Upstairs in the kitchen, Mitch had bloodied him, made him drop his gun. But he didn't do enough damage to stop him before the guy got his hands on his gun again. Now he was coming down here.
Stepping away from the shelter door, Mitch waited for him. He could hear Sammy calling him, and Enrico reassuring her. At the same time Mitch heard that guy's labored breathing and his footsteps as he came down the stairs.
"I was down here before. I know there's no way out. Now come out where I can see you," the guy called out into the dark basement. He obviously didn't feel safe coming down.
Not sure that the guy wouldn't shoot him, Mitch stayed out of sight. "I'm right here. I'm ready to take you to get the paper that was inside the egg. But just me. You do anything rash and the deal is off," Mitch told him. With his hands up, he stepped from the darkness into the dim light that came from the open basement door.
"Where's that other one and your kid?" the guy wanted to know as he walked halfway down the steps and his eyes darted all around.
"You don't need to worry about them. I'll take you to the paper," Mitch told him.
The man pointed with his gun toward the back of the basement. "They're in there, aren't they?"
"If you want the paper, they stay where they are. I want my daughter away from that gun. She's scared enough already," Mitch told him.
The man eyed him suspiciously. "You just want to try and pull something.
"I'm not looking to die. I just want you gone," Mitch told him bluntly. It was the simple truth after all, but that meant nothing to this guy.
"Tell 'em to come out," the man insisted. He looked anxious and his skin had an unhealthy gleam. Mitch could see blood pooling over his right eye where he had whacked him with the cutting board, and he knew there was a good chance he was holding a grudge.
Mitch had thrown a kitchen chair at him too, but this guy wasn't easy to bring down. If he didn't get the better of him next time, Mitch wouldn't be getting out of this alive. That's why he was making damn sure to keep Sammy and Enrico out of it.
"No," Mitch stated firmly. "If you want what was inside the egg, you have to leave the two of them here."
Mr. West cackled hysterically. "You already tried to trick me once. You think I'm going to trust you? Big, tough guy, you thought you could beat a scrawny old guy like me, didn't you?"
He was definitely holding a grudge, but Mitch wanted him focused on what he was after. "I'm not going to try anything as long as my kid is safe. I have no use for that piece of paper. Those four sets of numbers by themselves are meaningless," Mitch said so he would know that he really did have the paper.
The man was still glancing toward the door at the back of the basement. "Sure, sure," he said absently. Then he yelled, "You in there! Come out or I'll..."
Mitch cut him off. "No!" He knew this guy was about to threaten to shoot him if they didn't come out, and he couldn't have that. "Leave my daughter out of this!"
The guy shook his head then grimaced from the pain the motion caused him. "I need her to make sure you behave. If you give me the paper, I'll be gone and no threat to your kid. Until then, she's the only insurance I have."
"You'll still have me," Mitch pointed out. "Do you think I want to die over a useless piece of paper and leave my kid alone in the world?"
Mr. West was blinking fast with one eye and seemed to be thinking it over.
"You keep the gun on me, and I'll lead you to where the paper is right now. We'll trade my life for the paper. Simple," Mitch said to nudge him in the right direction.
But Mitch knew it wasn't that simple. This guy would want to make sure they couldn't call the police on him as soon as he stepped foot outside the door. He had their phones, but he couldn't cut off every way they had of calling for help. Mitch didn't like thinking about how he might keep them from doing that.
For now Mitch just had to get him to take the deal even if it was a lie. After one last, intense look toward the back of the basement, West used his gun to motion for Mitch to come up.
"Don't try anything," West said and backed up as Mitch came up the basement stairs. When he reached the top, he got out of the way and kept the gun on Mitch.
"Where to now, big guy?" Mr. West asked when Mitch reached the top of the stairs.
"The hallway down there, second door on the left," Mitch told him.
"You thought I'd carry off that egg without cracking it open, didn't you?" he accused Mitch as he followed behind him with the gun aimed at his back.
But Mitch didn't. He hoped that opening the egg would be enough of a distraction and give him some kind of opportunity so he could get that gun away from West or at least get Sammy and Enrico out of harm's way. With the two of them safe for now, Mitch still needed to take care of West.
As they went down the hallway and then past the living room furniture he and Enrico had stacked there, Mitch tried to come up with a plan. Anything he might try was risky, but he didn't like his chances of staying alive once West got what he was after.
On reaching the second door, West made Mitch go in first then stopped in the doorway. "Good place to hide a piece of paper," West told him seeing that the room they were going into was the office.
