Chapter IV

He didn't expect to get disturbed that night and he wasn't. He disabled the lights in the hallway anyway, just in case and made sure the door was bolted and blocked by the small table. The gun rested on the night stand next to his head, as it always did when he was working. It wasn't that he thought a table or bolts would stop people from entering, he just needed things that would make enough noise to wake him up. Then he'd be ready and waiting with his gun. It was an advantage being on the first floor too, it meant the only way in was through the door and they wouldn't be able to get many through at a time. He could easily shoot them down.

He wondered whether killing the people that would come for him was a good idea but decided that they would certainly be trying to kill him, so he would probably have to. If it was a proper test, they would want to see what he could do when the odds were against him and he needed to build a reputation for ruthlessness. In a way, it was good that he had the opportunity to start this way. There was an outside chance that if he was brutal enough from the outset, they wouldn't push him again. It was a slim hope, he knew, and he didn't waste time by thinking about it for long. He finally decided that he wouldn't kill if he didn't have to but he wouldn't rule it out. He was prepared to do whatever he had to.

The day passed quietly. He spoke to Tony in their usual manner and let him know that he'd made the first moves and that they would be coming for him. He was pretty sure it would be the next day, or the day after that. They would be checking his background in the meantime and he mentioned that, so that Tony knew to make sure that Chavez was ready to corroborate his claims, and that his phony Army records were in place. There was really nothing else he could do in the meantime. He was cautious about going outside because logic told him that that was when he was vulnerable – if they had a chance, they would grab him on the street. There would be little he could do if that happened – he couldn't pull a gun and start blasting in broad daylight because that would draw attention and the Salazar's wouldn't like that. Of course, if he stayed in his room they might think him a coward but he knew he could explain that away as caution. They wouldn't want a cavalier working for them, not in a position of trust anyway. He had to prove that he could take responsibility and do the job right and that started right here, at the outset. If they had any doubts about him at all, it would be over before he got in.

It was on the third night that Jack was awakened by a muffled thump from out in the hallway. He was instantly awake and on the alert and as he grabbed his gun from the cabinet he took a second to be thankful that he hadn't taken any drugs since the morning. There was another small bump on the wall just outside his room and he moved silently to the wall beside the door, positioning himself so that he'd be behind it when it swung open. Then he waited, concentrating on keeping his breathing even and steady so that the adrenaline that was already pumping wouldn't overwhelm him.

They burst through the door, the table in front of it skittering away across the floor. Jack caught the door and pushed it back with force against the shape coming through. It knocked the man off balance and Jack moved quickly into the open, shooting him in the shoulder, then whipping the hand with the pistol in it into the face of the guy behind, shattering his nose and knocking him out. Blood sprayed across the door and he felt warm flecks hitting his skin but he ignored it as he retreated into the darkness of the bathroom doorway.

Shadows moved behind the two fallen figures and Jack tried to see how many there were – not looking directly into the darkness because that would make it harder, but using his peripheral vision, the sight on the edge of his normal eye line. Another shape emerged into the room and Jack aimed low, hitting him in the thigh and watching him collapse on top of the unconscious man on the floor.

Time to end this. He raised his voice so that he would be heard and said clearly, in Spanish,

'Next person through the door gets it in the head. Do not attempt to enter the room.'

He heard a whispered conversation take place and mentally rolled his eyes. These guys were amateurs.

'Senor Michaels? You are to come with us.' The voice sounded scared and unsure and Jack wondered how people like that ever got into this kind of work.

'Throw your weapons into the room. Then lock your fingers behind your head and step inside – slowly.' As soon as he finished speaking, Jack crouched down in case they decided to ignore his instructions and try and aim for the sound of his voice. But a few seconds later there came the noise of two guns being thrown onto the floor and he made out the shapes of two men stepping slowly over the groaning bodies on the floor.

'Stop.' They did. He moved quickly, standing and flicking the light on, watching them blink in the sudden brightness. They were both in their mid-twenties, but not large men and the other three looked to be of similar builds. 'Move over to the bed and sit on it.' He didn't let his gun leave them for a second as he closed the door, and then kicked the guns on the floor out of reach of the people down there already. 'What do you want?'

They looked at each other nervously. 'We were sent to come and get you. Mr. Alviro wants to see you.'

'He wants to see me so he sent five guys with guns?' They just looked at the floor. Jack paused, his mind working overtime. This didn't make any sense. If Alviro wanted to see him, that meant that his background had checked out, otherwise they'd just try and kill him. But why send such inept men? If they believed his cover, then they knew what he was capable of. It didn't add up.

Maybe they just wanted to see what he would do, and these guys were expendable. Or maybe they were creating a false sense of security. It was always possible that these men were simply here to escort him somewhere and they didn't expect him to fight back...but they must have known that he would. They couldn't be that naïve.

He jerked his head at the guy who had spoken before. 'Where are you supposed to be taking me?'

The guy hesitated. 'I'm not allowed to tell you that.'

'Are there more of you coming for me?' He got a shake of the head. Jack considered his options and an idea came to him. 'I'm going to give you my phone. You're going to dial Alviro and let me talk to him.'

The guy shook his head again. 'I have a phone you can use.'

Jack glared at him then pointed his gun at one of the injured guys on the floor and shot him through the shoulder. Then he aimed up again and said 'Next one is yours and it will kill you.' He tossed his phone down next to the guy. 'Dial him.'

His hands were shaking as he pushed the buttons and his eyes were wide as he handed the ringing phone up to Jack. 'Hands back behind your head.' He obliged and Jack took the phone. It was answered with a sharp 'Yes?'

'Alviro?'

'Who is this?'

'This is Jack Michaels.' There was a barely concealed intake of breath on the other end of the line. 'I have your men here – they're not very good are they?'

There was silence for a moment and Jack could almost see the man thinking about which way to play it. 'Well well…I had thought you would be on your way to us by now Mr. Michaels. After all, you were the one who came to me.'

'Yes that's true. And I would have met you wherever you wanted. I just don't like being woken up in the middle of the night by five armed kids. Somebody could get killed like that.'

'Are they alive?'

'Yes. A couple have a few minor injuries but they'll live. I'm going to leave four of them here. One of the healthy ones can drive me over to you and you can pick the others up whenever you like. Do they know where you are?'

'Yes, they know where to bring you.'

'OK then, I'll see you in a while.' He hung up and put the phone down, then motioned to the two on the bed. 'You two – take your belts off and tie those three up.' He kept his eyes on them while they followed his instructions, following their every moment with his gun. Once they had secured the three, Jack walked behind one of the uninjured men and hit him across the back of the head with the butt of his pistol. He collapsed instantly and the other one – the one who had spoken already – cringed at the sight.

'Tie him up. Then lie face down on the floor, arms out and turn your palms upwards.' It was the most submissive posture there was and there was no way to move quickly out of it. Jack would be able to shoot him before he got off the floor and the man knew it. He obliged carefully, not wanting to piss this gringo off any further. When he was down on the floor, Jack pulled some jeans on over his shorts and threw on a sweater and jacket. His bag had been packed since the night at the bar and he wondered whether to take it with him, the chances were that he wouldn't be coming back here. The scrambled cell was in there, hidden away, but they would be sure to search his stuff and he didn't want it found. He decided to take it with him. His stash was in there too, he didn't want to leave it behind.

'Get up slowly.' The man did. 'What's your name?'

'Alejandro.'

'OK, walk in front of me. Don't make any sudden movements. We're going to go down to your vehicle and you're going to drive me to Alviro. Don't try anything brave – if you do I will shoot you in the head, do you understand me?' He nodded. 'OK, move.'

They walked carefully down the stairs, Jack walking closely enough behind Alejandro to let him know that his gun was pointing at his back. The young man didn't say anything, he just followed instructions. They left the hotel and walked a block to where a van was parked illegally on the sidewalk. Jack smirked when he saw it. One thing you did not do when abducting a person was park illegally. A ticket meant that your van was in the system – it was just another indication that someone wasn't training these people properly and he wondered why the Salazar's put up with it. He was glad it was a van though, he had a chance to do something he couldn't do in the room.

'Get in the back and lie down like before.'

'I thought you wanted me to…'

He hit the man across the mouth, not too hard but enough to split his lip and make it bleed. 'Shut up! Get in there and lie down.' Alejandro wiped at the blood, smearing it across his chin. He slid open the side door and got in without another word. Jack followed him, closed the door and sat on the wheel arch behind where he lay so that the kid couldn't see what he was doing. Then he pulled out his phone and found the 'dialed numbers' list. Alviro's number was there and he forwarded it to Tony with a short coded message telling him to trace it and work up the name. He was going in.

That done, he wiped Tony's number from the phone and then tapped Alejandro on the side, told him to get into the driver's seat and go. A few minutes later they were on the move, the streets still busy but not blocked. Jack allowed himself to relax just a little, while scanning the streets for anything unusual and checking for tails. He didn't bother trying to talk to the man driving, he was obviously a low-level skivvy only entrusted with grunt work.

They drove for about forty minutes, heading south, and Jack compared their route to the map in his head. He had been lucky really, if they'd succeeded in grabbing him on their own terms he probably would have been blindfolded on this trip. As it was, he mentally traced the route and made sure he remembered it so he could pass the information on to Tony during their next conversation.

They were in an industrial part of the city and the traffic was almost gone now, warehouses and factories lined the streets. It was next to one of the warehouses that they stopped and Jack immediately pushed the gun into Alejandro's ribs.

'Is this it?'

'Si. We are here.'

Jack looked out of the windows carefully. There didn't seem to be anyone around. 'Where is everyone then?'

'They will be inside. We were supposed to bring you in.'

But Alviro knows that I've got you kid. Why aren't they out here waiting for me? 'OK, puts your hands on the top of the steering wheel. Keep them there and don't move.' He got out of the van and walked around to the driver's side, keeping his gun trained on the man through the windshield. He pulled the door open and motioned with the gun. 'Get out, slowly.'

It remained quiet as they started walking towards the warehouse, Jack using Alejandro as a shield from any threat from the front. He scanned the area and there was no one around. It was confusing until he realized what was happening. They're watching me. They want to see what I'm gonna do. They wanna know if I've got the balls to walk right up to them and turn myself over to them. Realizing this helped him focus and his mind was calm as he walked right up to the large metal doors on one side of the building. He banged on them with his hand.

'Alviro? If you want your man back you'd better open up.' He heard footsteps on the other side of the door and a familiar voice came through.

'That man is obviously no use to me Senor Michaels. He did not to what he was supposed to do. Kill him and then throw your weapon away.' The voice was calm, even slightly amused. It seemed to be enjoying this.

Jack turned to Alejandro, whose eyes were wild and frightened and fear showed plainly on his face. Jack's mind was clear. 'Sorry kid.' He raised the gun and shot him twice in the heart without a second thought. Then he made the weapon safe and tossed it on to the ground, hard so that the noise could be clearly heard on the other side of the door.

Alviro heard the shots and the soft thump of the body as it crumpled to the ground. It was followed by a metallic clatter as the Americano followed his instructions. He smiled to himself. He was going to enjoy this. He hit the green button that opened the door and watched as five bulky men ducked underneath it as it rose and grabbed the man on the other side.

Jack held up his arms and allowed himself to be roughly pulled inside the warehouse. His bag was pulled off his shoulder and his hands were secured behind his back. Alviro was smirking in front of him but he ignored him and took in his surroundings instead. The warehouse was large and mostly empty, although some large crates were stacked at the far end. The corners were dark but the centre was lit up by halogen lights – Jack thought he knew why and he began to mentally prepare himself.

'You have done well so far Senor Michaels. It is time to see whether you have what it takes to be part of our organization. Come. We will talk.'

Jack was propelled forward by strong arms that didn't give him a choice about where he wanted to go. He didn't fight them, this was necessary. He kept part of his mind focused on Alviro, readying himself for whatever the man asked him – the rest of his brain concentrated on keeping cool and getting ready for what would follow the talking. He knew it was coming, violence hung in the air like a cloud and he was under no illusions that he was about to experience a lot of pain. He refused to let himself dwell on it though – thinking about it in advance would make it ten times worse.

Two chairs were brought into the bright light in the centre of the warehouse and Jack was pushed roughly onto one. Two large men stood behind him and Alviro sat opposite him. He smiled gently, as though this were a polite conversation over brandy and cigars.

'So Mr. Michaels. We have looked into your background. Tell me again why you decided to come looking for employment with us.'

'I told you already.' Alviro nodded at one of the guards and Jack had a split-second to tense his jaw before a large fist came crashing down on it. Blood flew from his mouth onto the floor and a shockwave of pain spread through his face, causing his vision to blur for a moment. He kept his head down and blinked rapidly to try and clear his sight. Alviro waited until he looked up again.

'Do not be rude Mr. Michaels, you will only cause yourself more pain. I know what you told me at my bar. Tell me again.'

Jack sighed and feigned boredom. 'I worked for Leon Chavez. I came here following a suggestion by him.'

'And how does Mr. Chavez know of our business?'

Dangerous. He had to be careful here – Chavez wouldn't have given any details. 'He never said anything directly but then, he knew he didn't need to. He trusted me. I just assumed that he knew the family.'

Alviro looked thoughtful for a moment. 'And what is it you think the Salazar's do?'

Jack shrugged at him and said in a flat voice 'Drugs.' He tensed again as there was another nod and fists rained down on his face. Every time they connected there was a dull thudding that sent pain running deep in the nerves underneath his teeth and up his jaw line. It caused his ears to scream in pain and he had a hard time keeping his jaw clenched but it was imperative that he did – if he didn't it would be dislocated or broken. He squeezed his eyes shut as his eyeballs rattled in his skull and tried to keep his balance on the chair, which wasn't easy as his hands were still tied behind his back. Eventually a blow caught him across the nose and it broke, making blood pour down his front and an agonized yell rip from his throat. The world swam and he fell to the floor, desperately trying to curl his body to protect it from the boots that were now slamming into his ribs and back.

'Enough. Pick him up.'

He was dumped unceremoniously back onto the seat, slumped over in pain. He performed a mental check on himself as he spat blood onto the ground – no cracked ribs yet because it didn't hurt to breathe, a broken nose, at least one broken tooth... nothing serious as yet. He straightened and eyed the man sitting calmly opposite him.

'You scared to untie me and let me have a fair shot at these goons?' Alviro smiled condescendingly at him, as though he were a child.

'Your record tells me that you are a talented man. I wont put my valuable people in harms way unnecessarily. Besides, you came to us so you do not get to choose whether you are allowed to fight back or not. Now…for how long did you work for Mr. Chavez?'

'I told you this already.' The fist managed to hit him straight on the broken tooth and for a moment, pure agony took his breath away, rendering him unable to speak. Alviro noticed the reaction with interest. 'Two years. I worked for him for two years.'

'And when did you stop working for him?'

'It says in my passport when I left Iraq doesn't it?' Goading them wasn't smart but this was starting to piss him off. The next punch was hard enough to make him pull a muscle in his neck as his head whipped to one side. Shit, that's gonna hurt to sleep on. 'Three weeks ago. I flew from Baghdad to London. Spent a few days there and then flew into Los Angeles. I came here on Monday.'

Somewhere in the background, Jack thought he heard voices. He didn't bother to look around, he knew he wouldn't be able to see anything past the lights. Alviro looked up though and stared into the darkness behind him, making Jack wonder what was going on. The man got up from his chair and walked past one of the men standing next to him, whispering something as he went. The guy nodded and disappeared leaving Jack with just one guard. His mind started to work fast – would it be more or less helpful to him to put up a fight right now? He decided…

…more. The single guard walked in front of him and squared up to hit him again. As he pulled his arm back, Jack threw himself sideways off his chair and lashed out with his boot, landing a full-force kick straight onto the man's weight-bearing leg. It was a rising kick that caught him under the kneecap and as the guy crumpled, his knee was dislocated and then shattered under the force of Jack's steel toecap. He went down with a resounding scream and Jack rolled on the floor, pushing himself onto his knees and then up onto his feet. He had enough time to stand over the writhing figure and stamp down hard on an ankle - breaking it - before he was rushed by three other men and pinned to the ground. He found himself laughing hard, a laugh that turned to a groan as a shoe landed in his groin and forced him to curl up. Blows rained down on his body and all he could do was try and protect his face as best he could.

'Enough!' The men backed off, leaving Jack in the foetal position on the floor. He rolled over and Alviro appeared in his line of sight. 'Why are doing this Mr. Michaels? Do you think it is helping you?'

Jack spat blood. 'I don't appreciate being used for a punching bag. I came here looking for work and judging by the performance of your guys so far, you need me. Chavez will vouch for my usefulness, so why are you treating me like a bitch?'

Alviro smiled slowly. 'Ahhh well, there's the problem you see. I have spoken to Mr. Chavez. He says he does not know a Jack Michaels…'

Fuck fuck fuck...!

'…and that he never employed you. So you see, it now becomes necessary for us to find out who you really are.' He jerked his head at some unseen people and Jack was glad that he was dragged off the floor just then, in case someone noticed the confusion on his face. What the fuck had gone wrong? How the hell had his cover been blown so quickly? His mind was a swirling mass of confusion and anger. Shit! Oh well, now it came down to how long he could hold out. If he was lucky, they'd get bored before he reached his limit and he wouldn't tell them anything.

He knew it wasn't likely.

He was dumped back into the chair and his head was pulled back over the edge of it so that he was staring at the ceiling. Thick ropes were pulled across his throat to keep his head in position and his bound hands were untied, then re-secured to the sides of the chair. There was a loud clanging thump as something heavy and metallic hit the floor next to them. Jack couldn't place the noise until there was another bang – it was the sound of a toolbox being opened. The top had been opened and dropped to one side and he could hear someone rummaging around inside it. Despite himself and his attempts to block out what might happen, he started to sweat slightly and he fought a rising wave of fearful anticipation.

Alviro appeared, standing over him. He grinned and reached a hand down to Jack's jaw. His fingers massaged along it until he noticed a slight cringing, and his grin widened. 'Yes, I thought so.' He pressed down suddenly on the broken tooth and Jack grunted slightly in surprise. It felt like a current of electricity running through his face and it hurt like a sonofabitch. Another face appeared, then a hand – holding a pair of pliers. Jack clamped his mouth shut and tried to control his breathing.

'Now Mr. Michaels – what are you doing here? Why are you interested in the Salazar's?

Breathe. In…out…that's it…steady…

'You will need to talk to us and I assure you, keeping your mouth closed will not help with that…'

You fucker. I talk and you get those things in my mouth. I don't talk, and you force it open anyway…

…breathe.

'Why would you tell us you worked for Mr. Chavez when you didn't…? You are American…is it possible that you work for the Government?'

In…out…in…out…

Alviro was obviously bored. He nodded to the man next to him and Jack grunted as a heavy punch landed on the side of his face. He had to unclench his teeth to let out a gasp and the second he did, a wooden bar was forced into one side of his mouth, leaving him unable to bring his teeth together but giving free access to the side where the most pain was.

'Now…talk to us.'

Jack tried to speak around the bar. 'Fuck you. I worked for Chavez. I'm just here looking for a job…'

The pliers were forced into his mouth and they gripped the broken tooth at the back of his jaw. Jack tightened his muscles and tried to prepare but nothing could help him as the tool was squeezed and then yanked, exposing raw nerve. He screamed as air hit the hole, tears ran down the sides of his head as the man pulled one way and then the other. He heard the root of the tooth grating in the base of his jaw and unbearable pain ripped through his head, making his body spasm and jerk.

The pliers were removed and he sagged, feeling every racing heartbeat throb through his mouth. The agony was unreal and he couldn't think of anything except how much it hurt. Eventually he noticed a hand tapping at his head. 'Stay with us Senor. Now…what are you really doing here?'

He could hardly breathe but he mustered his strength. 'Fuck you…' It was a whisper but they got the message. A second later, Jack felt a needle sliding between his teeth and he tightened again, as the point dug into the broken ruins of the tooth. It burrowed into the flesh and straight into the nerve – Jack nearly choked himself on the restrains around his neck as his body flew upwards, completely rigid. Scream after scream ripped from his throat and his world became nothing but white hot pain, he was conscious only of the movement in his face and the complete, overwhelming, unbearable agony. Screaming was the only way to let it out, his legs thrashed feebly against the floor and the rest of him was restrained which helped to keep the pain inside. There was nothing he could do, he was utterly helpless.

Keep it in, put it in a box, lock it away…

'Talk to me Senor…'

Rise above it, take your mind somewhere else…

'It doesn't have to be like this…you just need to tell me what I want to know…'

Jack couldn't have talked if he tried. The needle was pulled out and he slumped again, he fought against the restrains around his wrists. He needed to grab at his broken mouth, he desperately needed to do something to release the pain but he couldn't…he could only groan and writhe as his mind searched for something, anything, just one thing that he could hang onto to remind himself of why he was enduring this. Nothing was working, his mind wouldn't focus. Until Alviro leaned over with a grin on his face…and Jack's resolve hardened. This little bastard wouldn't break him. He could go to hell.

'That hurts doesn't it? You see what I have here?' He held up a hand and Jack recognized his own syringe. They had found his stash. 'Yes…you have a weakness, don't you Senor? You like the drugs…well, just tell me what I want to know and all the pain will go away. You wont feel a thing…'

Jack offered a silent prayer of thanks that he wasn't addicted to that shit. It was a nice thought, he had to admit…but no, he would not let them beat him. Especially not with that stuff.

'I just want a job. Just a job, that's all…' The grin disappeared and suddenly the pliers were back, digging and tugging and Jack could hardly bear it. Once more he thrashed and screamed, his eyes open and wide this time as he stared up into the lights above. Being able to see while this happened somehow helped, it let some of the pain out in to the world around him. He screamed as loud as the rope around his neck would allow, he could feel it burning into his skin, choking him, and his vision started to blur because oh fuck, this hurt so bad and he couldn't take it and…shit, the grating was back, bone on bone, deep in his jaw, something was ripping and crunching and…oh fuck…he felt blood pouring out of his mouth and down his chin as the man pulled back and the stump of his tooth was ripped from its home. He almost choked on the blood that ran down his throat and was thankful that the rope around his neck was loosened and he could lean forward and puke blood out onto the floor in front of him…

He was given a moment and Alviro waved the heroin in front of him as he struggled to stay conscious. His head was a seething mass of agony, every breath was a struggle and he couldn't get enough air, he felt like he was drowning. His heart hammered in his chest as he fought, great heaving sobs wracked him as he tried to breathe and swallow and spit and puke all at the same time. It took a few minutes but he eventually managed to gain some kind of control – the moment he did he was grabbed by the hair and his head was forced backwards, the bar was back in his mouth and ice cold water was poured straight onto the gaping hole where his tooth used to be. The agony of the cold on the raw nerve was unbearable and he screamed at the initial contact but that wasn't the worst, the worst was afterwards when every heartbeat send new waves of pain through him, each one more powerful than the last. They swelled up and covered him and he fought to stay on top of them but he was drowning and they just kept getting worse…even when the water stopped and he was allowed to slump forwards, the pain just kept building and eventually, thankfully, he lost consciousness and slipped away to a place where it didn't hurt anymore…

Alviro sighed and stood up. He told the men standing around to untie Jack and lie him on the floor. They were not to let him move when he woke up. He walked over to a group of men in a dark corner and motioned to one of them to hand him the phone that he held. There was someone on the other end of the line, waiting patiently.

'He is unconscious. Yes…yes I told him that Chavez did not corroborate his story….no, it did not alter. I think he is telling the truth Ramon. He would have broken.'

The men standing around looked over to the small figure out cold on the floor. It sounded like they would have a new colleague, and a tough one at that.

'Yes Ramon…I will bring him to you. We will see you tomorrow.' Alviro hung up and tossed the phone back to one of the men. 'Put him in the van and take him to the house.' He looked over at Jack who was just starting to stir. 'And one of you call a dentist…'