The vast deck of Pacifica crowds with celebrities and businessmen alike and the atmosphere vibrates with tingling excitement as the cruise ship sails forward to the lone islet in the center of the Pacific Ocean, Isla de Centra. Every last week of October, Helterground Corporations celebrates its foundation and the company invites the upper class of New York to spend the week on the island. The long, spherical island consists of a six-story hotel, one Olympic-size pool just off the shore, and a huge clubhouse with the finest wines and cuisines in the world.
Or so Geline says.
Gray is far more thrilled with his murder plan, actually. If Lucy Woods thinks that she's going to have her revenge, she's mistaken. He is not finished with her, not until she learns her lesson.
"Are you sure it will work?" Jacob asks him.
"If everybody sticks to the plan, it will," Gray answers lightly but there's firmness under his tone. He sits back and rests his eyes on the dark outline of the island ahead.
Travis suddenly raises his hand hesitantly, face blank. "Uh… can somebody please tell me the plan again?"
Jacob rolls his eyes and snorts, and then he stands up and joins Travis near the white railing. "According to Geline, Lucy follows some ritual of sorts and takes a shower before the opening ceremonies. I don't know. Some Wiccan shit, I think. You know, like witchcraft. She's really the Black Witch. It's crazy, dude. Anyway, that's the only time she's most vulnerable so we launch the attack."
"How?" Travis asks again.
This time Gray breaks into a devilish grin, his eyes sparkling with anticipation. He dents his knuckles and takes a long, deep breath. "At sundown, we will go in and steal something important to her, so important it's going to cost her dignity."
Travis's blue eyes widen at this and he gasps. "You mean we're going to… rape her?"
"Why do you have to be such a bonehead?" Jacob yells and assaults him to the floor. Marcus shakes his head and turns away to the vast carpet of blue water around them. Gray allows himself another satisfied smile. His crew may be a little mental, but everything will work out perfectly, he could feel it.
His predator eyes scan the throng on the deck, but he couldn't find the Black Witch anywhere. Not since they boarded the ship, not since the early assembly. Is she dead? Did Mr. Woods forbid her to come? This dampens Gray's spirit a little because he's been sure to have fun in the island. And Lucy Woods would have been the perfect little play doll…
The horn resounds deeply within the ship and everyone hollers cheerfully when Isla de Centra appears in clear view. The high-rise building on the island stands magnanimously in the center, its mirrored walls glinting against the light. Several palm trees dot the white sand and the Olympic-size pool glimmers in the early glint of the morning light. As soon as the cruise ship reaches the harbor, the celebrities file out excitedly and scamper toward the hotel. Scare Crew stays behind patiently, like ghosts watching the human world.
Gray suppresses a grin when he catches glimpse of a tall flagpole in front of the hotel's porte-cochère. It bears a dark blue flag with a small four-pointed star embedded at the top left and a bold capital letter H printed at the center, both in white. Perfect. Just as Geline has informed him. Everything is exactly where he wants them to be and now all he needs is his victim—who seems to have no plans of showing up at all.
When the last of the passengers empty out of the Pacifica, the Scare Crew begins to move slowly with Gray in tow. No Lucy, no fun. After all the trouble they've gone through just to prepare this ultimate revenge and then she launches herself in a no-show drama? This is unacceptable.
Gray lifts his eyes to roam over the vast expanse of land ahead of him, feeling sulky all of a sudden. Show me that long cascade of black hair, he repeats over and over, desperately roving the crowd from corner to corner. And then his breath hitches in his throat. There, just at the edge of the pool, under one of the yellow parasols, sits Lucy Ferdelance Woods together with her spawns. She must have arrived here earlier than the lot of them. From the dock, Gray notices that Lucy looks… well, she looks normal. He is caught off guard at how carefree she laughs and how careless she flips her hair like she isn't evil at all.
Gradually, one of her friends seems to notice Gray observing them and she whispers something to Lucy. She stops laughing abruptly and turns to his direction. All kinds of expressions leave her face except hate.
Well, Gray thinks. So much for miracles. Lucy might look like an innocent angel but she's evil as hell. Game on.
***
The air is cool as twilight approaches the horizon. The entire island has come alive with loud music and neon lights and the open field is teeming with bodies swaying in time with the upbeat songs playing through the speakers. Moving stealthily through the crowd is a lone figure in black, hands deep in his front pockets, his intense brown eyes fixed on the flagpole exactly fifty feet ahead.
"Comm check," he says in a low tone and then the tiny earpiece in his left lobe designed as a magnetic earring gives off a muffled static.
"I hear you clearly," Jacob says. Travis and Marcus confirm this too and the figure, satisfied, sits on one of the metal stools casually. He glances at his G-shock wristwatch: quarter to six. Just about time for Lucy Woods to start her curious ritual.
The voice of Travis breaks the static after a minute of silence. "This is Hawk Eye. I see the raven approaching the nest. I repeat: raven is approaching the nest."
"Stand by, Hawk Eye. Padfoot, come in. What's your status?"
"Bloody hell. Do we always have to go with codenames? This is ridiculous," Marcus says coldly over the line. Gray sighs. Marcus doesn't really get the meaning of teamwork and he always goes on his own.
"Just give us the sit rep, Marcus," Travis snaps. "Let's enjoy these stolen FBI goods while my father's in France having some meeting with the Interpol guys."
"Lucy Woods is alone. Her friends are not with her. Suffice it to say that she's in her weakest now so you dickheads can go in after t minus five. Over and out."
"Man, what a bummer," Jacob comments when the line of Marcus goes dead. "Should I go in now, Alpha?"
"Not yet," Gray answers. "Wait until Hawk Eye confirms all is clear and then you can go on stealth mode. You have exactly thirty seconds to go in and out before Lucy realizes what just happened. After that, you have two minutes to get to me and give me the prize. Easy three-minute go-and-steal mission. You feelin' up to it, Panther?"
"You got it, Alpha. You're the brain, I'm the brawn. Let's celebrate over some chilled Château Pétrus later."
"Okay, enough chit-chat already, ladies. Lucy has turned the shower on and she'll be deaf to any suspicious sound until she turns it off. Put your thermal glasses on, Panther. You have precisely thirty seconds only. Killing the lights in three, two, one."
The whole island is plunged in absolute darkness and deafening silence as the power is cut without any warning. The people shriek in shock and fear and they try to find their way in the astounding blackness. Gray Langdon slowly rises from the stool and—having memorized his path—confidently strides forward while counting in his head.
One... Two... Three...
He reaches the flagpole exactly when the lights go back on. Sighs of relief were everywhere and the place resumes like nothing happened.
"I've got the prize in my hands!" Jacob's voice sounds a little too loud in the earpiece and Gray jumps slightly.
"Great job, Panther. Now be quick and bring it to the rendezvous point. I'm right here waiting." He begins to untie the rope around the steel pole quickly, bringing down the flag of Helterground. No one seems to care about this bizarre act and within two minutes, Jacob cuts through the throng toward him in full speed. He is wearing an all-black suit covering his face and body and the thermal glasses is swinging around his neck as he dashes in a hurry.
"Bloody menace. Lucifer has some acute senses and she almost caught me!" He hands the brown paper bag to Gray and retreats to the sea of bodies below them. Gray fishes out the things from the bag and he grins triumphantly. He ties them together using a thin thread, leaving a knot for the rope to be weaved through. At that moment, several from the crowd begin to notice what he's doing and they point to the items that replaced the company's flag. When they reach the top of the pole, Gray has everybody's attention.
"Hawk Eye, give me the signal once I'm connected to the island's speakers," Gray says, trying hard to conceal his smile.
"Okay. You're live. All of Isla de Centra will hear you."
Hello, revenge.
"Attention, Lucy Woods. Attention, Lucy Woods." Gray's voice sounds clear as bell through the speakers and it echoes beyond the crowd and across the island. "I am aware that your red Victoria's Secret underwear is lost and it's been fortunately found. I know you're currently taking a shower and probably in shock upon discovering that it's missing along with your towel. Although, in place of these accouterments of yours is a note and you'll find it conveniently slipped right through your cubicle's door."
There's a rising murmur through the crowd but Gray raises his right hand to shush them up.
"You have two choices, Luce. You can go out of the bathroom as you are right now and you can come get your underwear from the flagpole, or you can wait for your loyal friends to come rescue you—oh, by the way, they are safely locked up in the stock room and won't be released until nine o'clock."
"Is this for real?" someone shouts from the crowd.
Gray smirks and holds out his arms, his face a mask of innocence. "Who knows? If Lucy Woods chooses her first option, we might actually see her in her birthday suit. I'm certain all of the guys in this crowd want to see that, am I right?"
He is answered with a cheer and then he leans satisfactorily against the steel pole. Revenge is sweet, Luce.