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Behind Zee two men were posted at the closed entrance of an old musty building. Zee was on his ass rubbing his bruised jaw. He gave a tall gruff looking man who stood a few feet from him, a menacing stare. He held a gun hand aimed at Zee, another stuck out of the waist of his pants. A slim man of average height with short white hair stood facing Zee about ten feet away. He was not a happy man. Charlie was standing next to him with her arms wrapped tightly around her upper body. She just stared blankly at Zee, who avoided eye contact with her.
“Who are you?” the man asked in a clipped voice, adjusting the tie of his tailored suit.
“You have not earned the privilege of knowing who I am. I assume you are Mr. Darby.”
“Your assumption is correct.”
“Can you tell me your name then since I can’t know who you are?” he sneered.
“I’ll give that question some thought.” Mr. Darby stared at Zee then laughed loudly.
“We seem to have an asshole who thinks he’s witty, Frank,” he said to the man guarding Zee.
“I sure hit the jackpot with this sweet young piece though didn’t I?” he continued, his attention shifting to Charlie. He swept her body with lustful eyes. Frank nodded in slow motion leering at Charlie’s breasts. Her skin began to crawl and her body went cold.
“I am going to enjoy you very much and my wife will be delighted to sample something different. I think chocolate is going to be her new favourite flavour.” Charlie’s chest constricted and she began to feel faint. What have I gotten myself into? Zee observed her reaction with a suppressed twinge of sympathy. Mr. Darby smiled at Charlie’s discomfort.
“Charlie, remember back at the inn I gave you three options?”
“Yes Zee,” Charlie replied looking at him with wild, puzzled eyes.
“I need to know now which one you’re going with.”
“Willingly,” Charlie promptly replied. Mr. Darby warily looked at Zee then Charlie. Frank’s eyes were still glued to Charlie’s body when Zee rolled across the floor and kicked his legs from under him. When Frank’s body crashed to the floor the gun in his hand skated out of reach. Zee grabbed the one from his waist, swiftly putting a bullet in his head. A spray of crimson covered his sweatshirt. Zee quickly flipped onto his stomach and fired at the two men racing towards him several times. They tumbled hard. Zee scrambled to his feet and spun around. Charlie was flat on her belly, her hands covering her head. Mr. Darby stood paralyzed. Zee took a few steps towards him wearing an expression of distaste; the man was spineless without hired guns. Their eyes made four. One pair filled with rage. One with defeat. Zee pointed the gun at Mr. Darby’s chest.
“I thought about your question. The answer is no.” The gun barked twice. Mr. Darby stumbled forward with a slack jaw and unseeing eyes. He dropped face down at Zee’s feet with a loud thump. Zee went over to help up Charlie. She was crying softly.
“You can weep later. We have a plane to catch.”