Fatal (16 page)

Handcuffs and whips hung against a wall. On the plastic table in the middle of the room lay an assortment of power tools, drills, and grinders.
 

Half a dozen spotlights were mounted to tall stands on wheels that could be carted around the room. Alexa now noticed that the walls were covered with cardboard boxes like the ones that eggs come in. The place was obviously soundproof. At the far end was a desk with an iMac, a printer, and a wireless DSL router.
 

It was evident that this was a one-stop operation: filming, editing, and distribution all happened right here.
 

Metcalfe’s phone vibrated. He read the message then pressed the button on the intercom. “They’re on their way.”

He switched on the screens. The central console consisted of multiple security camera feeds divided into five rows and five columns, twenty-five in total. A satellite image was displayed on the screen to the left. He zoomed in and focused on the Rhode Island district, zoomed in some more until his mansion came into view.
 

He panned around, caught two shadowy figures run across the road in front of the estate. He pressed a button on the intercom. “They’re approaching from the east. It looks as if they’ll be scaling the wall directly opposite the entry to the loading bay.”

The speaker beeped and Monroe answered, “Got it.”
 

Metcalfe clicked on the feed to a night-vision camera outside the loading bay area and dragged it to the console on the right. It filled the entire screen, and he could see two figures crouching behind a tree. “They’re in, behind the tree. Be patient. Wait until they’re inside.”

The speaker beeped. “OK. All units hold your fire.”

Neil and Voelkner were dressed in dark, camouflaged clothes. Voelkner and Latorre urged Neil to wait until the early morning, but he refused. He couldn’t sit around and do nothing.
 

He slid his Glock into his shoulder holster and clipped it in place. “I’m going. I can’t wait any longer.”

Voelkner shrugged. “OK, then I’m coming with you.”
 

They grabbed their backpacks with extra ammunition and equipment and tested their night-vision goggles.
 

Voelkner followed Neil as they silently made their way across the road, using trees and bushes for cover. They headed towards the eastern wall of the huge estate, scaled a neighbor’s picket fence, and made their way round to the back of the complex. Voelkner gave Neil a foot up, and he hoisted himself up, grabbing on to the metal spikes at the top of the sandstone boundary wall. Voelkner scampered up his back and crouched at the top. He leaped down and looked around to see if they had been noticed.

He signaled the all clear.

Neil hoisted himself up and landed next to Voelkner. He looked at his watch and brought his hand down in a chopping motion. “Let’s go, we have less than two minutes.”
 

Voelkner sprinted to the western corner of the building, offering visual cover.
 

Neil examined the side entrance to the mansion. A concrete ramp led to a metal door, twelve feet wide. It was locked with an industrial padlock.
 

Voelkner held up his hand and signaled to Neil, “One minute.”
 

Neil nodded. He removed his backpack and took out a lockpick, inserted it into the padlock, and twisted it left and right. The lock snapped open. He clapped his leg softly, and Voelkner followed him into the building, then Neil quietly shut the door from the inside.

They were in an expansive loading bay with a raised platform on the opposite end of the space. Concrete steps with a yellow handrail led to the loading platform. An industrial-metal shutter door on the platform opened up to an elegant reception area. It looked like this section of the building had been added to the mansion as an afterthought.

Four delivery trucks could fit into the space with relative ease. Neil noticed a smaller door on the right hand side of the platform. They jumped onto the loading dock and opened the door. A runway led to a basement with a sizable, metal, walk-in refrigeration unit at the bottom.
 

Neil touched Voelkner’s shoulder. “Keep a lookout while I clear the room.” Voelkner nodded.

Neil ran down the runway and scanned the space. He signaled the all clear and ran back up. Voelkner led him to the metal sliding door on the landing. He peeked around the corner. The room looked like a stylish waiting area with a leather sofa and a polished coffee table. A mahogany wooden staircase led to the second floor. They cautiously made their way upstairs.

Rigo grabbed Alexa’s neck and pushed her towards the bed. Danny positioned himself at the opposite end of the bed. Rigo shoved her down on the bed, and Danny pulled her towards him by her arms. Rigo pulled off her shoes and climbed onto her back, straddling her. He could feel her shiver beneath him.

“Let her go. Bring me the drill,” Rigo said to Danny. “She’s scared shitless.”

Danny fetched a power drill and plugged it into an extension cord.
 

Rigo leaned towards Alexa and whispered into her ear. “Now the pain starts.”
 

Danny handed the drill to Rigo. He wheeled the lights into position and switched them on.

Rigo cut her canvas belt and ripped it off, holding the drill in one hand. He pulled her pants down to her legs and then ripped off her panties. She didn’t react, so he pushed his crotch into her buttock, fiddling with his belt.

Danny carried the tripod closer and pushed the record button. A red light blinked on the camera.

A shiver ran through the sexy girl’s body. “Wait,” she cried.
 

“Oh no, girl. I don’t think I can. We don’t have much time, and everyone needs their turn.” He looked up and winked at Danny. Danny chuckled.

“That’s not what I mean. I haven’t been with a man for more than five years. Let me at least enjoy you first before the pain begins,” she sobbed.

Rigo thought about this. “Jeez, where have you been? A monastery?“
 

Danny and Rigo laughed at his joke. “You’re a nice piece of ass, girl. Pity this is going to be your last time. Anyway, you’re not supposed to enjoy this, bitch.”

She was sobbing now, tears streaming down her cheeks. “Then I won’t. But at least look me in the face before you kill me,” she said between her pathetic sobs.

Rigo shrugged. He glanced at Danny. “Turn her around.”

Danny flipped her around and allowed her to lie on her back. She moved her shoulders and wriggled into a more comfortable position.

She opened her legs to Rigo invitingly. He pulled her pants all the way off. She took a deep breath and nodded at him, whimpering softly.

He fumbled with his belt excitedly.
 

“Here, let me,” she said.

He looked up at Danny. Looked down at the girl. Tears were streaming down her face. She had accepted her fate. He had seen this a thousand times before. You pressurize them, they break. They were all the same.

He nodded to Danny and he released her arms. She came up and loosened his belt with trembling fingers and undid his zip. She lay back down on the bed.
 

Rigo pulled his pants down and bent over her. The girl moved towards him and straddled her legs around his waist.

And then she squeezed. Rigo groaned as her legs tightened around his waist. The blood pushed up into his face, and his mouth gaped like a fish out of water.

He bucked and wriggled. Her legs were tightening around his waist, blocking the air flow to his lungs. That was bad. But worst was the fact that the bitch had her hand around his balls, squeezing the living daylights out of them.

His legs went numb. He stood and stumbled backward; the bitch was squeezing tighter. He slammed with his back into the wall, tripping over his pants, then he turned around and tried to push her into the wall. But she held on. The pressure around his waist kept increasing, and a jolt of pain seared through his central nervous system and exploded into his brain as she tightened her grip around his testicles. He looked over her shoulder. Danny was standing there, smiling. The only sound that he could make was a garbled moan.

Why doesn’t he shoot her, does he think I’m enjoying this shit?

The girl slammed her head into the bridge of his nose. His vision blurred. She slipped off him and gripped his throat between her forefinger and thumb, the other hand slipped to his balls, again.

Oh, dear God, is this pain ever going to stop?

Danny finally drew his gun and pointed it at her, a sheepish look on his face, but now she was behind him, using his body as cover. She herded Rigo towards the door.
 

“Get out! Move!” she shouted to Danny, who was standing in front of them, blocking the entrance to the steps that led to the loading bay.

Rigo gasped and nodded. Danny took couple of steps back, his gun still pointing at them.
 

Why didn’t he shoot her in the leg? At that moment, he wouldn’t mind if he shot the bitch through his shoulder, nothing could be worse than this pain.

A shot rang out and Danny looked back. Three shots barked in quick succession and slammed into Danny’s chest. He tumbled down the stairs, out of sight. The bitch loosened her grip on him momentarily to see what had happened. That was all that he needed. He pulled her hand from his balls and kicked her away from him as two men’s heads appeared above the stairwell.
 

He pulled up his pants and dashed to the closet, punched in the code. He ran out and slammed the door behind him as bullets smacked into the door.

Neil and Voelkner jogged into the room. Voelkner averted his eyes when he saw Alexa. She picked up her pants and pulled them on.

“I had things under control, you know?” she said to Neil, looking at him sternly.

“Yes, you did. It looked like you were enjoying yourself as well.”

Alexa glared at Neil. “What do you mean?”

“Oh, I don’t know.” He looked her up and down. “You naked, gripping onto that guy like a clam in labor.”

“Screw you, Neil. Look around you. What the hell do you think is going on here?”

Neil scanned the room. Realization dawned on his face. “Shit. Shit, I’m sorry, Alexa. Where are the other girls?”

Alexa shook her head. Looked at him despairingly. “We should have moved sooner.”

“I—I didn’t know. I swear, I didn’t know,” he said helplessly.

“It’s not your fault. We are all to blame here.” Alexa put her hand to her mouth, dashed to the basin and threw up.
 

Neil stood beside her and pushed her hair to the side. He looked around at the room, a helpless expression on his face. “Shit.”

The closet door flew open and three men appeared, guns blazing. Neil spun around and shot two, and Voelkner finished off the final one with a bullet to the head.
 

Neil removed a Glock and a clip from his backpack and handed it to Alexa. His eyes widened. Blood was seeping from a wound in her leg, dripping onto the carpet. “Alexa, you’ve been hit.”

She grimaced. “Let’s get to safety first, OK? We’re exposed up here.”

Neil walked to the staircase and peeked around the corner. A barrage of bullets struck the wall, dislodging fragments of concrete.

“I guess at least five guys down there. I don’t know how many out there,” he said, nodding towards the closet.

“Which way, do you think?” Alexa asked as she smacked the clip into the magazine.

Neil looked at the closet. “Maybe that way? Everyone’s outside.“

Voelkner shook his head. “No, I don’t think so. They’re herding us in here. We go down. We know the area, I’d rather take my chances down there.”
 

Alexa nodded. “Let’s stick with what we know.”

“OK, you ready?” Neil asked.

"Wait,” Alexa said and hobbled to the PC. She fumbled in her pocket and removed her GLD, inserted it into the USB slot, and booted it up. “Becky22 has some work to do.”

The PC booted, and hundreds of lines of code scrolled down the screen. The word “COMPLETED” blinked twice, and the PC shut down.

“OK, let's go.”

Neil nodded, took a hand grenade from his backpack, and lobbed it down the stairs. Someone shouted and a commotion broke out. People jumped for cover.

Neil glanced at Alexa. “It’s a diversion, I didn’t pull the arming pin.”

He grabbed Alexa and held her by her waistband for support as they scampered down the stairs. The grenade lay next to the vending machine. He grabbed it and handed it to Alexa, who shoved it into her pocket.

Neil pushed Alexa aside as Voelkner shot a thug who was hiding behind the sofa, hands over his head, waiting for the explosion. Neil took two more grenades from his backpack. He peered into the loading bay, pulled the arming pins out with his teeth, and lobbed one towards the panel van and the other one to the right.

“Hail Mary,” he whispered and shoved Alexa behind the wall.