Chapter 587: This Is My Bottom Line
"Wendy!" both Michael and Zen shouted at the same time.
"Let go of her!" Michael raised the gun in his hand and pointed it towards Christian’s head.
Christian gave a laugh and pressed the knife deeper into Wendy’s neck. Wendy’s neck started to have blood streaking down her fair skin. The pain from the cut made Wendy whimper. Her cry made Michael feel anxious and devastated.
"Do you want to put it to the test, to see if your gun is faster than my knife?"
Christian said spitefully. "Oh right, there is one more being in Wendy’s womb. If you really want to test me, the price of it will be high."
Michael did not dare take the risk. He could not bear to see Wendy get hurt in any way.
"Christian, let go of Wendy. If you need a hostage, let it be me instead." Zen endured the pain and said, "I volunteer to swap places with her."
If it was not to save Zen, Wendy would not have run over to her aid and she would not be seized by Christian.
"If you were useful, I would not need to take Wendy as a hostage," said Christian.
"Don’t you love her? Christian, do you really want to hurt her?" Zen tried to convince Christian with reverse psychology. "Didn’t you say, if you love someone, you will be faithful to her?"
"Love? Love is for incompetent people like you guys! The extent of my love will be within my control. If I want to love her, I will love her wholeheartedly. But if I don’t need her, she is nothing to me!" Christian said arrogantly as he raised his head high.
"Perhaps you want to test my love for Wendy?"
If it was other people, they could take the risk that the perpetrator would not inflict harm on the person they loved. But the person in question was Christian. The possibilities were limitless with him. Hence, it would not be wise to take a gamble on this.
"What do you want exactly?" Michael took a deep breath to suppress his emotions.
"Let me go and I am taking the safe with me!" Christian negotiated.
"That’s not possible!" Evan’s voice came from outside the door. He had a gun in hand and it was pointed at Christian, once he stepped in and assessed the situation.
"Christian, you can’t escape from this. Stop trying to find ways to get away!" Evan said, "all your people have been detained. Even if you can run away now, there is no way for you to leave Lake City. I have alerted Interpol to lock down Lake City."
"Is that so?" Christian exerted more force on the hand with the knife against Wendy’s neck. He threatened, "then I will bring her along with me to hell. At least I won’t be lonely on the journey there. Would that count as us dying together? Since I can’t have her when I am alive, at least we will die together."
"Dream on!" said Wendy as she tolerated the pain from the cut.
"Even if it is a dream, it is with you!" The knife was covered with blood streaming down his hand and onto the floor.
"Don’t hurt Wendy!" Michael’s voice quivered in fear.
"As long as my request is fulfilled, I will naturally let her go." Christian retorted.
"Ok, anything you want," Michael said without missing a beat. "Just don’t hurt her further." As long as Wendy remained unharmed, he would agree to any conditions Christian had set.
"Michael!" Evan went up to Michael and said softly, "Don’t fall into his trap. We finally caught him with the evidence. If we let him go now, all our efforts would have gone to waste!"
"I don’t care anymore. I won’t exchange Wendy’s life for his arrest." Michael shook his head. "If he got away, we can still get him someday. But if anything is to happen to Wendy, I won’t be able to take the consequences."
...
"Have you both reached a conclusion yet?" Christian stared coldly at them as he said impatiently.
"I concur to your conditions," Michael repeated again.
"Mr. Boyle?" Michael shifted his gaze to Evan.
When Evan came up, he brought quite a number of people with him and Christian’s men were nowhere to be seen. He knew that his people were detained by Evan’s team. He had foreseen that it would happen. Putting Michael’s reinforcements and the Interpol team together, there was no way Christian could go on a head-on attack on their combined forces. Given his limited connections in Lake City, he would be outnumbered easily.
"I will not agree to it." Being the team lead at Interpol, Evan’s objective was to bring in criminals to justice. Both the perpetrator and the evidence were there. If they agreed to Christian’s conditions, their efforts would go down the drain.
"Then, that is too bad." Christian said it casually on purpose. "Anyway, I am not at the losing end. If Wendy dies, that’s two head counts accompanying me. Sounds like a pretty good deal to me."
Michael was afraid that Christian would really do as he said. Reluctantly, he shifted his gun point at Evan instead.
Evan was taken aback when Michael raised his gun at him. Stunned, he exclaimed, "What are you doing, Michael?"
"I’m sorry but I really have to save Wendy." Michael said sternly. "She is my wife and she is pregnant. I can’t witness her being killed right in front of me. Evan, you are from Interpol. Surely you won’t sacrifice lives just to make the arrest, right?"
"In this line, if it is inevitable, we will have to do what we need to do." Evan said impartially.
"But you can’t sacrifice Wendy for his arrest!"
"Interesting." Christian laughed wholeheartedly. "A team mate turned foe in a nick of time. Mr. Boyle, your judgement of collaboration partners seems bad."
"Shut your mouth!" Michael roared at Christian.
"Okay, I will keep my mouth shut. But I am only giving you three minutes for your final decision. I’m afraid I can’t give you more time than that. I may not have the strength to hold the knife for that long. My hand may just give way and accidentally slit something." Christian said sarcastically. Christian already knew for sure that Michael would save Wendy, so he was not worried at all.
"Evan, I am begging you." Michael looked at Evan with pleading eyes.
It was the first time Evan met Wendy and heard about her pregnancy. No husband would be able to withstand the sight of his pregnant wife being murdered in front of him, especially when Michael loved Wendy so much.
Besides, the number of people Michael had brought along with him was no less than the number of people from the Interpol team. If Michael was determined to save Wendy, Evan would not be able to stop him. It would only be to Christian’s benefit if both sides were onto one another instead.
"Okay. We can let him go, but he cannot bring the safe with him." Evan was willing to take a step back. "Christian, that is my bottom line."
"My request was to take the safe along with me. You are not even trying hard enough to fulfill my request," said Christian.
"Our team already has evidence of your drug dealings. All your drugs are seized by Interpol as well. You should know better, the amount of the drugs seized is enough for us to sentence you to death. There is no point for you to take the safe along."
Evan said, "You can consider our offer. If you are not agreeable, then you can forget about the negotiation."
Evan was determined not to renegotiate further. If Christian was not agreeable, they would deal with it the hard way.
...
"Michael, is that your intention too?" As Christian asked the question, he exerted more force on Wendy’s neck. He was threatening Michael.
"I..." Michael only said a word before Evan interrupted him. "There is no point in asking him. Locking down Lake City is a decision by Interpol. Even if he agrees to your conditions and I don’t, you still can’t leave Lake City.
You should know better. Both you and Michael are businessmen. Even if you are very well connected with a wide network, your network won’t be stronger than Interpol’s.
Currently, you are the topmost wanted man by Interpol, letting you get away is the most we can concede."
Evan paused for a while and continued, "Christian, there is no point for you to bring the safe with you anyway. In there, it is just evidence against your connections in Rheinsville City. You yourself are in a difficult situation now and you are still protecting your partners in crime? I don’t know if I should say that you are a faithful ’friend’ or that you are stupid. If you get caught today, do you think your partners will risk everything to save you?"
Christian’s ultimate motive was not to bring the safe away with him. He was clear that Evan was after the whole network of drug dealers. Dragging Clement down with him would be beneficial for Christian too. That way, they would be on the same boat and there would be no way out for Clement too.
"Wendy..." Michael had his gaze fixed on Wendy the whole time.
"Michael, do as Mr. Boyle says." Wendy looked at Michael, determined. She was actually quivering with fear. But she knew that they shouldn’t agree to all of Christian’s requests. Who knew if Christian would come up with more ridiculous ones?
Michael wanted to rebut but Wendy shook her head and reinforced her point, "go with Mr. Boyle’s approach."
"Thank you for your understanding, Mrs. Lucas." Evan bowed towards Wendy.
Because of her comment, she was putting herself at risk. The courage she had was commendable.
"Christian, you heard what she said," Evan said. "Now, make a choice."
"Fine, I can leave without the safe. But I want one of Michael’s legs broken!"
Christian said coldly. "He did not show any mercy to Clement previously. I will avenge on his behalf."
"No way!" Wendy was the first to oppose it. "Christian, don’t go overboard with your requests! Agreeing to let you go is already the most we can give you. You have been testing our patience for long enough. Aren’t you afraid that things will crumble eventually? I don’t think you are serious about wanting to die together with me, right?
"I am not asking for your opinion. It is directed at Michael." Christian snapped.
"Ok, I’ll do as you say." Michael did not take long to consider his options at all.
"Michael, you cannot agree to this." Wendy shook her head vigorously while looking at Michael.
By then, Evan’s team found the safe. Wendy and Zen could not move the safe earlier, but the team had guns that were used to break the chain.
"Mr. Boyle..." One of his men carried the safe over to Evan. "There is a passcode needed. Otherwise, it cannot be opened."
"Passcode?" Evan turned to Christian. "What is the code?"
"Mr. Boyle, you are asking too much. Do you think I will tell you the passcode?"
Christian said arrogantly. "Since you don’t allow me to bring the safe with me, then figure out the code yourself. In the great Interpol, surely someone would be able to open the safe right?"
Evan frowned at his comment. Christian was hinting that the safe would not be easy to crack open.
