Page 207 of Damián

“Tae! You’re not stabbing me with—wait, do I really have a deficiency?”

“Yes.”

“How bad?”

“Meh… medium bad.”

Mmm… I have been feeling like shit lately.

“Fine. Yes to the vitamins, but no to the passing out.”

Tae smiles, pulls his medic bag closer, and starts checking vials. “Is there anything else you are experiencing? Headaches, fatigue, heart palpitations, dizziness, or a lack of concentration?”

“…All of the above?”

He stares at me from head to toe, puts down the medicine vials, and takes a saline bag out of the kit.

Holy crap…

“Tae, stop it!” Björn groans. “This is an active kidnapping, not a VIP wellness clinic. You’re supposed to look intimidating.”

“He has a syringe, bror.” Leif laughs. “I’m pretty sure he’s the most intimidating one in here.”

“Please, he has a tiny syringe.”

With his free hand, Tae picks up the first syringe he had prepared, the one with the sedative meant to knock me out, and stabs it directly into Björn’s thigh.

Björn gasps, his blue eyes going wide, and Leif and Alexios burst out laughing.

“Should we catch him before he passes out?” I ask, concerned.

“It would take a rhinoceros tranquilizer to knock this one out,” Tae explains as he preps my arm for the IV. “With this dose, he will just be… slow.”

“I’m Björn Eriksson! I… am… ne–ver… slowww…” Björn slurs, and now I burst out laughing.

Oh, God… I needed this laugh almost as much as I needed the damn IV bag that Tae is about to hook me up to.

Ouch!

Tae removes the needle, tapes down the line, and uses a special hook to hang the bag from the grab handle between the ceiling light and the door.

“Are you comfortable?” Tae asks, and I nod. “Try not to move much because once we reach the destination, we will have to tie you down.”

“We brought zip-ties, but I felt the soft rope would chafe less.” Leif shows me a soft cotton rope. “Damián would be absolutely furious if we left marks on your wrists.”

“Aww, how thoughtful, but I’d prefer not to be kidnapped at all.”

“Yeah, sorry about that, but that is not an option.” Alexios keeps his eyes on the road. “You present a huge flight risk.”

I open my mouth to argue, but… I was literally planning my escape before I got taken.

“Too… bad! We… got… youuu.”

“Go back to sleep, Björn,” Leif sighs, gently pushing his brother’s head away from the door handle.

“So… where are you taking me, Alexios?”

“It’s a surprise.”