Chapter 25: Blood Money

Seeing Tova again surprised Arthur because he didn't expect to see Tova alive in Juan's house.

So, although Tova had been kidnapped twice, he had been rescued both times, making him quite lucky. Tova's mother was also lucky because neither she nor her son had to pay to be rescued.

As for the man asking for help, he was even luckier. Arthur thought of himself; if Captain and the others hadn't luckily rescued him, his body would probably have been dissolved by now.

The man spoke in Spanish, which Arthur understood, so he needed to translate for John.

"He's asking us to save him. He says he can give us a lot of money," Arthur translated.

John didn't react much at first, but upon hearing the last part, he immediately said, "Hmm, but our car can't accommodate him, and he's covered in blood."

The man immediately pleaded weakly, "I can drive myself. Please, save me, I'll give you money, a lot of money!"

After hearing Arthur and John's conversation, the man switched to English. John, without hesitation, asked, "How much money is 'a lot'?"

At this moment, Frank outside shouted angrily, "Are you two playing in the bathroom? Only two minutes left, hurry out and see if there's any cash!"

"Shut up!" John was furious, then shouted, "We've found the money. Focus on finding yours."

John then turned to the man again and asked, "Quick, how much money can you give us?"

"One million dollars, in cash!"

"Uh, wait a moment."

Arthur suddenly interrupted their conversation and whispered to the man on the ground, "Do you know Peter?"

"I..."

The man hesitated, and Arthur felt he didn't know whether to say yes or no, so the man's reaction confirmed Arthur's judgment.

"You're Peter's partner, right?"

As soon as Arthur asked this, the man stiffened, then quickly said, "No, I don't know him!"

It was now certain. Arthur immediately said, "We were sent by Peter to rescue you."

"I don't know anyone named Peter!"

The bathroom was pitch black, and the man was speaking into the darkness, unable to hide the expression on his face. But Arthur and John were wearing night vision goggles and could see everything.

Arthur saw John looking at him in surprise, so he shrugged and said, "Take Tova and his mother and leave. This guy is useless."

"I am Mait! I am Mait Davidson! Did Peter send you to save me? You're here to kill me on his behalf, aren't you?"

Mait was still puzzled, so he used affirmative words, but his tone was full of inquiry, indicating that he couldn't determine if he was saved or doomed.

Arthur quickly changed his tone and said, "We'll talk in the car. For now, we're going to find the cash. We'll take you away later."

After saying this, Arthur patted John on the shoulder and gestured to leave, but Mait immediately said, "There won't be much cash here. This was just Juan's temporary residence. Drug lords like to keep cash at home, but this isn't his home. Hey, are you there? Listen to me, hey, are you there?"

Mait kept shouting, but Arthur and John left the bathroom and headed straight for the room where Frank was.

Frank and Rubber had overturned the beds in the bedroom, rummaging through them. But it was obvious that there was either a pile of money under the sheets or just a bed and mattress.

"Go check the other rooms, quickly!" Frank ordered, clearly impatient. After all, finding money required haste.

Arthur grabbed Frank and whispered, "Captain, we found Peter's partner. He's alive. Tova and his mother are here too."

Frank was stunned for a moment, then said, "Alive? That's not Seta Group's style. Hmm, Peter's partner is alive, which means..."

Arthur whispered, "Your plan can be implemented smoothly, and there's money to be had."

"Ha ha, lucky us. What are you standing around for? Get our benefactor out first!"

Frank gave Arthur a push and said, "Let's go!"

Rubber, extremely irritated, said, "Damn it, where's their money? There has to be some cash, at least a little!"

"It's here, here!" John suddenly exclaimed excitedly, then immediately dejectedly added, "Damn, it's too little!"

John shouted, and Frank and Rubber ran over. They saw John holding cash in his hands, but it didn't look like a substantial amount, totaling less than a hundred thousand.

Frank sighed and said sharply, "Retreat! Take our benefactor, hurry, retreat!"

Arthur urged, "Take Tova with us!"

Frank glanced at Arthur and said, "The car can't fit him. Let them run themselves."

Arthur couldn't do anything as noble as sacrificing himself to save others, but as long as it didn't compromise safety, he was willing to help.

"Take them outside and let them drive themselves!"

As long as it didn't endanger them, just lending a hand was something Frank could accept. He immediately said, "I'll cover you. Get the hostage out, quickly!"

Frank went outside with his gun, while Arthur rushed into the bathroom. He took out a knife and cut all the bindings on Tova, then immediately went to cut the bindings on Tova's mother.

Tova had his mouth taped and his hands tied, just like his mother. After cutting the bindings, Tova remained motionless, but his mother immediately struggled to get up from the ground.

As for Mait, John had already picked him up and carried him out.

Arthur shouted, "There's one who can move. Rubber, go help Captain. I'll get them out."

If someone could move on their own, there was no need to carry them. Rubber could go outside to help Captain, but when Arthur tried to pick up Tova, he found that Tova was too heavy for him to lift.

As Arthur was thinking about dragging Tova out by his legs, he was surprised to see Tova's mother pick up Tova with ease.

Tova weighed at least seventy kilograms, and while his mother didn't look frail, she certainly wasn't muscular. She wasn't very tall either, and after being bound for so long, she still managed to lift Tova effortlessly.

Was it just a mother's determination, the power of maternal love?

Miracles were few, but what Arthur saw was definitely a miracle. Arthur was dumbfounded, watching a woman carry her fully grown son, stumbling in the darkness towards the exit.

With a thud, Tova's head hit the door frame, but he remained motionless. Tova's mother, however, made no sound, as if she were a headless fly, changing direction and continuing to walk.

"This way!"

Arthur grabbed Tova and continued in Spanish, "I'll carry him on my back, hold onto my arms, quickly."

The woman could only make faint murmurs with her mouth, so Arthur crouched down, grabbed Tova's drooping arm, placed it on his shoulder, and began to half-carry, half-drag him out.

Arthur didn't slow down much. When he reached the door, John had just stuffed Mait into his own car's back seat, while Rubber was pointing at a car with its door open, urging, "Let them drive this car away!"

Rubber was much stronger than Arthur. He grabbed Tova and threw him onto the back seat, then curled his legs and closed the door, saying, "The keys are in the car, and the door is open. Don't worry about them now, just go!"

Tova's mother still had a piece of tape over her mouth, so she couldn't speak. But after nodding frantically at Arthur, she immediately rushed to the driver's seat.

Arthur and Rubber ran to their car. As they ran, the woman behind Arthur said, "Take us to America. We'll only die here! Please."

Arthur couldn't do this, so he sighed softly without stopping and continued walking. But the woman quickly added, "I'll pay you five hundred thousand dollars!"

"She says she'll pay five hundred thousand dollars to take them to America."

Rubber paused and said, "Good, we have our toll. Let them follow us. If they get lost, it's not our fault."

Arthur turned back and said, "Follow us in the car!"

John had already started the car, Frank was sitting in the back, and Rubber had rushed into the passenger seat. Arthur could only sit in the back.

The car sped off, with a Mercedes-Benz sedan following closely behind. Tova's mother was a good driver, and the Mercedes S600 was much better than the Ford Edge they had rented.

Arthur looked at Mait, who was sitting between him and Frank.

Mait looked miserable, his hands were tied, his face was swollen, he was covered in blood, and he looked almost lifeless as if he could die at any moment.

"Man, you're lucky to survive all this."

Mait looked terrible, but Frank still said he was lucky. Mait smiled bitterly and said, "Yeah, I've always been lucky. Surviving this is just another stroke of luck."

Frank just smiled and didn't say anything. After a while, Mait couldn't help but ask, "If I'm not mistaken, you guys are from King's Defense, right? So how much did Peter pay you this time?"

Frank chuckled, "At least three million."

"At least three million, but if Peter can't come up with three million, then the price he offered is for you to kill me."

Mait's mind was clear. He sighed and said, "So if I offer four million, can I buy my life? Or... I see, you want me to bid against him, is that it?"