“Okay,” Bud gritted, “if these guys want some exercise, let’s give it to ‘em, Toml”
Bud swung hard at the apelike man and Tom greeted his partner with a left.
Both men countered like judoists, and after a violent struggle, subdued the boys.
Then Tom’s and Bud’s hands were tied behind them.
Tom glanced around desperately at Vaxilis’ four employees. “How stupid can you get!” he exploded. “Don’t you realize your boss is playing you all for fools?
He wants us out of the way to save his neck. If you help him, you’ll be putting your own necks in a noose!”
The two strong-arm men laughed sneeringly. The chauffeur’s face remained coldly masklike. Only the butler’s eyes betrayed a flicker of fear. Vaxilis gave Tom a hard backhand slap.
“That will be enough out of you!” To his
132 AQUATOMIC TRACKER
men the tycoon barked, “Get them out of here-fast!”
Tom and Bud were herded upstairs, then outside and into the back seat of the limousine. The two strong-arm men climbed in with them. Vaxilis and the chauffeur seated themselves in front. A moment later the butler came hurrying out of the villa, bringing the boys’ sport jackets.
PRISONERS 133
“Put those around their shoulders so it cannot be seen that their hands are tied,” Vaxilis ordered his henchmen. To Tom and Bud he added menacingly, “The slightest outcry will result in several inches of sharp steel between your ribs.”
The strong-arm men fingered thin, stilettolike knives. The time was now past midnight. They drove down the steep, winding roadway into 134 AQUATOMIC TRACKER
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