“I don’t know,” Henderson said shaking his head. “Seems like she knows her way around a fist. I don’t think I’ll be able to humble the bitch if that’s all I come with.”
“Who says that’s all you can come with,” McKnight said slyly, his mouth twisted in a battered grin.
Henderson looked perplexed by his partner’s vague comment.
McKnight flicked him in the balls.
Henderson doubled over from the pain and cried out, “What the fuck, dude?”
McKnight laughed. “You’re always talking about how men were put on Earth for two reasons and two reasons only, to dominate and to procreate, right?”
Henderson didn’t comprehend his partner’s meaning at first. He was too distracted from the sickening pain throbbing out from his testicles. But after the meaning finally sunk in, despite the pain a smile spread across his face. “So, you’re saying I should fuck the spirit out of her?”
“Well how about that,” McKnight said. “College boy’s got some smarts after all.”
“Oh, man. Dude, this is fucking awesome,” Henderson said. “So, should I juice her up again?”
“Hell no. We want her feeling it. She needs to be completely aware of the situation she’s in. From now on, the juice is a reward that she has to earn.”
“Gotcha,” Henderson said. “You can bet I’ll make sure she earns it.”
McKnight hesitated before opening the hatch to the engine room. “You can have your fun later. After we burn those clothes we have to get Ruby’s sister ready for DeBlanc.” He opened the hatch.
Henderson’s eyes lit up at the thought of Ruby’s sister. “Roger that, partner,” he said as he followed McKnight into the engine room.
CHAPTER FIFTY-FOUR
Louis DeBlanc the Fourth and Ruby Black were lounging in the afternoon Gulf Coast sun having cocktails on the yacht’s sweeping deck directly above the bridge. Ruby, gold loop earrings hanging off her ears, large gold-framed Dolce & Gabbana designer sunglasses hiding her eyes, and a scanty white thong bikini trying unsuccessfully to cover the shapeliest parts of her lithe, taut body, flipped disinterestedly through a gossip magazine. Next to her, DeBlanc, wearing dark Ray-Bans, a white button-down cotton shirt, off-white linen pants, and white leather boat shoes, was speaking a halting Russian into a satellite phone, his face red and beady with sweat from the frustration of the effort.
McKnight walked out onto the deck and stood silently off to the side of the couple near the hot tub, waiting to be noticed by DeBlanc. Although McKnight, the professional that he was, usually remained stoically indifferent to whatever environment or situation he found DeBlanc in, he couldn’t help from letting his eyes wander slowly over Ruby’s body, starting down at her dainty toes twitching rhythmically to some unheard beat, their nails manicured and polished gold, then up the long, shimmering legs crossed lazily at the ankles, lingering just for the briefest of moments to reflect on the treasures hidden beneath the small, tantalizing triangle of cloth between the legs, then continuing up her toned and tanned stomach until settling at last upon her large and inviting breasts barely being contained by the mesh top. Having just come from Toni’s cabin where she was done up exactly the same as her sister, he couldn’t believe one such beautiful woman existed in this world, let alone two.
“Enjoying the view, Mr. McKnight?” Ruby asked as she closed the magazine and set it on her lap. She then looked over to McKnight and pulled her sunglasses down just enough to reveal to him her bright, suggestive eyes. “Or, should I call you Jaws, instead?” She threw her head back and laughed at her joking reference to the large James Bond henchman with the steel-capped teeth that could bite through metal pipes. She then gave McKnight a quick, seductive wink before sliding her glasses back up in place and returning her attention to the magazine.
McKnight felt the heat rise into his face and immediately regretted not putting on his sunglasses when walking out onto the deck. He unconsciously clenched his broken jaw in anger at himself. That was a mistake. Pain exploded in his mouth and it took everything he had to keep his agony in check.
DeBlanc glanced over at his man and held up an index finger, directing McKnight to stand by.
McKnight nodded slightly to show his acknowledgement of the order and then stared off blankly toward the hazy horizon in a direction away from Ruby. He had never felt anything for DeBlanc before but spite and scorn. He regarded the spoiled son as a petty, selfish man who regularly abused the power of birthright and the wealth it afforded him; yet, even though he despised himself for it, he couldn’t help but envy the lucky little man for his possession of Ruby, and now, her twin sister.
DeBlanc ended his call and immediately took a long drink from the cocktail. He then began wiping off the sweat from his face with a thick white towel. “What is it, Mr. McKnight?” he asked impatiently.
“We’re ready for you down below, sir,” McKnight said through his teeth.
“Ah. Excellent,” DeBlanc said, his demeanor changing at once from peevishness to pleasure. He took another quick sip from his drink and then stood up. “Ruby, dear,” he said.
Ruby closed the magazine and looked up at DeBlanc with a smile. “Yes, Louis?”
DeBlanc sat down on the edge of Ruby’s lounge chair and began slowly stroking the inside of her smooth thigh with the back of his hand. He returned her practiced smile with a conspiratorial one of his own. “Remember when I told you a few days ago how I would soon have a surprise for you?” He took her by the hand and stood to help her up from her chair. “Well, the surprise has finally arrived.”
Ruby squealed with excitement as she stood. “I feel like a little girl at Christmas,” she said as she hastily slipped on her white stiletto pumps and followed McKnight and DeBlanc to the elevator.
When the glass door of the elevator opened on the lowest deck within the yacht, McKnight stepped out quickly and held it open for the couple to exit.
Ruby stepped out first and immediately began looking around for anything that could possibly be the surprise DeBlanc had promised her. When she realized there was nothing in the narrow passageway that could possibly pass as a gift for her, she sighed with disappointment and said, “Why we way down here in the boat? Isn’t this where the crew stay?”
DeBlanc sucked on his teeth and said, “How many times do I have to tell you, it’s a yacht, not a boat.” He then looked at her suspiciously. “How do you know this is where the crew is quartered? Have you been down here before?”
Ruby smiled at him mischievously. “Louis, you know I’m a city girl. And a city girl don’t feel safe unless she knows her surroundings.”
DeBlanc sighed. “You mean, a city girl doesn’t feel safe unless she knows her surroundings,” he said haughtily. “Doesn’t, not don’t.”
Ruby put a hand on her hip, but before she could respond, McKnight cleared his throat. “The room is just up ahead, sir. Where Henderson is standing.” He stepped to the side of the narrow passageway to allow DeBlanc and Ruby to pass.
“I only wonder what kind of surprise you could have for me down here,” Ruby said skeptically as they continued walking.
“Come now, my dear. Let’s not be ungrateful until you at least have a chance to see what it is that awaits you,” DeBlanc said.
Henderson opened the door to what would normally be a small cabin reserved for one of the crew. DeBlanc stepped aside to let Ruby enter first.
Before following Ruby inside, DeBlanc said to McKnight, “And that other thing. What’s the status?”
“He’s being flown out with the Russians as we speak,” McKnight said. “Mr. Hammond’s escorting them. He’ll then take the remaining staff and crew back to base with him when he departs.”
DeBlanc shook his head angrily. “Well, I want to get this ridiculous matter taken care of as quickly and quietly as possible. You understand?
“Yes, Mr. DeBlanc.”
DeBlanc made as if he was going to enter the room but he then turned back to McKnight.” Yo
u know, I don’t like the fact that Rudenko thinks he can come out here and commandeer my yacht at will. I don’t want those goddamned Russians onboard one minute longer than need be, understand?”
“Yes sir, Mr. DeBlanc,” McKnight said as DeBlanc walked away from him and entered the small cabin.
To say that what Ruby found waiting for her inside was a surprise would have been an understatement of monumental proportions. “What in the fuck?” was all she could manage to say.
Toni, sleeping on the small bed set parallel against the back wall, a single sheet pulled up tight to her chin, stirred from the disturbance.
Ruby spun toward DeBlanc as he entered the room. “What the fuck is this bullshit, Louis?” she demanded. “Some kind of sick joke?”
DeBlanc’s smile was unconstrained. He was obviously pleased with the effect of his surprise. “What,” he said mischievously, “you’re not happy to see your sister?” His laughed sounded like a childish giggle.
Ruby marched over to Toni and threw back the sheet. Toni was lying on the bed looking exactly as Ruby, more so than even their identical twin characteristics would allow. Her hair was styled in the same loose afro as Ruby’s; she was wearing the same bikini and the same loop earrings as Ruby; the same white stiletto pumps as Ruby’s set on the floor at the end of the bed. She turned to DeBlanc. “What in the fuck is this sick shit, Louis?”
Toni, awake now, was just beginning to process what was going on around her. When she realized it was her sister Whitney standing over her and not just some ghost in one of her drugged-out dreams, she jumped from the bed, tears of happiness welling in her eyes, and wrapped her arms around her sister and held her in a tight embrace. “Oh my god, Whitney, I can’t believe it’s you, that I finally found you,” she cried.
Ruby freed herself from Toni’s arms and then pushed her back down onto the bed. She once again turned to DeBlanc. “Why?”
DeBlanc giggled and shrugged evasively. “Because I thought it would make you happy, my dear.”
Ruby turned back to look at Toni, but she was still speaking to DeBlanc. “Bullshit. You kidnap my sister and bring her here, for what? You think the two of us are gonna get it on for you or something?”
“Well,” DeBlanc said slowly, “the thought has kind of crossed my mind.”
Ruby rushed over to DeBlanc and smacked him hard across the face. But she regretted what she had done even before the echo of the slap had faded. “Oh, Louis, Louis baby,” she said. “What did I do?” She held his face in her hands and kissed the red impression her hand had left upon his cheek. “Mama’s so sorry, baby.”
DeBlanc grabbed her hands roughly and then bent them backwards at the wrists. Ruby dropped to her knees and squealed from the pain. “You are an ungrateful little bitch, aren’t you,” he said.
Toni, hungover and feeling seasick from the rocking of the yacht, watched from the bed in shocked silence. Before she could even stand up to try to help her sister, DeBlanc released Ruby with an angry shove. Ruby fell back on her butt and immediately began rubbing her sore wrists.
“Well,” DeBlanc said angrily as he tried to compose himself. “I’m sure you two have a lot of catching up to do.” He swung the cabin door open and stormed past McKnight and Henderson who had remained outside. “Lock both those bitches up,” he ordered as he marched up the passageway.
Ruby tried to follow DeBlanc out of the room, but Henderson blocked her way and pulled hard on the door to close it, forcing her to jump back so as not to get hit. There was a quick series of high-pitched beeps on the other side of the door, and then a loud clack. She tried to open it, but it had been locked from the outside.
“Don’t let anyone in or out of that cabin unless I authorize it,” DeBlanc shouted.
“Okay, Mr. DeBlanc,” McKnight said as he followed close behind. “You hear that, Henderson?”
Henderson, a few paces back, said, “What about the redhead, Mr. DeBlanc? You still want us to break her in, right?”
McKnight glared at Henderson for his speaking out like that.
DeBlanc stopped and turned toward his men. “Who?” he demanded.
McKnight and Henderson both came to a stop. McKnight stepped to the side to allow Henderson to answer for himself.
Henderson shot a nervous glance at his partner before answering. “The, uhm... The girl we picked up with Ruby’s sister in Pennsylvania. She’s a wild one all right, Mr. DeBlanc. Put up a hell of a fight for Big Mack— I mean, Mr. McKnight and me.”
DeBlanc looked at Henderson as if he were crazy. He then gave McKnight a look of superior disgust before he turned around and stormed off down the passageway again. Before reaching the elevator, he hollered back over his shoulder. “The same goes for the redhead. No one in or out either of their rooms unless I say so.”
Henderson looked as if he were a child who had just been told Christmas had been cancelled.
McKnight just shook his head at his partner’s error in protocol and took off again after DeBlanc.
CHAPTER FIFTY-FIVE
Ruby grabbed Toni by the arm and yanked her up from the bed. “Bitch, why the fuck you even here?” she screamed as she shook her sister by the shoulders. “Why, god damn it?”
“You’re hurting me, Whitney.”
Ruby shoved Toni back down onto the bed. The back of Toni’s head slammed into the white bulkhead. “The name is Ruby, damn it. Ruby mother fucking Black.”
Toni struggled to sit up. She was hurting bad now, in need of another fix, so it was difficult for her to coordinate her movements with her thinking. She curled herself up shivering on the mattress and closed her eyes. Then, as if speaking from her dreams she said slowly, sadly, “You’re my sister… and I’m here to… rescue you… to bring you back home. Mama is sick… sick from worry… about you.”
Ruby threw her head back and laughed. “Mama’s worried about me?” she asked incredulously. “What a fucking joke. Mama never once worried about no one but mama and you know it.” She grabbed Toni by the left wrist and pulled the arm out straight, revealing the string of tiny pocks and scars that ran up and down it. “And look at you. You don’t know what the fuck you got yourself into, do you? Little Miss College girl down here thinking she gonna rescue me from all the shit she spent a whole life behind books hiding from.” Ruby shoved the limp arm back at Toni. “Shit, girl. The only thing you gonna do down here is get us killed. Both of us, shots to the head and then dumped into the Gulf of Mexico.”
Toni didn’t respond. She had passed out.
Ruby sat on the edge of the bed and shook her sister. “God damn, bitch. Don’t you go to sleep on me now. You gonna get us killed. You hear what I’m saying?”
Toni tried to sit up but couldn’t. She reached out and hugged her sister by the waist. Her bloodshot eyes filled with tears. “No, Whitney. I promise. Everything’s going to be okay,” she cried. “All I need is, you know, just a little fix. Something to help—”
“You stupid little junkie, don’t know shit, do you?” Ruby said with disgust as she freed herself from her sister’s arms and stood up. “I ain’t down here looking for you or our whore mama or anyone else to come try to save me. I’m down here because I choose to be. I’m down here living like a black queen on a white yacht, bitch. You think I want to go back to shitty Baltimore and hustle my ass off just to keep Hollywood’s pockets full? Fuck that. The best thing that ever happened to me was that pimp mother fucker selling me off.”
Toni forced herself up on an elbow. “Savage is… dead,” she said, barely audible. “He was murdered… right in front of me.”
Ruby was silent for a moment before she said, “’Bout time that mother fucker got what was coming to him.” She walked to the door and tried the handle again. It remained locked.
Toni fell back to sleep.
CHAPTER FIFTY-SIX
Surprised, Killian awoke to darkness, pained from the hits to the head and still high from whatever it was they had drugged him with. Probably an opioid of some
sort he assumed. What surprised him, though, wasn’t the absence of light, or that he was in pain, or that he had been drugged, or even that he was now a prisoner bound with thick layers of duct tape to a wooden chair, just as he had bound so many of his own recent prisoners; what surprised him was that, for just about the first time since the Mosul blast, he woke without being prompted by the usual nightmare terrors. As painful and as damaging the knocks to his head had been, at least the long black trip to unconsciousness it had sent him on was without ghostly disruption. Or had the undisturbed sleep been the doing of the drugs? He considered the future possibilities a drugged sleep without nightmares could have for him only for a moment. He had other more important things to consider first.
The room he was being held in was quiet except for the hum of distant machinery. At first, he thought the swaying motion he felt was a result of the hits to the head that he had taken; but then, after following the motion for a moment, he realized that he was physically rocking. He must have been on a boat far enough from shore to allow for the regular rhythms of a large body of water... the Gulf of Mexico.
The pain in his head from the blast had been such a constant that the new pain from the hits with the butt of the gun almost seemed a relief to him. But additional pain meant additional damage, which made him wonder what the consequences to the brain and his behavior would be. He quickly chased away those thoughts, though. What did it matter how damaged his brain was when the chances were he would be dead before the day had ended? In fact, he had to wonder why he was even still alive. What would a sex trafficking operation have to gain by it? He didn’t know the answer, so instead of trying to figure it out, he had to figure out some way to free himself from his bindings.
Throughout an eighteen-year career of dangerous special operation missions numbering more than he cared to remember, and where he had come close to death numbering more times than he dared to remember, Killian had never once come seriously close to becoming captured by the enemy. However, he had always been certain that if it had ever come down to it, he would have fought his way unto death before allowing himself to be captured, taking as many enemies with him on the way as he could. At least that’s what he liked to tell himself.
The Good Kill Page 33