"Ten trucks, some are empty, some have people, and some have the drugs and you want me to guess how many contain each of those things?" He repeated in a bored tone and for his men to hear what game the King had pulled them in.
"And your men can help you guess. But you can only have three tri-"
"How do I know you're not bullshitting me? I could guess right and you could trick me." His men nodded at this, there was no way they would trust the King.
"Ouch! I did say I come in peace, trust me a little, will you? Okay, maybe not at all", he chuckled. "Anyhow, I did say you only have three tries. Each time you fail, I will choose a truck to blow up, it could be any truck. And after completely failing, don't think about following the rest. If you know how I work, you should know there's absolutely nothing that can make me compromise my safety, nothing."
"And if I get it right?" He tested inciting a bewildered laugh from the young man! The sound was quite irritating to the older man.
"Can't take a joke but he can actually make one, I knew there was a reason I liked you. Good one", he continued to laugh.
"And if I pass?"
"Henry! You're killing me here!" He continued to laugh in good humor.
"And if I succeed?" He persisted through gritted teeth, annoyed by the lack of seriousness in the young man. Well, he hadn't exactly been serious since he hacked him.
He sighed as though all energy had been drained from his body. "Gosh! You were actually serious, alright! If you pass, you'll have it your way."
"Hm."
"Now! Tick tock Henry, Victoria is waiting for you. Two minutes for the first try. Tick tock!"
Henry removed the earpiece connecting him to the King and decided to have a discussion with his men.
"You heard the man, ten trucks: some empty, some with hostages, and some with the drugs. We need to guess how many are carrying what."
"Loaded trucks move slower than empty ones", one commented from another car.
"We don't know how many people there are, but knowing the goods are in small bottles, could humans be more heavy than the drugs?" Another mused.
"And the trucks are moving at the same speed, it would be hard to identify which is which."
Henry grunted in annoyance hearing his men's reasonings and let out a sharp breath. "I need a visual on the road we're on and what's up ahead. Everyone try to make ad good guesses as possible, there are lives on the line. And someone connect me to 'Ace'!"
"'Ace' can't really help us especially when they're off site", another reasoned.
"I said get he-him on the line!" He barked.
"But won't it alert the King if we try to secure a connection with 'Ace'? He did hack your line through our system?" He continued to reason.
Henry lowered his voice glared up ahead knowing his subordinate could not see him, sounding so menacing as he said, "Don't make me repeat myself."
Someone from a team in one of the cars got to work using their computer and began typing away, securing a connection with their 'Ace'. The others helped observe the trucks as the seconds ticked by. They had a spent a full minute discussing the problem at hand and Henry giving orders and now one more minute remained.
Henry, as the rest of his men, wondered what happened to the good old days where they would devise a plan and simply take down their enemies with good old guns and their combat skills. But now, they were forced to solve a riddle! A freaking riddle!
"Sir, the connection is secur-" The agent's voice echoed in Henry's earpiece only to be cut off by a deep voice speaking unhurriedly, sending a terrible chill down the men's spines. The older man knew who it was without a thought.
"You better have a good reason for doing this!"
Henry groaned mentally. He did not have the energy to deal with this henpecked husband also his son known as Zach. They had 25 seconds to go to give their answer.
"I need our Ace", He went straight to the point.
There was silence for three good seconds that felt like an eternity to him. Another deep voice but sounding more approachable than the first echoed in their ears and they visibly felt at ease.
"What do you need?" Amy answered.
"I've been had, through my earpiece", he explained.
"Got it!"
Henry could practically hear the smile in her tone. And the thing about the King knowing they had her on board, he could care less whether the man now knew they were working with Amy. Plus with her skills, he did not bother to worry. While he let her do her thing, Rider now connected to report.
"Give me some good news!" Henry's voice was full of urgency. Dealing with the King was taking a toll on him.
As the conversation with Rider progressed with him voicing his fears and the other men responding with theirs because of the situation they were thrown in, Henry was watching the seconds on his digital wrist watch tick by. He hooked his other earpiece back on and removed the other.
"Do you really have to do this?" His thoughts were on the lives that could be lost.
"Isn't this fun?" He chuckled, letting his short laugh die down and turned serious. "Time! I need an answer."
Who could even make such guesses? The man was looking for an excuse to blow things up! Yet if Henry does not give an answer, people might die! What does he do? He didn't even have enough time to properly observe the trucks to at least make a guess. He should say something! Anything!
The man was oblivious to how nervously he was clenching his fist. "Uh-"
Boom!
One truck down....
This content is taken from fr(e)ewebn(o)vel.𝓬𝓸𝓶