The Missing Stella
Handsome Rob's casual, highly perceptive words completely startled the deeply absent-minded Charlie Croker. Standing on the sun-baked asphalt of the basketball court, Charlie genuinely didn't expect his observant old friend to actually see straight through his heavily guarded desire to actively pursue the beautiful Stella Bridger.
After a grueling year and a half of relentlessly tracking down Steve's fortified hiding place across the globe.
The absolute primary reason he had taken the immediate initiative to contact Stella upon returning to Los Angeles wasn't strictly professional.
An incredibly important, underlying reason was that Charlie desperately wanted to take the golden opportunity to actively salvage the terrible, heavily tainted impression he had firmly left in Stella's heart.
After all, her brilliant father, Old John Bridger, A little over a year ago, it was precisely because of Charlie's persistent, personal invitation to join the crew, That the legendary lock-master had died a violent death at the cold hands of the traitor Steve during what was supposed to be the final, flawless heist before his permanent retirement.
The crushing weight of that massive guilt had violently haunted Charlie's nightmares ever since.
Charlie knew perfectly well that to successfully get the stubborn Stella to ever forgive him for that disastrous outcome, He absolutely had to personally help Stella successfully achieve her righteous revenge.
He was fundamentally unwilling to cross the lethal line and kill someone, and Charlie also knew intimately that despite her blinding anger, Stella could absolutely never bring herself to pull the trigger and execute a man in cold blood.
Therefore, his highly intelligent mind had thought of a truly great, flawless idea. That tactical idea was to formally bring Stella into the criminal fold and together, aggressively snatch back the staggering ton of gold bars that Steve had violently stolen from them in the snowy Alps.
He wanted to ruthlessly let Steve, who had violently betrayed his loyal former partners and even shot and killed a respected companion purely for the gold, completely lose the massive fortune he cared about the absolute most in the entire world!.
In Charlie's calculated view, there was absolutely no punishment more profoundly torturous and mentally devastating for a greedy man like Steve than this.
Yet, standing on the court as the evening shadows lengthened, Charlie genuinely didn't know exactly what was wrong with him today; ever since waking up early in the morning, his chest had been gripped by a heavy, suffocating feeling of dark palpitations.
Combined directly with the highly concerning fact that he absolutely hadn't been able to contact Stella all day long.
The deep unease and blinding irritability in Charlie's racing heart grew even stronger and vastly more impossible to ignore.
They had actually agreed to meet securely today to thoroughly discuss choosing the perfect, tactical opportunity to tentatively enter Steve's luxury villa.
They were actively preparing to meticulously scout the internal layout of Steve's fortified estate one last time before the massive operation, desperately needing to see if there were any hidden, heavily armed guards.
Even if at all possible, Charlie had highly wanted to determine exactly where Steve had hidden the massive Worthington safes deep inside the sprawling villa. This critical scouting mission was meant to save them a massive amount of crucial time during the actual operation.
Strictly to pursue Stella smoothly, Charlie had once seriously, deeply investigated her daily habits. He was absolutely certain that Stella was definitely not the type of highly professional woman who would ever break a scheduled appointment without warning.
But now she absolutely hadn't arrived at their secure meeting spot, and there hadn't even been a single shred of news or a quick message from her all day.
Could she be tied up at the shop? Charlie thought, desperately trying to rationalize the terrifying silence. He assumed she might be incredibly busy with something urgent, and since she hadn't actively contacted him, it was highly likely she had been hit with a sudden, massive [Lockpicking] request from the local police or a federal bank.
Furthermore, he logically knew Stella had always harbored some deep, undeniable resentment toward him for indirectly causing her beloved father's violent death. Even though they had formally exchanged secure contact information, Stella had absolutely not once taken the personal initiative to call Charlie directly.
So, he had been painfully holding back his deep affection and absolutely hadn't contacted her actively until right now. He had desperately wanted to wait patiently until the massive operation was a flawless success and Stella had finally resolved her heavy inner conflict and grief... Before Charlie confidently planned to start his romantic pursuit of her.
As a direct, terrifying result of this patience, seeing that the sprawling city was already turning dark, Charlie still absolutely hadn't received a single call from Stella. He hadn't even received a brief, automated email informing him that she couldn't make the meeting!.
For a tense moment, Charlie couldn't help but feel a bit deeply discouraged. But vastly more than that heavy disappointment was a blinding worry and an indescribable, suffocating agitation twisting his stomach.
Could something terrible have violently happened to Stella....
He was so completely consumed by this dark thought that he couldn't even be bothered to verbally answer his old friend Rob standing right beside him, his anxious eyes looking strictly down at the silent phone trembling in his hand.
After hesitating for a tense, agonizing moment, Charlie finally made a firm decision and dialed the commercial number for Stella's Bridger Locksmith Company first.
Handsome Rob casually raised a thick eyebrow and didn't say anything beside him. He was an undisputed playboy, so his highly experienced mind naturally understood exactly what kind of deep, romantic thoughts an older man nearly forty could have toward a young, stunningly beautiful blonde beauty. His old friend Charlie openly liking the cold Stella absolutely couldn't be hidden from Rob's sharp, perceptive eyes.
Although Rob logically felt there was absolutely no romantic chance between his rugged, older friend Charlie and the fiercely cold-natured Stella, Watching a dramatic show unfold was simply basic human instinct!. What if it actually miraculously worked out in the end!.
Rob genuinely didn't mind watching a good, entertaining show, especially a complex romance drama brewing between an old friend and the beautiful daughter of another deceased old friend.
Beep, beep!
After a series of hollow, busy tones echoed from the speaker, a cheerful, automated recording played loudly.
"Hello, this is Bridger Locksmith Company," the robotic voice chimed in the quiet evening air. "If you have an urgent request, please contact us strictly during normal business hours. If you would like to securely make an appointment in advance, please leave your detailed contact information, and we will absolutely get back to you as soon as possible."
Rob was leaning in incredibly close to his friend, so his sharp ears naturally heard the automated recording perfectly from the other end of the line.
Immediately, Rob smirked and said mockingly, "Hey, are you a complete, inexperienced virgin who's never smoothly dealt with women before? Look at exactly what time it is! Why don't you just aggressively call her personal cell phone?".
The deep unease and blinding irritability in Charlie's racing heart intensified massively, so he continued to completely ignore Rob's playful jabs. But he made up his anxious mind and immediately dialed Stella's secure mobile number.
What Charlie absolutely didn't know as he listened to the phone ring was that at this very, terrifying moment, deep inside Steve's heavily guarded luxury villa, Stella Bridger was sitting rigidly at an opulent dining table directly with Steve.
However, Steve was currently eating a lavish, expensive dinner with a twisted, highly triumphant smile on his face.
While the stunning Stella, sitting completely trapped across from him at the absolute other end of the long mahogany table, had her slender hands tied violently behind her back, and her body and legs were also aggressively secured to the heavy wooden chair with thick, unforgiving ropes.
A coarse linen napkin was stuffed violently into her mouth; her soft red lips, which should have been incredibly inviting and beautiful, were now somewhat cracked and pale, highly likely due to severe, agonizing dehydration.
Ever since she was suddenly, violently kidnapped off the street after leaving her quiet apartment in the early morning, and the ruthless men had even aggressively brandished lethal weapons, Stella could only obediently let herself be taken away to avoid being shot on the asphalt.
As it turned out, the absolute moment the armed kidnappers brought Stella to the heavy iron gates of Steve's luxury villa ,which her meticulous scouting had already made her somewhat familiar with ,and especially seeing Steve himself arrogantly leading a group of heavily armed people out to welcome her with her hands bound, Stella immediately, terrifyingly realized that Charlie's meticulous plan had highly likely been completely exposed.
Sure enough, over the agonizing, grueling course of the following day, Steve had been aggressively trying to pry Stella's gagged mouth open to violently find out from her exactly how Charlie and his elite team had miraculously broken into his fortified villa under the heavy cover of night. And exactly how they had flawlessly taken away his two multi-ton safes while only exposing one single person on the security cameras.
Facing Steve's completely unhinged interrogation, Stella was naturally dazed; it would be vastly more accurate to say her highly intelligent mind was completely, utterly bewildered.
During these past few quiet days, she had actively spent most of her time securely with Charlie. Stella naturally knew perfectly well that although Charlie and the others were meticulously planning to violently take back the massive ton of gold bars that Steve had kept for himself, The massive plan was absolutely still in the basic preparation stage; they absolutely hadn't started the actual physical operation yet.
As a direct, terrifying result, Steve now not only seemed to have completely discovered their secret plan. But he had even violently captured Stella and was aggressively confronting her, demanding to know exactly how Charlie and the others had successfully stolen his mountain of gold.
For a long, agonizing while, Stella's racing mind was a complete, chaotic mess. She had absolutely no logical idea exactly what Steve was screaming about; the absolute only thing her sharp brain could think of was that the treacherous Steve was either completely, clinically crazy, Or some other unknown group of phantom thieves had miraculously stolen that massive batch of gold directly from Steve's heavily defended villa before Charlie and his team could even make their move.
After thoroughly enjoying his lavish, expensive dinner, Steve seemed to just then slowly remember the bound Stella sitting across from him.
He held a crisp white napkin in one hand, casually wiping the rich sauce from his mouth. He walked aggressively over to Stella's side and, standing directly under her furious, blue-eyed gaze that seemed entirely capable of spitting literal fire, violently snatched away the thick napkin he had brutally stuffed into her mouth hours earlier.
"...Miss Bridger," Steve sneered, his voice dripping with venomous arrogance. "I wonder if, exactly after several grueling hours of cooling down, you've finally remembered absolutely anything useful now?".
Although Stella absolutely hadn't had a single drop of clean water all day, facing her beloved father's ruthless killer exactly like this, she immediately continued to aggressively curse him out the absolute moment the suffocating napkin was violently removed: "Bah! You absolutely shameless, pathetic scoundrel!".
"To think my brilliant father treated you all exactly like his absolute best disciples and closest friends!" she yelled, her throat raw but her spirit completely unbroken.
"But you, this shameless, greedy scoundrel, violently betrayed his deep trust for money!".
"I absolutely do not know exactly what insane garbage you're talking about regarding your vaults!" Stella spat fiercely.
"Anyway, you've already murdered John in cold blood, so you might exactly as well pull your gun and kill me too!".