by Kishan Paul
Ally stepped forward to grab him before he fell. The weight around her jostled in the process, reminding her to be still. Instead, she watched as he crashed face-first onto the cement floor.
“See. I keep my promise. I didn’t shoot him.” Wassim chuckled and turned toward the stairs. “Doesn’t matter anyway, your son will be dead shortly.”
Ally didn’t move. She didn’t breathe.
Wassim glanced over his shoulder at her. “Walk. It’s not time for you to die. You have to help me fish for something first.”
Eddie advanced down the narrow stairwell. Wassim had thought of everything, down to soundproofing the floors above, ensuring no one could hear the cries of help from the people imprisoned in the rooms. But he wasn’t the only one who’d thought things through. Eddie glanced up at the camera in the narrow passageway pointed at him. He pressed at the device in his ear. “Lashes, give me a sit rep.”
“The CCTVs are down completely for them and for us. You and your men are free to move about the building,” Sin replied. “I’ve jammed the cell phone frequencies.”
Thus far, things had gone according to plan. Better than planned. Raz’s team had Alisha under their protection, and they would soon make their assent to the roof and to the hidden ladder that would aid them in their escape.
Moose, Ari, and the ASHA operatives outside already executed potential threats and had the car ready for them. If his numbers were right, they’d taken out twelve of the eighteen hostiles inside the building. All of which they had done without being noticed. The extraction team was ready, waiting for him to hand them Wassim and Adil.
But he was far from ready to celebrate.
Uncertainty fluttered in his gut.
Until he had Wassim and Adil in his hands and she was safe, nothing was a done deal. And since he couldn’t do both of those at the same time, allowing Raz and Tay to lead her out while he sought out Wassim was the only option.
He went through his mental checklist of his part of the plan. He and the two men with him needed to locate and extinguish the remaining six threats and apprehend Wassim. Both of which needed to occur without alerting the dozen-plus armed jewelry store guards still wandering the outside perimeter unaware of the happenings inside.
Gun poised, he descended step by step. He slowed to a stop at the door to the ground floor and leaned his ear against the wooden barrier. “What’s waiting for me on the other side?”
“Three hostiles and the asset,” Sin announced. “All armed. Two males, facing you, less than two meters from your position. Female by the exit to the garage, four meters from you. Male asset standing beside east wing corner window, approximately ten meters.”
Eddie tipped his head, envisioning the locations in his head, and realizing the high value target was missing. “Where’s the HVT?”
“Can’t locate him, but two vans of armed combatants just pulled in the garage. Sorry, we couldn’t stop them. Not without drawing attention to ourselves.”
Fuck.
“Repeat.”
“We do not have eyes on the HVT, and you have approximately thirteen more hostiles about to come hang out with you in about five mikes.”
The vein in his temple thrummed at the implication of her intel. The biggest of all, Wassim was getting away. “And Sam?”
“Still on the second floor. Vehicle is ready and waiting.”
He peered at the stairs above his head.
Why was she still up there? They should have been working their way to the roof by now, and a shit load of trouble had just entered the building. He tuned on to Raz’s frequency to warn them but got no answer. When he tried Tay and got silence, he considered retracing his steps.
Eddie let out a breath. They only had five minutes to take care of the people in the room. He couldn’t afford to turn back now. He switched to Moose’s channel. “Are you in position?”
“Affirmative. And I have the hostile by the window in my scope.”
He shook his head at the possibility of killing Rafi. “Don’t kill him. I need that one alive.”
“Affirmative.”
“Can you get a clear shot on either of the two by the door?”
“Affirmative to both.”
“On your count.”
Eddie looked over his shoulder, signaling his men. The soldiers nodded. He gripped the knob as Moose counted down from three. At one, the window shattered, and a man’s tortured moan echoed.
“Now.”
Eddie entered the space. Things happened quick and seamless. Moose lodged bullets in the heads of the two guards by the door while one of Eddie’s men injured the woman, and Eddie put a bullet through Rafi’s shoulder. He scanned the rooms for further threats and took in the woman by the door. She sat with her back against the wall, blood streaking the right sleeve of her sheer shirt. He continued his surveillance while the others quietly dragged the dead to one of the back rooms. Once the bodies were removed, he shut down the battery-operated lights in the room, allowing the darkness to cover them. “Lashes?”
“Counting fourteen men exiting the vehicles. All armed, headed your way from the garage.”
Eddie and his two men hid in the corners, waiting for the door to open.
They waited until all fourteen guards entered the space.
Waited until they shut the door behind them and then opened fire. Sixteen bullets later, they were left with a new mess to clean up. Quietly and efficiently, they slid the bodies in the back room with the first set, until only they and the two people they allowed to live remained in the space.
Satisfied with their success, Eddie lowered his weapon and approached Rafi.
The sight of the asshole on his back and bleeding made him want to put another bullet in him. The piece of shit lay flat on his back, a palm pressed against his injured right shoulder, and stared at the ceiling. Eddie positioned himself so the injured woman couldn’t see their mouths. “Where are Wassim and Adil?”
“Gone,” he grunted.
Eddie scanned the area and found no other exits except for the one to the garage. “Did you see where either of them went?”
“He never came in here. Disappeared up the stairwell.” Rafi sat up, resting his back against the wall. “Said he was on his way to get Sara.”
The response chilled him.
“But we have a bigger problem. They’re getting rid of the evidence. There’s a van full of IEDs in the garage set to explode.” Rafi tipped his head toward the injured woman in the back. “She knows more than I do.”
He left Rafi’s side to attend to the woman in question. A woman he intended to squeeze information from.
One of Sin’s operatives was situated beside her, cutting through the sheer sleeve of her shirt and bandaging her wound, while a second stood guard monitoring for new threats.
Eddie took in the victim’s manicured fingernails, her eyes defined in black liner, the red-stained lips, and her curled hair. As if he needed any more clues as to what her purpose was in Wassim’s life, her see-through top putting her bare breasts on full display was evidence enough.
Her gun lay a few feet away. From the way she shook, she didn’t seem like the gun-toting kind. She was groomed to meet another kind of need. He bent down and grabbed her weapon, tucking it in the pocket of his vest before squatting beside her.
Fear flashed across her face. The sight of it sent a flutter of hope through him. Fear and greed were sentiments he worked well with. They loosened lips and induced cooperation faster than any other emotions. With lives at risk, he didn’t have time to waste. “Where is Wassim?”
She wiped the tears off her cheeks with the back of her good hand. “I don’t know.”
Her features screamed she lied. The million-dollar question was how long she would continue the deception. Eddie grabbed her injured arm, inspecting the gauze wrapped around it. “I thought you might say that.”
Her body quaked when he pulled off the blood-stained bandage. With his finger, he traced red circles with her blood around
the wound. He tipped his head in his partner’s direction. “Hand me your blade, and you two go and find the rest of the team. I’ve got this.”
Apprehension reverberated from the soldiers. Eddie raised his brows, his gaze locking with the dark browns of the one across from him. The operative finally nodded, pulled out his blade, placing it in his hand, and rose to his feet. Eddie waited until the two men left the floor to continue his interrogation.
He placed his thumb against the wound and pressed down.
Her screams pierced his ears.
He counted to ten before easing the pressure. “So. Let’s try again. Where. Is. Wassim?”
She sobbed and shook her head, a mix of sweat and tears glistening her skin. “I promise, sir, I don’t know.”
“I want you to think about this man you’re protecting. He used you for your body and then left you here.” The woman tracked Eddie’s moves, watching as he pulled out the blade and gripped the handle. As soon as he positioned the tip of the knife against her neck, her thick lashes slammed shut. “Knowing we would come. Knowing we would hurt you. He didn’t care about you or what we would do to you.”
Tears drenched her cheeks, streaking her neck. Her breathing turned ragged while the arm he gripped shook.
He watched her, willing her to cooperate. To not make him go any further than he already had. “Open your eyes.”
He pressed the blade deep enough to make her flinch but not bleed. “I said open your eyes.”
Her lids popped open and met his gaze.
“Now look around this room.”
Although her head remained still, her dark-brown orbs scanned the space.
“We’ve killed every single person who was in here and the ones on the roof and the ones upstairs and the ones outside. There’s no one left to protect you. Do you understand?”
She nodded.
“We decide what happens to you now. So, tell us what we need, and you will walk out of here. Free.” He paused, allowing the words time to sink in. “No one will touch you…or your body unless you want them to.”
A flicker of realization passed through her face.
“But if you refuse to help us or lie to us, then nothing Wassim did to you will compare to what we will do.”
To further her confidence in his abilities, he pushed the point of the blade into her skin until a red bubble of blood formed.
She drew in a breath, and when she let it out, her shoulders slacked in defeat. “What guarantee do I have you’re not lying?”
Eddie lowered the knife and sat back on his haunches. The bubble of red made a slow path down her neck. He grabbed the gauze he’d pulled off her arm and wiped the blood away. “You don’t. But you’re alive and they are not, so what’s your alternative?”
She observed him, as if considering her options. “He’s planning on destroying the building and the contents inside tonight. But first he wanted to get the woman. He thinks a man named Hassan will come for her and then he plans to kill them all.”
Hassan. The persona Eddie used in Karachi when he inserted himself inside Wassim’s inner circle. A betrayal Wassim was now ready to punish him for. Eddie opened his mouth to question her further when his radio buzzed. He pressed the button.
“Wassim has Sam.” Raz’s words turned Eddie’s blood to ice.
CHAPTER THIRTY-NINE
LITTLE BIRD
Wassim led the way. He gripped the transmitter in his right hand, and Ally followed with a handful of others behind her. The entire length of the journey, they moved in silence.
Perspiration slicked her skin. The belt around her waist and the burden she carried grew heavier with each step, tighter with every breath. Its edges were hard, jabbing into her hip, ribs, back as she moved.
She’d spent the entirety of the walk thinking through his actions. When he planned to detonate was unknown, but the one thing she knew was he wouldn’t risk his own death in the process. He loved his life too much to allow himself to die. At least, not alongside her. What he wanted was Eddie and the boys to come. To get them in a room with her and kill them all at once.
As frightening as his plan was, another member of his group terrified her more than him: the man in the back who carried the now conscious Nikki and the red pillow she clutched.
The child was an asset. A business venture Wassim needed to complete. The rest of them, including the ones imprisoned, were liabilities he could erase.
His steps slowed to a stop in front of a steel door at the far end of the hall. He pressed the buttons on the metal, and when it dinged, the door unbolted.
Bright, yellow light poured into an otherwise dimmed room when the men opened it, blinding her. She squinted and lowered her head, following him in. Her nostrils filled with the sweet scent of jasmine and roses while she adjusted to the now illuminated world.
The soft crimson fibers of the plush carpet poked up between her toes. Velvet in deep royal red stretched across the four walls and along all of them hung display cases.
Gold sconces illuminated the dozens of gold jewelry sets displayed and locked within each glass encasement.
Upright glass cases snaked along the back of the room. She imagined the employees standing behind them during retail hours, pulling out and discussing the expensive gems protected inside to customers itching to find the perfect necklace, ring, or bracelet.
Most of the cases were bare. The ones that still contained valuables were being cleaned out by two men who worked silently. They undressed the displays and slid the contents into boxes beside them. Scattered across the top of one of the cases were bottles of alcohol and chips and boxes of pizza. Nourishment for his men.
Wassim grabbed one of the many chairs and seated himself on it. On his knee, he placed the black remote-control box to her belt. A box he stroked as he grinned up at her, amusement dancing in his eyes. “Do you know what happens if you take the belt off?”
Ally positioned herself on the seat beside him, savoring the way he stiffened. “Maybe I should unbuckle it and see.”
“Varun.” He waved toward the man, who lowered Nikki onto a chair in the back corner of the room. Varun’s black hair was slicked back; his thick mustache stretched when he answered, “Yes, sir.”
“If her hearts stops, will the belt still work?”
The question made the man’s mustache flex. “Her heart does not need to beat for the bomb to work.”
From the way his grin widened, the information pleased Wassim.
From the shudder ripping through her, her body received the message he sent. She surveyed at the child and her pillow at the far corner of the room. “Why bring the girl?”
“My guarantee you won’t remove the belt.” He winked. “You’re not the only one who enjoys playing games.”
Adil entered the room, pushing a cart loaded with boxes. He rolled it to the front and handed it to the two men cleaning out the gold.
“All done?”
He nodded at Wassim’s question. “First floor emptied. They’re starting on the second now. We need to finish this one.” He focused his attention on her. “Why are you still alive? You should have been dead hours ago.”
She flashed him the cuts on her wrists and touched the tenderness on her jaw from where Wassim had hit her. “I’m not ready to die.”
“I’m ready for you to die.” Wassim patted the button.
“Yet I’m still here.” She turned to face her son. “Why are you doing this?”
“Peace.” Adil seated himself on the other side of Wassim. “As long as you and Hassan and the brothers who oppose us are alive, we will not have any. Likewise for you, as long as we are alive you cannot have it. At least one of us should be able to enjoy our life. Don’t you think?”
She glanced over her shoulder at the child. Nikki had left her chair and was cowering in the corner behind it. Her eyes doubled in size while she stared at the men congregating in the room. Madam’s slap had left a swollen imprint along her tiny cheek, the lesson she’d
learned about the importance of staying silent. One of the men leaned forward, stomping his foot and growling at her. The terrified child scrunched up into a ball and hid her face against her knees.
Ally’s hands clenched while she resisted the urge to go to the girl. “I made a mistake coming here. I thought somewhere in there, you would have a heart. No matter how small, I assumed it would be big enough to have room for your own blood. But you’ve shown me just how wrong I am.” She scrutinized Wassim’s amusement.
He rose from his seat and stepped toward her. “Something else you need to learn is how to shut up.” She didn’t inch back. Instead, she climbed to her feet to meet him. When he was close enough, he reared his hand back to hit her, but before he did, she clutched the buckle of her belt. “You really want to take a chance of jostling anything in here?”
The man froze mid-step, the muscle along his jaw flexing. “I am going to enjoy watching you die.” He tipped his head at one of the men who hovered nearby. “Tape her up before she gets any more ideas.”
Large hands grabbed her shoulders, shoving her backward into her seat. He secured her wrists behind her while Adil approached with a roll of duct tape.
Adil squatted behind her, taping her wrists while the other restrained her.
“Will you enjoy watching me die too?”
The binding ripped from the roll, the adhesive pressing against her skin. “Does your heart ache for me to say no, Sara?”
Her chest tightened, confirming the truth to his words.
He continued to wind it around her hands while he spoke. “Will it make this situation any easier for you? If so, I’ll tell you. Yes, I will enjoy seeing you die. Come to think about it. I already thought you dead, so it shouldn’t be hard to return to that happy place.”
Ally’s cheeks heated. “If I could go back in time, somehow make your life easier, keep you from making the choices you made, I would do it.”
“You still don’t understand.” He laughed. “I don’t need you to save me. I never did. This is my life. My choice. You saw us all as little birds who’d fallen out of our warm safe nests and needed a new mother, a new nest. Did it ever occur to you that not all of us wanted your saving?”