Freedom's Promise: Task Force 125 Page 12

  Sarah thought she saw recognition in his face but she wasn’t sure. Cold fear grabbed her.

  Oh, please recognize me, Vince. Please?

  She had one last hope. She bit her bottom lip, lifted her eyebrows, and gave him an evil grin.

  The Aussie kicked at her but she dodged his filthy, puke-covered boot.

  “You disgusting cunt! Look at my boots! Clean this up now!”

  Sarah nodded and gave a few extra coughs just for show as she scrambled from the room for towels.

  When she ran into the kitchen, Samara gasped. “What has he done to you?”

  Sarah rinsed her mouth quickly in the sink. “It wasn’t what he did, it was what he tried to do.”

  “But how did you…?”

  She spit a mouthful of water into the sink. “I threw up on him.”

  Samara gasped.

  “Don’t you worry, Samara.” Sarah whispered. “I’ll make that bastard pay for what he did to Bashira.”

  Samara covered her mouth in horror. “No. He will kill you.”

  Sarah rinsed her hands and wiped them with a clean towel. She turned to face the poor old woman who had no doubt seen and heard her daughter being abused by this monster and could do nothing but stand by helplessly. Pity for Bashira’s mother filled her heart.

  “Not before I kill him.”

  As Sarah picked up a large bowl to take downstairs, she noticed something crawling in the sand outside the kitchen door. She grabbed the towel and ran outside in time to scoop up a small, golden-colored scorpion. She scampered back inside, tossed it into the bowl and covered it with the towel, hoping she’d have a chance to use the little demon.

  It probably won’t kill him but a sting or two would be good for him.

  She smiled at Samara and made her way back downstairs.

  As she approached the open door of the interrogation room, she heard the Australian rattling off curse words as fast as he could.

  Sarah looked only at Vince as she hurried into the room.

  Yes, he knows it’s me. He knows!

  She knelt near the puddle of vomit to start wiping it up.

  The Australian had removed his boots and left them near the puddle, cursing at her between sips of water. “Get that shit off my boots, bitch. When I’m done with this guy, I’m gonna take care of you once and for all.”

  She kept her back to him while she worked quickly. Carefully, she grabbed the scorpion with the towel and dropped it into a boot before wiping them both clean.

  It would be worth the beating and if it came to it, she’d slice the fucker’s throat, plan be damned, and break Vince out right now.

  She carried the boots over to where the Australian sat drinking a glass of water, and knelt before him.

  He grinned and gave a self-satisfied laugh. “Now that’s more like it.” He lifted a foot for Sarah to put on his boot. “It’s about time you see who the master is here.”

  Sarah nodded dutifully, eyes down the whole time. She slipped the boot on the stinking foot he offered and laced it up. Then she loosened the laces of the other boot, while stealing a glance at Vince who seemed to be watching, spellbound.

  The Australian offered his other foot and Sarah slid the boot onto it, pulling the laces tight as quickly as possible to lock the desert demon inside.

  The Australian bellowed in pain as he kicked wildly from his seat. “What the fuck have you done! Did you put a razor blade in there?”

  Sarah backed up, out of kicking range while the man yanked at his boot, cursing the whole time.

  He flung the boot aside to reveal the little golden scorpion, still alive and hacking at the man’s foot for dear life.

  Sarah tried to appear shocked while glee bubbled up inside her.

  With every sting, the Australian screamed louder. Sweat formed on the Aussie’s face as Sarah saw the poison take effect. She knew a Middle Eastern scorpion this size wouldn’t kill a healthy adult, but it should make him good and sick.

  The Aussie started gasping for breath and holding his chest. He wheezed as though his airway was closing.

  Allah be praised. Anaphylactic shock! Who knew he’d be allergic to it?

  Sarah looked into his eyes and saw them dilate. He tried to stand but fell to the floor, slippery with Sarah’s breakfast, gripping his chest.

  Sarah rolled him over and looked into his eyes as a layer of fog formed over them. She spoke in English. “Somebody’s been waiting for you. Are you ready to answer for what you’ve done?”

  A tiny gasp of surprise escaped his lips before his body went limp and the breathing stopped.

  Sarah looked at the scorpion, still attacking the man’s now swollen foot.

  She grabbed the Aussie’s discarded boot and crushed the small arachnid. Then she calmly stood, closed the door of the room, and poured a glass of water. She took the water to Vince and held it for him to drink.

  His voice was rough and raspy when he spoke. “You’re a cruel bitch but I love you. What took you so long?”

  Sarah shook her head and smiled with the joy of knowing the experience hadn’t killed his sense of humor. “I couldn’t decide what to wear.”

  Vince started to laugh but winced and groaned from the pain of the newly broken rib.

  “Why has he been torturing you?”

  “Nikolai made me an offer, and I refused.” He fixed his swollen eyes on her. “You know you have to sell this now, right?”

  “Yeah, I know. Just drink a little more water first.”

  Vince guzzled the rest of the water. “When are you busting me out?”

  “Tonight, when the staff leaves.” She kissed him gently on the only part of his head that didn’t seem to be bumped or bruised. “I love you.”

  Sarah quietly opened the door to the room and looked down the hallway.

  Nobody there.

  She threw the glass to the floor and screamed in terror like she had never screamed before.

  Samara came running down the stairs, abaya flowing with the speed of her descent.

  Two men followed her.

  When the men saw the huge, strapping Aussie on the floor they raced to see what had happened. One of them looked for a pulse then shook his head at the second guy. He shrugged. “No big loss. He was a sick bastard anyway.”

  The second guy spoke to Samara as he pulled a phone from his pocket. “What happened?”

  Sarah acted hysterical and rattled off what had happened in Arabic. “Oh, Mama! Oh, mama! I was cleaning the floor and heard him fall. I tried to help him but there was nothing I could do. I couldn’t help him!” Sarah wailed and sobbed. “It was a scorpion. By the time I’d killed it, it was too late.” She added more horrific wailing as she clung to the hem of Samara’s abaya.

  “There, there, child. You poor thing.” Samara helped her up. She looked at the man who’d asked her what happened. “A scorpion. Some people are allergic to them. I’ll take my daughter back to the kitchen to compose herself.” She helped Sarah out of the room and back to the kitchen where she started cleaning up Sarah’s abaya.

  Sarah leaned against the sink on her elbows and bowed her head in relief. Nikolai’s dungeon master would no longer cause pain for Vince, and he would never commit another act of cruelty upon a woman. Gratitude for the timeliness of a scurrying scorpion filled her heart. She knew somehow, God or not, the universe had taken care of things. She stood, took Samara’s hands in hers, and held them as she looked into the woman’s eyes. “Your daughter can rest easy now.”

  Tears filled Samara’s eyes, but there were no words.

  Sarah didn’t need any. She understood.

  ~~~

  Nikolai’s voice came booming from the hallway. “Samara! Samara!”

  Samara ran toward the voice as Sarah finished cleaning up.

  When Samara returned, she handed Sarah a bundle of clothes and spoke briefly. “Mr. Hennessee is being taken back to his room upstairs. The master wants fresh clothes brought to him there.” A silver colored key
flashed in the palm of Samara’s hand. “Here.”

  Sarah grabbed the key like a lifeline. “Thank you, Samara.”

  Sarah took the back stairs up to Vince’s room. She waited around the corner until she heard the men lock the door.

  There was a thump that sounded like someone being pushed into a wall and one of the men sounded indignant. “What?”

  “Somebody’s gotta stay. You gonna stay and watch him?”

  “What for? He’s in no condition to bust out. He’ll keep until morning.”

  She waited as the men walked downstairs. Sarah slipped quietly around the corner, unlocked the door, and let herself in.

  Vince was lying on the bed, battered and bloody, but his chest rose and fell with quiet breaths.

  Her body threatened to collapse with relief, but she reminded herself to stay strong. They weren’t out of the woods yet.

  He turned his head and gave Sarah a swollen smile. “Baby, you really are a sight for sore eyes.”

  Sarah hurried to the bathroom for a wet washcloth. “I’m so sorry we took so long to get here.” She rushed to the bed and started cleaning the cuts on his face.

  “This ain’t nothin’. I’ll be back to my old self in no time.” He sat up with a quiet grunt, took the cool washcloth from her hand, and put it over a swollen eye. “That’s nice.” He focused his good eye on her. “What’s the plan?”

  “We’ve got a camp set up a couple clicks to the west. Chris and two security guys are staying there. Jason, Guinea and four others are coming in on the Blackhawk with some hellfire.”

  “Guinea? Guinea’s here?”

  “Yeah.” Sarah nodded. “We’ve got two trucks that will each transport six guys. Will and Brian are coming in with them.”

  “Okay, when is kickoff?”

  “Sunset. Samara will pretend to be sick and leave early so we’re clear of non-combatants. It’s a liquidation sale.”

  “Good.”

  Sarah went back to the bathroom for a fresh washcloth and the clothes she’d left there. “Here, put these on.” She pulled a SIG and an extra magazine of ammunition from under her abaya and dropped them on the bed as Vince dressed. “Keep these close.”

  “Ahh.” Vince sighed as he picked up the gun and tucked it in the waistband of the pants he’d just stepped into. “You kill with scorpions and bring me my favorite handgun. I’m never getting rid of you.”

  She raised an eyebrow and winked. “Good luck trying.”

  He winced as he slipped the shirt on. “What’s the extract plan?”

  “We’ll clean up and retreat back to the camp. Brian’s cousins will get rid of the trucks.”

  “Wait…Brian’s cousins?”

  “I don’t have time to explain. Just try to keep up, okay?” Sarah continued. “Brian will take the guys to the airport in the civilian chopper. Jason will take you, me, Will, Guinea and Chris back to the island in the Blackhawk. If we lose a chopper, there is a cave one-point-three clicks south of the camp. We’ll fallback to that position and Leo will pick us up at oh-three-hundred. Got it?”

  “Yeah. Good plan. But who are all the extra guys?”

  Sarah took an exasperated breath. She knew Vince was hurting and information would make him feel better, but she couldn’t risk getting caught in his room. “Leo is a buddy of Will’s. The rest are contractors. Hopefully there won’t be a fight but, if there is, we wanted to be ready.”

  “Leave it to Will to cover all the bases.”

  “I’d better get out of here. The whole house is still in an uproar over that Aussie dick. I’ll be back to bust you out in five hours and ten minutes. Get some sleep. It’s gonna be a long night.”

  Sarah bent to kiss him on the lips.

  Vince grabbed her wrist. “Sarah.” His swollen face appeared a little more serious than it had a moment ago.

  She frowned at Vince. “Baby, I gotta get my ass out of here.”

  He nodded. “Whatever happens tonight, I love you.”

  A tingle of happiness raced up the back of her neck. “I love you too.” She grinned. “But there’s no ‘whatever’ when Will plans an operation. We’re getting you out of here tonight.”

  Chapter Thirty-Two

  Samara seemed shaken when Sarah returned to the kitchen after spending several hours quietly dusting and memorizing every inch of the mansion. “Sarah, the men are staying tonight.”

  “What do you mean?” Sarah looked out the kitchen window to see eight men milling about the trucks that they were supposed to have loaded and moved before sunset.

  “Nikolai is having them stay so they can all leave with him first thing in the morning.” A shadow rolled over her face. “Nikolai isn’t planning to take Vince with him.”

  Sarah’s heart raced as she realized what would happen.

  That bastard is just going to kill Vince and dump him in the desert.

  “When is Nikolai planning to kill him?”

  “Tonight.”

  “Did they say when?”

  “I couldn’t hear them.”

  Several men walked into the kitchen and sat down at the large table.

  Samara busied herself with a pot of chai and several plates of cheese and fruits. It was clearly break time for the men, and there was no way Sarah could get upstairs to warn Vince.

  Samara continued serving the men their tea. When all the men had been served, Samara prepared a tray and instructed Sarah that it was time for Nikolai’s tea.

  Oh, my God! I’m serving frigging tea to these people when I should be warning Vince and Chris. Fuckity-fuck-fuck-fuck!

  Sarah took the tea tray to Nikolai’s study and served in silence.

  Nikolai glanced up at her.

  She turned away quickly and busied herself with some dishes on the tray until he went back to his computer. When his attention was engaged elsewhere, Sarah served his cake and left quickly.

  By the time she returned to the kitchen, the men had finished their tea and several of them were making their way upstairs.

  “Where are they going?”

  “They’re going to the guest rooms to sleep until it is time to leave. The others are closing up the outbuildings and then they’ll be napping too.”

  Sarah reached into the hidden pocket of her abaya that allowed her to touch the loaded .45 strapped to her thigh. “Then we wait.”

  ~~~

  Sarah looked outside. The sun was nearly down and the guys would be here soon. She had to get Samara out of the line of fire. “Samara, you should get going now.”

  Samara grabbed Sarah’s hands, panic lit her eyes. “Will you be all right?”

  Sarah squeezed Samara’s hands. “Yes, of course. You should go.”

  “I can’t thank you enough for what you’ve done.”

  Sarah grabbed her by the shoulders and turned her toward the door. “Just go now and stay safe. Please?”

  The last of the men returned as Samara left. One of them looked at Sarah. “Where is she going?”

  Sarah responded quietly just in case they might have known Bashira’s voice. “My mother is old and unwell. She is upset by what happened earlier. It has been a difficult day for her so I will finish up for her.”

  “You’d better get to work on dinner. We’ll all be hungry when we wake up and we have things to do tonight.”

  “Yes, sir.” Sarah nodded and turned to start measuring rice so she’d look like she was working. She knew full well that nobody in this house would be eating dinner tonight.

  Soon.

  Sarah listened for the sound of a helicopter but there was only silence. She looked out the window toward the last burning embers of the sun.

  Soon.

  When the men finally left the kitchen and she heard doors close upstairs, she made her way up the creaky kitchen stairs.

  She reached inside her abaya and pulled the warm key from within her bra. She listened for signs of anyone awake.

  Silence.

  She was suddenly aware of even the s
mallest noise as she listened for the helicopter.

  Still no sound.

  The key slid into the lock and she nearly jumped as the latch clicked open. She put a finger to her lips as she opened the door.

  Of course, he knows to be quiet, you idiot.

  She dropped her hand as she peeked in and saw Vince standing by the door in the fresh clothes she’d brought him earlier.

  She gasped at the sight of him. The swelling hadn’t gone down, and the bruises had darkened on his face. White-hot rage burned inside her at what Nikolai had done to him. “It’s time.”

  The bruises and broken rib didn’t slow him down. When it was time for action, he was ready to roll as always.

  “Let’s do it. Where’s Nikolai?”

  “He’s still in the study.”

  “Good.” Vince pulled the forty-five from under his shirt and grabbed Sarah with his free hand. “Let’s put an end to that bastard now.”

  They hurried down the stairs and were both thrown against the wall of the stairway as an explosion rocked the compound. Vince jumped the rest of the stairs and Sarah followed.

  One of the trucks parked outside was engulfed in flames.

  Another explosion rocked the compound and then another as a massive hole appeared in the concrete wall outside.

  Men came running down the stairs behind Vince and Sarah.

  Sarah turned and fired on the first two. They dropped in a heap on the stairs as the others turned back and took cover.

  The mercenaries the team had hired stormed into the kitchen, armed to the teeth.

  “Wait! He’s our man.” Will’s voice was a welcome surprise. He patted Vince on the shoulder. “Good to see you, brother. Where is that Russian fuck?”

  “Took you long enough to get here! Come on.” Vince led the way toward the study.

  Sarah looked at the mercs and pointed upstairs. “There are six hostiles upstairs.” Then she followed Will and Vince to the study.

  She remembered her date with Nikolai in Las Vegas, before her last mission and before she knew he was a ruthless international arms dealer. How charming he’d been. She could be charming to her targets too. She’d charmed Hassan before she killed him, and Victor too. The realization that she and Nikolai worked people over in the very same way hit her right between the eyes. In order to end this, either she or Nikolai had to die.