"I have called you twice, and you didn't pick up," a loud and hoarse voice spoke to Ben on the phone.
"Yeah, because I'm losing my mind. This is getting dangerous," Ben warned as he turned back to look at Max, who was hungrily eating the food placed before him.
He saw Max gulp down the water in his glass and look longingly at him, demanding through his eyes more water.
"You think I don't know that? We can't release them now. It's dangerous. Unless you're suggesting…" the other voice said as he played with his beard.
The man, whose face could not be seen, was sitting in an office and had worn black from head to toe. On his desk, there was a family photo of the Lees.
"I don't like this feeling..." Ben said as he handed Max another glass of water.
"We can't release them unless we're releasing their bodies," the other man casually said as he got up to remove a bottle of wine that was stashed in his cabinet.
"Listen, I'm not suggesting anything, and I'm not getting my hands dirty for you. This isn't what I signed up for. We have to release them," Ben said as he paced up and down the room.
His heart was pumping fast, and he could already picture himself being thrown into a police car and rotting in jail as his 'boss' stood by watching.
"Have you lost your mind? What will I have achieved then? Plus, their case has become so sensational that if we release them now, we will be in deep trouble. Don't forget that they have seen you. It won't be long before the cops come hunting down for you, and just like that," the voice on the other end of the call thundered as he snapped his fingers. "You'll be gone."
"You'll get your revenge some other time. This is the wrong time. Haven't you heard of high-profile people being involved in the case? Max's phone was tracked, and our fingerprints are all over that place," Ben went on ranting, and the other person broke into a loud fit of laughter.
"Your fingerprints," he said, and Ben groaned in frustration.
"I know. Thank you for the reminder. I have a record. I can also be deported!" Ben shouted sarcastically, and the other voice warned, "Keep them! I will take care of the fingerprints for you."
With that, he disconnected the phone, leaving Ben infuriated. He pulled the stool to the center of the room where Max was finishing his food.
"What do you want?" Max groaned and wheezed in pain. "I have told you to let my son go. You can kill me if you want."
"Just you shut the f*ck up!" Ben thundered as he pointed a gun at Max.
"I know you don't want to do it," Max said in a polite voice. "Why are you doing this? Is it for the money? Who are you working for? Why is he after us?"
"How many times should I tell you to keep quiet? Do you want me to blow your mind and take it to your son?"
"Okay. I'm sorry, okay? Where is Travis? I just need to talk to him, please," Max said in a low and defeated tone.
He was worried sick about his son, just like he knew Victoria and Steph were worried about Travis and him.
The irony, he knew, was that Steph and Victoria would assume the two were together.
"I'll pass," Ben answered curtly.
"How did you find me? What did Victoria do? I know I promised not to ask any questions, but I'm losing it. I just want to know. Will you go after my daughter too? If that's the case, why didn't you just bomb our house and kill all of us at once? Why go through all these troubles?"
"This is what I do. How could I not find you?" Ben answered in disgust, as if Max's question was so obvious and didn't even deserve an answer.
He then looked at the time on his watch and shook his head. The expression on his face changed to pure compassion, and he looked at Max and said, "I will allow you to see him only if you promise me one thing."
Max looked up eagerly.
"I need money, and I need to be sure you won't say a word about me to the cops," Ben said.
Max shook his head.
Was Ben planning to release them?
"How much are we talking about?" Max asked after a long silence, and Ben stared long at him, an act that made Max uncomfortable, but what had he said wrong?
He was more than willing to buy his and his son's freedom.
Which father wouldn't do that?