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We both laugh.This guy's charm may just work on Honey,I think before remembering the situation my family and I are actually in.
“Now go to them!” he commands.
“Okay!” I start to walk down the dock. I stop to look back, but he’s gone.
“Miss Yumiko, come on up here,” Artyom calls down, startling me. He is standing on the boat, motioning for me to hurry to him. I quickly make my way up the plank and step on board.
“Where is my family? Are they safe?” I ask urgently.
“They are safe, below. Your uncle is pain in ass though. We had to restrain him.”
“What? Take me to them right now!”
“I will. This way.”
I follow him past more men with rifles. I can see at least two here and two others at the other end of the boat, but I’m willing to bet they aren’t the only ones. We head down a short flight of stairs, and I wait for Artyom to unlock a door. I can hear muffled cursing on the other side that sounds like my uncle. The door opens, and I see Uncle Suki sitting on a chair with his hands behind his back.
“Untie me already!” Uncle is yelling at another armed man before he notices me and Artyom standing there.
“Mari? Thank God you are alright! I didn’t want to say anything in front of your dad or sister. I was trying not to imagine what that sick pervert was doing to you,” Uncle Suki says.
“Sick pervert?” Artyom questions Uncle.
“I’ve seen the girls you’ve been with in the Depths,” Uncle retorts.
“That’s because you were down there too. Once, with a girl in a school outfit smacking your behind with a yardstick. Now who’s the pervert?” Artyom says, turning my uncle’s face bright red. I didn’t need to know that about him.
“Stop it, both of you,” my dad cuts into their argument. “From what I’ve been told, neither of you ever patronized anyone who was not a willing participant, and that’s all that matters. Now shut up about it. I am not as sheltered from what goes on at Siren Studios as people think, and my daughters do not need to know about either of your extra-curricular activities.”
I go over to Dad and hug him. Then I lean down to hug Uncle Suki and give another hug to my sister sitting in a chair next to him. She has a blank expression on her face. She must be in shock. I feel terrible.
“Can you untie my uncle now, please?” I ask Artyom.
“I’d rather leave him like that and add a gag,” Artyom answers.
“Pervert!” Uncle Suki yells.
“Don’t flatter yourself!” Artyom yells back.
“Enough! Please untie him, Artyom. And you stop it, Maresuke,” my dad says in his ‘Dad’ voice, then looks at Honey and me. “We are all here together and safe. That’s what matters.”
“Safe? This gangster kidnapped us from our home, Yuuto,” Uncle objects as Artyom is untying him. Artyom does seem to have respect for my dad.
“We are better off here, Uncle,” I say. “Men were at our house with guns. They trashed it.”
“Oh my God! Are you alright?” Uncle Suki asks.
“Yes, one of Artyom's m-men,” the memory of the dead man makes me stutter a bit. “O-one of them killed the men w-waiting there for m-me.”
“Shit!” What do you intend to do with us, Arty?” Uncle Suki asks, still sounding angry.
“He asks a valid question, Artyom,” my dad adds in a calmer tone.
“You will remain here as my guests, under my protection, until things get sorted out,” Artyom answers.
“Guests!” Honey cries out, standing up and becoming animated. “Prisoners, you mean! Take us to the police! Let them sort this out!”
“I’m afraid can’t do that, Hanako,” Artyom answers, sounding apologetic or sarcastic. I’m not sure which. Honey sits back down, puts her head in her hands, and begins to sob.
