by Kishan Paul
He pulled off the fabric and stared at the cuts before returning pressure to the site. “But don’t worry, you’ll be fine. Just secure the door behind me.”
When she tried to ask questions, Rafi ignored her and kept talking. “Eddie and his team have a lock on you. They are aware of your location. No harm will come to you as long as you are in here.”
“There are people locked up…”
He glanced at the time on his phone and then sucked in a breath. “He’ll be here in five minutes.”
“A man named Khalin. A woman with a baby named Tanush. She calls him Tanu. They took the baby from her. There’s a little girl named Nikki.” Ally grabbed his watch. “There are more. Forty, at least. I haven’t seen them all, but I heard them.”
He shook his head. “More along the lines of a hundred or so.”
She stared at the dirty sheets and shuddered. “You have to get them out of here.
He checked his phone again. “I can’t. But I promise you every single one of them will get out.”
She didn’t let go of his arm. Instead, she squeezed it tight. “Promise me one more thing.”
Rafi surveyed the ceiling and mumbled under his breath.
“You will not kill Wassim.”
He didn’t speak for a beat. Just eyed her. “Because your son needs his blood.”
“His bone marrow.”
Rafi pulled his hand away and tucked the phone back in his jean pocket. “He kicked you, sliced up your face, wound a rope around your neck, and tried to kill you. All this before handing you off to me so I can fuck you, and you’re worried whether he lives or dies? For what?” He shook his head. “Do you have any idea how polluted his blood must be by now? That man’s body is as corrupt as his mind. This world is different from the one you’re used to. Here, the words safe sex and protection mean armed guards at the doors while you’re raping a woman, man, or child. And believe me, Wassim’s had his version of safe sex hundreds of times over by now.” Rafi waved a hand at her. “I can’t promise what state he’ll be in, but I assure you, he’s not going to be killed.”
“And Adil?”
Rafi shrugged. “You let me deal with them. Eddie is coming for you. That man’s only mission is to keep you safe and kick my ass.” He chuckled. “So as soon as the lights go out, I will sneak out before he gets his hands on me, and he’ll be the first one to run in and get you out of here. But understand there are armed guards at every entrance and window. If you try to walk out that door on your own, you will die.”
She leaned against the wall, thinking about the child with the red pillow. “The little girl.”
Rafi’s eyes softened, and he gave her hand a squeeze. “You have my word, once it is safe, I will make sure the child and the others get out. Now, how are you with a gun?”
“I can shoot.”
“Good.” He squatted and lifted the leg of his jeans, revealing a black holster. He pulled out the weapon stowed inside and handed it to her. “There are seventeen rounds in there, so shoot wisely and try not to aim it at me or Eddie.”
She gripped it, getting comfortable with the heavy weight of the piece while Rafi paced. Time seemed to stop as she waited. After what seemed like an eternity, the lights went out, blanketing them in darkness.
CHAPTER THIRTY-SIX
THE ROOF
Ally had shut the door behind Rafi as soon as he departed. With the electricity off, the room was blanketed in darkness, and touch and sound were the only two senses she could rely on. She palmed the smooth surface of the wood until her fingers brushed the one-inch-thick metal cylinder of the lock. The rod slid through the metal loop on the door and through the loop on the wall. She didn’t need light to know the small screws securing the metal brackets would come loose after a few shoves on the door. It was not as strong as a deadbolt but would serve as a very temporary barrier to uninvited guests.
Screams from the floors below echoed, making her flinch. Adrenaline filled her veins. She gripped the gun with one hand while she guided herself with the other.
The blackout was supposed to help, but neither it nor the weapons would deter Wassim from coming back for her. He would die before he let her get away a third time.
As if on cue, voices resonated from the stairwell. They were close enough to where she could make out the words they spoke, the main two being “kill her.”
The pounding of feet grew louder as they ascended the stairs. With each thud of their shoe, her heart pounded harder. A palm on the wall for guidance, she moved in the direction she remembered the dresser was in. As much as she wanted to follow Rafi’s orders to sit and wait, she needed to be ready to escape. It wasn’t until her thigh slammed against a sharp edge of the furniture that she let out a breath and stopped. She climbed atop the dresser just as the door to the stairwell slammed open. By the time the running footsteps echoed through the space, she was feeling for the gap on top of the wall.
Her room vibrated as they wrestled the door’s knob. “Sara, open the door!”
Spoken in Hindi, the voice was not one she recognized. She rested her gun along the ledge, curled her fingers around the thick edge, and hoisted herself up off the dresser.
“Wassim wants to make sure you’re safe.” The owner of the voice slammed into the door a second later.
Ally swung her leg up and on her second attempt, the back of her heel hooked on to the ledge. She shifted her weight onto that foot and lifted herself up, sliding over the wall until she had a leg dangling on either side of the partition.
When she reached for her weapon, bullets crashed through the door. The sound startled her, making her jostle the gun. It fell back into the darkened room she tried to escape from. Half of her body hanging on either side of the wall, she considered returning for the gun while the echoes of bullets continued.
“Open the fucking door, now.” A heavy weight slammed against the entrance.
A loud crack their reward.
One more attempt, and they’d be inside.
She slid her hips towards her escape, dropping to her feet just as the door finally crashed with a thud against the floor.
Ally inched backward from the wall, gazing up at the ledge as she moved. Not only had the gap provided her the escape she needed, it allowed the light from the men’s flashlights to illuminate her room.
While they flipped furniture and called her name, she snuck in to the narrow hallway. She scanned the darkened space for threats and when she saw none, sprinted toward the stairwell.
Before she closed the door to the stairs behind her, she peeked out in time to see the shadows of two men rushing out of the room she escaped. Ally raced up the stairwell, sprinting toward the darkened passage above.
“Where is she?” the voices shouted below her.
With one hand on the wall and another on the railing, she continued her escape in silence, praying they wouldn’t see her.
“We need to find her, or Wassim will kill us. Split up.”
It didn’t take long for the ground beneath her feet became level. She reached out her hand, feeling in front of her for a wall of some kind. The voices from below drew closer, and the glow from their flashlights bounced off the walls of the hall she gazed down at. After a quick glance over her shoulder, she grabbed the door’s knob, opened it, and squeezed through, shutting it behind her. She rested her back against the door, trying to catch her breath while she scrutinized her surroundings.
When Ally raced up the stairs, she didn’t know where it would lead. Now as she scanned the skyline, she had her answer. The roof provided a good view of the city at night, but it was what she saw on the terrace floor that made her cover her mouth for fear she’d scream. The dead bodies of men sprawled across the surface.
A quick survey of the unobstructed view made it clear that she was the only living person on the terrace. She hunched low and crept to the side, scanning over the three-foot ledge for an escape. The walls were smooth with no fire stairs to descend. Hoping for bet
ter luck on the other three sides, she rushed to each edge only to find the same answer. With no way down and the neighboring buildings too far to jump to, she was trapped.
Voices grew closer by the door of the roof—a door she failed to lock. Ally slid down, crouching beside the corners of the three-foot barrier, praying for the shadows to hide her. The door slammed open. Two men carrying flashlights stormed in.
One of them in shorts ran out, scoping the area, and was followed by Black Leather. Weapons in hand and out of breath, they scanned the space.
“What happened out here?” the man in shorts asked.
She inched farther back, sliding out of their way as they moved.
“She’s somewhere out here. Find her,” Black Leather ordered.
The man in shorts pulled out his phone. Before he finished making his call, he crumpled to the floor. His partner’s scream was silenced a second later when he fell as well.
Ally didn’t move from her spot, gazing upon the two newest kills. She released the breath she held and scrutinized the direction from where the silent shots must have come. Somewhere in one of the buildings out there, a shooter hid in the darkness. Her mind went to Musa, wondering if her son was the shooter. In case it wasn’t him, she crouched low to the ground, using the retaining wall as her shield.
She crept toward Black Leather’s body. Face down, blood pooled around his head. She took in the shiny black of the jacket he wore as she watched him for signs of life. Once convinced of his death, she reached for his gun, which lay a few feet from his hand.
Pointing it at his head, she reached for the other valuable in his possession. She gripped the bottom of his jacket, pulling it up to reveal his dark tee and jeans. Her breathing came out ragged, sounding loud and harsh to her own ears as she palmed the pockets of his rear.
When they turned up empty, she slid closer and rolled him over. Not allowing herself to see his face, she focused on his hips, feeling for the hard metal she sought. And when her fingers pressed against it, a smile stretched across her lips. Ally shoved her hand down his front pocket, yanking out the treasure it contained.
The glow of the flashlight made the silver metal of the chain glisten. Three brass keys dangled from the circular loop. After releasing the breath she held, she tucked the keys in her bra and grabbed the flashlight and his gun.
Something heavy thudded against one of the outside walls. The sound made her jump. Sweat slipped down her neck as she stared at the location of the noise.
She weighed her options, wondering if it could be Eddie. The possibility it wasn’t sent her with weapon and flashlight in hand, crawling her way back to the door. Ally switched off the light, entered the stairwell, shutting and locking the door behind her.
She crept down the steps. Hopefully Wassim was unaware the men he’d sent to kill her were dead. Screams echoed from the prisons below, validation that her return was the right decision. Ally gripped her gun and made her way toward the source of the screams. At the door, she took in a breath, cracked it open, and peeked inside.
Darkness greeted her. The fear and desperation of the inhabitants were evident from the loud banging of metal against doors and walls, but it was the cries of terror that rocked her to her core. She moved down the hall, using the back of her hands to feel her way, stopping when she arrived at the first set of doors and listened.
An echo different from the rest prickled her skin. Footsteps, barely audible above the other sounds, but they were there.
She crept farther down, her palm brushing against doors until she found one without a lock. Ally made her way inside, shutting the barrier behind her, and pressed her back against it. Her senses honed in on the footsteps. When they stopped outside her door. She prepared the gun.
His gun aimed, Eddie crouched low, stepping over one of the eight bodies Moose terminated. Things weren’t going according to plan. He checked out his tracker and cursed under his breath. He pulled out his radio and made a call. “Sam’s gone.”
“Affirmative.”
Moose’s response made the coils of tension in his chest tighten.
“Two hostiles followed her to the roof. After I took them out, she went back inside.”
Fuck… Fuck… Fuck…
“How long ago?”
“Two mikes.”
He’d missed her by two minutes. He cursed a few more times. “If you see any signs of Sam, buzz me on this channel.”
“Roger that.”
“And no one enters the building.”
“Affirmative.”
The plan was simple. The first goal retrieve Alisha. Sin managed to tap in to the CCTVs inside and surrounding the building, only allowing select images to run on loop in case Wassim’s people noticed. After which, she shut down the power grid, cutting off all electricity inside. Aside from the generators in select rooms, most of the other spaces were now dark.
He glanced over his shoulder at his backup: Raz, Tay, and the three new men Sin provided. The tracker on his wrist would guide them to their goal, and once they secured her, they’d break off. He and two of the new men would go after Wassim and Adil while Raz, Tay and the other man removed Alisha from the property. Outside the building, Ari and three others secured the perimeter, exterminating threats as they arrived, and would assist with Alisha’s retrieval while Moose did the same from the sky.
His ear buzzed.
“Asset is secure.” Sin’s confirmation about the second mission eased a little of the strain thrumming through his muscles.
“Any identifying marks?”
“Scar on right arm above elbow and missing a toe. Like you said.”
“Roger that.”
After scanning the area for additional threats, he made his way to the access point. The midnight sky provided them with the perfect cover as did the three-foot retaining wall surrounding the perimeter of the roof of the building.
He squinted over his shoulder at his team. All of whom were currently out of earshot, concealing the ladders they’d used to access the building and hide bodies under the tarps. He pressed the button of his earpiece. “I need a report on the extraction team.”
“Five mikes away. Waiting for your command,” Sin replied.
Five minutes away. Exactly what he was hoping. So far, all the men except him and Sin were in the dark about the now successful second mission, the extraction team, and about Rafi. He motioned them to follow him to the access point.
When he turned the knob, his efforts were met with resistance. Eddie signed to them before switching on the light on his helmet, aiming it at the keyhole, and working the lock.
Wassim knew he’d come and was waiting. Six men would be going up against sixteen armed combatants, but more were coming. None of which concerned him. What scared the shit out of him was the person they needed to retrieve. The flashing green on his tracker that moved around the building as if she owned the fucking place. Stubborn, impulsive, unpredictable. He lifted the pins inside the lock with his pick. The turn of the knob his reward. Instead of opening it, he shut down his light, positioned his night vision goggles around his eyes, put his fist back in the air, and gestured directions to give him space.
He changed channels on his piece. “Where’s Sam?”
“Directly below you in the nest.”
Rafi’s coded response and the confidence in his tone made Eddie’s frown deepen. “Then why the fuck is she flying?”
His question was met with static. He let out a soft hiss. “You didn’t think to lock her in?”
“No.” Rafi let out a breath.
He rolled his eyes and let out a few choice, whispered expletives. “Any other fuck-ups I need to know about?”
“No. I’ll take care of it.”
“No need. We’ll take care of it.” He pumped his fist and gestured his team their instructions. A few beats later they were directly behind him. “Lashes?”
“You have two hostiles. Two flights below you,” Sin replied.
That wasn
’t so bad.
“Four more in the main hall. Another three in the second floor monitoring the hostages. All armed. You should be able to get in, exterminate the rats, and get to her without being noticed.”
“Roger that.” His grip on the weapon tightened, and he considered his options. He sucked in a breath and signed the intel about hostiles to his men.
There was one more contact he needed to make. Eddie switched off his piece and got back on his radio. “What do you see?”
“Four hostiles,” Ari announced. “Approximately five blocks south, headed your way. You have ten minutes to secure the building before their arrival.”
Eddie chewed on Ari’s information. Ten minutes to terminate the remaining men, subdue Wassim, and find Alisha before new players showed up. “Make sure they never make it here, and have the car ready for extraction.” If things went well, she would be on her way out of the hell hole in ten minutes.
Satisfied, he cocked his weapon and flashed five fingers counting down to entry. Six seconds later, they crept down the narrow stairs in a line, each man with his gun drawn, aimed and ready for potential threats. They moved silently, each knowing their role, each trusting the others to cover their blind spots.
Eddie put up a fist as they neared the second floor. It was then he heard the scream.
CHAPTER THIRTY-SEVEN
PROTECTION
Even though Ally clutched the gun with both hands, the weapon shook under her grip. The terrified cries of the other prisoners had decreased, making the sounds of footsteps even easier to hear. Footsteps that seemed to increase in number as they drew close. Metal slammed hard against her closed door. The force of it made the wooden barrier shake. She flinched but remained still.
“Shut up!” Madam screamed.
Her orders for silence and the slamming of metal continued farther down the corridor. The screams of terror died down as commanded except for one. A high pitched, piercing sob. The source either a woman or a child, and their expression of fear or pain only seemed to grow louder as a result of the command.