Ugat Borjigin seethed in the back seat of the police car. He shifted his manacled hands, squeezing his fists together. He wanted nothing more than to have a certain neck between those fists.
The last three days had been infuriating. The organization he had hijacked and worked so hard to make his own had been systematically destroyed. He knew that a business rival, a man known only as 'the Hood,' was behind it.
The Hood was the only man with the power and the ruthlessness to dismantle an organization that would have soon rivaled his own. What Ugat could not figure out was how the Hood had found out about him. He'd been so very careful to fly under the radar.
He knew it had to be a traitor within his own ranks. Someone with ambition, trading information for a place in the Hood's organization. Maybe that piece of camel dung, Rafeah.
Ugat shook his head in disgust. It had to be betrayal. It had to be, that was the only explanation. It had started three days ago when, inexplicably, all of his bank accounts had been closed. At the time, it had been a minor inconvenience. He had other sources of income.
But then the local police chief had suddenly grown balls and, with more efficiency than Ugat would have given him credit for, had started attacking. His whores were all arrested, and his drug dens shut down. His marginally legitimate transport and waste hauling businesses were closed by order of the federal government. All of his followers were rounded up and thrown in jail.
He'd spent too much time trying to stop it instead of recognizing it for what it was. By the time he'd realized the danger, his palatial home in a respectable neighborhood was surrounded by the police. To his absolute fury, the arresting officer was a man who'd taken his bribes in the past. When reminded, the man had had the gall to reach out and slap him as if he were a common criminal.
They'd pay. They'd all pay, especially the Hood. If the man thought he could hide himself away, he'd find out just how wrong he was. His funds might be cut off, but Ugat had an ace in the hole. One of his most loyal lieutenants was currently in hiding on the super secret International Rescue base. When he was able to get away, he'd give Ugat everything he'd need to insure a permanent source of revenue.
His anger went cold when they arrived at the police station. He was pulled out of the car and dragged into a interrogation room. They'd all pay for their lack of respect. As he sat waiting, he sneered, thinking of the price he'd extract for their treatment of him.
At the sound of the door opening, he looked up. A detective walked in with a heavy folder and sat across from him. When Ugat would have spoken, the man held up a hand, and turned back to the door.
Two more men walked in and stood staring at him. Ugat shivered involuntarily at the cold hardness in their eyes. The younger of the two had dark blue eyes that seemed to bore into him.
They held themselves with a stiffness that bespoke of great anger, and Ugat found he had to look away. He wondered if the detective intended to leave him alone with these men, and his mouth went suddenly dry. He suddenly understood that he would not be given the chance at revenge, he would be beaten to death right here and now.
Just when he could stand the tension no longer, and looked up, intending to beg for his life, the two men nodded to the detective, and left the room. For a long time, Ugat just sat staring at the door, hardly believing his luck. The detective spoke but Ugat never heard a word. He knew he had just stared death in the eye.