“Thanks, Tyrrell. I’ll be in touch.” Rob disconnected the call. “Gentlemen,” Rob said motioning the men into the living room. Rob informed them of his telephone conversation and then stalked back to Lopez. “This is your last chance to do this the easy way. Where did you take the girl from Saturday night?”
“I didn’t take anybody anywhere. I was at the club dancing, having a few drinks, flirting a little. What’s the big deal?” Lopez chided.
“The big deal is the girl you were last seen with and whom, might I mention again, was last seen with you, has disappeared.” Rob looked at Tony. “Bring the board.” Tony brought the board into the kitchen and moved a chair out from the table. He then moved the table to the counter which separated the kitchen from the living room. He placed the plywood on top of the counter and slanted it down to rest on the table. “Bring him here.” Rob motioned for Aaron to escort Lopez to the board. Rob and Aaron lifted Lopez onto the board so his head was pointing down the slope.
“Get the towel.” Steve handed Rob the towel and stood ready with a full bucket of water. Rob placed the towel over Lopez’s face taking care to cover his nose and his mouth. Then Rob began pouring water into the towel. Rob continued to pour until he could hear gurgling. He stopped and placed the bucket on the ground before he removed the wet towel from Lopez. “Where did you take her?” Rob demanded.
“Go fuck yourself,” Lopez spat.
“Again,” Rob said as Tony poured the contents of full bucket on the towel. Rob, for all intents and purposes, practically drowned Lopez three times, before Lopez caved.
The men helped Lopez back to the chair. “Talk,” Rob barked.
“I asked her to leave the club with me. I brought her back here. We had sex, and then she left. I haven’t seen her since.”
“Again,” Rob demanded as the men lifted Lopez back onto the board. They tortured him twice more before Rob felt he finally had had enough and would tell the truth. But in all actuality, they could keep this up all day. Rob had to give Lopez credit. He didn’t think it would take five times to get to the truth. And Rob’s instincts said this guy knew the truth, or he would never have tortured him in the first place.
Back at the kitchen chair, out of breath, water dripping from his face, an exhausted Lopez struggled to breathe. “I took her. I delivered her to a private air strip outside of Boston where she boarded a plane headed for Mexico,” he finally confessed.
“How much money did you receive for delivering her?” Rob asked hoping Lopez’s struggle to breathe would afford him to be much more upfront with him.
“I haven’t been paid yet. I won’t be until the auction.” Rob turned ghost white upon realization of what Lopez had revealed.
“Fuck. I want the address of that airfield, and I want to know what time you dropped her off and to whom.” Rob looked straight into Lopez’s frightened eyes. Lopez’s eyes widened.
“If I tell you that, I am as good as dead,” he pleaded.
“You’re dead if you don’t,” Rob calculated.
A pregnant moment of silence passed as Rob stared Lopez down. At that particular moment, he would have no problem killing a man who kidnapped girls and sold them into the sex-slave trade.
“I dropped her off to Luis around 2:00 am. She got on the plane, and that’s the last I’ve seen of her.”
“What airfield?” Rob forced through clenched teeth. He would love nothing more than to put a bullet through this bastard’s forehead.
“Lowell airfield. The military base closed a long time ago. That’s the strip they use.” Lopez sunk his head accepting his defeat.
The men cleaned up their supplies and made it look like they were never there, other than the fact that the carpet was now a puddle. They loaded the van and left a present for the FBI.
Rob dialed Tyrrell. “Lowell Airport. That’s where he dropped her. We need flight information to find the traveler, Luis. We are en route to Lowell now. Yeah, we left him tied up and waiting for the FBI. Okay, I will wait for your call.” Rob disconnected with Tyrrell.
Chapter 7
Lola left Dangani’s side and made it to her cot before the man entered. She didn’t want to be seen giving her attention; she was leery of how her captives would feel about that.
“Stand up. I measure you,” the man demanded of the girls in the hut. One-by-one the girls stood. Lola stepped forward. “Lift arms.” Lola did as she was told and lifted her trim arms above her head. The man measured around her breasts fondling and touching as he did so. Next, he measured her inseam purposely brushing between her legs. God, these were good drugs. She didn’t care she was being touched where no man had touched her before. “I bring back clothes. You try on and model for Mr. Ortiz.” The man said as he noted her measurements in his black notebook.
As promised, the man returned, but not before food and medicine. Lola’s belly was nice and full and her medicine calmed her and made her feel like she was floating around the room. The man entered with an armful of negligées. He gave each girl six different nighties to try and model. Thank God she didn’t care, but in the back of her mind she told herself she wouldn’t be caught dead doing this in front of a man, let alone a stranger. One-by-one the girls were escorted outside the hut to the main house. She giggled when she saw the pretentious lion statues which guarded the gold-plated entrance door. This place was a fort. Everywhere she looked, men with machine guns stood guard. She passed four of them on the way to the main house and saw another two standing behind the lion statues.
She entered the house and was immediately taken back to her father’s world: all marble floors and gold chandeliers. The opulence was disgusting, but then again, she didn’t care. She was led up the curved staircase to a long hallway. Each girl was placed in a room. She had no idea what she would have to do. She just hoped the drugs didn’t wear off while she was doing it. The man who placed her in the room told her to put on an outfit and then disappeared. She heard the lock click behind him. She chose a red satin camisole which barely covered her ass and quickly got dressed. It dipped low in the front revealing her generous, perky breasts. She could see her nipples through the fabric of the piece. The room was decorated in pale golds and dark greens; she thought it looked gaudy. She walked to the large, stately window and moved back the thick gold drapery to peer outside. She watched absentmindedly as the guards paced back and forth across the grounds. She noticed several huts along the back wall of forest. She could tell the grounds were surrounded, at least on her side, by thick forest. As she was standing looking out of the window, she heard the door open. She turned around suddenly and was startled by a small Latino looking man with a gringo mustache. Although the top of his head was bald, the sides of his hair were longer, and he sported a bad comb over. She giggled seeing the gel holding his hair in place reflecting the room’s artificial light. He had a pot belly, the kind one gets from drinking too much and wore suspenders to hold his chinos in place. She giggled again. A thought that perhaps she should be afraid of this man popped into her head, but it was gone just as quickly.
The man approached her, but she was rooted to the spot in which she stood. Fear – the thought was back. He removed the unlit, half-chewed cigar from his mouth and made a grunting noise which came from the back of his throat. He did not speak, which increased her anxiety level. What did he plan on doing? It had only been three or four hours since her last pill, but she was starting to feel fear. It was because she was being devoured by his eyes. He started at her feet and slowly perused his way to the top of her head. He approached closer now and she cringed back into herself. He picked up a strand of her long, golden blond hair and twisted it around his chubby finger. He pulled her head down by his finger and deeply inhaled. He held up the white negligee and handed it to her. She took it and clenched it against her chest. She really didn’t want this creepy man looking at her naked.
The man waited patiently chewing on his cigar. When she didn’t move, he walked over and grabbed the white negli
gee out of her hands and threw it on the bed. A shudder moved through her as he ran his hand down between her breasts and over her pubic area until he reached the hem of the red satin. With both hands, he pulled it over her head. She trembled and stared at the ground. She couldn’t look into his eyes; he scared her. He picked up the discarded white negligee and handed it to her, again patiently waiting for her to do the honors. She quickly pulled it over her body, not that it did any good. Only the trim was outlined in silk, every other part of the white mesh negligee was see-through. He stared at her, ogling her breasts. Why did it have to be so cold in this room? He motioned for her to turn around and she obeyed. This time he motioned and said the word, “Slowly.” Again, she did as he demanded.
He walked up to her until she could smell the liquor and chewed tobacco on his breath. She would never again be able to smell that scent and not think of this man. He kept walking forward, into her, causing her to bump the back of her legs against the bed. With one small, swollen hand, he pushed her onto the bed until she was spread beneath him. This was not good. She needed the drugs to endure this. He spread her legs and placed both hands solidly on her knees indicating for her not to move. She wasn’t wearing panties. What was he doing? He opened the bedside table and pulled out a bottle of gel lubricant, the kind she had seen the doctor use. He returned to her and placed two lubed fingers inside her center. She squeezed her legs together to try to stop him, but he wedged his short body in-between her knees to keep them open. When he felt her hymen still intact, he smirked. He removed his fingers and began to circle her clit. She thrashed her head from side to side trying to ignore the fact that he was touching a place no man had ever touched before. She always thought she would get to choose the man who touched her there. Her pulse started to race. She clenched her jaw and tried to ignore what he was doing to her. It didn’t feel good; it felt wrong. She felt a pain deep in her chest, but she ignored it. She tried very hard to hide her terror from him, but it was no use. He saw her fear. He saw her shrink into herself as if trying to hide. She squeezed her legs together again trying to limit his access. This time she pressed firmly against the man’s legs. He continued to lazily circle her clit, but when he could tell he wasn’t turning her on, he stopped. She exhaled. He extended his hand, the one that had been inside her, to her and waited until she placed her hand in his. Then he pulled her up to a sitting position. He lifted her arms and removed the white negligee from her now naked body. She had never felt such humiliation. Such degradation. Such violation.
“Raphael,” the man yelled. A second later, the man who had originally brought her the clothes was back in the room with her. The man handed Raphael the white negligee and then exited the room.
“Get dressed now,” Raphael said before exiting the room. She wondered if the other girls were going through this same type of disgrace. She dressed and went back to the window. She wrapped her arms around the middle of her body and stayed, gazing out at the grounds, until she was led back to the hut.
Chapter 8
Rob, Steve, Tony, and Aaron made their way to Lowell Airfield. When they arrived, they parked their SUV at a clearing in the woods surrounding the airfield. They had to sneak in to capture Luis, the delivery man for the Ortiz Cartel. The men exited the vehicle with purpose. Rounding the back of the SUV, they reached in and grabbed AR-15 assault weapons and placed the strap over their shoulders. They loaded extra ammo into the field pockets on their vests and pants. Once they were ready, they made the half-mile hike to the entrance of the airfield.
“I hope this asshole is waiting for another run. I don’t want to be stuck here on surveillance until he returns,” Rob commented to the men as they reached the entrance of the airfield. A barbed-wire fence protected the airfield from intrusion. How were Ortiz’s men getting in here? There had to be an opening. Walking the fence, about a quarter of a mile into the woods, Steve found a whole big enough for one man to fit through in the fence at the bottom so one had to crawl onto the air field. Luckily, the Ortiz men hadn’t wanted to be spotted either, so the entrance was blocked by an old, boarded up brick building. They entered the field behind a tan brick building, with paint flaking from the exposed brick.
In tight formation, the men hugged the back wall and then, when they were sure it was clear, the side of the building. Looking around, Rob could see four airplane hangars about a mile in the distance. They would have to cross two runways completely in the open. There were no buildings to hide them. They had to pray if Ortiz’s men were here, they were stashed in a closed hangar.
Rob looked at the men. “Are you ready? We have about a mile of open space to cross.”
“What if we walk the perimeter and enter the hangars from the back,” Tony asked. Rob always liked his ideas.
“It will take three times as long, but it won’t give away our position. What do you think, Steve?” Rob asked.
“I’m all for keeping our position secure. I don’t care if it takes all night to reach the hangars,” Steve uttered excitedly.
“That settles it. Tony, you take point. We’ll bring up your six. Let’s try not to fire our weapons, if at all possible. I want to take Luis and his men by surprise.” Rob stepped to the side so Tony could take lead. The men began jogging, hugging the fence, under the cover of the old buildings and overgrown vegetation.
Rob noticed the magnificent pinks, purples, and oranges that blazed in the sky as the sun began to set. He looked at his watch - 2045; it was a perfect summer evening. He recalled with clarity the last summer evening he had spent with Lizzie. How they sipped red wine on their deck. Nothing special, just a night like any other. They had just finished a wonderful dinner. Rob had manned the grill and Lizzie took care of the salad and sides. After they finished their meal, they sat in silence watching the sun dip below the horizon. He remembered the look in her eyes as she said, “Isn’t it beautiful? This is my favorite time of night.” Rob glanced at her expression as she looked off into the distance. This was his favorite part of the night, too. Just the two of them, after their chores were complete, simply sitting enjoying each other’s company. He placed his hand on her knee and trailed his fingers up her thigh. She met his gaze when his fingertips made it to her center. She smiled sweetly at him and took the same path up his leg until her hand was covering his erection. She gave a mischievous smile and stood. He followed her into the house and upstairs to the bedroom. She slowly undressed for him, piece by piece. They made love all night and fell asleep in each other’s arms.
“Let’s clear the first one,” Aaron said bringing Rob out of his reverie. He couldn’t afford to be drifting off on a mission. He shook his head and crouched at the opening of the back door as Aaron picked the lock. Aaron went through the open door and Rob brought up his gun. The building was pitch black. No one occupied it. “Shall we have a closer look, just to be safe?” Aaron brought up his gun as Rob stepped past him into the large, dark space. The men donned their night vision goggles. They proceeded to make their way from the back of the building to the front, inspecting each office as they went.
“Clear,” Rob yelled just loud enough for the other men to hear. He began walking back the way he had come.
When they opened the door to the third building, Rob crouched and pointed his gun. When Aaron breached the door, Rob was pointing his gun directly at the back of a man’s head. Rob held up his fist. Rob pulled out his knife from his bootstrap holster and cautiously and quietly approached the man. Rob didn’t make a sound. With one move, Rob brought his hand around the neck of the man holstering a weapon and sliced his neck from ear to ear. There was a loud gurgling sound as the man sputtered out blood from his mouth and drained from the deep cut in his neck. Rob quietly lowered the man to the concrete floor. They removed their night-vision goggles. The lights were on in this building. Once Rob cleared Ortiz’s guard, he motioned for the men to enter noiselessly. There was a large airplane standing between Rob and the voices he heard coming from the other side.
&n
bsp; “I hear four distinct voices,” Rob whispered to his men.
“So do I,” Tony agreed. “Let’s assume there are two that aren’t talking.”
“We need to take Luis alive. Steve and I will hide. Tony and Aaron, you get yourselves caught. That way we’ll find out where Luis is before we kill everyone.” Rob gestured to each of the men.
“Why do I always have to be the one to get caught?” Tony questioned with a look of devilment in his eyes. It was true; every mission that required this tactic, Rob always volunteered Tony.
“You’re so good at it, brother,” Rob bantered.
Rob watched from his hiding spot, as Tony and Aaron made their way, guns drawn, to the men at the front of the hangar. “Don’t shoot,” Tony warned the men. “Ortiz sent us as reinforcements. There is going to be trouble tonight,” Tony said to Ortiz’s men.
“Why didn’t I know about this?” a man asked as he aimed his gun at Tony’s head.
“Don’t ask us. Ask Ortiz. We were hired to be extra security for the shipment which is coming in tonight,” Tony said keeping his gun trained on the man who was speaking. “Which one of you is Luis? We were told to check in with him.”
Rob had taken up position behind one wheel-well. He was a marksman when it came to his assault weapon. He had a clear view of the front of the room from where he crouched behind the wheel. He could use the wheel to level his gun and point it in between the space of wheel and the airplane. He could clear the room before Tony or Aaron had a chance to be captured.
Luis stepped forward. “I am. Who did you say hired you?”
Stronger (The Unit Book 2) Page 4