by Storm Chase
Pandora got up, turned on her heel and was horrified to see Ramon and Paco standing in the doorway. Clearly they’d heard her. Too angry to stop, she stomped out past them.
After fuming for ten minutes in the bedroom, Pandora sulkily went upstairs for a swim. When she came back, Ramon and Paco had disappeared. She brooded while drying her hair and finally decided it was no good falling out with Xavier. He was the only one she could talk to.
She found him in the living room. It was his time to play chess, but surprisingly he was reading a book.
“No chess tonight?” Pandora asked.
“No. Sig’s got woman trouble.” Xavier looked at her. “Just like me,” he said morosely.
“I’m not sorry for speaking up but I’m sorry to be a nag, Xav.”
“All right, Panda. Just don’t criticise my people in public, okay? It’s dangerous.”
After that, Pandora decided to keep quiet on the topic until she found a solution. She focused on her textbooks and also started to cook every day. It wasn’t the world’s most exciting job but she enjoyed working with her hands. It was a nice contrast to all the egghead reading she was doing.
Slowly she noticed that Xavier was a little edgy. A few days after their quarrel he popped up in the kitchen mid-morning, asking, “Everything all right, Panda?”
“This beef stew isn’t cooperating as well as I’d like, but yes, for the rest everything’s okay. Why?”
“Don’t know.” Xavier twitched a bit, shrugged and went back to work.
When he’d checked up on her three more times in two days, Pandora got the twitches too.
“What’s up?” she asked him.
Xavier ran a hand through his hair. “Don’t know. Something’s off. But I don’t know what.”
Pandora looked at him helplessly. “Like your spider senses are tingling?”
“Hmmm.”
“What could be wrong?”
“I’ve got the feeling someone’s watching.”
Pandora felt a cold chill go down her spine. “Like we’re bugged?”
“Yes, but it can’t be that. I check every day. Routine security.”
Pandora looked slightly horrified. “You check? Ohmigod, your people spy on you? Have they watched us in bed?”
“No, of course not, Panda!” Xavier actually laughed at the idea. “They don’t bother spying on me. Too easy to get caught, for one thing,” Xavier looked about. “I do sweeps every day because I’m a bit paranoid about security, you know me.” He shrugged. “I’m probably imagining it.”
Pandora noted the tension in his shoulders. “We haven’t been out in three days. Maybe you should go for a run.”
Xavier thought for a moment. “You might be right, Panda.” He shrugged again. “But I’d rather stick around.”
An hour later though, he appeared in sweats holding his baseball cap in his hand. “Thought you’re probably right. I’m off for a run. I’ll be back in 45 minutes.”
“All right.”
The second he was gone, Pandora began to feel edgy too. She realised that it was the first time they’d been separated. It was an eerie feeling.
“You’re a damn fool,” she said as she turned her attention back to the sauce for the fish pie.
Behind her, Ramon quietly entered the kitchen. He had a glint in his eye she didn’t like. “Someone to see you.”
Pandora’s stomach lurched. “To see me? Who even knows I’m here?” she asked.
Two burly men, easily recognisable as Xavier’s people, came up behind Ramon. They were dressed like the security people in jeans, T-shirts and jackets. These wore American football logos: Chicago Bears and Carolina Panthers.
“We’ve some questions,” Chicago Bears growled. “About your friend, the so-called brigadier.”
“Like what?” Pandora quavered.
He stepped forward menacingly. “Who’s he working for?”
“I don’t know! I thought he was MI5!”
“Come on! You worked with him and now you’re trying to get hacker boy to jump ship,” Carolina Panthers said gently.
Pandora felt the blood drain from her face. This was serious trouble. Deadly trouble. “I told you,” she quavered, “I don’t know who he is. I thought he was MI5!”
“You’ll talk eventually,” Carolina Panther said gently. “Make it easy on yourself. Who’s your team? Who are you working for?”
Pandora moved backwards until she ended up with her back against the wall. “I don’t know anything,” she repeated. “Ask Mac. We’ve already had this conversation.”
Ramon was looking over his shoulder. “You’ll have to hurry,” he said worriedly. “Dragon will be back in half an hour.”
“And he’s going to be hopping mad!” Pandora said. She tried to sound cool but her voice was high and shaky.
“He won’t even know,” Chicago Bears growled. “Half an hour’s a long time, baby. Make it easy on yourself.”
Pandora went cold. They thought she wouldn’t tell Xavier. And that only meant one thing. They were not planning to leave her alive.
“Maybe we can come to a deal,” Chicago Bears said as he took something flat and black out of his pocket.
“Giving me money won’t help,” she said shakily. “I really don’t know anything.”
“Who said anything about money?” Chicago Bears held out a black box. A startling white and blue flash crackled across it. “Taser.”
At the sight of it, Pandora could feel the sweat begin to run down her back. Her knees were trembling so much that she could hardly stand up straight.
“We don’t want to hurt you,” Carolina Panthers said softly. “We’d rather you just told us who you’re working for. Then we walk out and you can go back to the pool.”
Ramon was twitching in the background. “Hey! No way! Dragon mustn’t know. This is an accident, remember? You said it would look like a heart attack! She must know something! She’s always telling Dragon he should move on!”
Oh hell, Pandora thought. Ramon had heard her attempts to talk Xavier out of this life. And these people being paranoid, they thought she was an enemy agent.
“Talk!” Chicago Bears snapped. “Who are you working for?”
“Nobody!” Pandora looked around but there was nowhere to go. “Really, you’ve got this all wrong!”
Chicago Bears leaned forward and touched the taser to her arm. A million bolts of lightning shot through her body. The pain overwhelmed her capacity to scream. Pandora heard a tiny croak and realised it was her.
The pain stopped briefly, then another touch set her on fire again. This time she was on the edge of passing out. She could feel her body convulse as she slid down the wall and onto the floor. Her heels were drumming on the floor with the shock but she still couldn’t make a sound.
“It’s set too high,” Chicago Bears muttered. He fiddled with the taser. “Don’t want her passing out.”
“Hurry up!” Ramon was jumping from foot to foot.
“Tell us what we need to know, love,” Carolina Panthers urged her. He put his hand on Chicago Bear’s arm. “Wait, she wants to tell us something.”
Pandora reached through the layers of fear that had surrounded her for weeks and found a core of steel. She took a deep breath. “Fuck you,” she whispered.
Instantly Chicago Bears tasered her again. The pain consumed her, sending hot lava through her bones. She could feel herself burn. Pandora screamed.
“Just a name,” Carolina Panthers said. “Just tell us a name.”
Pandora tried to kick him. As Chicago Bears set the hot blue flame to her again, she caught a brief glimpse of Paco standing in the doorway.
His mouth opened and shut soundlessly. Then he backed off, hands in the air. “I’m not here,” he said calmly. He disappeared from view.
“No help there,” Chicago Bears said to her. “Talk to me. Who were you working for?”
“Go screw yourself!”
At the next touch of the taser, Pando
ra tried to lose herself. She wanted to scream but couldn’t raise her voice above a whisper. She wanted to kick and hit but she was paralysed. All she could do when they stopped to give her an opportunity to talk was to swear at them.
“It’s no good,” Carolina Panthers said a million years later. “Set it to maximum, whack her and dump her in the pool. She’ll have drowned by the time we walk out of the door.”
“We’ve got ten more minutes,” Chicago Bears said.
Pandora could hear something thump rapidly. It was an eerie sound. At first she thought she was hearing her heart, then she realised that it was coming from beyond the kitchen.
Xavier burst into view. Pandora saw him as if she were watching a slow-moving scene from a John Woo film. Xavier glanced around the room, his eyes dark with fury. Ramon tried to move out of the way, and went down with one powerful kick to the stomach.
Carolina Panthers reached for his gun. He never made it. A roundhouse kick to the head sent him flying against the wall with a sickening smash.
Chicago Bears tried to roll out of the way. Xavier stepped on his hand to keep him in place. Pandora heard the little bones snap under the weight. When Chicago Bears screamed, Xavier got him in the stomach and the groin with a rapid double kick. The scream shut off abruptly.
“Pandora! Oh God no, Pandora!” Xavier was picking her up, clutching her to him with gentle hands. “Paco! Call a doctor!”
Paco appeared behind him, phone in hand. “He’s on his way. Dragon, what do we do with these three?”
“Keep security out but get me a gun,” Xavier said flatly.
Paco nodded and disappeared.
Pandora tried to speak.
“It’s all right, Panda,” Xavier soothed her. “A doctor’s on his way. Can you stand? Oh Jesus, what did those bastards do to you? I shouldn’t have left you. This is all my fault!”
Pandora could feel him shaking but she wasn’t sure if it was fury or worry. His voice was warm but his eyes were still dark with anger.
Paco came back with a gun in his hand. “It’s clean,” he said handing it to Xavier. “But don’t do this here, Dragon. It will make a hell of a mess. We can tape them up and take them out to sea later tonight. Much tidier.”
Pandora was horrified. “Xav, for God’s sake, don’t kill them!” she croaked.
“Okay, Panda, don’t worry. You won’t see a thing. I’m not having you upset any further. Paco’s right.”
“Paco’s a fucking asshole,” Pandora rasped. “You’re not a murderer, Xav.”
Xavier hesitated. “Pandora, they hurt you,” he whispered. “They tortured you. They were going to kill you.”
“Killing them doesn’t make it right.”
Paco was looking at her with consternation. “You’re a damn fool,” he said. “Better get rid of them before they try again.”
But Xavier waved him away. “She’s right,” he said tiredly. “They’re just errand boys. Burn their passports and their wallets. Dope them up with smack and dump them downtown. Make sure there’s a baggy or two in their pockets and alert the cops. The penalty here is ten to thirty years. That will sort them out.”
“Xav,” Pandora protested.
“No, Panda,” Xavier said firmly. “I need to send a message. This is a start.”
“And Ramon?” Paco asked.
“Him too. But I want a word with him first. Alone.” Xavier hoisted Pandora to her feet. “Come on, let’s get you to bed,” he said.
“I’m not in the mood,” Pandora whispered.
Xavier gaped at her. “Are you joking?” he asked astonished.
“Yeah, well, why not?” Pandora husked. She could see Paco looking dumbfounded too. “Thanks for getting Xav,” she said to him.
Paco shrugged. “Dragon’s a winner. I’m on his team every time.” He glanced at Ramon who was vomiting weakly while clutching his groin. “Ramon’s a damn fool.”
Warning Paco to make sure the three stayed down, Xavier supported Pandora into the bedroom. Her legs were so rubbery that he practically had to carry her. He laid her gently on the bed and looked into her eyes. “Are you all right?” he asked anxiously. “Can I leave you here for one minute? Maybe 90 seconds?”
“Yes.” Her head was swimming but the feeling was slowly returning to her limbs. She was finding it easier to breathe too.
Xavier dashed off. Seconds later she heard some thumping sounds. There was a single high-pitched squeal. He was killing Ramon, she thought in panic. She was struggling to sit up when Xavier ran back into the room.
“Ramon?” she asked worriedly. “You killed Ramon?”
“No.” Xavier took her into his arms again. “Of course not. I promised, didn’t I? I just reminded him that I know where his family are. All of them. That will keep him from blabbing to anyone. And then I gave him a short, sharp lesson.”
“What did you do?”
“Not telling you. You’ll only lecture me again.”
“Oh Xav!” Pandora was too tired for tears. She just clung to him. Vaguely she noted some bumping sounds in the background.
“Someone’s taking out the rubbish,” she murmured. “I do hope they don’t bleed all over the floor. It may stain the wood, and then you won’t get your deposit back.”
“I’m sure Paco will be careful,” Xavier said looking somewhat surprised. Pandora just giggled. Now she was safe, she felt high; as if she’d drunk a bottle of wine on an empty stomach.
By the time the doctor came, Pandora was able to sit up and move again. The elderly man was dressed in shorts and a T-shirt but he carried the signature black bag and smelled of antiseptic. He looked at the setting on the taser, hissed disapprovingly and opened up the bag. Then he prodded her, shone lights in her eyes, listened carefully to her heart, and said she needed rest. Curiously, he asked no questions. He behaved as it being tasered was perfectly normal.
“I never realised people routinely taser themselves,” Pandora said to Xavier afterwards.
“I don’t think they do,” Xavier said worriedly. “Are you sure you’re all right? You’re not making much sense.”
“It was a joke,” Pandora explained. “I’ve never heard of a doctor who does house calls for taser injuries. This really is live and learn, isn’t it? Or should I say life at the sharp end?”
Xavier looked even more worried. “Panda, you’re acting totally out of character. I thought you’d be screaming by now. You haven’t even thrown up.”
Pandora shrugged. “The worst has now happened. They tortured me and I didn’t die. What else can happen?”
Xavier opened and closed his mouth. “Oh Panda,” he said shakily.
Pandora saw his eyes fill with tears. “It’s okay, Xav,” she whispered. She put her arms around him and rocked him.
Finally he stopped shaking and sat up. “It’s time to send the other half of the message,” he said harshly.
Pandora was suddenly afraid. This was the Dragon speaking. “What will you do?”
“Just wait and see,” he said. “I’ll be back in a minute, Panda.”
When he left the bedroom, Pandora got to her feet. She felt as if she were on stilts, her feet inches above the floor. Shakily she followed Xavier into the living room.
He was standing in front of the computer. Very carefully, he picked up a chair and smashed it down on the hard drive. Then he systematically bashed it into tiny pieces. When he finished, he picked up a half empty cup of cold coffee and poured it over the remains.
“I’ll make them pay for this,” he said. “They won’t be far. This was planned. They’ll know by now it went pear-shaped. Let’s see who ordered this.”
They sat on the sofa and waited. Half an hour later, there was a quiet voice at the door. Paco appeared. “Dragon, someone to see you.” He looked at him expressively. “From the Committee.”
Pandora’s response was instant and crystal clear. She clutched at Xavier. “The Committee? Xav, you can’t keep me safe against them!”
Xa
vier was rigid. “I’ll figure something out.”
He gently disengaged himself from her and stood up. Pandora saw his cold alter ego slide over him. She fought off a sense of panic. “Don’t leave me!”
“I won’t.” He touched her hair. “Stay here.”
A man entered. He was tall, dark haired and light eyed. Despite the tropical heat, he wore a dark blue pin-striped suit and pink silk tie. He dressed like a banker but his face was chiselled ice. Xavier confronted him silently.
She couldn’t hear their murmured conversation. It looked innocuous but Pandora could feel waves of tension coming from both men. Finally, the man touched Xavier’s shoulder. Then Xavier nodded. He came over to Pandora. She could see he wasn’t very happy.
“I’ve made a deal,” he said. “They want to talk to you.”
“No,” Pandora said instinctively.
“It’s okay.” He held her hands and pressed them reassuringly. “All they want is for you to look at some pictures. I will be at your side the whole time. okay?”
Pandora shivered. “I’m afraid,” she whispered.
“I know.” His eyes were tortured. “I’m so sorry. It’s the best deal I can make. Please Pandora.”
She nodded. “OK.”
Xavier beckoned the man over. “Make it fast,” he snapped.
Pink silk tie produced a small photo array. Pandora stared at them. “They’re not him,” she said. She hesitated and pointed at one. “He looked a bit like this but not really. He was much older than this. And this man was never military. The brigadier was. I’m certain of it.”
“Thank you.”
“As I gave you his photo from the feed and it got you nowhere, I doubt he still looks the same,” Xavier said coldly. “Why don’t you look for agents with a military background who can’t see their Rs?”
Pink tie looked taken aback. “What?”
“Pandora said her brigadier talked like Pontius Pilot from Life of Brian. He couldn’t say his Rs.” Xavier frowned. “You mean you didn’t check it out?”
Pink tie looked somewhat aloof. “It wasn’t in the file I saw,” he said thoughtfully.
Xavier stood up. “You stupid fucker,” he said biting off each word menacingly. “It was in my report and in Mac’s too. And you didn’t check it out?”