Hard Case VI: The Killer Inside (John Harding Book 6) (19 page)

“It will be fine, Denny,” Lynn replied, peering at eye level with the frightened out of her mind Sopa girl. “I have our movie stars ready when we are. The only thing which can’t be postponed is Cheese in the Bay at 8 am sharp. Once we put the Great Banana through his paces, we’ll be ready to save Western Civilization then, unless of course Sopa and my darling Carla provide us with a target requiring an instant response.”

Great, the Bay again. Why is it no one ever forgets about the Bay?

Lynn stroked Sopa’s face, casually patting his cheek. He knew Carla. Of that, I have no doubt. The mere sight of Lynn turning Carla into a weeping mess made an impression on him. Lynn’s next chess move would be a key. It seemed Sopa hesitated in talking now because he was unaware of how far Lynn would go. I’m sure he had witnessed many torture sessions. I doubt he had ever witnessed work comparable to The Mistress of the Unimaginable.

“You look like you’re waiting on facts not in evidence, Arian. Let’s talk a moment. I’m going to make you an offer. Save my friend Denny some time. Go with him. Explain every single detail about sending hit squads, upcoming terrorist events, or anything else on the agenda. If you get it all done now before I make Carla tell me the hard way, I’ll simply check the facts, and Denny will swing a deal for you.”

“Be a tough guy,” She went on, “and then you get party time like Carla no matter what you say. I don’t like holdouts. I like good little helpers. Want to be a good little helper?”

Silence. Lynn sighed.

“Take him to his front row seat, Denny. I’m afraid we’ll have to do things by procedure this time.”

“C’mon, Arian, you dummy.” Denny took Sopa’s arm and escorted him toward the interrogation observation room.

“I’m going to feed the baby,” Clint said. “Can you spell the minions, John? They’ve had enough fun according to them.”

“Sure, brother.” I turned to Lucas and Casey. “You guys going to hang on the observation deck until we see if anything needs addressing immediately?”

“I don’t know about Lucas, but I wouldn’t miss this live demo for anything,” Casey said. “Besides, I’ll be warming Sopa with funny comments. What about you, Lucas?”

“I’m in with you, Case. Go on and give the minions a break, Recon. If you need anything, just ask. It looks like they have everything for hell on earth already there though.”

“I believe so. Okay, Lynn, let’s go make music. I know this one’s personal, so like Lucas says, if you need anything, just ask.”

“I won’t get too carried away, Cheese, but I do need to spend a bit of time getting reacquainted with Carla.” She pushed the other woman toward Clint. “Go on with my husband. You can sit with him while he feeds the baby. We can’t let you go just yet. Relax. I already know you don’t know shit.”

“Yes, Mistress,” the woman said without hesitation.

“So sweet.” Lynn glared at the reticent Sopa. “You’re going to wish you had been a helper like your friend. Let’s go, Cheese.”

“I can skip a few days in the Bay with all that’s happening, Lynn,” I told her on the way to interrogation. “Really. I’ll be fine.”

“You’re so cute when you grovel, Cheese. Don’t waste your time. I don’t want you to just fight in Sin City. I want you to own Sin City. The only way that happens is the ‘poke and hook’ show in the Bay to give you a chance. You’ve lost your edge. You were dedicated before the Rattler win. Now, everything is a whine, Cheese. Get your head in the game.”

She was right. I didn’t feel like I did before Rattler. “Okay, but I still don’t want to go into the Bay.”

“Well cry me a river, sissy!

Lynn was not very compassionate. Maybe after she played with Carla for a while she’d be in a better mood. When we were in the interrogation room, Silvio showed me how to work the equipment while Lynn cooed to her captive. It was straight forward, so I dismissed the minions who had enough interrogation for one day. Working with Lynn for a full day in here was not for the faint of heart. The minions enjoyed showing the movies much better than the real life stuff. This new invention showed promise. Like a surgeon, Lynn inserted the acupuncture needles with pinpoint care. After an hour of hell on earth for Carla, Lynn sighed contentedly. She took a deep breath.

Denny had already stopped in after fifteen minutes to let us know Sopa bartered for five minutes of punishment instead of what he was witnessing. Sopa busily answered every single question Denny had, including the fact Alexi Fiialkov would be on his container ship, The Roma, tonight at 8 pm to dine on board with the ship’s captain. They would be examining details of The Roma’s planned voyage the next day. An Isis hit squad would be funneled onto the ship by a crewmember named Ramone Kenton, who would have duty at the time. They would be disguised as ship’s crew with ID’s. Once on board, they would assassinate Alexi, and hijack the ship. Lynn took her time confirming every one of Sopa’s revelations.

“I’m done, Cheese. I guess motherhood has dulled my sadistic abilities.”

“Not hardly,” I replied, unhooking the equipment. Carla simply twitched, her eyes and mouth moving while her body vibrated after the electrical current cleansing Lynn used to vary with the heat. “This damn invention is better than truth serum. I doubt Clare will ever be able to tell an untruth or hold a thought. We have a party to break up yet before this goofy ‘24’ TV show we have going ends. I’ll call Alexi if Denny hasn’t already done it, and see if he wants to be bait tonight. Do you want to give Arian his five minutes of delight now?”

“I’ll save him for later. Denny might think of something else after we attend the Isis party. We sure angled into a deadly one this time, John. I know you’re wondering the same as me what Alexi has shipping out on The Roma.”

“Agreed. It could also be they wanted to remove Alexi, and have one hell of a getaway plan in effect. They know Alexi’s not playing with criminal endeavors anymore. Our deep water port is still apparently a tempting target, where having a shipping magnate willing to look the other way would be a real asset. The goons can go on board, kill Alexi, and leave the next morning as if right on schedule.”

“That’s a damn scary plan which they were within a heartbeat of putting into effect,” Lynn replied. Then Carla moaned. “I’ll take care of my pumpkin pie here while you go help Denny plot an intervention for Isis from the forces of darkness.”

“It won’t be much of a plan. After I go collect the sniper’s body from my neighborhood, we’ll get into position on board ‘The Roma’. They’ll arrive expecting the ship gift wrapped for the taking. We’ll be waiting to kill them. It would be much easier if we boarded a bit earlier with your portable device, and convinced the crewman selling out Alexi to play ball with us instead.”

Lynn pumped a fist. “Yes! A field test on the first day.”

* * *

Ramone Kenton walked into the ship’s quarters where Alexi Fiialkov waited with Lynn and I. Yeah, he recognized us. Ramone made a break for the door, only to run into Clint, Casey, and Lucas in full battle gear. Clint grabbed the errant Ramone by the nose, squeezing and twisting. Ramone went up on his tiptoes, arms waving, and grunts of panic spewing in disorganized fashion from his lips.

“Where the hell are you going, Ramone,” Clint asked. He pushed the man back into the room. “You were summoned here for a reason, pal. Don’t you want to know what that reason is?”

“I think he suspects, partner,” Casey said, as the three stayed outside the small quarters. “We’ll be out here if you need us.”

“Thanks, Case.” I stood with a smile for Mr. Kenton. He knew me for sure, because Ramone made no blustery tough guy moves. The look of resignation on his face spoke volumes as to how far we’d have to go on this, at least that’s what I thought at first.

Kenton wore cargo pants with all those rat-hole pockets for sticking God knows what away. While bowing his head in seeming surrender to his plight, I saw him inching his hand toward the upper pocket nearly at holster level.

“I was forced to-” he began as Ramone jerked the stiletto out of the pocket.

My left hand clasped his right hand knife wrist as it cleared the pocket. I gave him a downward smash to the side of his head with my open right hand while hanging onto the knife wrist. I took the knife off him on his way to the floor.

“That was a close one, Cheese,” Lynn said. “I thought we wouldn’t get a field trial for my portable truth and consequences game for a moment there. You’d better go sit with Denny in the cafeteria, Alexi. This won’t take long. We’ll have Ramone on our side in no time.”

Ramone’s face twisted into a derisive mask of annoyance as if he thought Lynn was there to make deals with him about what he would be or wouldn’t be doing. “That’s what-”

“Shut up, fool!” Alexi paused by the startled crewman. Ramone knew one thing. He didn’t want to ever be transferred to Alexi’s care. Ramone was well aware of how the old Russian dealt with enemies. “Agree to everything, idiot! This woman will make you beg to please her. Convince her of your absolute obedience or God help you.”

Without another word, Alexi left the cabin. Lynn took a deep breath, letting it out slowly. I was busily readying Ramone for a demo. Lynn and I were in no mood for take backs later. Ramone would be selling his soul to the devil rather than spend another second with Lynn soon. He didn’t know it yet of course, and although Alexi made an impression on him, I could tell he thought his question and answer session involved tough talk and threats. Sorry, Bucko. We do the tough talks later after we clear the air as to what will be happening to our soon to be Lynn’s little helpers.

I could tell Ramone was not appreciative of being strapped down tight into the bunk I had already prepared. He began to get real worried when I put on Nitrile gloves and removed his work boot and sock on his right foot. Lynn reeled backward.

“Oh good Lord God in heaven! Do something, Cheese! I could hack him into small pieces without blinking an eye, but if you don’t do something about that gangrenous smell coming off his foot, I’m going to barf. The same rule applies to interrogation rooms as it does in airplanes you’re piloting me around in. Say it with me, Cheese.”

“If you barf, I bleed,” I called out, already searching the cabin for air freshener, adding it onto my mental list for the equipment bag. I finally found some pine aroma Fabreze. After giving Ramone’s bared foot a healthy dosing of Fabreze along with the general area polluted by the offensive appendage, Lynn approached it distastefully. I grabbed the foot. Although strapped into a special foot harness, it still had to be held in place while the acupuncture needles were inserted. “Tell me how you want it, Crue.”

“Thanks, Cheese. I’d rather cut it off than look at it. The memory of its smell is burned into my brain. I’m adding a new parameter to this particular interrogation. By the time I get done with Ramone, I don’t know if he will eventually live, but I do know one thing – he will be washing his fucking feet every day for the rest of his life.”

Yeah, I may have enjoyed that particular pronouncement for a moment while hooking Silvio’s portable device to the needles. Then the game was afoot as it were. In half an hour, Ramone’s very heart and soul belonged to Crue. I think Ramone’s disregard for personal hygiene may have cost him some extra time in the Cruella Deville’s ‘no fly’ zone. When we reached the forty-five minute mark, I believe we were closing in on a complete mind wipe of our stinky footed crewman.

* * *

I positioned poor Ramone on his watch station where he would be greeting the boarders at the gangplank entrance to the ship. His nerve endings throughout his body sent small twitching pulses, recalling their dual treatment of heat and current, causing a slight vibration from head to toe as if the crewman himself was a live wire. I patted him on the shoulder.

“Do you have it straight in your mind what you are to do, Ramone? I don’t want you to error in your handling of our boarders. We will get them anyway, but if you fail to act your part correctly, I’m afraid the Mistress will be very unhappy with you.”

Horror gripped my charge to the point he actually shut off the slight vibration. His features cleared, but his lip trembled as he blurted out his orders. He remembered every detail, adding one heartfelt reassurance. “I will not fail!”

If the bank robbers were this well indoctrinated, I believe Lynn’s TV episode might be done in record time. “I’m glad to hear that, Ramone. It won’t be long and your part in this will be finished.”

His mouth tightened in concentration as he stared once again down the gangplank toward the pier and nodded. I would be shadowing his movements. We decided with Ramone’s help, we would take this crew of ship hijackers prisoner to Denny’s delight. With Lucas in a sniper’s position to take out anyone trying to get away if things went wrong, we covered for any unexpected glitches in our plan. Ramone would be leading the hijackers to a large, enclosed anteroom near the ship’s boarding entrance, where they would be told to wait while he made a final check on Alexi’s whereabouts. Ramone leaves supposedly on his task, and I throw in a couple of party favors. Clint jams the hatch. The thugs get scrambled inside, followed by a quick brutal introduction to captivity from the Monster Squad.

What could go wrong with a neat plan like that? Two problems happened. They weren’t quite as dumb as I thought. They left two men on the pier to keep their escape route open in case of trouble. That was only a slight problem as Lucas would pulp both their heads. We barely gave the security guard goons a thought. The second problem happened when Ramone guided the remaining six heavily armed men into the quarters. The leader shot poor old Ramone in the head before he could leave the room. I tossed the bangs in, and we sealed the hatch to get the operation back on track.