Paintshark by Kingsley Pilgrim Read Free Book Online Page B

been sorted out at the school earlier today, but you were showing off in front of your students so now your stubbornness left us no choice, we didn’t want to do this.” Mr Tidy whispered into his colleague’s ear, and Apollo continued, “Ok, so we did want to come here this evening and do this.” Apollo jumped in once more. “It’s our job to know everything or we’d wouldn’t be very good at it and if that was the case our employer would hire somebody less expensive and less handsome.”
    Elias tried to stand up, but then fell back down and his whole body trembled. “Please, I have to keep my school open, for the students…you don’t understand–”
    “I think you misunderstood me,” said Apollo. ‘We’re not playing games here, either you come with us to ‘Big Man’ and give him your school or we go to your daughter’s friend’s house and take her.”
    Elias leapt from the floor and tried to attack the intruders. “DON’T YOU TOUCH HER, YOU BASTARDS!” Apollo easily pushed him to one side and told him, “The choice is yours, who stays, who goes…you decide.” He turned to his accomplice. “That sounded quite good, I may use that line again?” Mr Tidy agreed. “Catchy it is, back to business, your daughter or your school?”
    Elias rose again. “You won’t take my school.”
    “Fair enough, we’ll take your daughter instead; one of them will come with us…by force if necessary.”
    “You’re sick in the head.”
    “I get that a lot now…choose,” Apollo huffed.
    “What kind of men are you, for God’s sake?”
    “We’re businessmen, no more no less; your time is running out by the way.”
    “I’m not leaving her,” Elias swore at his captors.
    Apollo gave a worldly grin. “Don’t worry…we’ll take good care of…Gemma.”
    “BASTARDS!” Elias sprang to his feet. “I’LL KILLYOU!” This time he anticipated Mr Tidy’s attack and neatly ducked from his swinging right hand, Apollo took a step back but even he couldn’t dodge the strike from Elias’s hand.
    “Ok.” Apollo rubbed his chin and wriggled it. “Ok, expected that, father defending his daughter, fair play, but this changes nothing.”
    “If you so much harm one hair on her head…I will kill you.”
    “I don’t respond to empty threats, my friend,” Elias hissed back.
    “Good, because I don’t make them.”
    Apollo looked at his watch. He nodded to Mr Tidy, who then hoisted up Elias to his feet. Elias had to think fast. “I’ll pay you.” It worked, but again Apollo was expecting it. “I’d wondered how long it would take you to throw cash in to the equation, it won’t work I’m afraid, my employer wants you and only you.”
    Elias knew this was his only chance. “I can get money; I can get lots of money and pay you, more than you’ll ever need in a lifetime.”
    Apollo wasn’t impressed. “I very much doubt that, so you’re trying to tell me that you, a school teacher have more cash stashed aside than Big Man?”
    “That’s what I’m saying, look I’ve done nothing wrong but this ‘Big Man’ doesn’t care about that, he just wants to take my school.”
    Apollo was clearly losing his patience. “As I mentioned earlier we are on a time limit here, so it’s obvious you will not give up your daughter so I’m afraid your school is your only option.”
    Elias was stalling for time, trying to think of a suitable time and plan of escape. “What’s he going to do to me?”
    “I don’t care what he does to you, so long as I get paid.” Mr Tidy cleared his throat making Apollo correct himself. “I mean ‘we’ get paid.”
    Time was starting to run out for Elias. “Tell Big Man you couldn’t find me, tell him you searched all over and there was no sign of me.”
    Apollo scratched behind his ear and then rubbed it gently before continuing. “If that was the case then we wouldn’t be any good at our jobs and be out of work, no work means no food, no food means a strong possibility