Niki moved forward, but Winter grabbed the back of her shirt. She whipped around. His eyes were big in his sockets. “You’re sure about this?”
Niki told him with her expression that she was.
“Okay. But be careful,” he whispered.
Following Niki’s lead, they crouched low and used the oversized trucks as a barrier. As they worked their way through the maze of scattered vehicles, they came to the last row and saw precisely where the scream had originated from. Three guards stood in front of a bonfire. The flames reached at least four feet high from the ground and put off penetrating heat. Even from where they stood, they could sense the warmth.
Beyond the flame was a horrifying sight. Men. Women. Children. All sat on the ground, clinging to each other inside a collection of cells. Jailing bars ran vertical to the eight-foot wood ceiling that hovered over their heads. You could see the despair, the desperation in their eyes. They were slaves by day and prisoners by night.
Niki dropped behind the vehicle, and Winter and Fox followed suit.
“What now?” Winter said.
“What do you mean? There’s only three guards. We take them out. One for each of us,” Fox said.
But Niki remained calm and quiet. She blinked slowly as their voices faded. Unable to gather herself in the moment, instantly the faces of the villagers she was forced to watch burn rushed to the surface of her memory. The flames and the prisoners. Winter shook her; he raised his voice to get her attention, but he was careful not to alert the men standing guard. After another moment, Niki came back to the present. She lifted her head to observe the scene once again.
The three guards hadn’t moved at all.
Where did the scream come from? Niki searched. Then she witnessed another guard pulling a woman by her hair, away from the rest of the prisoners and into the brush. She motioned for Fox and Winter to notice what she saw.
“We take them out all at once,” Fox said.
“And that one?” Winter referred to the man pulling the woman away.
“He’s mine.” Niki rose from her squatted position and lifted her knife. The others followed her, Winter to her left and Fox to her right. The men were only five paces away and had no idea what was happening behind them as they crept. Four paces. Three. Two. One. In unison they rose and dispatched each of the standing guards with a quick strike to the neck with their blades. Niki caught the fallen guard and helped him to the ground to soften the noise of a sudden fall.
The faces on the prisoners began to show life. Relief crossed over them, and their bodies rose, growing to a stand. These poor people were battered, dirty, some sitting in their own feces. Their clothes were ripped, if they were wearing any at all.
Niki turned to Winter. “Get them out, but be quiet. We cannot alert Payne of our arrival, not like this. You know what will happen to these people.”
Winter nodded.
“I’m serious, Mitch. I’m putting this on you. On both of you.” Now she caught Fox’s eye too. “Consider this retribution for the villagers who burned. Get them out safely and don’t screw it up. Get them to the tree line. I’m sure they can take it from there. Once you get them all out, call me on comms.”
“What are you going to do?” Winter said.
“I’m going hunting.” Niki turned toward the darkness where the guard had taken the woman. “And I’m starting with that one.”
Niki rose from the ground and walked toward the cells. She put her finger to her mouth, alerting the people to remain quiet. As if they didn’t know. But none made a sound as she passed, not even children as young as two, as if they had all been trained, trained from their fear, not to speak or utter a sound.
She headed into the darkness of the jungle. The light from the mine began to fade as she pushed inside the trees. The branches shadowed her path. With minimal sight, the only thing she could rely on now was her other senses.
A snapping branch to her right shifted her path. Then a muffled scream in the same direction spurred her forward. But it wasn’t until a man’s bellowed yelp gave away their position fully. Through the shadowy darkness she saw him raise his hand and backhand the woman beneath him.
Niki leaped from behind him and forced her shoulder into his back. He tumbled off the woman but was quick to rise again from the dirt. When the man faced her, she expected to recognize him. She thought it would be Jabar. In the darkness his face was difficult to make out, but she knew it wasn’t him. Niki stood tall, holding her hands out in front of her. She had her gun slung across her chest, a Glock on her hip, and her knife back in the sheath, but she didn’t need any of those. This man didn’t deserve a quick death, she decided; instead, his punishment would be long and drawn out.
His first step was cliché, rushing her with a flurry of punches. Not knowing what was behind her in the heart of the jungle, Niki jumped to her right as he punched with his left hand, avoiding the shot. In doing so, she grabbed him by the arm and swept her leg underneath his, dropping him to the dirt. From there, she backed off and let him rise again. He came again with a rush, but this time he bent at the waist and lunged for Niki’s midsection. As he wrapped around her, she immediately led with her elbows, one to the back of his head, the other to his neck, but as strong as he was, he was still able to lift her off the ground. She was vulnerable now, and he knew it. He lifted his head and smiled at her as she flailed her arms trying to rip free. The instant he looked up, though, Niki found her opening, digging both of her thumbs into the man’s eyes and pushing with all her might. He let out a devasting roar and dropped her to the ground, then stumbled backwards.
Doubled over and flailing his own arms now, the man was helpless. He grunted and swiped the air for Niki. He was fearfully unaware of what would come next, and Niki knew she had the upper hand. But she didn’t have time to toy with his emotions all night, nor could she linger in case someone had heard his cry. As Niki walked toward him, she sensed the woman by her side. The woman looked up at Niki, noticing her side holster holding the Glock. Niki lifted it, reached behind, and pulled a suppressor from the cargo pocket. After screwing it on, she gave the gun to the woman.
“All you have to do is squeeze,” Niki said.
The woman appeared surprised by the weight of the Glock. It was unlikely she’d ever held one before.
“Just lift it up and aim through there.” Niki showed her the sight.
“P-P-Please. Please, no.” The man begged and whimpered as he held up his right arm, pleading for his life, kneeling on the ground, unable to see the woman whose hands held his fate.
The woman ignored his words. She squeezed the trigger twice while walking toward her tormentor. The first shot spiraled above his head, but the second caught him on the shoulder. And as she kept drawing closer, she continued to shoot at him. Eight of the fifteen rounds hit their mark, plenty to end his miserable existence.
Niki waited for the woman to empty the magazine before walking over to her side. The woman breathed heavily, and Niki placed her hand on her shoulder then followed it down to the Glock to free it from her hands. She turned to Niki, then to the dead man. She couldn’t hold it in; she fell into Niki’s arms and wailed.
“Shh. Shh.” Niki needed her to quiet down, to come to grips for the moment. When the woman pushed away, Niki said, “Follow the trees. Your people will meet you there. We’ve rescued them all. Go now and be free.”
The woman walked forward slowly but kept her gaze on Niki, wondering if this was a dream and at any moment she was going to wake up in the arms of the man she just killed.
Payne, Niki thought. She hustled to catch the woman. “Do you know where I can find Payne?”
She pointed over Niki’s shoulder behind her. In the distance, Niki could make out a tent. There was something behind it, but Niki had to strain to see. It was another jail cell. But there was only one person inside.
It had to be him.
Professor Lord.
35
NIKI DIDN’T TAKE HER
eyes off the bars of the jail as she crept closer. The cell was just outside the tree line near the mine itself and steps away from the tent the young woman said Payne occupied.
Two guards circled the tent and were within visual contact of the jail cell. They didn’t come near the cell on their rounds, but they would see any sign of intrusion. Niki reached behind her and lifted a full magazine. She shoved the magazine into the bottom of her Glock and racked the slide to load a round into the chamber.
She scooted forward, now at the edge of the jungle, only fifteen yards separating her and the back of the cell. It was then she saw the captive. She couldn’t see his face, only his hands bound with rope behind his back. His dark hair fell through the bars where he rested his head.
“The prisoners are free.” Winter’s voice echoed in her ear. “Where are you? What’s your position?”
Niki didn’t respond, this was her mission, her fight. The only way she could reconcile what happened to Vali, to the villagers, was to finish Payne herself.
“Finley! Do you copy? Over.”
Niki reached for her communication device and lifted it free from her ear, then shoved it in her pocket.
She glanced down at her watch, then at the circling guards. There was a gap in their movements. It wasn’t much, almost five seconds before one man left and the other returned. In that momentary lapse of coverage, Niki made her move. She sprinted toward the man in the cell.
As she got close, she dove behind him, using his body as a shield so the guard wouldn’t see her. The man pushed away from the bars. His movements were slow and weak as he rotated his entire trunk to get a view of her, but he didn’t rise from sitting.
“Ms. Finley?” Shocked by her sudden appearance, his voice was strained and hoarse. “How?”
She nodded, then held her finger to her mouth to shush him. She suggested he turn back around, making it seem as if nothing was out of the ordinary. He returned to his usual position, and she peered over his right shoulder. The guard made his movement to turn back around to retreat. She shifted over Lord’s left shoulder to see the other guard arrive, precisely five seconds after the other had changed his path.
“What are you going to do?” Lord asked as he kept staring forward.
“I’m going to get you out of here.”
“How?”
“Killing these guards for starters.”
“You’re just a student. Not some assassin.”
She was silent a moment. How much should she tell him? What can he know?
Screw it. “Actually I am.”
His body rotated, he wanted to turn—to look her in the eye to see if she was lying—but she made him stop turning. “No.”
He readjusted just as the guard on the left walked into view. The guard paused, craning his neck forward to stare at Lord. Niki noticed his concern, and she ducked down further behind Lord’s back.
“Tell me when he’s gone.”
“Uh.” Lord shifted uncomfortably.
“What?” Niki said.
“He’s walking toward me.”
“Shit,” Niki whispered to herself. Quick, Niki, think. “How many total?”
“Uh, four, I think.”
“Four?”
“Last I saw, yes. There’s two walking the perimeter and two others standing guard outside Payne’s front door.”
Niki leaned to Lord’s right. She wanted to see if the other guard had returned.
Lord leaned right and said, “He’s coming closer. Maybe fifteen feet now.”
Then came the guard’s shining flashlight. “Hey, you there.”
Niki remained behind him, in his shadow.
Lord shielded his eyes from the brightness.
“What’s the problem?” The guard from the right now joined.
“Thought I saw some movement inside the cage.”
The two guards stood side by side—unmoving, easy targets.
“Tell them to turn out their light,” Niki whispered from behind.
“Can you turn the damn light off? I can’t see anything,” Lord said.
“We’ll turn the light off when we’re good and ready,” the guard said who held the light on Lord.
“Turn it off,” the other instructed.
“Sir?” he questioned.
“Just do it.”
But the guard had no chance to push the button. As soon as he lowered the beam to the ground, Niki rose from behind Lord and shot only twice, both head shots, crumpling the guards like tin cans.
The men fell hard, and the flashlight lay on the ground, now shining on Lord’s feet. Niki walked to the front of the cage and lifted the light, then moved to the gate. It wasn’t even locked. Lord stayed there like a beaten and tamed animal. He’d probably found out the hard way what would happen if he tried to run.
She moved to his side and bent down, grabbing her knife to cut his bindings. After freeing his hands, she shone the flashlight over his body. Fresh bruises, ones that hadn’t yet healed, covered every inch of his skin.
“Can you walk?” Niki asked.
Lord shook his head no. “But how?” he asked.
“How what?”
“How can you be a . . .” He stalled.
“A what?” Niki said.
Lord nodded toward the dead men behind her.
“Just lucky shots, I guess.” She grinned, then turned over her shoulder to focus on Payne’s tent. “I’d invite you along, but seeing as you can’t walk, just sit tight and I’ll be back for you.”
“Wait.” Lord scooted toward her, eager to prevent her from pursuing Payne.
She turned back around. “There’s nothing to wait for.”
She rose from her squat and exited the cell, then worked her way around the right side of the tent.
If Lord was right and there were two more guards standing outside the entrance of Payne’s tent, how could she lure them away? Niki slowed her pace, creeping up to the corner. With her body hidden, she bent forward at the waist toward the edge of the canvas until she could see clearly around the corner. Lord was right, there were two more.
Niki returned to her standing position.
I could take out the first with a head shot, then the other before he knows anything’s wrong. But what if he gets a shot off at me or ducks into the tent? Since her position blocked her from seeing the other guard, she couldn’t rely on only one kill. There was too much at stake to ruin this opportunity. No way I can use the knife, they’d see me coming. Niki looked to the sky: a light fixture hung above the front of the tent. Damnit. Backup was her only play, and she knew it. She grabbed the earpiece from her pocket and set it back into her ear.
“Winter? Fox? You copy?” she whispered.
“We do.”
“What’s your position?”
“Behind you,” Winter said.
Niki spun around and searched. “Where? I can’t see you.”
“That’s kind of the point in our profession,” Winter joked. Then he and Fox exited the jungle and walked toward her. Niki jogged to meet them.
“How’d you find me?”
“Followed your path through the jungle.”
The cells. “You sure you got everyone to safety?” Niki said.
Winter nodded. “And him?” Winter looked at Lord.
“He can’t walk,” Niki said.
“Then let’s get him out of there.”
“No. He wants to stay. To see this through. Then we can take him.”
“What do you need from us?” Fox said.
Out of instinct, Niki turned and looked toward the front of the tent. “There are two men standing guard outside the tent’s entrance. I need them taken out simultaneously. I do not want to alert Payne of my arrival. I don’t think we can get in front of them, so the shots are going to need to be taken from the sides but be careful of the crossfire.”
“Copy that,” Fox said.
“Done,” Winter added.
They broke apart and moved into position. Niki r
eturned to the side of the tent, ready to make an entrance as soon as the two guards were disposed of.
“I’m ready,” Fox said first, then Winter copied.
“Take them down,” Niki said.
Two shots dropped the men dead.
Immediately Niki said, “Now get back to Lord. Protect him until I return.”
“Copy that,” Winter said.
Niki skirted the edge of the tent, but she treaded slowly in case Payne had heard the men fall to their deaths. She was steps away from the folded entrance. After two more, she stepped over the fallen guard and peered inside. There was no movement and no light inside. She had only the light from outside the tent as a guide, but the loud snoring she immediately heard told her Payne was sleeping in the far corner.
She took one step, then halted as a pungent aroma swam into her nostrils—a combination of sweat and blood. Her eyes adjusted to the muted darkness as she studied details inside the tent. In the opposite corner was a man hunched over in a chair. Confused, Niki moved closer to investigate. It was probably some poor schmuck who had wronged Payne, but Niki needed to be sure. Standing over the man, Niki couldn’t tell if he was breathing; his chest wasn’t rising, at least not enough for her to discern for sure. She raised her index finger beneath his nostrils. The air was warm, but hardly any breath came through.
Even in the shadowy darkness she could see some of his wounds. His nose was broken, his lips were cut from a steady beating, and both of his eyes were glued shut from swollen bruising. Niki couldn’t imagine the torture this man had endured. As Niki studied the beaten man, she suddenly realized the reverberating snoring from the adjacent corner of the tent had ceased.
36
NIKI TURNED AROUND and met the barrel of a pistol. Shocked, she stopped in her tracks.
“You’re not happy to see me?” Payne questioned rhetorically. “I’ll give you this, you sure are one persistent little shit, aren’t you?”
“You have no idea.” Niki stepped forward.
Second Best: A Niki Finley Novel (A Niki Finley Thriller Book 2) Page 17