Blacksnow Zero

by Lee Gimenez

  Pulling up a chair next to the bed, he sat down and waited for her to regain consciousness.

  A while later, her eye lids fluttered and she groaned.

  Then her eyes snapped open and her head jerked left to right, taking in the scene.

  “What the hell is this, Sanchez?” She pulled against the straps, straining to break free. “I demand you release me, immediately!”

  “Don’t pull against the straps too hard, Miss Cruz. You’ll only end up cutting yourself.”

  Her eyes burned with hate. “Who the hell are you? You’re no FBI agent, that’s for damn sure.”

  “You’re right about that, ma’am.”

  “What do you want? Are you going to rape me?”

  “Can I call you Audrey? Miss Cruz sounds so formal, don’t you think?”

  She struggled against the straps some more, but finally gave up, her face contorted in pain. “Shit…shit. I should have known you were a phony. Damn. You’ll never get away with this. I’m the Secretary of State. They’re probably already looking for me.” Then she began cursing at the top of top of her voice, the yelling carrying throughout the house.

  “This house is sound-proofed,” Garcia said. “None of the neighbors can hear anything. Can I call you Audrey?”

  She grunted. “Call me whatever you want. You’ve got the upper hand here.”

  “That’s true, Audrey. I do.”

  “I’ve got money. Lots of money. Whatever you want. I’ll write you a check. Better yet, I’ve got cash and jewelry back at my house.”

  “That’s not what I want, Audrey.”

  A bewildered look crossed her face. “What do you want? Do you want sex? No problem. Just take off these straps and we can –”

  Garcia held up a hand, interrupting her. “That’s not what I want.”

  “What then?”

  “I just need answers to a few questions.”

  “Questions? You kidnap me to ask me questions? What kind of sick bastard are you?”

  “I’m just a guy doing a job.”

  Her eyes darted around the room as if looking for some way to escape. After a moment her shoulders slumped and she said. “What’s your real name?”

  “Bobbie.”

  She nodded. “Who do you work for, Bobbie?”

  “That’s not important.”

  “Okay. If I answer your questions, you’ll let me go?”

  “Of course.”

  He stood up and grabbed a folded bed sheet that was lying on the top of the bureau. Opening the sheet, he covered her body up to her neck. “Is that better, Audrey?”

  “Yes, thank you.”

  “Would you like some water or a soda?” he asked.

  “Yes. Water’s good.”

  He went to the kitchen, grabbed a glass and filled it from the tap. He returned, tipped the glass to the woman’s lips as she drank greedily.

  Putting the empty glass on the night table, he sat back down.

  “Feel better, Audrey?”

  She nodded. “Let’s get this over with. What do you want to know?”

  “You recently had a secret conversation with someone in Beijing, China. From the details we have, the call originated from a government building there.”

  Her eyes went wide. “I…no.…”

  “Don’t deny it. The NSA picked it up. The call was scrambled, but those guys are good.”

  “Listen, Bobby, there’s been some mistake. I didn’t have any conversation like that. You’ve got to believe me.”

  Garcia crossed his arms in front of him. “I don’t want to hurt you, Audrey. You’re a beautiful woman and I’d hate to scar your face.”

  Her lower lip trembled and her body edged away from him. “Please.…”

  Standing, he took off his suit jacket and draped it over the chair. Next he loosened his tie and rolled up his shirtsleeves. Reaching behind his back, he pulled a combat knife from his waistband and held it up to the light. The sharp, stainless-steel blade gleamed from the overhead light. Crossing the room, he turned on the CD player on the bureau. Classical music came out of the speakers.

  Turning back to her, he walked to the bed slowly, letting the anticipation build.

  Finally he sat next to her on the bed, caressed the sharp edge of the blade against the soft skin of her face.

  Terror filled her eyes and she began screaming. Her bowels loosened and he smelled the putrid stench as it filled the room.

  “Tell me the truth,” he whispered, “and nothing bad will happen to you. Lie to me and….” He punctured her cheek with the point of the blade and rivulets of blood dribbled down her face. She screamed and flinched away.

  “Please, Audrey. I don’t want to hurt you.”

  “Yes, yes!” she cried out, her breath ragged. “It’s true. I was talking with General Chang.”

  “Now we’re getting somewhere. Who’s he?”

  “He’s head of their armed forces.”

  “Why were you talking to him?”

  “We have a deal. I give him U.S. foreign policy information and he pays me. A lot.”

  “You’re doing well, Audrey. Now I want you to tell me exactly what you said and what he said. Word for word.”

  “You won’t cut me anymore?”

  “That’s right. I won’t. Now talk. And don’t leave anything out, or you’ll regret it. Understand?”

  She nodded her head vigorously and began talking.

  Ten minutes later she was done.

  “That wasn’t so hard, was it Audrey?”

  She shook her head, but her eyes were still wide with fear.

  Putting the knife back in his waistband, he stood up. “I’ll get a bandage for your face and give you something for the pain. Then, after you’ve had a chance to rest, I’ll drive you back home. Okay?”

  She nodded, said nothing.

  Garcia opened a drawer in the bureau and took out a first-aid kit. He also took a hypodermic needle that was in the drawer and placed both items on the bed next to the woman.

  Carefully, he cleaned the wound on her cheek and applied a bandage. He picked up the hypodermic, said, “This will help you relax. The needle will sting a bit, but you’ll feel much better in no time.”

  He rubbed her shoulder with a swab of alcohol and gingerly applied the shot, trying to be as gentle as possible.

  Moments later her eyes got a dreamy look and she closed them. A minute later she was fast asleep.

  He breathed a sigh of relief. He would have hated to hurt her more. He didn’t mind killing, but torture repulsed him.

  Then he went to the living room and made two calls.

  The first one was to the general, filling him in on the details of the interrogation.

  The second was to his contact at the National Security Agency. Their guys would be coming here to pick up Cruz and take her to an undisclosed location. She was no longer his problem.

  10 Days to Zero Hour

  Beijing, China

  General Chang sipped whiskey as he reviewed reports in his office. It was mid-day and his stomach was growling with hunger. But lunch would have to wait. With everything going on with the Americans, he had been neglecting his other military duties. Reviewing the status reports on Chinese tank readiness along the Russian-Chinese border was important and he vowed to finish it today.

  The intercom on his desk buzzed and he heard Captain Lin’s voice. “Sir, the President of the United States is calling on the video link. Should I put him through?”

  Chang’s heart began to race. He’d been calling the man for weeks and had yet to hear back. But now he was calling back. A good sign. Maybe things could get back to the ‘old normal’.

  He swept the reports to one side of his desk. “Yes, Lin, put him through.” He glanced down at his crisply starched uniform and adjusted the military ribbons on his jacket. Then he turned on the secure line monitor.

  The monitor came to life and seconds later President Taylor’s face filled the screen. Although he had seen the
U.S. leader in many news clips, it was never in such a tight close-up. The man’s heavy jowls hung from his corpulent face.

  “Mr. President,” the general said, “I am glad you called.”

  “General Chang,” the president replied, his voice warm and soothing. “I have to apologize for not getting back to you sooner. As you can imagine, things here in Washington have been hectic, to say the least.”

  “Understandable, Mr. President.” Chang wanted to scream at the man, but knew diplomacy was a much better approach.

  “General, now that I’ve been in office a few weeks, I’ve had a chance to review the records of your discussions with President Wilson.”

  “I see.” Chang didn’t know what was coming next. He was expecting the worst.

  “Although Wilson and I didn’t always agree on everything, I have to admit the transactions you two negotiated were beneficial to the United States.”

  The general breathed a sigh of relief. Maybe there was hope yet for his own future in Chinese politics. “That is good to hear, Mr. President.”

  Taylor smiled broadly. “My first name is Matt. Why don’t you call me that from now on in private? As a sign of our special relationship.”

  “That would be excellent, Mr. President, I mean Matt. Please call me Wu.”

  “Very good, Wu.” The American paused, glanced down at his desk as if reading something, then looked at Chang again. “Before you bring it up, I’d like to address the issue of the assassination. I know that must be a sore spot with you and your people.”

  Chang hands formed into fists and he took a deep breath to release his anger. “Yes. I wanted to talk about that.”

  A contrite look crossed the president’s face. “Wu, I want to extend the Chinese government a sincere apology. Right after the assassination, a rushed investigation was conducted and a horrific mistake was made. Things in Washington were chaotic then and a lot of misinformation was flying around. The investigating team incorrectly identified the assassin as a Chinese man. A new, more in-depth investigation is taking place. It now appears the killing was committed by an al-Qaeda terrorist. We will be releasing this new information to the public as soon as we have confirmed all the facts.”

  “That is very good news, Matt. However, the Chinese reputation has been damaged by your original statement. We have lost face.”

  “And once again, I apologize for that. Be assured that all of the original investigators have been fired. Further, they have been prohibited from any future employment by our government.”

  “I applaud your efforts, Matt. This will be welcome news to our premier. When do you think you will announce the al-Qaeda terrorist suspect? The sooner the better, from our perspective.”

  The American smiled again. “I am positive the inquiry will be complete in two weeks, probably less. I will go on national TV and address the nation. I will also give my apology publically to the Chinese government then. I hope that is satisfactory?”

  “Yes, Matt.”

  “Excellent. I hope we can continue our mutually beneficial arrangement in the future. I look forward to personally working with you.”

  “That is good, sir. I also look forward to it.”

  “Goodbye, Wu.”

  The screen went dark and Chang turned off the monitor.

  Ecstatic from the call, his life looked a lot brighter now.

  After taking a long pull from his glass of whiskey, he pressed the intercom. “Lin, call the Premier. Tell him I need to meet with as soon as possible.”

  Half-hour later Chang stood ramrod straight in front of Premier Tse. Tse was sitting behind his desk in his office, a grim look on his face.

  “You have some news?” Tse asked, his tone harsh.

  “Yes, sir. I just received a call from the American President. The man apologized profusely for not returning my calls. And he also gave me very good news.”

  “I’m not a mind reader, General. Spit it out!”

  “Yes, Premier. The Americans made a tragic mistake in their investigation. They now realize that no Chinese operatives were involved in the assassination.”

  Tse’s jaw dropped. “A mistake? How is that possible?”

  “Taylor says that with all the confusion after the event, their agents overlooked vital information. He was very apologetic, sir.”

  “We as a nation have lost face.”

  “Yes, Premier. But the President will apologize publically to us in a nationally televised address.”

  “When?”

  “He believes the new investigation will be completed in a matter of weeks. At that time he will go on TV.”

  Tse’s face seemed to relax. “I see.” He motioned with one hand. “Have a seat, General.”

  Chang, enormously relieved by the premier’s change in tone, sat in one of the ornately-upholstered wingchairs. “Thank you, sir.”

  “So, Chang, you believe Taylor is being honest with us?”

  “Yes, Premier. I could tell by his tone and attitude. It was clear he wanted to resume our ‘special relationship’.”

  Tse nodded. “The man is finally realizing they need us more than we need them.”

  “I agree. They are in a deep hole, one that gets deeper by the day.”

  The premier barked out a harsh laugh. “That is a good analogy, General. We definitely have them by their short hairs.” He leaned back in his chair, turned his head and glanced out the tall windows. The sky was overcast in Beijing, signaling the coming rain. Then he turned back to Chang. “Keep Taylor on a short leash. Once he makes his public apology, I want to start getting more concessions from the Americans. For every single Yuan they borrow, I want something in return.” A wicked smile crossed his face. “I want to bleed them dry.”

  “Yes, sir.”

  “Keep me up-to-date, General, as you get additional details. Good work. You are to be congratulated for turning the situation around.”

  Chang stood, saluted, and left the office, feeling a lot better than when he’d come in.

  Back in his own office later, the general paced the room, sorting through his thoughts. No way could he concentrate on the tedious tank status reports now. He was too wired. No, he had a better idea, a much better idea.

  Going back to his desk, he pressed the intercom. “Captain Lin, would you come in a minute?”

  “Yes, General,”

  The young woman came in his office and he waved her to one of the visitor’s chairs. She was wearing her usual military uniform – a green jacket and green skirt with a white shirt. She perched on the chair and he went back to his desk and sat down.

  “Lin, I know things have been difficult over the last several weeks.”

  She nodded, but said nothing.

  “Since this problem started with the Americans, I have been, shall I say, difficult to be around.”

  “It is understandable, sir. You have been under a lot of pressure.”

  He took off his thick glasses, laid them on the desk. “I have. However, that is no excuse for the way I have treated you recently.”

  She waved that away. “Not a problem, sir.”

  “Good. As you may have overheard, the U.S. president has changed his tune. The Chinese-American ‘agreement’ is back in place. We help them and they help us.”

  “Yes, sir, I did listen in on the conversation. It is wonderful news.”

  “I agree.” He smiled. “Now that things are back on track, I was hoping you would be agreeable to resuming our special arrangement.”

  Her face broke into a wide grin. “That would please me very much, General.”

  “Excellent, Lin. If possible, I’d like to start today.”

  Standing up, she went to the door and locked it. Then took off her military jacket and laid it on the chair. Her crisply starched shirt strained against her curves.

  As he watched intently, she slowly unbuttoned her shirt and sensuously took it off. Then she unzipped her skirt and let it drop to the floor. Unhooking her bra, she shrugged out
of it, and leisurely pulled down her panties. Completely nude, she sashayed around the desk and leaned over and gave him a quick kiss on the lips.

  Chang was breathing hard now and his groin was straining against his pants. He tried to pull her down for a longer kiss.

  She laughed and pushed his hands away. “Not now. We’ll do that later.”

  Lin dropped to her knees in front of him and pushed his legs apart. She began unbuttoning his uniform jacket.

  “Lay on the floor, Lin,” he said, his voice hoarse. “I’ll get on top.”

  She chuckled. “No. We do it my way first.”

  Still sitting, he leaned his head back against the chair, knowing the woman could be headstrong. But he also knew she was an expert when it came to this.

  She unbuckled his belt and unzipped his trousers. With both hands she reached in and began to stroke him lightly. She was firm but gentle, as if knowing that he was already close.

  He grunted from the pleasure, reached out with his hands and caressed her full breasts.

  “You like that, General?” she asked coyly.

  Groaning in response, he tried kissing her again. Her head moved to one side and she gently pushed his hands away from her.

  “Just lay back and relax, sir. I’ll do all the work.”

  He sighed, knowing she was right, and let his hands drop to his sides.

  Lin stopped stroking him, lowered her head and began to lightly kiss the sides of his shaft. The feeling was electric and he almost exploded.

  Stopping the kisses, she gave him time to catch his breath.

  After a moment, she began kissing his shaft again, then took it in her mouth. The feeling was pure ecstasy. He took deep breaths in order to hold himself back.

  Gripping the armrests tightly, he watched her head bob up and down as she picked up the tempo. The pleasure and pain combined into one and he could feel himself almost coming.

  Lin slowed her movements, obviously trying to extend his pleasure a while longer.

  She pulled away from him and sat back on her haunches and smiled. “Enjoying yourself, General?” she whispered.