“I smell your fear from here, Blue.”
“I don’t give a damn what you smell, bitch. Let me out of here,” he spat out.
“Hmm, well now, is that how you feel?”
I pressed the shock button on a low voltage. He twitched for about 15 seconds.
“You shocked me, bitch? What the fuck is this place? You can’t be the police. This shit ain’t legal. I want my lawyer!”
“You’re right; this ain’t the police. I’m worse than the police. I don’t answer to anyone.” I hit the button for twenty seconds.
“What the fuck! What you want from me, man?” He shuddered and recovered from the shock.
“Who I am isn’t as important as what you’re going to tell me.”
Gio was in the other room shouting to Blue not to say anything. And doing his best to break out, but he was held tight.
“I don’t know shit, so ain’t nothing I can tell you,” Blue said.
“Who do you work for? Think before you answer.”
“I work for myself! I’m a self-made man,” he shouted back.
I increased the voltage and shocked him for ten seconds. When it was over, he screamed in frustration.
“Try again.”
“Fuck you!” he spat back.
I held the medium volt button for 25 seconds. He peed on himself. He was more than frustrated now; he was pissed off at his pissed-on self. He jerked from left to right. He would dislocate something if he jerked any harder.
“Who do you work for?”
“He’ll kill me and you both. You don’t know who you fucking with,” He caught his breath.
“So, who am I fucking with?”
I hit the button for 20 seconds. Blue’s tears and snot rolled down his face. He even drooled a little. He was about to crack. He wouldn’t be able to hold out much longer. I held the button again for another thirty seconds. He vomited on himself. He coughed, choked, spit, and to catch his breath again.
“Ci… Cian.” He wanted to pass out.
“Cian? Hmm, interesting.”
He moaned, and his head rolled around. I clicked the mic off.
“Ever heard of Cian?” I faced Black.
“He gotta be a Tanzanite. I’ll ask Dallas and Houston if they know him.”
He left the room to find them.
Blue’s head was leaned back, and his breath shallow. He probably felt like he’s been on the worst roller coaster of his life. His head raised, and he tried to get his bearings, which was hard to do blindfolded.
“I told you what you wanted, now let me go!” his voice was weak.
“Where can I find Cian?”
He didn’t answer right away. I didn’t hesitate and held the button down again. He vomited again, and this time he shit on himself. If he had the strength, he probably would fight to get out of that chair, but his body was weakened.
“Please, please stop,” he said breathlessly as his head rolled around.
Gio still fought, probably more out of frustration. He could hear his friend give up his secrets. There was nothing he could do, but he screamed at him to shut the fuck up anyway.
“I got all damn day and night. Do you?”
Again, I didn’t wait for an answer. I shocked him, and as he shook, defeat washed over his body. Sweat, piss, vomit, and shit covered him, and he was in no position to tell me otherwise. I flipped a switch, and a car cigarette lighter came out of the side of the chair. Used the joystick and began making dots on his chest. The searing pain brought him to full attention.
“Think, Blue. Where is he?” I moved the heat closer to his nose.
“That short fat fuck is out by the marina. He got a place away from the others.” His words rapidly fired out of his mouth.
I clicked the button and burned his nose anyway. He cried out in pain.
“What others, Blue?” I kept the heat close to his face.
“Ahhh! Fuck, man. Gio! Where are you, man?”
“Trust me, he can hear you. What others?”
I burned his cheek and left it there for a few seconds. His blood ran down his face. He screamed out and shook from the pain; sweat poured off of him.
“Gio, man, come get me outta here! I told you some shit would happen! I told you!”
“You are trying my patience.”
I made dots on his thighs. Letting them sit longer and longer.
“Man, this is your fuckin’ fault! I swear I’m going to fuckin’ kill you!”
“Answer my question.”
“Them Africans. He out where the old pottery mill is off the water’s edge.”
He passed out; I turned the mic off and darkened his room. Black came back.
“Dallas said this Cian guy reports to one of the Tanzanite brothers,” He sat back in his chair.
“He has his own little spot where the old pottery mill used to be out by the water’s edge. Courtesy of our friend Blue.”
Black peeked around me in the window, and Blue was passed out. Gio had calmed down, but he squirmed around.
“I think we have found our rat.” He smiled again with that grim reaper eye.
“I’d say we found him and his partners. There’s more to find out.”
“What’s your next move, Queen?”
As much as I wanted to kill Gio, I couldn’t let that cloud my mind. Yes, this was personal, but I had a greater goal at hand. I pushed the button and removed his blindfold. I turned the light up to a slight glow in Blue’s room. Slowly turned him around and opened the divider shade between his room and Blue’s. Once his eyes adjusted, he could see his friend in the glow. Blue was passed out with burn marks and blood all over his body. I’m sure it wasn’t lost on him that he was naked and blindfolded.
“He’s not dead. So far from it, actually,” I spoke to Gio.
“Fuck you! You ain’t shit for this, yo!”
“He can’t hear you anyway,” I spoke calmly.
“This is some bullshit yo’! Let me the fuck outta here. We could’ve talked, yo!” he twisted back and forth; his dick played helicopter.
“We could’ve talked? But Gio, you lie so much. I don’t have time to waste.”
“Yo, what the fuck you talkin’ bout?” He tried to sound tougher than his position.
“Why was Kari driving that car?”
“I don’t know what the fuck you’re talkin’ about.”
I pressed a blue button, and a long leather whip fell from the ceiling. It was dripping wet with water. It swung in his face. I used the joystick and maneuvered it to the back of him. His eyes grew wide, and his knees began to shake. A wave of terror washed over him.
“Try again.”
“You gotta be fuckin’ bullshin’ me. Let me the fuck outta here!” He tried again to jerk himself loose.
“Why was she driving that car?”
“You got to understand, I didn’t know….”
I used the joystick to swirl the whip around and slashed him across the back. He screamed like I had never heard him before. His legs shook, and if he wasn’t suspended, he would have buckled. But, instead, he was about to get a taste of his ancestors’ life.
“Shit! Ok shit! I didn’t know the shit was going down like that. I didn’t set the shit up, I swear to God,” he regained his voice.
“I only care about what you do know,” steel in my voice.
I swirled it again and cracked him across the back again. The fire that blazed through his body was unlike anything he had ever felt in his life. His whole body shook. For sure, he felt like a slave. He lost his breath completely, and it took him longer than usual to retake a breath.
“Ahhhhh, Kae! I didn’t do shit!” His piss ran down his legs as they shook.
“I know you fucked something up. You can’t help it. It’s what you do; you fuck up. Now tell me what the fuck happened!”
“Come on now, let me out of here!” He grew weak. Tears rolled down his face.
“Tell me.” I double-swirled and slashed him twice.
“Why the fuck was she even in the car?”
“It’s Blue’s car. I guess they were following him.”
“Try again.” I hit him with three lashes.
“Alright! Goddamn it, stop it!”
“What did you do, you sorry, son of bitch?!”
“I asked Kari to drop his car off for me. She didn’t know it was hot,” he said, moaning from the fire in his back.
The tears and snot ran down his face now. His back was open, and his blood oozed out of his wounds. I slashed his back five more times. His legs shook back and forth.
“Have Dallas and Houston go check out this Cian’s place. I need surveillance on who I am dealing with,” I spoke softly.
“I got you.”
He picked up his phone and started talking to one of them. I turned my attention back to Gio, who was still moaning in agony.
“What did you do, you stupid mothafucka?”
“I don’t even know them, people, yo,” he said with a weak attitude.
“Let me help you remember why I am not to be fucked with.” A cold viciousness dripped over my words.
I hit another button and switched control of the joysticks over to two mechanical arms with branding irons on the end of them. They emerged from the bottom of the X. They literally glowing red hot.
“Whoa, whoa! Kae, please.”
His eyes widened. He began to twitch as the irons moved into position at his side. After his whipping, he didn’t have much energy to struggle.
“Man, you got to be bullshittin’ me,” panic consumed his face.
“You ain’t saying what I wanna hear.” I moved them closer.
They were so close to him he could feel the heat radiated from them. I took turns branding his sides with L’s until he spoke.
“Ok, ok! Blue got me mixed up with some dude, and he stole the jewels. I only got half the money, and he gave it to this Cian nigga earlier.”
“Is that right? Well, let’s wake him up and ask him, shall we?”
A low volt to Blue’s chair, and he woke up in a panic. He tried to figure out where he was again. I lifted his blindfold, and when he recognized Gio, he screamed at him. I turned on the sound bridge so they could hear each other. Blues’ screams filled Gio’s pod.
“What the fuck, yo!” Blue continued to scream.
“Gio, you want to say that again?”
“It don’t have to be like this!” Gio pleaded.
“Nigga, you got us in here fucked up! When I get out of here, I’m going to kill you!” Blue yelled at Gio.
“I swear to God I ain’t know she would do no shit like this.”
“Blue, Gio tells me this is your fault. He says you stole some jewels from the Tanzanites. Is that true? Were you holding out on me after what we have been through?” I stared at Gio.
The hate in Blue’s eyes couldn’t be deadlier; if looks could kill, Gio would be dead on the spot.
“Yo’, you lying on me now, my nigga! Son, I did everything to help you, yo! You black spineless son of a bitch!” he spits at the glass.
“She tryin’ to play us. I ain’t do no shit like that, man!” Gio shouted back with a nervous chuckle.
“Let’s see about that.” A smirk rested on my lips.
I replayed the conversation Gio, and I had for Blue to hear.
“Man, please don’t do this to me.” Gio pleaded as he listened to himself on tape.
“This is how your friend betrayed you.”
I moved the irons to his ass and burned each cheek. He let out a scream that rivaled a horror film actress.
“Ok! I got played, and Blue was tryin’ to help me.”
“Keep talking.”
“When you told me she was dead, I knew it should’ve been me,” he begged.
“How much money did you lose? What price did you put on my wife’s head?”
“They were worth five million. Blue took Cian two mil today to buy us more time. Come on, Kae, please stop. I’m telling you the truth.”
“‘You out of your fucking league! You don’t know what you have done! You stupid son of a bitch!” I snapped.
I left the irons on his sides until he couldn’t scream anymore. Between the fire from his back and the burn of his sides, Gio was so weak he could barely speak. He was one step from passing out from the pain. Instead, I focused my attention back on Blue.
“Blue?” I gazed at him.
“Like I told you. I, I, I work for Cian, and he is one of them Tanzanites. I told you where the warehouse is. I swear to you I don’t know anything else. I promise you, Miss Kae. I don’t know shit else.”
He sang a different tune. He even called me ‘Miss.’ That was cute. I hit the water button and dumped water on Blue from the ceiling; it drained into the floor. He sat in his chair, cold, naked, and wet. Gio was hit with saltwater. The burn of the water shocked him awake. He screamed and mumbled with whatever voice he had left. I closed the divide between the rooms, turned off the audio, and plunged them back into complete silence and darkness.
“What’s the word from Dallas or Houston?” I faced Black.
“They have eyes on Cian. He’s right where Blue said he would be. There are two other guys there with him. I guess they are with the Tanzanites too.”
“I’ll work my way up the ladder then. You tell them to keep a light tail on them and report back to you. I’m going to the office.”
“And what do you want me to do with these two?”
“I have more in store for them. Put Gio in a chair.”
I left the control room, jumped in my car, and headed to the office.
Chapter 7
Holding Out
-Femi-
“What is going on out there, Faraji?!” I paced in front of my desk.
“My brother, I wish I had the answers for you, but I do not. Everything was quiet one day, and all hell broke loose the next,” Faraji followed my pace with his eyes.
“I hope for Zuberi’s sake he is not behind this fiasco?”
“I am sure after the last meeting, he is hiding out somewhere. None of my people are involved in this travesty.”
“Speaking of your people, how is she?” I stopped and stared at him directly.
“She is getting the best treatment a prisoner in my barracks could get,” a crooked smile flashed back at me.
“She is not a prisoner. Keep a close eye on her. She will figure a way out of here if she has not already.”
“Seraphim is my best Major. Her team of ladies is a pristine combat machine. She is in good hands.” He stuck his chest out slightly.
“Good then, take me to her now. I want to talk to her.” I spun on my heels and walked out of the door.
Faraji was on my heels. We jumped in one of the waiting cars parked in front of the Opal. Faraji told the driver to go to the barracks.
“What do you think she is going to tell you? I am sure you are the last person she wants to see anyway,” he offered.
“I want to see what she will tell me. I should have spoken to her sooner than now.”
“Does she strike some kind of fear in you, brother? What is it about her?”
“No woman has ever put fear in my heart other than my own mother. She tickles the edges, however. She and her wife are some of the best in the industry. If she had been anyone else, I would have killed them and left their body as a calling card.”
“Calling card? You mean she has a wife that is like her?” He raised his eyebrows.
“They are one and the same. I would not put much past either one of them to get the job done. But, hell, this gang war is her calling card to me,” I mused out loud. I did not want to admit I might be in over my head.
“You think she is capable of doing such a thing? They could have killed her by now.”
“Her life and job revolve around murder. They are the shearers of loose ends and even looser ends.”
<
br /> “I know she is a spy, and any country would love to have her head. And if she has a wife just like her, they want her head too.” His mug was smug.
“My dear brother, your military life has taken you to a different underworld. She is not a spy; they both are far from it. They are dangerous women in a dangerous business.”
“How dangerous can she be? She hasn’t tried to escape or save herself.”
“If she was so inclined, she would and could challenge your security. But she is too smart for that. She knows with no weapons, she would only get so far. So now she waits on the next move. Which is me.” I watched the world go by my window.
“You know she is waiting for you? You could have let me talk to her.”
“You would only interrogate her, Faraji. She is not a POW. A little talk with her will not hurt.” I smiled at him.
We rode in silence until we pulled up to the base and passed the gates. Then, we went to the back of the base to the officers’ private quarters.
“What are you going to say to her?”
“Listen and watch, Faraji. Sometimes a softer, gentle approach works best. Why be hostile in a calm situation?” Then, we walked into the building.
The officer at the desk said she was in the lounge. It was more of a game room with a big TV on one end. A few tables and sofas were scattered around. A ping pong and football table were on the other end. She sat on a couch watching TV.
“It took you long enough.” She kept her eyes trained on the TV.
“I hope you have been treated well.” I sat on the loveseat across from her.
“The people are nice, and the food is good. Your officers eat well,” She channel surfed.
“That they do. I am glad you have been comfortable.”
“Femi, normally I would entertain your sweet African accent and gentle conversation, but you should’ve come by sooner. Before, I had time to think. I’ve been watching the news, and you got a whole gang war on your hands. Doesn’t look good.”
“What have you been thinking about?” I sat back to listen and motioned for Faraji to sit.
“I’ve been thinking about why you’re holding me here. And to answer your question, Faraji, I go back to the old days with your father. My condolences, by the way. Does Akinyi know I’m here?”
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