The Last to Break

The object

Jay smiled, then said, “Let me hear it.”

“It isn't an object; it is a person.”

Jay was genuinely surprised that Luca had figured out it was a person.

But even to Jay, it was still speculation. Nothing was definite yet.

“Give me your reasons.”

“I went through articles from the past month, trying to trace what valuable items had been stolen. There were many, but nothing valuable enough to be sold at a secret auction.

“Then I came across an article about a person who had disappeared. I traced every article about him. It seems he is the most valuable human being alive.”

“What makes him valuable?”

“He is an artist. He has a very rare blood type. He mixes his blood with paint to give it a colour that can never be copied. His paintings sell for millions.

“He made his first billion at the age of ten. He was always well protected.

“Then his parents died in a car accident. The investigation revealed that he was kidn*pped shortly after the funeral. Not even the police have any clues.”

“I’m impressed. Now tell me, who says the painter didn't decide to disappear from the limelight? Who says he was actually kidn*pped?”

“Because the painter enjoyed the limelight. Twice, he went against his parents' wishes and attended functions where he was almost kidn*pped. His parents found out and prevented it.”

“Are you one hundred per cent sure that he will be the ‘object’ at the auction? If so, explain.”

“Master, there is a photo of a group of people who attended the funeral. They are all part of the elite who normally attend the Dark Web auctions.

“In these photos, they are all looking at the painter, except for the head of the group. He is looking at a black SUV.

“More photos show him signalling to the van. I don't know how the police missed this. They are either asleep or paid off.”

Jay smiled.

“You really deserved that plate of food. Now, here is my plan.”

Jay and Luca discussed strategies for the next hour.

A knock on the door silenced them.

The Warden didn't wait for an answer and entered immediately after knocking.

Jay looked at Luca and said, “Remind me to lock the door next time.”

The Warden didn't think it was funny.

“What is the purpose of this child in your room?”

“Sit down, Warden. I will enlighten you.”

The Warden sat down and looked at Luca with narrowed eyes.

“I am planning to use Luca for the auction mission. He shows great potential. I trust him.”

“How are you going to use him?”

“Warden, that is my business. You never asked questions before. If you start now, you can go and acquire the object yourself.”

“You are getting out of line, Jay. Don't think you have a say here. You can easily be replaced.”

“Can I now?” Jay said with a smile. “Please, replace me. I am so tired of being your puppet. I could do with a break.”

The Warden got up and walked out.

He stopped at the door.

“Do what you need to. Just don't disappoint me.”

“Did I ever?”

When The Warden closed the door, Luca let out a deep breath.

“That was intense. Aren't you scared of him, Master?”

Jay sat back with his eyes closed.

After a while, he answered, “I don't think I was ever scared of anybody.”

“How is that possible? Many times when I get beaten, I am scared I'm going to die.”

“Maybe because I have never been scared of death, Luca. When you fear death, you fear people. Fearing people means they can manipulate you.”

Luca was quiet for a while.

When he looked at Jay again, the expression in his eyes had changed.

“Then I will not fear death any longer, either.”

“Don't change to be like someone else, Luca. Be true to yourself.”

“Time for you to go to bed. I will see if we can arrange to move you to this wing. You will be my wingman from now on. I will need you close.”

Luca said goodnight and left.

Jay stared at the door. He needed to speed up the process. Twelve days would pass in the blink of an eye.

Jay read through the other emails again and decided to answer two of them. Both with the same message.

"I'm interested. Name your fee."

Then he waited.

He decided to train for a while before going to bed.

Once in the training room, he found Azea already there.

"Care to train with me?"

"Sure, why not?" Azea said.

"Would you happen to know where Tam is?"

"Tam is probably where he always is. With some girl." Azea said with a smile.

Jay smiled too. "Let's begin."

They practised martial arts, boxing, and contact fighting. Then they moved to the indoor shooting range, which also allowed them to practise with bows and arrows and spears, among other weapons.

Close to midnight, Jay called it a night.

"We need to get some rest."

"Did you find out what object we are to retrieve?"

"Not yet, but I have an idea."

"Care to share?"

"Not yet, but I should have exact information within two days at the latest. I will call you and Tam."

They said goodnight, and each left for their own room. Jay had been given the luxurious room, while Tam and Azea had luxury rooms with some of the benefits excluded.

As soon as Jay entered his room, he locked the door and opened his laptop.

Two encrypted emails had arrived.

He sat down and opened them. Both were positive. The asking price was even lower than he had anticipated.

Jay prepared a contract with all the fine details and sent it to one of the encrypted email addresses. The second email address received the contract with an addendum.

"Accepted. See contract attached."

He sat back, his lips curving into a slight smile.

Things were happening according to plan.

Time passed quickly with practice, strategising, and planning.

Four days remained until the auction.

Tam, Azea, and Luca were sitting in Jay's room.

"I got word from The Warden this morning regarding the object we need to acquire. First, let me hear your strategies and plans."

Tam, always the one to question Jay, said, "You're supposed to be the big brain. Why don't you tell us?"

Before anyone could react, Jay was on his feet. He grabbed Tam by the throat and lifted him from the couch.

"It is time you stopped this childish attitude and became a man."

Tam stared at him, his feet barely touching the floor.

"We have been a team for sixteen years. You still don't get it. You will never be me."

Jay's grip tightened.

"If I have to do all the work, why would I even have you on the team?"

He released him, dropping Tam back onto the couch.

Tam turned pale and coughed, trying to get air back into his lungs. When he finally recovered from the coughing fit, everyone saw the hatred and anger in his eyes before he covered it with a smile.

"Yes, yes. I say we take what we want and get out of there."

"Exactly how do you plan to get in and take it without being caught, Tam? Get real," Jay said, irritation evident in his voice.

Then Jay informed them what the object was.

Tam and Azea were quiet for several minutes.

Tam broke the silence first.

"What the f@ck? How can we steal a person? Has The Warden lost his mind?"

Azea remained quiet for a moment before speaking.

"I had the normal strategy planned. Jay would hack into the system as always, control the surveillance and alarms, and cut the power. I would cause a distraction at a location close enough to the object, but far enough away for Tam to take it."

"My other strategy was something similar, but I would create a disturbance near the object. As soon as I had everybody's attention, Tam would create another disturbance. I would run to Tam, and everybody should follow me. Then Jay could acquire the object."

She paused.

"All of this should be done within one minute. That's the window before the emergency power kicks in. But now that the object is a human being, I'll have to rethink the plan."

Jay looked at both of them.

"Azea, your plan is almost one hundred per cent. I have a similar idea, with one small difference."