Operation: Midnight Guardian (16 page)

“I don’t believe you.” She stared at the cuffs, feeling trapped and more terrified than she’d ever been in her life.

A hint of a smile touched his mouth. “We’re going to take you on a tour of the compound.”

“I don’t want a tour. I want you to let me go.”

“I’m afraid I can’t do that.” He jerked his head at the man with the restraints. “Cuff her.” His gaze swept to Mattie. “Don’t fight them, Ms. Logan. You will not win.”

She jolted when strong fingers wrapped around her arm and spun her around. Knowing there was no escape, she allowed the man to cuff her hands behind her back.

When she turned back to The Jaguar, the smile had been replaced by a cruel light in his
eyes. She saw that he was drawing a twisted sense of enjoyment from her fear.

“Shall we begin the tour?” Taking her arm, he motioned toward the steel reinforced door. “I believe once you’ve seen the facilities, you’ll be ready to tell me everything you know about EDNA. An absolutely pain-free process I’m sure you’ll appreciate.”

As he guided her toward the door Mattie realized that just as Cutter had warned her, her fate was in the hands of a sociopath.

MIKE MADRID located Daniel Savage’s condo and parked down the block. He entered the small backyard through the alley, using the hedge as cover from the prying eyes of neighbors. The security system was good, but Madrid was better. He chose the smallest point of entry—the downstairs bathroom window. He snipped wires to disable the sensor. In seconds he had the glass taped. Using the glasscutters, he scored the glass, tapped it out and removed it. A flick of his wrist and the lock snicked open.

He was in.

The condo smelled of eucalyptus oil and heated air. Soundlessly he left the bathroom and went into the darkened living room. Stairs to his
left led to the second floor. The foyer and front door were straight ahead. The bedroom and study to his right. According to Savage’s secretary, he was working from home today.

The first level of the condo was clear. With the silence and grace of a predatory cat, Madrid took the steps two at a time to the second floor. He paused on the landing and listened. There was a radio playing nearby, probably in the master bedroom. No sign of Savage.

His boots were silent against the carpet as he made his way to the bedroom. The door stood slightly ajar. He opened it the rest of the way. There were two forms huddled beneath a white down comforter. Removing the syringe from the compartment in his belt, Madrid walked to the bed and jammed the needle into the female’s hip.

Yelling, she thrashed and turned over. Her eyes widened when she saw him. Then the fast-acting tranquilizer hit her system and she collapsed back into her pillow.

The commotion had wakened Daniel Savage. “What the—”

Madrid quickly subdued him. Cutter’s words echoed in his ears as he slid the knife from its sheath and set it against Savage’s carotid artery. “I’m going to ask you some questions,” he said.
“Every time you give me the wrong answer, I’m going to cut you.”

“I…I have money. Take it. Please, don’t hurt me.”

“Shut up and listen,” Madrid ordered. “I need to know where The Jaguar’s headquarters is located.”

Confusion swam in Savage’s eyes. “The Jaguar?”

Madrid made good on his word and cut him. Blood trickled onto the sheets. He shifted the crisp white cotton and made certain Savage could see his own blood. “Wrong answer.”

Savage whimpered. “Please, don’t…”

“Where is the compound? This time I won’t miss the artery.”

Daniel Savage began to talk.

CUTTER PACED the room for the hundredth time, he tried to get a grip on the fear spiraling inside him. He knew better than to operate on emotion. It was the fastest way to get someone killed. But he’d never felt so helpless in his life. It tore him up to think of Mattie, of the horrors she might be enduring.

Cutter still remembered with stark and frightening clarity every second of agony The Jaguar
had inflicted. He remembered the odd light of excitement in the other man’s eyes, and he’d realized The Jaguar was so good at what he did because he enjoyed it.

For a moment Cutter thought he would be sick. Dear God how had the situation spiraled so horribly out of his control?

Hold on, Mattie,
he thought.
I’m coming for you.

The problem was he had no idea where to look for her. He’d searched the scene thoroughly, but The Jaguar had not left a single clue. Cutter had gotten on the phone and called in favors, but not even his shadier connections knew where The Jaguar’s mountain compound was located.

The only information the MIDNIGHT Agency intelligence people could come up with was that the place was a fortress set on a hundred acres of rugged mountain terrain somewhere in Alberta, an immense province in western Canada. A lot of ground to cover. Without GPS coordinates, searching for her would be futile.

“Damn it!” Cutter slammed his fist down on the tabletop. “Madrid, where the hell are you?”

He glanced at his watch. Almost two hours had passed, and he knew all too well how much could have happened to Mattie by now. Cutter
had never been good at waiting, but he honestly felt as if he were about to unravel.

He jolted when his cell phone chirped. Madrid’s cell number appeared on the display. “Talk to me,” he said.

“I got the GPS coordinates.” Madrid rattled off a series of numbers. “I’m en route in the Lear. Backup is on the way. We’ll meet you at the compound in three hours. Your instructions are to not go in alone.”

Cutter made a bitter sound that was part growl, part laugh. “In three hours he’ll have the plans for EDNA and Mattie will be dead.”

“Sean, you need to calm down and think about this.”

“Don’t tell me to calm down, damn it.”

“Look, Wolfe briefed me on the situation. Our objective is to take down The Jaguar. We can’t afford to screw this up, Cutter. Come on. Work with me. There are a lot of lives at stake.”

Cutter started for the door. “There’s only one life I’m interested in at the moment.”

“I don’t want her getting hurt any more than you do, but you have to weigh her life against the lives of tens of thousands at risk if that bastard gets his hands on EDNA.”

“I know what’s at stake,” Cutter snapped.

“The scientist is expendable, Sean.”

“Yeah, well, so am I.”

After ending the call, Cutter left the bed and breakfast at a dead run.

THE JAGUAR GAVE HER the grand tour of the compound as if he were the host of some upscale resort. Had it not been for the knot of fear tightening around her throat, Mattie could almost have imagined she was visiting the mansion of some celebrity in Los Angeles or New York or Chicago. But the reality that she was a prisoner in the lair of a killer never left her mind.

The dining rooms were massive and furnished with expensive Italian furniture. The chef’s kitchen gleamed with stainless steel appliances and ornate tiles set into the walls. Antique furniture adorned the six guest bedrooms.

The Jaguar himself was nothing like she envisioned. He was cultured and soft-spoken. But as he went on about the compound and his reasons for having built it, Mattie saw something dark in his eyes. A deep-seated hatred for anyone who did not agree with him. A total disregard for human life. A cruelty that was beyond frightening.

“Are you ready to begin the second phase of the tour?”

The question drew her from her reverie. Mattie looked at him to find his eyes already on her, calculating, probing. She suppressed a shudder. “I want you to let me go,” she said.

“Come now,” he cooed. “You know I can’t do that.”

“You can. Please. I don’t know anything about what you want.”

Amusement danced in his eyes. “That remains to be seen, doesn’t it?”

He wants to hurt me almost as badly as he wants the future plans for EDNA,
she thought, shivering with terror.

The Jaguar nodded at one of the two men with them. The man punched numbers into a keypad set into the wall. A heavy door slid open to a murkily lit stairwell. The Jaguar motioned her inside. “Please,” he said.

When Mattie hesitated, one of the other men gave her a shove. Knowing she didn’t have a choice, she went down the stairs. At the base of the stairs, they entered a narrow hall with two doors on either side. The steel doors were equipped with barred windows.

A scream shattered the silence. The sound was so shrill and animalistic, she couldn’t tell if it was male or female. Then a second scream
rent the air. The urge to put her hands over her ears to block out the horrific sound was overwhelming, but her hands were secured behind her back.

“In case you’re wondering, this is the interrogation wing.” The Jaguar motioned down the hall. “Shall we?”

“I don’t want to see any more,” Mattie said.

“All of my interrogation equipment is state-of-the-art.” He went on as if he hadn’t heard her. “Much of it was imported from other countries. Some of it I invented myself. You see, I am a master of persuasion. I know how to make people
cooperate.
”

Taking her arm, he forced her down the hall, stopping at the first door. “This room is for level-one interrogations. I would take you inside, but as you can see it is currently in use. Observe,” he ordered.

The last thing she wanted to do was look through the small window. She had no desire to witness the horrors going on inside any of these rooms. Lowering her head, Mattie shut her eyes. The next thing she knew strong hands were clamped around her head, forcing her face to the glass.

“Look at him!” The Jaguar commanded.

Mattie opened her eyes. She caught a glimpse of bare flesh. The stark red of blood. The jangle of chains against concrete. The crack of electricity against wet skin. A cry of anguish escaped her at the sight of the man’s face as it contorted in agony….

“You’re a monster,” she whispered.

“I am a man fighting for what I believe is right.”

“Not like this.”

“How then?” Stepping in front of her he put his hand beneath her chin and forced her gaze to his. “Negotiation? Peace treaties?” His laugh was bitter. “Too many of my people have died trying.”

“What do you want from me?”

She immediately regretted the question. She knew what he wanted. And she had a terrible feeling she knew how far he would go to extract it.

“I want the future plans for EDNA,” he said. “You tell me what you know, and I’ll let you go. I won’t hurt you. I’ll personally drive you to the nearest city and release you. It’s as simple as that.”

The offer was tempting. But Mattie knew that to accept it she would be making a deal with the
devil. She knew that by relaying the information, tens of thousands of lives would be in danger. She’d never be able to live with herself even if he kept his word and let her live, which was highly doubtful.

“I don’t know the future plans for EDNA,” she said.

“Lying to me now will only cause you more pain later,” he said.

“I swear,” she said. “I don’t know anything.”

He stared at her with those cold, dark eyes. “Daniel Savage gave me your notes. You had outlined the second phase of EDNA. I know you were working on miniaturization. I know you had almost perfected it. I want those plans, Mattie, and I want them now. If you do not cooperate, I will be forced to take you into that room.”

At that moment she was more terrified than she’d ever been in her life. She knew if she wanted to survive this she was going to have to talk. But the idea of unleashing any part of the EDNA project on an unsuspecting population repulsed her so thoroughly, she couldn’t bring herself to say the words. There was simply no way she could give that kind of power to a terrorist.

Maybe she could make something up. She could recreate her research and embellish it in a way that would ensure the weapon he built wouldn’t work. She could design phony blueprints using substandard materials. After all, no one would be the wiser until the weapon was built and tested….

The level-one interrogation room door swung open. Mattie saw two men drag out a third wearing nothing more than a pair of drawstring pants. Her stomach turned when she noticed that his feet were leaving a trail of blood on the concrete floor.

“Ah, they’ve finished.” The Jaguar smiled. “Take her inside.”

She lunged backward in an attempt to free herself, but the two men snagged her arms.

“No!” she screamed as they forced her into the room.
“No!”

The room was small, perhaps twelve feet square. A gurney sat against the wall. Chains with shackles hung from the ceiling. Electrical probes dangled from a table. An array of sharp instruments lined the counter.

Mattie looked down, saw a pool of blood the size of a saucer on the floor and tried not to
imagine the horrors that had just taken place in this terrible room.

“What do you think of my interrogation room?” The Jaguar asked.

“I think you’re a sick bastard,” she said.

One side of his mouth curved. “I’m going to enjoy teaching you some manners.”

“Go to hell!” she hissed.

“You first.” He nodded at the two men. “Strap her to the gurney. Let her get a sense of who’s in charge and who is not.”

Mattie frantically looked around, but there was nowhere to run. No way to escape what this man had planned for her. She backed away as the two men approached her. With her wrists bound, there was nothing she could do to protect herself. The scars on Cutter’s body flashed in her mind’s eye. Only now did she realize fully the horrors he must have endured.

As the men dragged toward the gurney, Mattie felt as if she was entering hell.

Chapter Seventeen

Cutter stole the SUV at gunpoint just two blocks from the wire office. A man, probably on his way to the ski slopes, judging from his clothes and the snow chains on the tires, was sitting behind the wheel at a stoplight, tapping his fingers to the beat of a song on the radio. Cutter walked up to the passenger door and jammed the pistol into the side of his face.