America achieves both fame and fortune

Chapter 518 Kidnapping

After dinner, Martin, Nolan, Emma Thomas, and Modric went upstairs together.

"When you go to Casablanca, you must visit my home," Modica extended a very warm invitation. "Give me the opportunity to host you."

Martin smiled and said, "Professor, you're too kind."

Nolan said, "We'll have to wait until I come to Morocco to film there next time."

Modica offered a very sincere suggestion: "When you leave Morocco, you can transfer through Casablanca."

Nolan politely declined.

Modikai got off the elevator first.

Martin and the Nolan couple's rooms are on the floor above.

Back in his room, Bruce opened his bag, took out the gift Professor Mordechai had given him, and handed it to Martin.

Martin opened it and took a look; it was a piece of old coral, a specialty of Morocco.

Bruce said, "It's beautiful."

Martin handed it back to him: "Keep it safe."

He went to take a shower, and when he came out, his phone rang. It was Thomas calling right on time.

Thomas has essentially finalized the adaptation of "The Martian".

With experience from "Gone Girl," Davis Studios will recommend the novel to Random House for publication and then adapt it into a film.

Martin hung up the phone and said, "Those guys in the FBI are really good people."

Bruce asked, "Is that novel good?"

Martin pulled out the manuscript and handed it to him: "Read it carefully."

Bruce didn't even bother to answer: "Just kill me."

Martin scoffed: "A complete academic failure!"

…………

An ordinary van drove up to the dimly lit area of ​​the hotel, and several women got into the van one after another.

The unremarkable-looking female assistant stood on the carriage, a hotel floor plan pasted on the smooth metal wall.

Giselle and three others got into the car.

The female assistant asked Gisele in French, "Is it arranged?"

Gisele nodded: "I'll go up in half an hour."

The female assistant took out a lipstick and handed it to her: "There are sleeping pills inside. They will take effect quickly after you take them, and you will be able to sleep soundly all night without waking up easily."

Giselle checked the lipstick and made sure there was no problem.

Another woman pulled out a large rolling suitcase from the side.

The female assistant said, "Once you're done on your end, we'll pretend to be guests on the same floor and go up with our suitcases."

Giselle checked the suitcase: "Modika is rather thin and small, this should fit him, but I need help moving him."

A person without consciousness is too heavy to fit inside, even with some training.

The female assistant said, "I and the others will go up and help you."

She stood before the hotel floor plan and pointed to a spot: "This is a freight elevator in the hotel. It's basically unused from 11 PM to 5 AM. We'll use this elevator to retreat, exiting through the side rear door where the goods are unloaded. Once we're in the truck, we'll head east immediately. Ouarzazate isn't far from Algeria; someone will be there to meet us at the border."

The women remembered it well.

The female assistant concluded by saying, "I'd like to remind you again that all communication must be in French. In case of any unforeseen circumstances, we are acting as French citizens!"

"Understood." Giselle replied, put away her lipstick, and after confirming that everything was normal outside the car, she got out, turned onto the main road, and entered the hotel.

She carried her bag and went to the guest elevator lobby. After waiting for a short while, an elevator came down.

Menez, dressed in black, stepped out of the elevator and immediately spotted Giselle, greeting her with a smile, "Good evening."

Giselle remained calm and smiled. "Want to go out?"

Menez grinned, revealing two rows of white teeth: "The air in the hotel is stuffy, let's go for a walk."

Seeing the elevator doors about to close, Gisele quickly pressed a button and pointed inside, saying, "I'm going up."

Menez quickly stepped aside from the doorway and said, "Goodbye."

Gisele entered the elevator.

As Menez walked out, he couldn't help but sigh inwardly at Professor Mordechai's lack of foresight.

Wouldn't it be better for a professor to find someone closer to his age? What's so great about someone so young?

Menez came out of the hotel, checked his watch, and found that it was still early. Emma Thomas couldn't come out at this time, so he wandered around aimlessly, found his earphones, plugged them into his phone, turned on the music, and started learning French.

This is also preparation for a role where she will be working with Isabelle Huppert.

Although Menez reached a level that most actors would find difficult to achieve through his persuasive skills and Martin's recommendation, he also saw Martin's hard-working side and gave his all when preparing.

Time always seems to fly when you're focused on doing something.

After an unknown amount of time, Menez heard his phone ring. He looked at the caller ID, answered it quickly, but didn't speak immediately.

Emma Thomas's voice came through the receiver: "Chris and I have something to do, we'll be out later. Find a secluded spot first, I'll come find you later."

She specifically instructed, "Don't go too far, just stay near the hotel."

Menezes replied, "No problem."

The call was quickly disconnected.

Menne put away his headphones and looked around. The quietest place nearby was undoubtedly the side and back of the hotel.

There are trees over there, and the streetlights are practically nonexistent. No one will go there later in the day, and it's close to a five-star hotel, so there's no need to worry about security. If anything happens, just shout for the hotel security to hear you.

Menne walked in that direction and found a truck near the back door.

Because he was thinking about his goddess Emma Thomas, Menez instinctively stopped when he saw the car and stood behind a tree to see if anyone was inside.

If there are people around, we can go somewhere else; if there's no one around, the back of the car seems like a good option.

It can block the view without ruining the ambiance of the outdoors.

…………

In the hotel suite, Gisele went to the bathroom to take a shower. At first, she could hear Mordecai making occasional noises. When she came out wrapped in a towel after her shower, Mordecai was already asleep, slumped on the sofa.

She quickly changed her clothes and went over to pat Mordecai on the shoulder: "Professor! Professor!"

Mordecai was snoring and showed no reaction.

Giselle nudged him again to make sure he wouldn't wake up, then took her phone out of her bag and dialed a number.

After the phone rang three times, she hung up.

Giselle went to the door and looked out through the peephole; the corridor was very quiet.

She hid behind one side of the door, waiting for the people who would come to meet her.

Inside the van, the female assistant put away her phone, opened the partition window, and gently tapped it.

The female driver nodded slightly.

The female assistant gestured for the other two to get out of the car. One of them got out, looked around, and saw that it was pitch black and there was nothing unusual. He said in French, "It's normal, hurry up."

The female assistant handed her a large suitcase and, seeing that she was about to drag it, quickly reminded her, "Be careful of the wheels. Don't drag it on this bad road. Even if Mordecai is thin, he's still a man. If the wheels break, it will be very inconvenient to drag him and will arouse suspicion."

The man picked up his suitcase.

The female assistant and another person got out of the car, closed the trunk door, and walked along the road toward the hotel's main entrance.

The three of them quickly passed by a tree.

Standing behind the tree, the man in black, Mene, remained motionless. Having gone through many things with Martin, he possessed basic mental fortitude.

His natural advantages also make him harder to spot in the dark.

The three women walked further and further away.

Menne, who had been holding her breath, took several deep breaths and waited until they turned the corner before quietly taking out her phone and following them.

All of their conversation in French reached Mr. Menez's ears.

Is something going wrong on set? He's the second male lead!

Martin is the male lead in the film, Emma Thomas is the producer, and Menez is a conscientious person who can't stand by and watch the film crew really get into trouble.

Moreover, he recognized the woman leading the group; she was clearly a female assistant from the film crew.

The target is Professor Mordechai? This reminded Menne of something: Giselle, who had hooked up with the professor, would sometimes whisper to this female assistant.

Mene had a guess. When he arrived at the hotel entrance, he saw three women walk through the lobby and enter the elevator.

He was an actor after all, and imitating Old Brooks, he entered the hotel unhurriedly, as if he knew nothing, and walked towards the elevator with his hands in his pockets.

As I moved to the vicinity of the elevator entrance, I saw the suitcase being dragged inside at the very end.

Menez waited a few seconds, then strode inside and patiently waited in front of the elevator.

The elevator showed that it was going up and stopped on the floor where Professor Mordecai and the British actors were staying.

Mene immediately entered another elevator, went to Martin's floor, ran to Martin's room, and knocked on the door.

Bruce opened the door and saw Mene. Curious, he asked, "Weren't you on a date?"

Menez rushed into the room and closed the door: "Old Bu, boss, something's happened."

In just a few words, he recounted what had just happened and his guesses.

"Why would they kidnap the professor?" Mene couldn't understand.

Martin picked up his phone: "Let's go find the director and producer first and see what they have to say."

Menez asked, "Aren't we going over there?"

Bruce patted him on the shoulder from behind: "Are you rushing over there to get shot? This is Africa."

As Martin was leaving, he suddenly remembered Nolan's words: the professor was going to Tehran for an academic exchange.

Is there a connection between them? North Africa and the Middle East are geographically close, and their relationship is complex.

As Martin pondered, he knocked on Nolan's door.

Nolan was surprised: "Is something wrong?"

Martin went in first, waved, and Menez and Bruce followed.

As Nolan closed the door, Menez repeated it.

Emma Thomas glanced at Menez, puzzled: "Why?"

Nolan shook his head. "I'm not quite sure." He tried his best to remain calm, and lacking experience in handling similar incidents, he asked Martin, "You've experienced more similar situations than I have. What do you think we should do?"

With time running out, Martin said, "My personal thought is that if we let them take the professor away, we could be in serious trouble. The production crew might be investigated by the Moroccan authorities for a long time."

He was very direct: "The film crew's bodyguards, as well as the security personnel provided by the Moroccan authorities, live on the two floors below. They are all armed. As long as we notify them, it won't be difficult to stop these women."

Nolan knew he was far inferior to Martin in this regard, and gestured for him to continue.

Martin understands Nolan; getting him to follow his lead is too easy: "We can record the whole thing, Chris. During filming, the director personally led a team to solve a kidnapping case..."

Nolan is no ordinary director; he immediately thought of the buzz this would generate and said, "That makes a lot of sense."

"This is a decision you and Emma need to make." Martin backed down, because Nolan had said that Modicay was going to Tehran for an academic exchange, and it seemed that he was quite good at building centrifuges.

As a director who perfectly combines ability and marketing, Nolan made the decision: "Let's do it this way."

He personally called to inform them.

(End of this chapter)