Stark Shadows (Stark Trilogy Book 2)
Page 20
“You will need to wear this.” The deep Latin voice purred from a dark corner of the room.
Kira snapped her head up and looked in that direction. She pulled her towel tighter around her. How long had he been sitting there? Kira had thought he left when the women came in. Where the hell were they anyway? Fuck! A new panic rose over Kira. “Who are you? Why are you in here? I don’t know what you are expecting from me.” Kira tried her best to sound calm and in control. The pounding of her heart felt anything but in control.
He stepped toward her and into the light. This must be Gerson Galvez. He shared the magnetic chocolate eyes of Javier. His features were just a bit older, more defined. Kira drew in a deep breath and swallowed.
“Were you expecting a beast?” He asked with a chuckle. His mouth raised in a half smile and he looked to devour her with hungry eyes. “El Encantado perhaps?” he stepped closer. He wore dark tailored dress pants. His white shirt was unbuttoned revealing a chiseled and unmistakably tattooed chest. His olive skin was dark like the deepest summer tan accentuating each ripple.
Kira swallowed hard and squeezed her eyes shut for a moment. This was not a sculpted piece of man candy this was a feared and ruthless drug lord. He would just as easily kill her as let her live. She opened her eyes again. Damn. He stepped closer. Kira could smell his cologne. It was the same as Javier’s. This had to be his brother.
“Gerson Galvez.” She breathed quietly. She needed to get the information she came for and leave. This enchanting man was a deadly poison. Like the beautiful flowers of the Strychnos plant, Javier had shown her, the slightest contact with its poison could render its victim helpless, paralyzed until the last breath escaped. She recalled the natives using it to tip poison arrows. One touch from this man would be lethal.
He took the white clothes and handed them to her. “These belonged to my lover. I think they will fit you perfectly.” He stood inches away from her and Kira looked down at the tile floor. She did her best not to inhale the intoxicating aroma. This was insane. This was not a man. This was a ruthless killer. He raised a hand to her cheek and slowly grazed her skin. The heat took her breath.
“What happened to her?” Kira couldn’t help her damn mouth.
His entire body tensed. His hands clenched around the fabric. His face cringed in a pained expression then like a shark his eyes seemed to turn from chocolate to black. He threw the clothes onto the floor and stormed toward the door. “Put on the fucking clothes if you want to live. The Burka is not an option. Our guest is not as tolerant of women with smart mouths as I am.” The door slammed behind him.
Holy Fuck! Kira’s hands were trembling. She took a few breaths then with shaky knees bent down to retrieve the garments. She dressed as quickly as possible and found her shoes and tags. Well at least maybe someone would be able to identify her body. Who was the guest? What did all of this have to do with the damn virus she had been investigating? Who the fuck else was she going to meet. Kira fumbled with the burka she had never put one on before. After several attempts she finally had it on right she thought. She made her way toward the door. Visibility in this get up was very limited. She felt like ET in the ghost costume. Only less graceful she imagined as she bumped into the night table making her way toward the door. She tried the door but it was locked. Kira scanned the room again for a weapon to tuck into the giant bed sheet she was forced to wear. Before she could retrieve anything the door opened.
“Vamanos” The woman ordered. “Vamanos.”
Kira followed her into the hallway. The stucco walls and terracotta tile floor were dotted with ornate tables with green flowering plants. They walked down the long arched hallway to an open area. Kira noted the water features as they past. This must have been what she heard when she was first brought in. The woman escorted her to a study. Four brown leather chairs surrounded a round cigar table. Gerson sat there with an older man. The man had jet black hair but a white mustache and beard. He did not get up when Kira entered. Gerson stood and motioned for her to take the seat beside him. Kira sat quietly and reminded herself to speak only when spoken to. If this was a Muslim leader of some kind she would have to be very mindful of custom and tradition.
“Kira this is Abimel Guzmen. Acting leader of the Shining Path. Tell him what you told Javier about el zancudo.” Gerson translated for Kira as she spoke very little Spanish and Abimel spoke very little English.
Kira began to explain about the pesticides and the florescent mosquitos. She explained that they found antibiotics in the commercial cattle that was likely keeping the GMO mosquitos alive. “What I can’t figure out is how they are related to the change in the virus and if the virus its self is even related to what’s happening to the people of your country. I have sent several letters up the chain of command but I have been shut down at every turn and even reprimanded for not staying on task.”
He sat taking it all in. Kira wondered what this faction leader had to do with anything related to mosquitos or why the hell he would even care. After a moment he began to speak. She waited patiently unable to understand anything he was saying. His voice was gruff and he seemed to bark when he spoke. Gerson explained that Amibel’s son was part of a group of scientists and physicians from Venezuela that had first spoken out against the larvicide that was used. They had detected the virus in several countries with no complications. They had identified the larvicide as the culprit for the microcephaly plaguing Brazil. They had then discovered a deadly consequence of the genetically modified mosquitos but their laboratories had been targeted and his son was killed. He noted high political connections from their government with the United States. He handed her a drive and told her to put it in the computer on his desk.
Kira wondered why they needed her at all. They already seemed to have enough evidence to expose what they had found. She placed the drive into the computer and Gerson brought up the files. She quickly realized that Amibel didn’t want to help expose anything. He wanted to use the technology for a far more sinister plan. The more she read the more afraid she became. She also realized the reason for his intense hatred. The company responsible for both the larvicide and the genetically modified mosquitos were making millions. Hell they could make billions off of the fear of the unsuspecting masses. As the “virus” and its complications spread the need for their product and the fucking vaccine she was supposed to be helping make would be in high demand. It was one big scheme. But none of this could compare to her horror when she pulled up the next file.
***
Stark’s team reached their target location. They could see the lights of the hacienda. The compound was surrounded by a wall. Inside the courtyard, Stark identified the convoy they had seen earlier. He counted twenty men armed with fully automatic weapons. There would be more. They began to scope the windows in an attempt to locate their targets.
“Second floor third window from the end.” Sergeant Collin reported. “Primary targets visualized.”
They convened on a hill just out of range from the compound. They each did sound check on their equipment. They would need to notify when they were in position and targets were identified. This would have to be a simultaneous shot. Once they fired all hell would break loose. They would have an extremely short window of time to get back to the rendezvous point and then move like hell to the extraction location. Stark motioned for the men to split up and move into position.
Stark moved quickly and quietly through the trees and took up a prone position with his riffle. He sighted in on the room. “Viper one in position.”
He heard Sergeant Collin report in. “Viper two in position.”
Each man sounded off. All five had reached their target location.
“I’ve got Galvez, Guzman, two enforcers, and... a woman in a burka?” Stark asked confused. He contacted command. “This is Viper one. We have primary targets identified. There is a fifth player in the room. Appears to possibly be a woman in a burka. Is this a target or a bystander confirm?”
“I’ve got a clear sight on Galvez.” Sergeant Colin reported.
“I have Guzman in my sights.” Sergeant Miller reported.
The other two sergeants confirmed the enforcers. That left Stark with the only clear sight of the unknown woman. Stark had no intentions of killing an innocent. He knew however in this circle there were rarely innocents. In the streets of Baghdad, the suicide bomber could just as easily be a woman or a child. He knew that Amibel Guzman was a known terrorist with ties to Isis. The woman appeared to be working at a computer. He reported her actions to command and waited. Several tense moments later the response came.
“Confirm the woman is the fifth target. Take her out with the rest.” The call came over the head set.
Stark confirmed the target was in his sights.
***
Kira couldn’t believe her eyes. She sat there staring at the screen. Her stomach lurched. She had always heard follow the money. But she never dreamed. The parent company that owned both the chemical company that made the larvicide and Genteck that engineered the mosquitos was none other than Anderson-Stark technologies acting CEO Simone Preston. Kira put trembling fingers up to her face. The danger in the shadows was with her all along.
***
“Viper two. All targets confirmed. On your count.” Stark ordered into the headset.
“One” Sergeant Collin called out. Stark put his target square in his sights. He breathed in and out evenly to time the shot exactly on exhale. Something about the way her hands trembled moved him.
“Two” Came the call. Readily will I display the intestinal fortitude required to fight on to the ranger objective and complete the mission, though I be the lone survivor. Something innately familiar about her he couldn’t place. She reminded him of…
“Three.” All rangers fired. Stark was lost in his thought and hesitated for a brief second. The other targets dropped and he snapped back his target moved but was still in his sights. He pulled the trigger and realized just a moment too late. Pink mist filled the air as the bullet made contact. She dropped to the floor. Her head bounced off the ground and she lay motionless in the growing crimson pool. Stark closed his eyes. The brown leather and metal band on her left wrist painfully evident as she went down. He couldn’t read the inscription from here but he didn’t have to. He knew what it said.
Relentless.