Diamond Legacy (32 page)

They appeared to be in the center of camp. They stood in front of a squalid shack, and though small, it was palatial in size compared to the shanties next to it. Besides the other claptrap buildings, several metal cargo containers were scattered about, the kind she’d seen at the docks back home. The grounds were crawling with men on patrol, heavily armed and battle tested by the look of them.

These people were expecting something or someone. And she didn’t think it was her and Hank. Nor did she think it was diamonds. If she had to guess, she’d say weapons. And from where she stood, chances of escape looked pretty bleak.

Neil yanked open the door to “the palace” as Miranda dubbed it, and shoved Hank in first, then her.

She stumbled in and turned back to face her captor. “You know what? I pegged you for a royal jerk when I first met you at Half Jacks. Thanks for proving my instinct right.”

His smirk disappeared into a mean frown. “Stinking
doffie
,” Neil snarled. “You gonna regret mouthing off.”

He slammed the door shut, and semi-darkness surrounded Miranda and Hank.

“Antagonizing him probably isn’t the best idea,” Hank said quietly.

“No, but it made me feel better.” She had a strong suspicion that would be a scarce luxury very soon. A tiny, lone window stood wide open, but a torn and dirty screen prevented even a whiff of breeze to stir the stifling heat in the room.

The stingy window didn’t offer much light either, and Miranda looked around for a lamp. There wasn’t one. Though the room seemed fairly large, it was stark in furnishings. Certainly not appointed for comfort. A lumpy bed sat in the corner, a table and three mismatched chairs in the other, and a long ramshackle cabinet covered half of one wall.

The dismal offerings not only denied basic hospitality, they nearly robbed one of hope.

Nowhere near giving up, she began systematically opening drawers and doors, looking for anything that could be construed as a weapon.

“What do you think you’re going to find?” Hank sounded dispirited as he sank into one of the chairs. “Do you really believe they’d put us in a room that contained anything useful?”

Annoyance flared, but she kept up her search. There was a stash of paper and pens, one of which she grabbed and slid into her short’s pocket. The place was littered with napkins, stale crackers, and a mountain of empty food wrappers previous inhabitants had consumed and tossed aside.

“What’s going on here, Miranda?” Hank slumped in his chair, looking at her with bleary eyes.

He wasn’t going to like the truth, but she gave it to him anyway. “Katanga is smuggling diamonds, but I think we’re in the middle of a weapons deal.”

“Oh, God.” He dropped his head into his hands. “I came all the way to the ends of the earth just to get myself killed.”

Miranda ignored his pessimism and kept digging, but the pickings were as slim as Hank predicted. The best she found was a rusty bottle opener and a can of green beans that had expired over a year ago. She hefted the can and decided to add it to her arsenal. If nothing else she’d use the beans to brain the detestable Neil. The scrawny punk could use a good serving of vegetables.

Starting a stack on the counter, she headed for the bed. Yanking the pillow off, she checked between the headboard and the wall and found nothing. The heat began to build, adding to the discouraging circumstances, but she refused to acknowledge the despair that threatened to overwhelm her determination. Instead, she latched onto her earlier anger and tugged at the heavy cotton-stuffed mattress.

She could shove it only a few inches and needed help. “Hank, give me a hand.”

He didn't move, just sat blankly staring at the table.

Patience left her, melting away in the rising heat. “Heavens above! Quit feeling sorry for yourself and get over here.” She knew she sounded harsh, but sitting around bemoaning their fate wouldn’t get them anywhere.

Hank lifted his head with bitter resignation, and she thought for a minute he was about to show signs of life, at the very least yell at her for being ill-tempered, but instead he just stood with a heavy sigh.

Together, they lifted the torn and stained mattress and came up empty handed. There wasn’t even a box spring to dissemble, just another ratty mattress atop a plywood frame. They let it fall back down, and she dropped to her knees for a search beneath the bed. Besides dust bunnies and more candy wrappers, it was another dead end.

That was it. She’d covered it all. And it hadn’t taken long.

No sooner had she stood and brushed off her hands, then the door opened and Bessault stepped inside, followed by a smirking Neil and a third guy who stood guard in the doorway. Like she’d make a run for it with all that firepower lurking around outside.

“Neil tells me you’re a visiting veterinarian at Katanga.” Bessault spoke like they were having a Sunday afternoon tea instead of interrogating prisoners in a sweat box.

“You shouldn’t have brought me here.” It’s all she could think of to say.

He merely smiled. “I thought it a good idea at the time.”

“Poor judgment on your part.” She wanted to wipe the superiority off his face. “How many agencies do you think will be looking for two missing Americans?”

His smile didn’t falter. “Not enough to find you. It’s amazing how easily money influences law-abiding citizens and agencies. You will soon be forgotten.”

“Don’t bet on it.”

He laughed outright this time. “If you think your janitor friend will help you now, you are due for big disappointment.”

So Neil had been blabbing about their time at Half Jacks. No surprise there. It didn’t matter. Both men had a major flaw that’ll cost them in the end. “Arrogance will be your downfall.”

His smile turned reptilian. “How delightful, a woman with spirit.”

A snort sounded behind him. Neil was puffed full of bravado now that he had reinforcements. “She’s mouthy and fool-headed,” he spat, “that’s what she is.”

“And you’re a nasty little worm with delusions of grandeur,” she spat back.

Hank groaned in the background as Neil’s face turned splotchy shades of red.

“Shut up,
doffie
!” Neil started toward her, but Bessault grabbed his arm. And with a toss of his head, sent the worm back to the doorway. Neil obeyed, but his sullen glare clearly promised revenge.

Bessault, however, calmly considered her with eyes as dead as his expression. “I admit what to do with you two is a bit of a problem. You see, I’m rather busy at present. I’ve little time to fool with nosy veterinarians. No matter how lovely.”

She might be mouthy, but she recognized real danger when she saw it. Bessault was a deadly predator. She knew when to stop pushing. “Look, I didn’t ask to come here,” she reasoned. “If you had let me walk out of that stable, you would’ve saved us both a lot of trouble.”

“Perhaps.” Bessault stepped closer. “Sometimes fate holds other cards.”

He reached out to pull the band from her ponytail, allowing her hair to fall free to her shoulders. He put a finger to her chin and lifted her face for a better look. She stared right back, having learned long ago to never show an animal fear. It only sharpened their hunting instinct.

His nostrils flared. “You are different than most.”

She kept her silence.

He took another step closer, and she took an equal step back.

The chuckle he gave only served to infuriate her. When he reached out to touch her again, she slapped his hand away.

“
La petite
tigress.” He turned hunter and backed her up against the wall, grabbing a handful of hair and pulling to the edge of pain. “Make no mistake over the one in control here.”

“Get your hands off her!” Hank chose that moment to finally show signs of life. He jumped to her aid, but before he laid a hand on Bessault, the guard from the door had him.

The sound of pounding flesh made Miranda wince. Hank put up a fight and landed a couple ineffectual blows, but he was clearly outmatched. There wasn’t any doubt to the outcome. He fought a losing battle.

“Stop him!” Miranda demanded.

Her dismay only served to amuse him. Another hit and blood spurted from Hank’s nose. He slumped to the ground, and his attacker reached to lift him and deliver more punishment.

“Please,” Miranda begged, “stop it now!”

Bessault signaled to the other man, and he unceremoniously dumped Hank onto the bed.

“I’d think twice before crossing me again.” Bessault grabbed her chin in his hand and forced her to look at him. “His remaining time on earth can be spent pleasantly, or it can be a living hell. The choice is yours.” He lowered his lips to hers, kissing her roughly before breaking it off and marching out of the shack.

The door slammed behind them, and she was left in the semi-darkness again.

Fear had finally caught up with her.

“They have her, Nik.” Matt could hear the tinge of desperation in his voice. He didn’t care.

“How?”

“That’s the devil of it.” Matt paced, holding his cell phone to his ear. “She must’ve walked in on a deal. In the wrong place at the wrong time.”

“Did you see it?”

“No. Roz told us.”

“The monkey again?” Nik sounded incredulous.

“Yes, the monkey.” Matt knew how crazy it sounded. “Miranda managed to sign a message, and Roz delivered it immediately.”

“Fascinating.”

Matt stopped at the hood of his Rover and stared across Katanga’s parking lot. Jason exited the clinic garage and headed his way.

He turned around and began pacing again. “I’m going after her, Nik.”

“Back up a minute,” Nik said. “Roz told us? Who might
us
be?”

“Letta and Jason were with me when Roz arrived.”

“Who else knows she’s missing?”

“Maybe Graham,” Matt replied. “He’s noticeably absent right now.”

“Hmm.” In that one word Matt could tell Nik already weighed possible consequences. “We still may be able to keep this quiet. At least until after Council.”

Too bad he had to bust Nik’s bubble of optimism. “There’s one more complication.”

Nik sighed. “I knew this wasn’t going to be a good day.”

“Someone was taken with her. Hank Meadows. He’s the staff director for the San Diego Zoo where Miranda works.”

“Two missing Americans?” Agitation edged Nik’s tone, a sure sign he felt the pressure. Nik rarely raised his voice. He didn’t have to. His sheer size intimidated people. “You are going to be the death of me, Bennett. You realize what tonight is?”

“Opening night of Diamond Council.”

“And I have every available agent working security detail. I’m short staffed, short tempered, and one step from an international crisis.”

Jason joined him at the Rover. “Letta’s all set,” he whispered.

Matt nodded. She would stay here to keep watch, all night if she had too, with strict instructions to call in the event of any activity.

“Listen, Nik. I’ve got a plan.”

“Don’t tell me over the phone. Get over here. Now.”

Matt looked at his watch. Three in the afternoon and there was much to be done. Like borrowing a tuxedo for starters. “I’ll be there in less than a half hour. And open up wardrobe. I need a fancy outfit for the prom. All black, down to the last button.”

* * * *

Miranda doctored Hank’s wounds as much as their limited conditions allowed. Guilt assailed her as she used the rusty bottle opener to start another tear at the bottom of his shirt. If she hadn’t baited Bessault like she had, Hank wouldn’t be hurt right now.

“You shouldn’t have stuck up for me like that,” she gruffly told Hank. “It’s my own foolishness that got me in the situation.”

He was still lying on the bed where the goon had tossed him, a torn strip of fabric pressed against his bleeding nose. “I couldn’t very well let him manhandle you,” he muffled through the cotton. “I had to do something.”

“Yeah, well being a hero has consequences.”

She ripped the shirt again, and he winced when she used the strip of cloth to bind his knuckles.

“A hundred-dollar Armani shirt reduced to bandages,” he moaned nasally.

“I’ll try and behave myself, and maybe your T-shirt will be spared.”

She ripped a few more strips of cloth and stacked them on the bed, then stood. “Stay lying down until the bleeding stops.”

“No problem, Doctor.”

He did sound bad, and she hoped his nose wasn’t broken, but she’d done all she could for him under the present circumstances.

Sitting idle was impossible, and nervous energy had her prowling the room again. Even now, locked in a shack with little hope of escaping alive, her only regret besides Hank’s busted nose, was how this would hurt Matt. Did he know by now that she was missing?

Even if Roz had managed to get her message through, he’d have no way of knowing where to find them. But God, how she wished he were here. She wanted nothing more than to feel his arms around her and hear him say everything would be all right.

She sighed heavily. No point wishing for the impossible. Truth was, they were on their own as far as rescue went. She paced over to stand by the window, but the view didn’t offer any encouragement. Quite the opposite. From all appearances, they were smack in the middle of a major weapons shipment. More vehicles were arriving and the only people she could see were hardened men who carried enough firepower to take out a battalion.

The view clearly spelled “end of the road” for her and Hank.

She pushed against the window screen. It would be nothing to knock it out. Under the cover of darkness, they could easily escape through it. As long as no guard stood outside, that was. The trick would be getting through the maze of well-armed smugglers. That might be an insurmountable challenge.

There was every chance they’d die trying.

* * * *

IDS headquarters building was a testament to modern technology. Designed to be an architectural showpiece in Gaborone’s skyline, it lived up to its promise with relish. Not only visually pleasing, it came well equipped with all modern technology could offer. As work places went, it was the pinnacle of locations.