“I see we are going to play games.”
“I will give it to you when you release my sister. No games.”
“What about the rest of my money?”
Shane took a deep breath. “I will get it.”
“And how will you do that?”
“I don’t know. I’ll find a way.”
“I’m supposed to just let people steal from me? And if they get caught, allow them to continue living if they promise to repay me?”
“You’re a businessman, and this is a business transaction. I will pay you back everything I owe you, plus interest.”
“I wonder how you will do that when you are in jail? I don’t think your police officer friend is going to turn a blind eye to what you’ve done.”
“Do you want the gem or not?”
“That goes without saying. In a moment, a boat will pull into the harbor. Send the jewel with your deputy friend. When it is back in my possession, I will release your sister.”
I looked around for Vladimir or his thugs. He clearly had eyes on us.
Vladimir added, “You have 48 hours to come up with 12 million.”
“12 million!?”
“6 million plus interest. If you fail to deliver, I will kill you and your sister. Are we clear?”
“We’re clear.”
“Excellent!” Vladimir said. “If you think about running, I will find you. There is no place you can hide from me.”
Vladimir ended the call.
Shane looked at me. “He wants you to deliver the jewel.”
“I heard.”
“You don’t have to do this.”
“He’d be stupid to kill a cop.”
“You sure about that?” he asked, full of doubt.
“Let’s hope he’s smart enough to realize that would be a bad idea.”
Shane dug into his pocket and handed me the gem. I took it and slipped it into mine.
The howl of outboards filled the night as a boat approached—a black center console RHIB.
Jack radioed. “We’ve got company.”
“I see,” I replied over comms. I updated him on the plan.
“I think that’s a bad idea,” he cautioned in a wary voice.
“I’ve got this under control,” I said with confidence.
