve, and my father always made sure we had clothes to wear and a roof over our heads. Nowadays, he’d be seen as a loser, but that’s bullshit. Total bullshit. He was a good guy, my father.”
Nick watched as Drist nodded his head, eagerly agreeing with every word he’d said. In truth, his father had been a Lieutenant Colonel in the Army, and by the time he and his mother had him, they had more than enough money to afford one of those McMansions Drist railed against. He’d grown up in a house five times the size of the house behind them.
The world this crazy fucker hated was pretty much the world Nick had lived in since the day he was born. He wasn’t Marshall Gilmore level, but he certainly had never been Drist level.
But he knew how to talk a good game with people like him. They all pretty much had the same story in mind when they thought of themselves. Modest upbringing with decent folks who tried their best to give them a life better than theirs. It was overly romanticized usually, but it helped the Drists of the world think that despite all the good that had been around in the past, now none of it existed anymore because of people like Marshall Gilmore.
The truth was that good they looked back to still existed. They just wanted more. They wanted what the media moguls of the world had but they didn’t want to do what it took to get it.
Well, other than kidnap young women and threaten to upend the world order if they didn’t get their way.
He didn’t give a damn about Drist’s distorted belief system or any of their messed up ideas, in truth. He’d seen them all before. All he cared about was finding a way to get Persephone out from under their control before they killed her.
“That’s the way of the world these days,” Drist said angrily. “People like your old man are losers, while that bitch’s father gets to be king of the world. It’s wrong, man. All wrong. That’s why we have to change it before it gets too out of control and all the good this country has to offer is gone forever.”
Good like Drist. Yeah. Right.
“She’s never had to worry about the roof over her head or having enough money to get lunch at school,” Nick said with a sneer he added for effect. Pointing toward the room where Persephone sat, he added, “People like her don’t get it. They never will.”
Before Drist could get himself worked up into a lather, Nick stood up to leave. “I can’t talk about this anymore or I’m going to want to go in there and make her pay for all people like her and her father have done. I know Clayton wouldn’t want me to do that, though. Whatever else she is, she’s going to help us do what needs to be done to change this messed up fucking world.”
Drist nodded, grudgingly admitting Nick was right. “Yeah, Clayton would be pissed if we did anything to her. He wants to get more money from her father, so we can’t mess up her face.”
Pretending to be disappointed he couldn’t beat the hell out of a woman, Nick frowned and nodded his head. “I get it. This is a long game. We have to think a few moves ahead. It’s like chess.”
“Exactly! Chess is exactly what it’s like, and those rich bastards aren’t going to know what hit them when we start playing,” Drist said excitedly and then let out an evil laugh as he pointed his gun at Nick to reinforce his point.
As he walked away, Nick wondered if Drist even knew what chess was. He had a feeling he would be terribly disappointed when he found out it didn’t involve guns or zombies or killing anything.
Chapter Six
The bedroom door opened, making a creaking noise that never failed to terrify her, so Persephone quickly turned her head to see who they’d sent in this time so she could brace for what was to come. Eyes wide with fear, she saw Nick again and breathed a sigh of relief. Still unsure what to think about him, she felt reasonably sure he wasn’t as horrible as any of the other men.
He walked up beside the chair and crouched down in front of her. Placing his hands on her legs to balance himself, he looked up at her and whispered, “They’re going to be moving you tonight. I’m trying to get assigned to be one of the people who goes with you.”
She nodded and made a noise to let him know she wanted the gag removed. He reached up and pulled the rag out of her mouth.
“Don’t talk loud. We can’t afford to have them hear you,” he warned.
“Where are they moving me to?” she whispered, each word painful as her mouth formed the syllables.
“Winchester. I’m going to try to be one of the men who moves you.”
Persephone didn’t understand why he had to do any of this at all. Why weren’t the FBI just handling this like any other kidnapping case?
“Why aren’t the police or the FBI involved in this? At the very least, why aren’t the state police handling finding me?”
Nick shook his head. “The FBI is involved, but after those farm pictures came out, they probably thought you weren’t being held against your will.”