F
U T U R E B A R R I E R
( The
3rd Novel )
Secret Technology,
Unrequited Love, Absolute Vengeance
© January 2019 Written by David Wicker
Please do
not reprint without permission
CHAPTER 84 -
"Neither An Arm Nor A Leg"
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* * *
This chapter is Rated: TEEN
Dempsey grinned wide. Petrov noticed this and thought to himself that he believed the gargantuan man was looking forward to Antony having robbed them. That he was going to flatten him.
In only a few minutes they had arrived back to Antony's front door.
They all stepped out but Dempsey was the first to the front. He boomed on the door with his massive fist.
At first there wasn't any sound, then footsteps, then the door opened.
The look on Antony's face was as if police came knocking, but no, it was just his friend Pritchart and the other two.
"Yes ?" he asked innocently enough.
Petrov held a hand out for Pritchart to explain.
Pritchart spoke, "Do you remember the diamond Petrov gave you as payment for providing us shelter the other night ?"
Antony nodded, "Yes. And - did you want it back ?"
Pritchart shook his head, "No. We just want to - see it."
Antony reached for his shirt pocket but suddenly his brain screamed out an alarm. Jerking his hand back he shrugged, "I'm sorry, I don't have it with me. Let me go inside and get it."
Antony tried then to close the door but that's when Dempsey leaned out two fingers on the frame and it smacked open widely.
Pritchart narrowed his eyes on Antony, "It's not that we don't trust you - we just - well, maybe it's that after all."
"Won't you come in ?" Antony smirked to the giant. Dempsey grinned and once again his beard moved across his meaty face making a slight sound of stretching leather.
Dempsey had his eye directly on Antony as he tried to retreat.
Antony spoke, frightened, trying hard to hide his fear, "Now where oh where did I put that diamond ?"
But Petrov had enough. He motioned to Dempsey who grabbed Antony from the back and held his arms behind him.
"Hey, wait ! What is this !?" he asked both in fear and offense.
"Me teenks yoo heef dee-mund right heer !" and Petrov reached into Antony's shirt pocket to pull it out.
Antony spat with anger, "Fine. Take it back if it's that important. God, just take it and leave."
Dempsey loosened his grip slightly. Pritchart explained, "Not yet. We need to check something. It's very simple. If this diamond is fake, you have nothing to worry about. If it's real - then things can go very bad for you."
Antony Shrugged as well as Dempsey would let him. He then said, "So what ! You gave me a fake diamond ? Isn't that something that was your fault and not mine ?"
Pritchart explained further. "If this diamond is fake, then that's fine. The ones Petrov took from Arkos' treasury were all fake diamonds - and he gave you one - no problem."
Pritchart leaned closer with the jewel in hand, "But - if by chance this diamond is real, then that means you stole the ones I had as we slept and you replaced them with fakes."
Antony laughed, not very successfully, but he did manage to scoff, "I don't understand. Fake diamonds - real diamonds - what does that have to do with me ?"
Pritchart held the jewel up to the light. "Once we were in the barn about a quarter mile from here, Petrov took out the diamonds to examine and determined they were all fake."
Antony pondered this as Pritchart continued. "You see, if for some reason you had a real diamond, then the ones Petrov had BEFORE were REAL. But now they aren't - which means SOMEONE exchanged them for fakes, and YOU were the only one awake as we all napped."
"No doubt you drugged our food or something."
Antony jerked free of the loose hold Dempsey had on him. "This is preposterous ! What proof do you have that I could've possibly - "
But his voice was cut off as Petrov arrived with a small unlabeled plastic bottle. "Fund een keechan !"
"Food coloring." Antony said simply.
"Then you wouldn't mind sampling it ?" Pritchart asked.
Antony looked around. He was caught, plain and simple. He wasn't going to wait around for them to test the diamond and find it was real, nor allow himself to drink the very knockout drops he had earlier drugged their food with.
Instead he bolted as hard as he could for the door but Dempsey was ahead of him and unbeknownst to him had lifted and put his grandfather clock against the front door.
Antony in fear of his life hurriedly knocked down the beautiful timepiece where it broke in splinters of wood and glass, but he could not get past the debris to open the door and escape.
Dempsey, grinning from ear to ear, went back to Antony where he was trapped like a rat. He froze up as Dempsey gave him one solid clout on the head knocking him straight to the floor.
"Bdeeng heem heah !" Petrov from the living room asked Dempsey.
The giant grabbed one of Antony's leg and drug him straight over the broken glass and wood, where Antony groaned slightly but was still too dizzy from Dempsey's blow to stand.
"Hold heem !" Petrov demanded.
Dempsey didn't bother to pick him up but put one muscular foot up against Antony's crotch. Were he to step there, there would be little left to identify Antony as a male - and that was if he survived the massive blood loss.
Petrov took out a jeweler's loupe and examined the gem.
"Feek." he finally said.
Nobody was more surprised than Antony. "Wha - what !? That diamond was real, I know it was ..." His voice trailed off in obvious guilt of the crime.
* * *
Petrov smiled, "You ahr coddect. It is reel ahter ool. Was teesting yoo."
Dempsey leaned a mere more centimeter of his weight more against Antony causing him to gasp in pain. "Now ?" he rumbled.
Petrov waved his hand away. "Not yeet."
Then Pritchart spoke, "So where are the real diamonds. Where did you put them Antony ?"
No amount of money was worth losing was Dempsey was quite content to flatten. "Let me up." he asked.
Dempsey leaned forward to grab him from the back of his shirt and fling him up like a rag doll to shakily stand on his own two feet.
"Down in the cellar." Antony said. Now at this point he didn't know how much of his life he could get away with for being cooperative. But he DID want to not give these three thieves any more trouble. At least until he could get the other two away from Dempsey.
They all descended the stairs. The first stairs snapped as Dempsey attempted to follow from behind.
"Too heavy." Pritchart pointed and bid Dempsey stay upstairs which he did.
Antony smiled. This might be his chance. He reached for the aquarium and opening the little box of aquarium stones where he had put the real diamonds in, he lifted it and turned around, but somehow now had a pistol in his hand !
* * *
Curiously Pritchart did too, just as a precaution. And a good intuition at that ! Pritchart clicked back the safety. It was clear he would shoot long before Antony had the courage to. Especially since they now had the box of real diamonds - there was no longer a need for Antony - in any capacity.
"DAMN !" Antony said throwing down the pistol across to some folded mattresses.
Pritchart laughed slightly and pocketed his own weapon, replacing it with a very long and sharp knife.
"Bring them upstairs." he told Antony, the point of his knife in his back.
They climbed back up the stairs and Petrov sat to count them and authenticate that these were all diamonds and he had them all back again.
"Noon meesing. Eet iss goot heah."
Dempsey rumbled now. "You're a very lucky man. But I am going to leave you with a souvenir to remind you not to cross us - to cross ME - again in the future."
With that he grabbed Antony's arm who started to struggle and splutter in fear.
Dempsey mildly blinked his eyes and spoke, "I just want a finger as payment for your deception. Keep struggling and I'll take a hand ! Now which will it be ?"
Antony got still but looked away. He didn't want to see what was happening.
Dempsey expertly took his left hand and pulling out a razor-sharp and metallic cigarette cutter, put Antony's pinkie finger in it and neatly snipped it off. Antony's whole pink finger fell soundlessly to the floor.
Antony howled in pain and Dempsey let him go. Pritchart handed Antony a towel that was already packed with ice to put against it. Antony scrabbled on the floor to find his cut finger and was livid with rage, "Just - get out - GET OUT OF MY SIGHT !"
Dempsey scratched his beard and looked at Petrov, "All good ?"
Petrov was tying up the bag of real diamonds and placing it in his pocket and nodded back to Dempsey. "Goot heah."
Dempsey then started stepping to the front door. with one massive foot he moved it over the wooden floor smashing the remainder of the grandfather clock against the side of the wall knocking it down and causing a spray of insulation to filter out at ankle level. With the other hand he punched open the front door where it hung ajar on ragged hinges.
"We're leaving." he said simply.
This time they abandoned the truck and Pritchart hotwired Antony's own car and drove away.
Back inside Antony had thrown his dismembered finger into the freezer. His teeth were clenched in rage and pain, but he saw from the window that they took his car.
"I'll - fix - them." he said, his teeth chattering in near shock of what happened. And he struggled to lift up his telephone to make a 3-digit call.
END OF
CHAPTER 84
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