I'd known you would be here, I would have stuck around to greet you properly."
"Let me talk to Dale." Natalie stepped closer to the desk.
"No snide comeback? Please, Ariadne, that's the thing I liked most about you. That quick wit and your devil may care attitude. Have you given any thought to how you're going to get my money? You have less than twenty-four hours now. Even taking the easy route of stealing you're going to have to hustle to get that much money."
"I'm getting your money now. I won't need the full twenty-four hours."
"Really."
"I'm not going to let you hold Dale for an entire day, damn it. I'm getting the money together now and I want to end this as soon as possible. Let me talk to Dale."
"That's not possible. We moved her to a safer location. Looks like we did it just in time, too. You'd better not be playing games, Ariadne. I am deadly serious about what I'll do to her if you cross us again. You won't find any of us in a very forgiving mood."
Ari was staring at Natalie across her desk. "Cut the scare tactics and tell me where to meet you."
"You want to end this tonight, fine. Do you know where the NEST Landfill is?"
Ari typed it onto her laptop. "I'll find it."
"Be there at two tomorrow morning. That should give you enough time to accrue the rest of your money. We'll make the exchange there. Come alone, come unarmed."
Ari looked at the clock. She had six hours. "That shouldn't be too difficult. I want proof of life before I hand over any money."
"Of course. This is just business, after all."
"Right." Ari hung up and resisted the urge to hurl the phone at the wall.
Natalie finally found her voice. "Tell me what's going on."
"They have Dale. They want half a million dollars for her. I'm willing to hand it over." She did a search and found the landfill in Northeast Seattle. Then she did a second search, looking for a name. When she found it, she copied down the information and folded the paper. She slipped it into her pocket and looked at Natalie. "The nitrous. If you want to just turn your back, I can break in and take it myself."
"No. How much..." She shook her head. "I only have a couple thousand in saving. A few hundred more in my checking account. Let me try to--"
"I'm not paying them," Ari said.
Natalie blinked at her. "They'll kill Dale."
"That's not what they threatened..."
"What, then? Maim? Torture? Rape? If they want money, then let's go get it..."
"We're meeting them at two in the morning. You know any banks that have really lax security? No? Then they're not getting their half mil."
Natalie blocked Ari when she tried to leave. She grabbed Ari's arm and squeezed. "You're toying with her life."
"Never. If I walk into that landfill with five hundred grand, I'm not leaving in one piece. I'll wind up in the trunk of some car, and Dale's body will be buried right next to mine. I'm not the one playing games. They want me running around thinking about this money. I'd be an idiot to take them at their word. Right now, Dale has until the deadline. I plan to use every second coming up with a strategy to get the upper hand."
"And you just cut your planning time in half."
"I cut down the time Dale will have to spend in whatever hellhole they've shoved her into. Get your hand off of me."
Natalie let her go.
"Look at me, Dr. Regan. Do you honestly thing I'll walk out of there without Dale? Either we both survive tonight, or I die along with her. And I would really, really like a tank of nitrous oxide to help level the playing field a little bit."
Natalie reached into the pocket of her sweater and pressed a key into Ari's palm. "In the back supply room. The big blue tanks. Be careful. It's heavy."
"Thank you." Ari turned and began gathering the things she'd taken from Sadie's house.
"If she gets hurt, I'm going to come find you to make you pay."
Ari sighed. "If she gets hurt, you won't have the chance."
#
Ari got the nitrous from Natalie's office and carefully loaded them into the backseat of her car. She found an all-night ATM and took out two hundred dollars, then repeated the withdrawal at different machines. When she had a few thousand dollars, she started hitting bars. She exchanged twenties for singles