Raven and his crew did not suspect a thing.
Only Clara was sneering, âIdiots, sheâs broke as a joke, and youâre falling for it? If you had any brains, youâd be tearing Ivy a new one right now, snapping some juicy pics, and selling them to the tabloids for a quick buck, hahahaâ¦â
Ivy remained cool as a cucumber. âIgnore her. Try the card ending in â84, see if thereâs any cash left on it.â
With Ivy appearing totally unruffled, Raven and the others decided to give it a shot.
Balfour arrived before the cops.
The thunderous noise of the helicopter was bound to alert the thugs holed up in the derelict building.
âMr. Howard, weâre ready to land.â
Eventually, they opted for a clearing a couple of blocks away. Even though it was almost a kilometer from the unfinished building, it was the best they could do under the circumstances.
Balfour grunted, his gaze icy as frost. âThe number of kidnappers is unclear; Iâll go in first.â
âBoss! You canât go aloneâ¦â Quinton protested.
Hearing that Mr. Howard was risking his neck, the cops wanted to intervene.
âBoss, you said it yourself. We donât know how many there are. Charging in blind could spook them, making the rescue even more difficult!â
Quinton reasoned, knowing the boss was acting out of desperation.
âMr. Howard, the helicopter has landed. The backup will be here in two minutes. Please, stay cool and wait to move with us!â Balfour clenched his fists. Waiting another two minutes while Ivy was in danger, not knowing her condition or if she was already harmed, was driving him to the edge of reason.
To avoid tipping off the kidnappers and to ensure a successful bust, Balfour forced himself to stay collected.
He and a few officers took cover near the entrance of the unfinished building, eyes glued to any movement by the stairwell.
One second, two secondsâ¦
In the silence, he could only hear his own heartbeat.
Meanwhile, upstairs, the thugsâ faces were turning darker than burnt toast.
Card after card they tried, all showing insufficient funds!
Raven ground his teeth and approached Ivy. Then, out of nowhere, he yanked her hair, tilting her head back sharply.
âOuch!â Ivy cried out, eyes shut tight to hide the fear within, âWhat are you doing? Thereâs one card left, isnât there? Try them all, then do whatever you want with me!â
Blondie was also on edge. This woman had claimed to be loaded, yet after five cards, they had not found a dime!
Raven relaxed his grip, âYou better pray your sugar daddy filled up that last card, or elseâ¦.
You couldnât bear to watch what we did to Clara, but soon itâll be your turn. I bet plenty would be interested in some private snaps of Ivy, the big star.â
Ravenâs hand caressed Ivyâs cheek. Her skin was indeed smooth and fairâ¦
Ivy frowned, enduring the discomfort, âTry the last card, then weâll talk.â
Outside, the operation was gearing up.
Three oâclock position, ready.â
âSix oâclock position, ready.â.
âNine oâclock position, ready.â
âFront and center, ready; Balfourâs cool, firm voice came through the earpiece.
âFront and three oâclock, move in; the other two teams stand by.â