Chapter 168 The Great Escape
Alexander fell silent.
Dietrich's meaning couldn't be more crystal clear.
Grace was currently aboard the Perseus.
If Alexander resorted to force, unless he was willing to blow the Perseus to smithereens along with Grace and everyone else on board, Dietrich's refusal to release her left him powerless.
Dietrich continued. "This ship's lower decks are packed with explosives. You think hiring Shadow mercenaries and bringing a few armed cruisers gives you leverage over me? So what if your vessels are loaded with cannons? Go ahead—fire away. Blow this ship and your beloved woman straight to the ocean floor."
Alexander remained silent.
Grace was his Achilles' heel.
As long as she remained in Dietrich's hands, Alexander couldn't make any rash moves.
Alexander's breathing grew heavy as he said slowly, "Dietrich, release her, and we can discuss any terms you want."
Dietrich replied, "So this woman truly means something to you. Otherwise, how could someone as arrogant as you be willing to sit down and negotiate with me? But tell me—did you bring adequate bargaining chips?"
Alexander asked, "What do you want?"
Dietrich said, "You know me—I only deal in money, nothing else matters. I'll send someone to escort you aboard. We'll sit down face-to-face and have a proper chat. But remember—you come alone. No additional personnel."
With that, he cut the satellite transmission.
Alexander's facial muscles twitched violently.
Jeremy said with concern, "Mr. Hayes, don't make any hasty decisions. Dietrich is cunning and ruthless. If you go alone, it's too dangerous!"
Alexander turned to Jeremy. "Right now, do we have any other options?"
Jeremy shook his head. "No."
Alexander said, "Then negotiating with him face-to-face is our only choice."
Whoever held Grace controlled the conversation.
Dietrich was shrewd—knowing Alexander had mobilized such massive resources, bringing over a dozen cruisers across the Atlantic, he understood exactly how much this woman meant to him. With such valuable leverage in his hands, his confidence only grew.
Alexander said, "Jeremy, don't worry for now. I know Dietrich's character—he values money over life. If I can meet his demands, he won't harm me."
Alexander had dealt with Dietrich before, even crossed paths in business.
Dietrich was Jewish, a financial shark in Western capital markets.
But capital markets were bloodless battlefields.
Dietrich had lost to Alexander once before, then vanished completely. Who would have thought he'd founded the Black Mass organization, transforming into a criminal empire's leader.
Essentially, criminal organizations were still businesses—they just dealt in dirty money.
Dietrich's love of wealth had never changed.
Soon, a group of black-clad men approached Alexander on deck. "Mr. Hayes, our leader requests your presence."
Alexander turned to his men. "Everyone else stays here on standby. If I'm not back in two hours, execute Plan B."
Plan B...
Jeremy nodded grimly.
Hopefully, he'd never need to implement Plan B.
…
On deck, chaos reigned.
Sporadic gunfire echoed through the night.
In the confusion, Grace and Lily had been separated.
Grace was forced to double back, but just as she rounded a corner, she spotted a group of fully armed men approaching from the opposite direction.
"There she is!"
Grace's face went pale. She spun around and ran, trying door handles as she passed. One finally turned—she slipped inside and locked it behind her.
A woman's scream pierced the air.
"Ah!"
Grace followed the sound.
She found herself in a bedroom.
A large bed dominated the space, where a man and woman lay naked beneath rumpled sheets. Upon seeing Grace, the blonde woman shrieked in panic.
The man appeared to be crew. Spotting Grace, he immediately rolled off the bed, reaching for a weapon hidden in the nightstand.
Grace was faster—she drew her gun and fired at his hand.
The shot went wide, shattering the bedside lamp.
The man jerked his hand back. Grace fired again, this time hitting his shoulder. He cried out, clutching his bleeding arm, suddenly transformed. "Don't... don't kill me!"
Grace commanded, "Get back on the bed!"
She kept the gun trained on him until he crawled back onto the mattress, then cautiously approached the nightstand. Using her foot, she kicked open the drawer and retrieved another pistol.
Grace threatened, "Don't scream, don't move, or I'll shoot!"
She didn't want to kill unnecessarily—not from mercy, but to avoid staining her hands.
But if they posed a threat, she wouldn't hesitate.
Grace noticed the room had a balcony that connected to several others.
She considered her options, keeping the gun aimed at the terrified couple as she backed toward the balcony.
Suddenly, her eyes fell on a clock built into the bedside lamp, its face displaying Roman numerals.
Roman numerals... I, II, III, IV, V, VI...
Her hand flew to the collar around her neck.
For a split second, she wondered why the decoder couldn't unlock her collar...
19...
19...
The numbers on her collar were in Western print. The "1" didn't have obvious directional indicators, and "6" and "9" could easily be confused when inverted.
Which meant...
The reason the decoder couldn't open her collar might be... she'd been reading it upside down.
Her collar number wasn't "19"—it was "61"...
The realization hit like lightning.
61!
Her number was 61!
Grace's pulse raced with excitement.
The decoder was with Lily.
She had to find it quickly and unlock her collar.
Grace stepped onto the balcony, climbing over the railing to leap to another room's balcony when she heard a familiar voice.
"Help... help me..."
Lily...
Grace peered down—the balcony overlooked the second-deck.
From this height, the jump was manageable.
Gritting her teeth, Grace leaped.
She landed steadily on the deck below, though her ankle twisted sharply, pain shooting up her leg like needles.
Grace rotated her ankle, testing it, then rose and followed Lily's cries.
Around the corridor corner, she found Lily being dragged by her hair by a fully armed crew member. Grace pursued them, aimed at the man's skull, and pulled the trigger.