Test Drive Unlimited Chapter 18

This is an AI-assisted story using AuthorAI and ChatGPT

Chapter 18 — The Hook

The chain rattled each time Tim shifted his weight. A heavy steel hook was bolted into the center of the polished floor, its reflection glinting beneath the soft light spilling from the ceiling. The office around him was clean and sterile — white walls, glass partitions, a panoramic view of the hangar below. Beyond the window, a silver private jet waited on the tarmac, engines quiet for now but poised like a predator ready to strike.
Tim sat cross-legged on the floor, wrists bound together with a thick cuff tethered to the chain. He stared at the distant plane, jaw tight, running scenarios through his head. If he could get out of this room—if he could get to Allie—there might still be time.

The door opened with a creak.

Allie walked in first, her hand resting lightly on Jessie’s shoulder. The boy clutched a small toy car, his eyes flicking from his mother to the man on the floor. Behind them came Juliette, dressed in a black silk blouse and tailored slacks, her red hair cascading down. A faint scent of perfume followed her — expensive, cold. Kurt lumbered in last, his boots leaving scuffs on the polished tile.

Tim’s eyes narrowed. “You really had to chain me to the floor, Jules?”

Juliette’s red lips curved faintly. “Trust is a luxury in this family, Tim. And you’ve given us reasons to be cautious.”

He gave a dry laugh. “Cautious, huh? I call it paranoia.”

“Semantics,” she said coolly. She paced closer, heels ticking softly like a metronome. The reflection of the jet shimmered in the glass behind her.

“You should consider this… perspective. A man on his knees sees the world more truthfully than a man on his feet.”

Tim leaned forward just enough for the chain to stretch taut between his hands. “I could end this right now, you know.”

Juliette stopped an arm’s length away. For a moment, her eyes softened — just slightly — as though a flicker of the woman she used to be still lived beneath the ice. Then her gaze hardened again.

“I don’t think you will,” she said. “Not while your sister and her son are standing in the same room.”

Tim’s knuckles went white around the chain. She knew exactly which buttons to push.

Kurt snorted from the corner. “Aw, come on, boss. You sure he’s just muscle? Looks to me like he’s your favorite pet.”

Juliette turned, the calm mask cracking just enough for anger to slip through. “Get out.”

Kurt’s grin faltered. “I was just—”

“Assist the crew,” she snapped. “The VIPs will arrive in ten minutes. Make sure the press area is staged and the containers are loaded.”

He grumbled something under his breath and backed out, leaving the door to hiss shut behind him.

Silence settled over the room, heavy and humming. The faint whir of the hangar’s ventilation mixed with the distant clatter of machinery below.

Juliette’s composure returned, every movement precise as she brushed invisible dust from her sleeve.

“You see, Tim,” she said softly, “this operation is delicate. The world thinks the Viper Syndicate is a charity now. We feed nations, deliver supplies, heal the desperate. The media loves a story like that.” She smiled faintly. “It makes the shipments easier to move.”

Tim forced a grin. “You’re turning drug running into a PR stunt. That’s new.”

“It’s survival,” Juliette replied. “And you—” she crouched beside him, her voice low, almost tender—“you’re part of it. You’ll be flying with the shipment tonight. I want you there when we present to our benefactors.”

He didn’t look at her. “And what happens if I say no?”

She tilted her head. “You won’t.”

He wanted to spit in her face, but Allie’s hand tightening on Jessie’s shoulder froze him. When he finally looked at his sister, her expression gutted him — fear laced with a warning he couldn’t decode.

“Balloons!” Jessie squealed as a mass of balloons were brought out to the stage in the hanger.

“Balloons, yes, you got that right, little man,” Allie replied with a smile.

“That’s right, Jessie,” Juliette said as she stood up and spun around. “Mommy has to go and get ready for our guests. We’ll come back and release you, Tim. Project Arbok takes off in three hours.”

Juliette straightened her cuffs. “We’ll come back for you soon, Tim. Try to look the part when we do. The press likes pretty faces.”

She turned toward the door, motioning for Allie and Jessie to follow. Allie hesitated. “Jessie,” she said gently, “say goodbye to Uncle Tim.”
Jessie looked at the man on the floor, confused. “Bye, Uncle Tim.”

Tim forced a smile. “See you later, champ.”

Allie swallowed hard, her voice trembling. “Yes. Please see him later.”

It wasn’t the words themselves — it was the emphasis. Something about the way she said later. Her eyes caught his for the briefest moment, wide and deliberate. Later.

A message. A warning. Maybe even a promise.

Juliette didn’t notice. She was already halfway out the door, giving quiet instructions into a small earpiece. The automatic lock hissed behind them as the glass sealed, leaving Tim alone again.

He sat there in silence, the faint vibration of jet turbines beginning to stir through the floor. His mind replayed Allie’s words again and again. See him later. The look in her eyes — not resignation, but urgency. Fear wrapped in defiance.

Tim leaned back against the cold floor, exhaling slowly.

“Allie…” he muttered under his breath. “What have we gotten oursevles into?”

Outside, through the glass, he watched the crew wheel metal crates toward the waiting jet — each one marked with humanitarian logos that would fool any camera. He could see Juliette moving among them, a goddess of lies wrapped in silk, her hand resting lightly on Allie’s shoulder.
Jessie clung to her leg, small and silent.