His mother was currently pregnant, and how could he start telling Lu Zi Zhen to take himself in for the other brother's freedom?
"They want the two of you! You have what they need, so please do something! Take yourselves there and surrender whatever they want." Gabriel held Lu Zi Zhen's shoulders vigorously, shaking them; Lu Zi Zhen hated being held on the shoulders; he suddenly snapped back, held Gabriel's hand, and pushed him backward.
Gabriel, who was caught off guard, stumbled back and knocked against the wall heavily. He was beaten earlier on and his situation hadn't gotten any better.
"Who do you think you are to order me around? Mnnnh? What have you done besides pacing around like a cockroach? I wouldn't think twice before sacrificing that fiance of yours for other's safety! Don't you dare me!" He heavily punched the table, infuriated.
"You! How dare you?" Gabriel was truly angered by his nonchalant attitude. That was his fiancé and the mother of his step-siblings.
"How dare? You don't give me instructions here Mr." He signaled for his men to come forward so that they could strategies on what to do. The location was already sent and they had a few minutes to work on their plan.
Gabriel's face darkened with fury, his chest heaving as he glared at Lu Zi Zhen almost running mad. "Say that again, I dare you..."
"I said what I said." Lu Zi Zhen's voice was low and sharp, a blade veiled in silk. He didn't care who he was, and no one was gonna challenge him. "If you're not ready to bleed for them, then don't stand here acting like a hero. We don't need dramatics, we need a plan."
Could he offer his pregnant mother on a silver platter? He actually didn't mind sacrificing the two of them so long as his mother didn't get hurt.
"Enough with you two!" Lu Ting Cheng's voice boomed, cutting through the rising tension like thunder seeing how ready they were to go down.
His eyes, cold and focused, didn't leave the flickering feed on the screen. "They are baiting us. Whoever's behind this knows our pressure points, and they've placed the blade exactly where it hurts most. They don't want money and we can't surrender what they want." Lu Ting Cheng wasn't that stupid. They needed a plan.
"We only have two hours," Lu Zhi Hao finally spoke, his voice calm but steely.
His presence was quiet, but his words carried the weight of an unspoken command. "If they wanted blood, they would have taken it already. We need to act fast."
Lu Zhi Hao paced in the background, his usually steady figure now trembling with barely contained rage. "They ate after what I treasure the most."
"We don't even know where this place is," muttered one of the analysts assisting Lu Ting Cheng and Lu Zi Zhen. "The signal's been bouncing through so many false nodes it's like they wanted us to see it but not trace it."
"Then stop whining and find a way, we need to act fast." Lu Ting Cheng snapped exasperated. "We need to get on everything. Satellite scans, signal triangulation, facial matches, floorplan cross-references. I want that location pinned down."
"I will go and surrender," Lu Zi Zhen said suddenly. It could be easy only if he got there.
Everyone turned to look at him surprised.
"What? We can't do that! Those are three people endangered! How certain are you that they would let the other two leave? It's not very likely." Lu Ting Cheng hadn't dealt with sociopaths but there was no guarantee that they would do an exchange safely.