kicked him again confirmed the source. Jake’s only thought was that at least he was alive, barely. Trussed up like a pig on a spit, he couldn’t feel his hands or feet. From past experience, he knew the drug wore off in stages. He thought with a grimace that, for now at least, the numbness was a blessing. Tasting the blood in his mouth, he could only imagine the fun that they had with him before they tied him up.
“That’s enough, Behnam. I want him alive and fully conscious. It would be a shame if he misses any of the delights I have prepared for him.”
Jake followed the voice to see Dirk sitting behind his impressive carved mahogany desk. The smirk on his face and demonic gleam in his eyes confirmed that this was a moment he’d been waiting for.
Steepling his hands in front of him, Dirk sneered. “Of course, a dose that should have put you down for at least an hour is already wearing off. Naturally, the mighty Jake Gardner would recover more quickly than the rest of us mere human beings.”
He barked a short laugh.
“You may soon regret your superior healing powers, my friend. A little numbness might be useful given Behnam’s prodigious skills.”
Dirk jerked his head at the two goons beside him.
“Bring him over here and tie him to this pillar,” He said, pointing to one of the columns on the archway.
“I want him standing up straight, fully exposed. Knowing you two,” he said grinning at the baboons next to Jake, “The larger the canvas you have to work on, the more impressive your torturous masterpiece.”
Jake stifled the groans that hovered in his throat as they secured him to the post. For as long as he could, he refused to let Dirk know the pain that was racking his body. Knowing that his only hope was staying alive until his men got here, he decided to engage Dirk, knowing the man’s hatred was so intense that he needed the opportunity to crow over his victory. The next words out of Dirk’s mouth confirmed his assessment.
“Humor me, Jake. What was the giveaway? The final clue? Tell me, how you knew that it was me?”
Jake willed his mouth to fill with spit, refusing to speak in anything less than his normal voice.
“Truthfully, Dirk, it was Anthony who put most of the pieces together. He figured out early on who Walt was. But he didn’t stop there. A third rate evidence clerk hiding in the basement of the YPD wasn’t capable of pulling off this enterprise. Anthony’s biggest insight was tracing the dust. We both spent enough time in Afghanistan to hear the raves about the quality of the opium. Once he determined the source, it was an easy step to trace it to the base.”
“So Beloi figured all that out. Why didn’t the YPD act on it.”
Jake shrugged, wincing at the pain the small gesture caused in his neck.
“Anthony was a secretive son of a bitch. Never trusted anyone. He made his notes in code. I guess your real downfall, Dirk, was that that you were unlucky enough to draw me into the mix. Unlikely that anyone else would have figured out Anthony’s notes.”
Dirk’s face twisted in an ugly grin.
“Ah, my friend, we will wait to decide which of us will experience a ‘downfall’.”
Dirk pursed his lips, and made a production of lighting a slim Cuban cigar. Blowing the aromatic smoke high in the air, he grimaced at Jake through half lidded eyes.
“But, Jake, that’s not enough. If Beloi knew all that, he would have gone to his superiors. Even that clown of a police chief might have been able to figure out the rest.”
Jake shrugged again, prepared for the stabbing pain crabbing up his back.
“No, Dirk. You killed Anthony before he uncovered the source.”
“So once again it was the mighty Jake Gardner who figured out the bad guy? How, Jake?”
Jake spit out a harsh laugh.
“The last thing I want to do, Dirk, is stroke your ego. But let’s face it. It doesn’t take a genius to figure out that an enterprise this big, this multi-national, had to be the master plan of someone damned high up in the food chain. And, hell, who could be better positioned to bring in scores of illegal drugs than the guy who oversees logistics for the U.S. Army.”
Dirk puffed on his cigar, thoughtfully.
“So you didn’t buy into all my carefully planted hints that it was Mike Pierce overseeing the operation?”
“Actually, Mike helped me put the final pieces together. I met with him this morning and told him my suspicions, showed him my evidence. He followed up and tonight confirmed the information we needed to bring you down. Seems that in every post you’ve had in the last five years, the local economy has been affected by the influx of high grade dope. Mike confirmed that Yuma was only the latest of your playgrounds.”
Dirk’s face flushed an ugly red. His voice was shrill.
“That traitorous asshole. I know he hates you as much as I do, but he was still willing to work with you to bring me down?”
Jake managed a derisive nod.
“Yeah, Dirk, as much as he dislikes me, he loves the army more, refused to let a fucking scumbag like you pollute his beloved army.”
Jake groaned when the goon beside him drove one fierce punch in his gut and followed it up with a slam to his jaw.
He was gratified that Dirk’s face had paled at the knowledge that he was outed. Now to figure out how to take advantage of what, at least as far as his future was concerned, was a small victory.
Dirk’s voice had lost its swagger, but the crazed hate in his eyes blazed as bright as ever.
“You think you’ve won, Jake? Oh, no. Not this time, asshole. This time I’ve outsmarted even you. Yeah, you might have brought down the drug ring. But you and I know it’ll spring right back up within the week. I don’t give a fuck. I got what I needed. Enough money for the best plastic surgeon in the world and expensive hideaways in eight countries. In several months Dirk Reynolds will be MIA permanently.”
The manic fire in Dirk’s eyes was matched by the spittle forming in the corners of his mouth, both signs of how close he was to madness. His voice was shrill, gleeful, gloating.
“The sound of that helicopter revving up is going to take me to the plane waiting for me across the border – just outside of U. S. jurisdiction.”
Dirk glowered at him, then nodded to his goons.
“As much as I will miss watching them beat you to death, Jake, I fear I mustn’t tarry.”
He opened his desk drawer and brought out a Sig Saur. Tucking it in his shoulder holster, a hideous grin crossed his face.
“One more thing, Jake. I don’t like to fly alone. I’ve arranged to have the lovely Miss Beloi accompany me on my journey. I regret that you won’t be joining us. I had hoped that your dying moments would be filled with the sights and sounds of my fucking her in more orifices that she knew she had.”
Jake couldn’t suppress a harsh cry. “No! God, no!”
“Ah, yes, Jake. My minions are bringing her now.” He glanced at his phone. “They should be here any minute.”
~~~
“Actually, I chose to come with a different escort,” a cool voice said from the doorway.
In the seconds that followed, a blast of gunshots ricocheted around the room. The goons beside him dropped first. As Dirk recovered from his momentary shock and drew his gun, pointing it at Jake, a flash of steel flew across the room, landing in Dirks’ throat. But not before he fired his gun.
The last thing Jake knew before blessed unconsciousness deadened the driving pain in his chest was that Lexie was here. Dammit, someone was going to pay through his ass for disobeying his orders.
Chapter 33
Lexie rushed to his side, her heart in her throat. She cried out, “Help me! Help me get him down. Oh, God.
