Second Best: A Niki Finley Novel (A Niki Finley Thriller Book 2)

by J. D. Dudycha

  “What is that?” Lord said.

  “Animal feces,” Jabar said.

  “But why a barn here? For what?” Niki asked.

  “To disguise the smell of rotting corpses.” Jabar grinned and walked inside.

  Niki followed Lord, who gave her a concerned look. She wore the same look. Was she headed to meet her doom?

  Inside the building was a collection of animals. Ones she’d only seen at her local zoo back home. To her right a giraffe walked in a circle with only a ten-foot radius. The animal seemed agitated, his head bobbing up and down as it walked. The lions were next—two males, both lying down atop wooden crates, trapped inside a cage smaller than her dorm room. As she studied the lions, she flinched at the sound of a trumpeting elephant.

  Her heart pounded in her chest as she continued to the final enclosure. The biggest of them all but still much too small for an animal of its size. The African bull elephant flapped his oversized ears and tossed hay onto his back as it circled inside the pen.

  What the hell is this place? Jabar had mentioned rotting corpses, but was he serious?

  Niki turned her eyes away from the elephant. A man stood at the back of the room with his arms folded behind his back. Her eyes were glued on what was behind him: three reclining chairs, like ones you’d see in a dental office that could lay perfectly flat.

  Niki gulped.

  Now’s the time to start talking, Lord.

  They stopped in front of Payne, and Jabar whispered something in his ear. Payne nodded, then spoke. “My associate tells me you have to relieve yourself.” He nodded to Niki.

  Niki looked to Vali and Lord.

  “Why are you looking at them? I assure you, they can be of no help to you.”

  “No, I’m fine.”

  “No, I insist,” Payne said and moved closer to her.

  On his approach, Niki’s bladder ached, and the more he talked, the more difficult it was to hold it in.

  He was close now, close enough to feel his breath on her skin. “Don’t be shy. I’m sure one of my men would be happy to help you with your pants.”

  The men erupted in laughter behind her. She gritted her teeth. His attempt to humiliate her was working.

  Payne snapped his fingers and said, “Raiden.”

  The guard broke formation and moved toward her.

  “No.” Agony washed over Niki’s face. “I’ll do it myself.”

  Payne scrunched his brow and looked at her bindings. “How?”

  Niki felt the blade of the knife buried in her shorts. It wasn’t just her bladder she had to worry about.

  She shook her head. She couldn’t believe this was happening. She was being treated precisely like the giraffe, lions, and elephant—like an animal. As the urine dripped down her leg, Payne stepped aside and walked back toward the three chairs.

  29

  Warehouse outside Freetown, Sierra Leone

  USING NIGHT VISION, Winter and Fox saw a few men scattered, away from the entrance of the barn, all scanning for any sign of an intruder. Inside, the lights were on, even illuminating the building’s exterior.

  “What’s inside?” Fox said.

  “More men?” Winter said.

  “No shit. How many more?”

  “Tough to say, but I counted at least fourteen going in.”

  “You think Payne is in there?”

  “I guarantee it.”

  “Then what are we waiting for? Let’s take them,” Fox said.

  Winter lifted his scope away. “I know you’re not that stupid. There’s two of us, not an army.”

  “So?! They’ve got Niki.”

  “I know that. But we need to be smart.” He flipped the scope back over his eyes. “I can’t believe you’d be that brash. I knew you had the ‘shoot first, ask questions later’ mentality, but that was before the bombing in Cannes. I figured that bomb would’ve knocked some sense into you.”

  Fox stared at him in the darkness.

  Winter caught sight of her and said, “What?”

  “Um, you saw what they did to those villagers. And what lengths they went to, to track us down after we infiltrated their camp. How long do you think they’re going to let Niki and the others live? An hour, tops. They’ll bleed her for information about who she works for and probably kill the other two right away. They’re of no use to anyone alive.”

  “So why did Payne keep them alive so far?”

  “I don’t know, maybe to put them through the agony of watching their people die.”

  “And the professor? The director and Collar think there’s a link between him and Payne. You really think Payne would kill one of his own?”

  Fox looked at him with contempt. “Are you seriously asking me that? We saw firsthand he’s willing to execute his own men in cold blood. And the professor was in bindings just like Niki and the doctor. He was their prisoner too.”

  “So what then? Take on the entire army, Rambo style?”

  “No.”

  “Then what?”

  She lifted a cigarette lighter from her pocket and shook it. “We cause a diversion.”

  THE STENCH FROM HER own urine blended with the already pungent aroma inside the building, but still embarrassment hung on Niki like the bad smell. She drooped her head, and in her periphery she could see Lord and Vali looking at her.

  “Why did you have to do that?” Lord spoke up for Niki.

  About damn time you open your mouth.

  “What did you say to me?” Payne held a finger behind his ear.

  Niki glanced up, shooing her shame away.

  “Uh, I . . . you didn’t need to do that.” He motioned toward Niki.

  Payne looked at her, then back at Lord.

  “Oh.” Payne nodded, and brought his hand to his mouth to cover his smile. “I see. You’ve got a thing for her.” Payne walked back toward Niki. “That’s rich.”

  She clenched her fists and pulled her hands apart. If only she could break free and wrap the rope around Payne’s neck as he walked closer. She might get shot in the process, but she figured she could use him as a human shield.

  Payne circled her like a predator. “She sure is beautiful.” He continued around to face her. “Even if she is standing in her own filth.”

  Then his gaze shifted back to Lord, who now stared at the soiled floor. Payne stepped toward Lord, then lurched for his face, grabbing Lord’s jaw and squeezing. His thumbs pushed into his cheeks, separating the upper and lower jaw.

  “I gave you one job, one job to do, and what do I get in return? Some American spy sent into my midst who ends up in your camp. You, the doctor, and all those charred villagers are just a means to an end for me. Tell me how that’s possible? How did she come to you?”

  Job. The diamonds. Niki began connecting the dots. A job for him. He was forced? Niki now knew there was no way Lord was working for Payne. Lord didn’t have the gall. He was quaking in fear in front of Payne. He was no terrorist.

  “He had nothing to do with it,” Niki said, and Payne let go of Lord’s face. “I acted alone. I went into your camp to seek out information.”

  “Niki, no. Stop—” Lord started, but Payne slapped him on the face before he could say more.

  “Let her speak!” He pushed away from Lord and moved to stand in front of Niki. “Who sent you?”

  Lie, Niki.

  Niki swallowed a lump of spit in her throat. “My government.”

  “And . . . which branch do you work for? CIA? JSOC?”

  Niki nodded yes. Her answer intentionally vague.

  He broke away and paced. Then a grin washed over his face. “And what do you think your government would think of their agent—a special agent— standing in front of me and my men, soiled in her own piss?” More laughter came, but Niki remained stoic. He moved on to another question. “What interest does your government have in my country? With me?”

  Niki clenched her jaw and kept her mouth frozen shut. Silence consumed the dank air for more than a min
ute.

  “Nothing?” Payne said, nodding to himself. “That’s okay, you don’t want to talk. Then let’s see what the good doctor has to say.” Payne grabbed his arm and ripped him forward, dragging him toward the dentist chairs. “Maybe he’s got some information? He’s remained quiet since you’ve arrived, he’s got to know something.”

  “No!” Niki yelped, but it didn’t matter.

  Before Niki knew what was happening, Vali’s hands were freed from the binds, only to be retied to the chair. His arms went rigid, as his wrists were stretched by two men, one on each side. And his feet were roped together, snug against the chair.

  “Damnit,” Niki said. “Didn’t you get enough with the villagers? You took everything from this man.”

  Payne spun around to face her. “Then he has nothing left to live for.”

  Niki waited on his next words, on his next move.

  “Begin,” Payne said, then turned his back to Niki and walked over to Vali’s side.

  Jabar lifted a pair of pliers from the table next to the chair, handing them over to Payne who hovered above Vali as he lay back.

  Payne stared down at him and said, “Good doctor, which part of the body will cause you the most amount of pain? Is it the teeth?” He nodded to Raiden who stood on the opposite side. Raiden reached forward, shoved his hand into Vali’s jaw, and forced open his mouth. Payne moved the pliers over his upper front tooth.

  “No! Wait,” Niki said. What could she say to save Vali without blowing her identity and this mission?

  Then it was Lord who found the courage to beg. “Please. Let him go. You obviously have her confused with someone else. She has been with us every minute of every day.”

  Payne paid no mind to Lord’s futile plea. He removed the pliers from Vali’s mouth and shook his head. “Perhaps it’s the fingernails instead.” Payne handed the pliers over his shoulder back to Jabar, who then handed him a needle-nose pliers.

  Raiden took his fist from Vali’s mouth to his wrist. He pushed down on the pressure point where the hand meets the wrist and forced Vali’s hand open.

  Vali sucked in massive amounts of air through his nose as he prepared himself for the suffering.

  Don’t do it, Niki. You can’t. Don’t blow your cover. But how long could she wait, how long would she let this go on? Would she watch him die? Could she?

  Payne, however, was in no mood to wait. He ripped the index nail free.

  The sound that came from Vali was indescribable. A sound Niki had never heard before, but even if she had, she could never have prepared for this.

  He moved to the middle finger on Vali’s right hand without giving Niki another glance. Sooner or later she would talk.

  “Take me,” Niki said.

  Payne whipped his head around. “What was that?”

  Niki couldn’t stomach seeing Vali getting tortured at her expense. She’d been taught how to endure pain, but seeing others, an innocent man, suffer this way was something she couldn’t handle.

  “I said . . .” Niki scooted forward and held her hands out in front of her. “Take me.”

  “No. Absolutely not.” Lord stepped in front of her and cut off her path, but he was dropped to the ground by a strike to the back of the head.

  Payne continued to lean over Vali, then signaled to Jabar to grab Niki. Jabar gripped the rope that bound her hands and dragged her to one of the empty chairs. The empty chair was only about three feet away from Payne, who kept his back to her.

  She felt a knife cut the rope, releasing her hands.

  This was her moment, her one chance, maybe the only one she would have. With her left hand she raised her shirt, and with her right, she lifted the knife from her belt line.

  Grasping the hilt in her hand, she raised the knife high in the air. She had a perfect angle of attack.

  Her eyes got big, as did those of the guards who watched her attempt to kill Payne. They instinctively moved to stop her and to get Payne’s attention. But the only one who could reach her was Jabar. Just before the tip of the blade penetrated Payne’s skin, Jabar caught Niki’s right hand in his oversized bear claw. He held it there, squeezing, when Payne finally turned to face her.

  “Many men have tried to kill me, but I must say, this is the first attempt ever by a woman. And you almost succeeded.” He ripped the knife from Niki’s hand. As Jabar still had her hand locked in his, Payne spun around and shoved the five-inch blade deep into the center of Vali’s chest.

  30

  WINTER AND FOX STOOD at their post a quarter mile out. They were now a hundred yards from the parked military vehicle.

  “I count two guards outside.” Winter focused on the entrance of the building.

  “Affirmative,” Fox agreed.

  Winter dropped the night-vision scope and turned to Fox. “You know what to do.”

  Without a moment’s delay, Fox snuck through the brush. It was a perfect height for her diminutive stature to move unnoticed. She held a ripped piece of cloth in her left hand and the lighter in her right. Her hands needed to be swift and steady; she couldn’t mess this up.

  At ten yards from the military vehicle, she hit the deck and buried her body amongst the grass. Only the road separated her and the truck. She turned toward the guards at the entrance who were protecting the building and scanning the area for invaders. Fox clocked their tendencies for neglect and getting distracted; everyone had them, especially in the monotony of guard duty.

  Her approach would be partially blocked by the man to the right of the entrance, so her worry, her only concern was the guard on the left. He held her interest as his hand went to his eyes every ten seconds. It was like clockwork. Sleepiness was setting in, and his eyes must have been getting heavy, because Fox noticed him yawn at least twice. Also, each time he yawned, right beforehand he lifted his chin toward the sky for a split second before shutting his eyes and shaking the exhaustion away.

  That was her chance, that’s when she would move. He was bound to do it again, but how long could she wait? She heard rumblings and the pained wallowing of a man inside. At least it wasn’t Niki who cried out in agony, but soon it may be.

  Come on, you bastard. Do it, you know you want to. Almost on cue, the guard lifted his chin to the sky. Fox got to her knees, and when she saw him open his mouth, she sprinted toward him. When she made it to the side of the military vehicle, she moved to the fuel cap and unscrewed it, stuffing the cloth inside. There was fuel residue inside the cap. She lopped up the fuel with her fingers, and grabbed the cloth, rubbing her wet fingers on the remaining cloth hanging down. She ripped open the top of her lighter and thumbed the igniter. Instantly, the flame burnt. She held the fire at the bottom tip of the rag. It wouldn’t take. She tried again, but again, nothing.

  “What’s the problem?” Winter said into her ear, noticing her struggle.

  “It won’t light.”

  “Try again.”

  She did. But again, nothing. The flame wouldn’t catch.

  “It’s not working.”

  “Just . . .” Winter was about to tell her to relax, but then he noticed something behind her.

  “Just what?”

  “Fox! Get down. Get out of sight.”

  Fox spun in a circle in the grass looking for a place to hide.

  “No time,” Winter advised. “Get under the truck, now, damnit!”

  She dropped and rolled under the truck, just as one of the guards turned the corner. She lay on her back with her head toward the front end. She remained still, just moving her head to follow the footsteps of the guard. He stopped near the fuel tank.

  He sees it. I’m dead, I’m dead. She closed her eyes and said a silent prayer.

  But the guard didn’t linger there; he continued his post around the front of the truck. In the other direction, she could see from her position the front of the building where one guard remained. And beyond the guard she could see inside the building, but all she saw were the backs of several men toward the action in
front of them. There was no sign of Niki, or the two men she entered with.

  The guard who circled the truck was now passing by on her right. Soon, though, he headed back to the entrance of the building.

  “Now’s your chance. Get back out there and light the damn fuse.”

  “What if it doesn’t light?”

  “Then it may cost Niki her life. Don’t make any excuses. You wanted this, now make it happen and get your ass back here.”

  “Copy that.” Fox rolled out from under the truck and bent to her knee.

  She sparked the flame to life again, swaying the lighter from side to side. It had to light, there was no reason it wouldn’t. The bottom of the rag began to singe, and she kept swaying.

  That’s it, take it, you bitch.

  And it did. The flame climbed the first inch. Fox stayed for a moment, making sure it didn’t go out. When the flame reached halfway up the rag, she turned and sprinted away from the front end of the truck, using it as a shield. She sprinted down the road as fast as she could, but she wouldn’t go far, as her mission was to cause a diversion with the hopes of setting Niki free. Once far enough from the truck, she turned back to wait for the explosion, for the fire to light up the night, but there was nothing. No explosion. No diversion.

  “What happened?” Winter said in her ear.”

  “I don’t . . . I don’t understand?”

  “Did you light it?”

  “Of course.”

  “Then why hasn’t it exploded?”

  “No idea.”

  “Niki.” Winter had spoken into her ear, but perhaps it was his own cry for Niki.

  Finley. No. I’m sorry, Fox thought. She put her hands to her head.

  She had failed.

  NIKI’S EYES BULGED in their sockets, staring at the hilt of the knife rising perpendicular from Vali’s chest. Her chest heaved as her anger bubbled over. Payne moved away from Vali and stood beside Jabar.

  Niki shot her head around and lurched for Payne. He didn’t flinch because he knew Jabar would cut off her advance again. Niki could handle one man easily enough, but not the four others who surrounded Vali as they held him down on the chair.