Evelyn Lance watched all the drama unfold and chuckled. She had sat back and let her husband do what he wanted, but it seemed he did not have the stomach to do what needed to be done, so she had contacted a professional, furnished him with information and paid him half the agreed amount. Joker was a professional assassin, and was always beckoned upon whenever the Lance family needed to 'take out the thrash'.
He had done a very important job for the family many, many years ago. Peter did not like his wife's style. He preferred to only call Joker when it was absolutely necessary, but that 'when' was where he and his wife had diverging opinions. She felt Joker and his team should always be introduced whenever they encountered a stumbling block. Peter believed murder was to be the last resort and that other methods like blackmail, bribe and subtle coercion should be employed first. But even then he had to admit that Joker was good at his job. He always made murders look like accidents, and he never made a mistake, except for that incident twenty years ago where he had...… never mind. It was all in the past now.
She picked up her phone and called Joker. He picked after the second ring. "Is it done?"
A very coarse voice mumbled a reply. "No boss, we cannot find him. We have searched everywhere."
Evelyn Lance suddenly changed her posture and dropped her glass of orange juice. "What does 'we can't find him mean'? He was here less than thirty minutes ago."
Joker replied. "I am as surprised as you are. We left immediately you called us, but we have not been able to find him anywhere."
Evelyn began to think. "Hmmmm, keep searching. I think he has run away, and he may have plans to come to secretly take my daughter away too. Go to his house and bring my daughter here, if she resists, take her by force. I want her here in the next thirty minutes."
Joker muttered his reply. "Yes boss." Click.
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Peter had suddenly realized that his house was quite big. He was already tired from the sprinting, and he made a mental note to return to the gym. "Taylor! Taylor!! Where are you?"
Taylor looked amused to see his dad sprinting. It was a rare sight, and under different circumstances, it would have been fun to watch. His dad had one heck of a stomach!
"Taylor, John is missing!"
Taylor looked amused. "So? Why ask me?"
Peter Lance let out a sigh. "Do not play games with me Taylor. Your sister has just threatened to kill herself if anything happens to John. I have a plan to get what we want, and it involves kidnapping him."
Taylor had a sly grin on his face. "If your plan involves John getting kidnapped, then why are you worried that he has been kidnapped? At least it keeps us from getting our hands dirty."
Peter felt like strangling his son. "I want him kidnapped so we can threaten Sarah into signing the divorce papers so John's life can be spared."
Taylor chuckled. "But there are no divorce papers."
Peter was visibly exasperated. "Not yet you dimwit. We need to find John, and that is why I came to you. Where is he?"
Taylor replied matter-of-factly. "I don't know. I have not seen him since he left here this morning."
Peter looked at his son menacingly. "Do not play jokes with me Taylor. Where is he?"
Evelyn Lance cut in from upstairs. "Missing, Joker and the guys can't find him, so I have instructed them to bring Sarah here. I believe he ran away and may come back to elope with Sarah secretly."
Peter sometimes felt like he married the wrong woman, and this was one of those times. "Wait, Joker? Which Joker? The Joker? Why for God's sake did you involve Joker?"
Now Taylor was the one who was confused. He asked no one in particular. "Who is Joker?" He looked at his father, and then at his mother but was greeted with empty faces which meant they did not plan on telling him who Joker was. It was not a big deal anyway, he would be meeting this Joker soon.
"Well guys, I think a family reunion is nigh. Mom, do you still have some of that orange juice?"
Sarah was in a pensive mood. She could swear she had called John well over fifty times, and each time his phone was unresponsive. She had to do something, but she did not know what to do. She grew more anxious by the minute, but she eventually decided it would not do her, John or her baby any good to worry excessively. Despite her dislike for her father and his ways, he had seemed genuinely surprised that John was missing, which means he had nothing to do with John's disappearance. Just then, she heard a knock on the door.
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"Are you crazy? I asked you to bring him gently, and you hit him on the head. You could have killed him you idiot! I see you even tied him. That is the Master you dimwit!"
John was awakened by loud insults. At first he could not see anything, but his eyes adjusted to the darkness, and he could make out the figure of two men. The shorter, plump man seemed to be angry at the tall, muscular man. He could swear that was the guy that hit him. He looked around and saw figures of other men, all of whom were giants by his own estimate. They were all heavily built, and were extremely tall. He wondered if they had a family, maybe they would permit his last wishes. All he wanted was one phone call with Sarah, so he could tell her how much he loved her and say his goodbyes. He tried to turn, but the pain in his head made him let out a loud groan. Dammit! He had alerted his captors that he was awake. Oh well, the sooner the better.
The short man came to him, John could not tell for sure, but it seemed as though he was smiling. He must really enjoying killing people. Deep down he hoped the man would make him quick and not torture him. "How are you John West?"
John froze. Something about his voice sounded distinctly familiar, like he had heard it before, but he could not quite place it. "If you want to kill me, please make it quick. I would be very grateful if you could allow me make one phone call to my wife, so I can tell her how much I love her."
The short man chuckled. "Jude, put on the lights."
This Jude – another ridiculously muscular dude – groped around in the darkness for a while, and then flipped the switch. Immediately, he felt as though his eyes were on fire. He had to close them for a few seconds. Five seconds later, he squinted as his eyes tried to adjust to the light. When he could finally see clearly, he looked around. He was in a big building that was mostly empty, he guessed it was a large warehouse. He looked up at his assailant, and he found himself staring into the deep blue eyes that had haunted his dreams for years.