The Chronicles of Benjamin Jamison: No More Lies (Book 3) Page 21

  I assumed someone would be up to check things out soon, so I went and waited by the door. It opened outwards, so I waited behind it. I heard them coming up the steps; they were running, and I assumed they didn’t plan on slowing down at the top. I had both hands out to catch the door when it flew open. It was such a good feeling to be right as I braced for impact, one foot to the rear and leaning forward with both hands. The door hit me and I pushed; there was slack, so I pushed again and heard screams as they tumbled down the metal stairs.

  Opening the door, my visor adjusted for me and I aimed down the stairs, squeezing off two shots. I ran over to the edge and looked; the guards were gone, so I jumped. It was no more than twenty feet, and I bent at the knee, letting my body bend. I caught myself with both hands before my tailbone could hit the ground. That shit always hurt, waves of pain shooting through your body, but not this time, thank goodness. I went through the front door, ready for anything.

  They had killed the lights, and I silently thanked them for that. I think some asshole had thought he would shine a light in my face and blind me. I set my visor to auto, eased my katana out and turned the power on my pistol. The holster hid most of the glow. I put my hand over it to try and hide the rest. I stood in one place for a number of seconds with the gain on the hearing aids turned up. The longer I stood in one place, the better my helmet could calculate all the sounds it was picking up.

  After a minute, I had a good idea where everyone was and roughly how many. I moved as slowly and quietly as I could. The waiting made them nervous as hell.

  “You were supposed to come and talk to me, you fucker, not kill my men,” T-Rex yelled, or at least I assumed it was him. I didn’t answer, I just moved slowly towards my first target. It was pitch black in the hallway, with no windows or light sources nearby. I switched to thermal for a second and swung, stepping into it and grabbing an arm. The head snapped and the body went limp. I held the arm and lowered the dead weight as quietly as possible.

  I switched the thermal off and went in search of my next victim. This one was strung out on something, holding the pistol out in front of himself with two hands swinging this way and that in the dark. He whined and whimpered while I watched from five feet away. I waited until he swung in the opposite direction to step in. He must have sensed me, swinging back, but it was too late for him. I grabbed his arms like the last one, as my knife cut deeply across his throat. There would be no yelling.

  “I know you’re out there, you son of a bitch. You can expect nothing from me now,” he yelled.

  What a dumb ass, I thought. If someone was killing your people, isn’t it a given you aren’t going to be obliging? I was getting tired of the cat-and-mouse. It was fun, reminded me of the old days, but I needed info and needed to get moving. I didn’t want to be gone too long and have the cavalry show up. I sheathed my knife and katana, took the dead man’s weapon in my left, and drew my pistol with my right. I eased towards the voice and the warehouse space, where it seemed the rest were waiting. I stood and let my combat computer recalculate.

  I have to give them credit; they were waiting on me when I came through the door into the warehouse. They hit me in a crossfire. I made the decision to go down on my back. The wall was just behind my head, so no one was coming from that direction.

  “We got him, boss, he’s down!” I heard someone yell.

  One thousand one, I counted.

  “He’s not moving!”

  One thousand two.

  “Let’s go get him and string him up!”

  One thousand three. I switched to thermal, lifted my head and arms and started firing. They had run out of their hiding places so eagerly; my pistol was ripping through people on the right and the building, I had it cranked up to max. The stunner was stunning those on the left, and if they were still standing when I finished the right side, I shot them with my rail pistol. Now that had to suck — get stunned and not fall, only to get ripped in half with the next shot. The wails and moaning lasted for a few minutes. I worked my way through them all and dispensed mercy. They died with their surplus night vision goggles on.

  A light flickered on and two figures at the total opposite of the spectrum stood looking at me. The small one looked about five two or five three, looking pretty cocky with his arms crossed.

  “You’re stupid, boy. The people you are gunning for already know you’re coming. They are ready for you and you won’t walk away,” T-Rex said. His body guard stood quietly at his side.

  The hired help must have been six nine and three seventy-five. He had his arms crossed like his boss, but said nothing and had no visible weapons. Do I just shoot his ass and be done with it? I thought. I’m pretty sure he is counting on my sense of honor, but I kinda checked it at the door.

  “Before you do anything you need to look at this, and then we’ll talk,” he told me. I didn’t like the cockiness in his voice; it sounded like he was sure of coming out on top.

  On the wall, a vid started playing. I recognized the woman tied to the chair. Her beautiful green eyes were bloodshot and she looked tired and angry.

  “Tell him to leave Athena and not come back, and we will let you go once he is gone,” a voice said.

  Aisling looked up at the speaker. “Fuck you,” she said. A fist connected with her face. Blood and spittle flew from her mouth.

  “There is no need to do this the hard way, Captain. You tell him and get him to go, and we will bring you and your crew home free and clear.”

  Aisling took a minute as if she was considering it, then spit a wad of blood in the direction of the speaker.

  “You shouldn’t have done that!” the man screamed. It was a shrill scream.

  Aisling took three punches to her face; her nose was broken, along with her lips. Blood rolled down her chin onto her chest. Her eye was swollen, but her head was up and she struggled with her bonds.

  “Hit her again,” the man screamed. The fist that struck Aisling didn’t belong to the talker. Her head snapped and this time it drooped, her chin resting against her chest.

  The vid stopped. “Your friend is still alive, and if you leave and never return they will let her go. She is a fiery lass, if I ever saw one.”

  “If I do as you say and leave, I want to take her with me. You have to understand that I don’t trust you one damn bit,” I said. While I looked at them, I turned the magnification up on my visor. T-Rex had some scratches on his neck and the big guy had a scuffed-up hand. The rage inside of me wasn’t hot, but rather cold like the frigidness of the black. I was going to kill them slowly, taking them apart one piece at a time.

  “You are in no position to bargain, young man,” he said.

  “You call me that again, old man, and I’ll cut your tongue out.” I didn’t care, this was just so I could draw and fire. The big guy’s knee exploded, removing the rest of the leg and foot, which landed ten feet away. I was on them both in seconds and my fist, covered in my armored glove, hit T-Rex so hard he bounced off the wall, leaving it dented.

  I pulled his belt off and threw it on the ground by the giant ball of jelly that was flopping around. I kicked him in the head with everything I had and he stopped moving.

  “Binda,” I said into my com, “get the shuttle over here right now and bring the med kit in.”

  “Are you okay, Benjamin?” she asked.

  “No! Now get moving, damnit!” I yelled.

  I tied the belt around his thigh and cinched it tight, then pulled off the helmet he had on. His face was scratched up as well. These thugs had it easy on Athena; they wouldn’t have lasted out on the border. I was going to show them how information was really obtained.

  “Binda?”

  “Yes, Ben, we’re right outside.”

  “Send in Taz and Nedra only. Turn Lorelei around and tell her to get to these coordinates right now, no questions. Are we clear?”

  “Yes.”

  “Good, and tell Lorelei I meant it. The first one who opens their mouth to question me
will lose their tongue, at a minimum. It’s Aisling, Binda, they’ve taken her and tortured her. Don’t tell Lorelei, I just want you to know how serious this is.”

  “I understand.”

  I looked at the desk and found the controls for the vid, along with a remote. I backed it up to the beginning and hit play. Taz and Nedra came in, Taz with the med kit, looking around at all the carnage, and stood silently next to me. “I thought you came here to talk and gather information from this man,” Taz said.

  I could sense Taz was trying to sort things out, but I had no time for her to formulate and figure me out. The sound of Aisling being hit rang in my ears. Nedra watched, mesmerized as it unfolded, and then the vid went beyond what I had seen earlier.

  “Benjamin!” Aisling yelled. “I love you! Kill them for your family and for me. The one you want—”

  “Shut her up!” the voice screamed.

  I heard a fist connect but couldn’t look; then the audio went silent. Nedra picked up the remote and turned it off.

  “You will torture these men, Benjamin?” she asked.

  “Yes,” I said. “I’ll get everything I need from them and more.”

  “We will avenge your friend, Benjamin. You have my word on it. Harry will rip them to pieces at my command and I will fight and make you proud.”

  Chapter 27

  Taz had been standing quietly, looking up at the vid until it was turned off. “She said she loves you, Benjamin,” she queried. “Why would she say that, knowing it will cause her more harm?”

  “Because she does, Taz, and maybe she thought she would never get to say it again. For now, do not tell Natalia or anyone about the vid.”

  “Nedra, would you check the bodies for keys to the building. If you find any of these thugs still alive, you know what to do.”

  “Yes, Benjamin.”

  “When you’re through, get Harry and put all the bodies where Imelda can access them. There should be large loading doors somewhere.”

  “Taz,” I said, “when I wake them up, I want you to read their minds while I go to work on them. You tell me if they are lying, and I will remove a part here and there until they tell the truth.”

  “You seem possessed by evil spirits, Benjamin. This is not your normal anger against injustice.” Taz looked worried.

  I grabbed Taz and pulled her into me, none too gently, and grabbed her by the hair. I opened my visor and looked her in the eyes.

  “You might be right,” I said. I wanted her to understand. “The demon inside me feels the end is near and beats on the walls of my soul to be set free, to rain hell and damnation down on the evil ones who imprisoned it inside me. Oh, I’m gonna fucking kill them, Taz, you better believe it; I’m pretty sure even demons would stay out of my way. Lift my helmet off, please.”

  She took both hands and removed it, setting it down on the table next to us. I grabbed her hair again and this time my face covered hers. I kissed her in a way I had never before. When we separated, it was to find Harry standing with two arms around Nedra, both of them smiling at us.

  “About time,” Harry said.

  “Yes, long overdue,” Nedra answered.

  They walked away and began the bloody chore I had assigned them to. Taz stroked my face with her hand. It felt cool against the heat my face was giving off.

  “Benjamin, the Claymore is about ten minutes out. Lorelei pushed the limits and only slowed down when she absolutely had to,” Binda said. “They had not been traveling fast away from here”

  “Thank you,” I said. “Tell them thank you, and to let Imelda out as soon as they land. She is to search me out.”

  My arm had never moved from Taz’s waist as I talked to Binda. I kept her pinned against me.

  “Are you ready to get started?” I asked.

  “I am.”

  I walked over to T-Rex and pulled him by the arm all the way to the table. I picked him up and tossed him in the air and he landed hard. Taz put a hand on his chest and held him in place. I grabbed the bag of medical supplies and instruments and pulled out the laser saw. It would cut through skin and muscle and bone, leaving a clean amputation.

  I walked over to the big guy and started on his leg. I just wanted to cauterize the wound to keep him alive. I was halfway through it when he started to thrash. I let go of the saw, leaving it on and in him. Grabbing his armor, I lifted him and punched him until his head hung limp, then went back and finished cutting the limb off. I removed the belt and brought it with me to use on T-Rex. I just couldn’t defile the name of a great predator by using it on this piece of shit.

  “Harry, can you make sure there is enough room for Imelda to get up here?” I had no sooner said it than I heard crashing and things being thrown out of the way.

  “Thank you!” I added.

  Benjamin, I am here. I knew you would not want me to leave you.

  I am sorry, dear, but I hope I made up for it. Wait ‘til you see what you have and the game we are going to play.

  “Benjamin, I found rope and it has blood on it,” Nedra announced, walking up with it in her hands.

  “Tie him up with it while I sharpen my knife.”

  “Little man T,” I said, turning to him, “you talk and tell me what I want to know, and I promise I’ll kill you quick.”

  “I can take anything you can dish out,” T-Rex said.

  I was tired of his mouth; we would see about that in less than a minute. “Old man,” I told him, “you have no idea what’s gonna happen to you in the next few minutes. Once I start, I’m not stopping until you’re dead. My offer of a quick clean death was genuine, and you have one last chance.”

  “Boy, I was torturing people before you were born. You’ve got nothing I haven’t seen.”

  “Suit yourself, old man, but you’re wrong,” I hissed in his ear, thoroughly happy he had turned me down.

  Ah, you have ten fresh ones for me. Thank you, Imelda said.

  Yes, and two live ones. I need information from them, so you get to nibble on them until I get what I need, and then you can eat them and save the others for the trip out of here.

  You do love me, don’t you, Benjamin.

  Of course, Imelda, why wouldn’t I? Now come here, let’s get started.

  My crew, including my daughter, stood back watching. Those late to arrive weren’t exactly sure what was going on. I changed my mind and told Nedra to take them and show them what we had seen. They would find out eventually. They walked to the other end of the warehouse. I could hear it playing and it was all I could do not to kill him right there.

  Imelda moved slowly and carefully, stopping with her head just over my shoulder. Little man T pissed himself. It meant nothing to me; I knew it was coming. I cut one of his arms loose and held it up towards Imelda, and the brave information broker started thrashing against his bonds. Imelda’s head eased forward; her mouth took the arm in and stopped where I told her to. I saw her mouth move, T-Rex started screaming, and blood sprayed Imelda in the face. It was fine, I knew she enjoyed that sort of thing. I took the saw and sliced away, stopping him from bleeding to death.

  T-Rex’s mouth was moving, but nothing was coming out. I put my ear closer but he made no sound.

  “Hey! Tough guy, you got anything to tell me?” I asked.

  His stare was far off. “Okay, well, she is still hungry.” I said, and I cut the rope holding his left leg.

  “Ben, I think your friend is in this building somewhere. I haven’t got a clear picture yet,” Taz said.

  I tapped my com. “Nedra, tell the others to start looking. Aisling may be here in the building. I’ll let you know when we get more.”

  “Ben, his thoughts are disjointed and erratic. He feels he will go to a place called hell. I have never heard of such a place, but he fears it,” Taz said.

  “He should have thought of that before. Hold his head up so he can watch,” I said.

  I held his leg with both hands. He was doing his best to kick and scream. “I know you’
re in shock,” I said, “and it’s about to get worse, unless your mouth starts moving and words come out.”

  The threats came first. We were all going to be hunted down like animals, yada, yada, and our families as well. Mine couldn’t be hurt; they were already dead. The threats meant nothing to me. Then the begging came, but it was too late; Imelda had a hold of his ankle. I stepped back so the spray wouldn’t get all over me this time.

  Benjamin, your friend is buried in the floor. There are many boxes covering the door, Imelda said.

  “Ben, your friend is buried . . .”

  “I know, Taz, Imelda just told me. Go tell the others for me, please,” I asked. Taz looked at me funny and walked away. It was just Imelda, me, and T-Rex.

  Imelda stared down at him, holding his leg in her mouth. I was sure that, had I been on the receiving end of that stare, I would be stinking up the place too.

  “We know where Aisling is, so your usefulness just expired,” I told him. “I’m sure there are many other things you can tell me, but we are going to hack your computers and take your files. I’m putting that big son of a bitch on this table next, and I’m thinking he will sing once he feels her teeth ripping through his other leg.”

  “Genius, do you copy?” I said into my com.

  “Yes, Ben.”

  “Take Shawna and Snake and any of the others and load up computers, files and credits, everything we could possibly use. Food is good, as are weapons.”