A well placed kick to the temple? Grab the steering wheel? Open the door and jump?
These thoughts and others raced through Alex’s mind as they flew down the streets of London. He desperately wanted to get back to the café. If Tom was hurt, then it was his fault. After all, they had jumped through the window right next to the bomb. Even though the big guy—Butler—had pulled them into the kitchen, the plaster and cement and glass had landed on them.
But Alex didn’t attempt escape. He wasn’t willing to risk getting pumped full of holes by the giant’s Sig Sauer. Once was enough to last a lifetime. He would just have to wait it out and hope that an opportunity of escape would present itself.
He tried to flex his left hand, and winced. At least two bones were broken. And the boy in the backseat had smiled when he had reacted to pain. Why? Who was that boy? He was younger than Alex it seemed, yet employed this huge man as bodyguard, and was obviously smarter than the average teenager. Just his vocabulary was evidence enough of that.
Alex stared out the window, and he suddenly realized where they were: the Kingsway Hall Hotel. So this is where they were staying. They were only about three kilometers from M16 headquarters. If he could somehow get out of the hotel, he could get to the Royal and General building, tell Mrs. Jones about the bomb, and be safe while the professionals dealt with the problems. That is, if he could get out of the hotel. Getting past the giant bodyguard would be difficult, but not impossible, as Alex had learned from previous experience. Nothing was impossible, just highly improbable. (1)
Butler pulled into the line for valet parking and got out, handing the keys to the young man that had run up. Butler then went around to the passenger side, opened the boy’s door, and then let Alex out. Butler didn’t take any chances. He held on tightly to Alex’s wrist, making sure that there was absolutely no way Alex could bolt. They then went into the hotel.
Alex, who was extremely reluctant to enter the hotel, dug his heels into he ground and fought the whole way between the car and the entrance of the hotel. He knew that his efforts were pointless, but if he wanted to escape, he had to lower his captor’s guard first. Pulling and resisting weakly might hopefully make Butler think Alex’s capabilities as nothing more than that of a normal teenager’s.
Alex was sure he looked awful, with his clothes all dusty and ripped, but nobody gave him a second glance. He was with paying guests, rich ones too. Nobody would look at him. It wasn’t their business if their guests came back with somebody who looked as if he had dove headfirst into a vat of glass and flour.
Even in the elevator, Butler did not loosen his grip on Alex’s wrist; despite the fact that there was nowhere Alex could run. The circulation in his arm was pretty much cut off and Alex desperately hoped that his hand would not have to be amputated due to the lack of blood.
The trio finally reached the right floor and the doors of the elevator slid open. The room was on the 16th floor. Room 1604.
(1) A quote from “The Princess Bride”. I couldn’t resist.
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