Without You [Daniel Ricciardo]

6. make them think they ever stood a chance

Zoe's head felt heavy as she was slowly opening her eyes. She regretted it when the light of a single bulb hanging on the wire hurt her pupils. Her mind was too intoxicated to panic, but she felt the rush of adrenaline in her body, remembering the events before fainting as well as feeling those filthy hands on her shoulders. It seemed like a bad dream, until she realised she couldn't move neither her arms nor legs. Zoe looked down, seeing her limbs were bounded to the wooden chair she was sitting on. "Welcome back, Zoe". A weak scream escaped her throat as she didn't notice her kidnapper was sitting before her with his arms crossed over his chest. Sitting like that in front of him Zoe felt as if she was naked. She didn't want to give him satisfaction from intimidating her, so she looked antoher way, trying to figure out where he was keeping her. The place was huge, dirty and she could feel water under her feet. They might be somewhere in the harbor, in some abandoned warehouse, but there were thousand of them in New Olreans. Were they still in New Olreans at all? What if they left the country while she was sleeping? The image of Daniel waiting for her for hours in front of the theatre flashed through her mind. Million needles pierced through her heart at the thought how worried he propably is right now. "You're safe. Don't worry, it's just me and you". The voice of her kidnapper echoed within decayed walls. "Don't hurt me, please". She begged, ashamed of how pathetic she sounded. "If my goal was to hurt you, I would have done it already. Unfortunately, I need you".

She couldn't stop stare at the scar on his face, but she need to focus if she wanted to survive. "Look, I don't know anything useful. I'm just an ordinary dancer. You must have mistaken me for someone else". She continued, but it only made him smile. "You're the most adorable hostage I've ever had". A word hostage caught Zoe's attention. If she was his hostage, who was he trying to reach? She didn't know anyone who war rich or substantial. "Like it or not, I actually know you pretty well. You're Zoe Taylor, daughter of Jonah and Diane, orphaned in the age of six, raised by her bitchy grandmother. You didn't go to college like others from your high school. You stayed here in order to become a dancer. Kids bullied you in school, because their parents told them your family is weird. Do I need to continue?". Zoe's breath hitched, her head spinning from the amount of details he knew about her. "I told you I was watching you. I studied you and waited for a perfect moment to show up".

"But why me?". She questioned, clenching her hands into fists. She made an attempt to free herself from her shackles, but the rope was too strong. The man reached into the bag, lying next to his chair. At first Zoe thought he will pull a gun on her, but it was a simple box with movable little white plates and the lock at the front. "Do you know what this is?". The kidnapper asked without taking his eyes off the object. "No, I don't". She hoped he'll tell her anyway. If she was about to die because of something so stupid, she wanted to know. "It's called El Dorado. It means the golden one in Spanish. It contains a clue which can lead me towards unlimited power over people I honestly despise. Because of that thing, you became an orphan". He looked on her to see her reaction, but she just sat there waiting. "Let me tell you a story, honey. Once upon a time, four men from different parts of both Americas met in New York City to do business together. In the same time, this box was made by some ordinary carpenter, your ancestor Joel Taylor. The man who came from the North not only bought this box on the market, but brought the carpenter to meet others. The carpenter proved himself to be honest, decent and hard-working, so four men decided to trust him, while offering him a better earning. You see, the business they met for, turned out to be a major success. They made a lot of money and together they had even more, so instead taking it home they hid it somewhere only they knew for a rainy day. The coordinates of this place are inside this box, which they left in carpenter's house. It was passed from generation to generation, waiting for a day someone from the four men will show up for it". Romain put the box aside and his blue eyes looked back at Zoe. "Congratulations. You have it now. Can I go?". The story the man just told her didn't mean anything to her. She heard it for the first time in her life and for sure wasn't aware of who her ancestor where, although some people of New Olreans had obsession at this point. "I do have the box, but in order to open it I need a key. Both the lock and the key were made by the same carpenter for safety. You know where the key is, at least I think so. I wouldn't be having this conversation with you in the first place if your father was a wise man. I thought we reached an agreement when he attacked me". He didn't have to say anything more. Zoe figured out the rest. She was sitting face to face with the killer of her father. And what was the reason? A stupid wooden box. Her heart hammered in her chest, mostly out of anger than fear. "On the other hand, your mom didn't do anything wrong apart from seeing my face. She could send a message to someone and I couldn't allow myself to take such risk. She had to go along with your dad". Zoe gnawed on her lower lips as tears started to fill her eyes. She's not going to cry. Not now, not in front of that psycho. "All four crews have a specific set of rules you have to follow in order to be a part of the community, five most important included. Killing a person associated with the crews on neutral ground got me excommunicated. And that happened here, in New Olreans".