Chapter Eight
Kalina woke up and groaned. She had the mother of all headaches. She was in darkness, and at first thought with a wave of panic that she was blind. She had been in the kitchen and then…
Someone had whacked her over the head, much like she had treated the man in black. The irony didn't escape her.
She waved a hand in front of her face and saw the faintest of outlines of her pale fingers. Not blind then, just in a darkened room. She was lying on what felt like a hard bed, and slowly sat up, grimacing as her head spun. Taking several deep breaths to clear it, Kalina reached behind her to feel for a wall and found that the bed was indeed against one. It felt like cold concrete. She kept her hand on the wall and stood, then walked the room. After only a few strides she came to a corner, and then another; the room was perhaps 8 feet square, with a thin metal door in the wall opposite the bed. The door had no handle, but an indentation near the bottom and another around head-height suggested means of communication with the outside world.
Kalina knocked on the door, eliciting a hollow ringing. Nothing answered.
Feeling slightly nauseous and wondering if she had a concussion, Kalina lay back down on the bed using her outstretched arm as a pillow. She was obviously a prisoner, but could do nothing until her gaoler came for her. Until then she'd try to rest, and closed her eyes against the cloying darkness.
After checking his house and surrounding area for any more of Patel's men, Yassen made an angry phonecall to his employers. He wanted to know how the hell Patel had managed to launch an attack when the man was supposed to be dead. Scorpio weren't normally so lax.
The man he got through to apologised, saying that Patel had moved on by the time they got to the Hilton where he was staying, and they had been unaware that he knew where Yassen had gone to. Yassen was assured he would be handsomely rewarded for his troubles, and the Scorpio representative asked about the damage he had sustained.
"The house is ruined" Yassen said, slightly bitterly. He had used the house as an occasional base for a long time and had grown used to it.
"Parker?"
Yassen paused. He couldn't remember what had become of his pilot…
"I...I do not know…they took the girl" That was far more important than the fate of Parker.
Silence on the other end for a moment, then; "Did she tell you the location of the disc?"
"No"
Yassen was thinking quickly. If he handed the disc over he would be free to go after Patel alone. Scorpio was not interested in the woman, but Yassen knew as soon as he realised she'd been taken that he would get her back of his own account. If Scorpio thought she still held the key to the mission, they would offer assistance in recovering her. Based on Patel's attack, Yassen decided he needed all the assistance he could get.
The man on the other end was silent for a moment, then said,
"What do you recommend?"
"We must rescue the woman" Yassen said simply. The man from Scorpio sighed audibly.
"What do you need?"
It was now the middle of the night, more than 24 hours since the girl had stolen the disc in the first place. Yassen had barely slept since, and he could feel fatigue catching up with him. He had to keep going though, there were too many things to do before he could allow himself a rest.
Yassen flew his own helicopter to the rooftop of a building in the city where the Scorpio forces sent to find Patel were gathered. The man he'd spoken to on the phone was there, with a hastily put-together file containing all the information on Patel and the girl's whereabouts. After meeting him on the landing pad, the man led Yassen into the building and to a nearby room which had been commandeered.
"We know where he took her" the man said, and flicked a switch which started a projector. An image appeared on the far wall; it was a bird's eye view of a large house with a swimming pool, in immaculate lawns.
"This is Patel's house. He has a prison in the basement and we know he uses it frequently. We have reports of activity at the house just a few minutes ago, that would be about the right time for the girl to have arrived there. We think it best to wait until morning to launch an attack; Patel will do nothing tonight. He is not the kind of man who works at 3 in the morning"
Yassen nodded. "I need some sleep anyway. I only hope you are right, if the girl is tortured she may tell him everything. Then we would be chasing him blindly. At least now we know where he is and have a way to stop him before the situation escalates"
"Indeed" the man from Scorpio agreed. He studied the Russian for a moment. "You will be in charge of a team, you already know most of them. Get some sleep...you leave at 0700"
Yassen nodded and left the room. A young soldier outside the door led him to a small room where a bed had been made up. Yassen took off his boots and lay on the bed, willing himself to rest. He knew he'd be woken up in good time to get ready for the assault. His mind, however, would not calm down. He had mentioned torture in relation to Kalina. He knew Patel tortured people; it was in his file, and the thought of the young woman being hurt made him feel odd.
Perhaps I care for her he mused. There were very few people he cared for, but those he did, he protected. Even though he'd known her just a day, Kalina had found her way into his thoughts. She ran through his head like a dream-image, the fear in her eyes when he shouted at her, the hard resolution when she stood up to him, and the slow sweet smile when they finally understood each other.
Yassen swore. Attachments were dangerous, yet he didn't want to break this one. His heart beat faster when he thought of her in pain; his chest constricted in anger and his pride was hurt that he felt that way at all. He could walk away so easily and forget she ever existed. Patel would get nothing from her and Yassen would go on with his life.
His conscience, however, wouldn't let him.
But Yassen knew a conscience wasn't one of his few weaknesses. As Kalina's face floated in his mind's eye, and he felt again the warmth of her skin when he touched her, which hadn't even registered at the time, he realised it was his heart that was making him act so.
Yassen scowled. He hadn't even realised he had a heart. Or if he did, he thought he'd lost it long ago. The woman had taken the first step towards finding it again and he wanted, more than the success of his mission, for her to keep searching.
The second time Kalina awoke, it was because light had flooded her cell. She squinted and blinked painfully against it, sitting up quickly and looking towards the door. The highest panel opened and a pair of eyes looked in.
Kalina gazed back at them, and the panel shut. The door swung open and two men entered, dressed like soldiers and swarthy in appearance. They each took an arm and pulled her from the bed, almost carrying her out into a dingy corridor. Another man stood waiting, as tall in stature as Gregorovich but dark-haired and moustachioed. His eyes had looked through the opening of the door, and now he gazed down at her with a grimly welcoming smile.
"I hope this morning finds you well" he said in heavily-accented German. His smile was unsettling, not reaching his eyes. Kalina stayed silent, and he continued.
"Mr. Patel wishes to see you. I suggest you cooperate with him"
He motioned to the guards and they escorted her to the end of a corridor and into a small lift. The tall man got in and pressed a button, and the doors closed. After only a short ride they opened again revealing what looked like a hotel landing, with a red-carpeted floor and large doors leading off in three directions. The soldiers moved her through the doors ahead into a large hall, and through the windows Kalina saw she was on the ground floor of a building. The grey light outside suggested very early morning. It still felt somewhat like a hotel, but as she crossed several spacious rooms she realised it was the mansion of someone very wealthy.
Eventually they crossed through double-doors and into a panelled office. A huge desk faced the doors, with a single chair in front of it. Behind the desk sat a man Kalina assumed was Patel. He looked every inch the ganglord.
His skin was dark and tanned, with a growth of stubble shadowing his chin. His hair was shoulder-length, slicked-back and shining in the light from a large window. He wore a light grey suit and silk neckerchief, and the hands clasped beneath his chin were laden with gold rings and bracelets. Kalina noticed with distaste that scars criss-crossed his face; a particularly angry-looking one ran from his forehead to his cheek, marring his eyebrow.
She was pressed into the chair, which was hard and uncomfortable, and before she could protest her wrists were cuffed to the back of it. The soldiers tightened the bands painfully, sharp metal dug into her skin and she glanced down to see the chair was bolted to the floor.
Uh-oh…
Patel nodded to the guards, whose retreating footsteps left the room. The tall man who had followed them stood off to one side, just on the edge of Kalina's vision as she looked ahead at the ganglord. He lowered his hands and leaned forwards, studying her.
"So" he said at length, "you are the one who stole the disc from Peter Klunt"
Kalina nodded slowly and Patel smiled. Like the tall man, his smile was also threatening.
"It was amusing to watch, but annoying nonetheless. You see, I had also planned on stealing the disc"
"How?" Kalina said. Gregorovich had told her Patel wanted it, but she didn't know any details. It was still a mystery to her why he had chased the Russian.
"I planned to kill Gregorovich, but you got there first. Yesterday, I find Gregorovich with you. Were you working together?"
"No"
"He caught you then?"
"Yes"
Since she'd woken up, in the lift and on the walk over, Kalina had been desperately processing her options. Gregorovich had the disc, he had no reason to rescue her. She may have felt something… something she didn't like to rationalise, and even though he was her only hope of escape, the only person who knew Patel had her, she knew he wouldn't come. He had the disc and that was all.
The sensible thing to do would be to tell Patel the truth; that Gregorovich was the one he should be looking for. If Gregorovich was sensible he'd have handed the disc over to his employers already and left the country. If she told the truth, Kalina knew she might live.
On the other hand, pretending to know the location might get her tortured. Her story could be checked and found false, she would eventually be killed. Patel would not go after Gregorovich. But then, Gregorovich could take care of himself.
She had saved his life. Surely that must count for something.
But why should he care? She was alone…
It was a no-brainer. Kalina had to tell Patel that she'd given the disc away. She was worth nothing to the ganglord, and honesty might buy her life.
Patel was speaking again, his German difficult to understand.
"Did you tell him where is the disc?"
Kalina nodded. "He has it in his possession already"
Patel's expression darkened. "That is not true…"
"It is" Kalina felt a burst of fear, quashed it. "He made me tell him. You must know he's not a man to be played with"
"Neither am I!" Patel shouted, banging the table. He looked to the tall man, who stepped forwards and brought a long, thin, sharp knife-point to within a few inches of Kalina's left eye. She stared at it and felt her heart start to pound.
"Are you sure Gregorovich has the disc?" the tall man said. His voice was level and commanding, and his hand was steady as he brought the knife closer. Kalina turned her head and his other arm shot out, grabbing her chin and holding it still.
The knife-point came so close Kalina could barely see it anymore, it was just a blur beyond the tear that welled up automatically as she thought of her eye being gouged. Something cold and sharp nicked her lower eyelid and she whimpered.
"I gave it to him myself…" her voice was a terrified whisper.
The knife wavered, and moved away.
"She tells the truth" the tall man said, and looked to Patel. He leaned back in his chair and clasped his hands once again beneath his chin.
"Get rid of her" he said. "Find Gregorovich. It may not be too late"
The tall man stepped outside and returned with the two soldiers, who un-cuffed Kalina's wrists and pulled her from the chair. Her legs felt weak, but they would have dragged her like a sack of flour had she fallen and she forced them to keep moving back through the rooms to the lift. Barely ten minutes had passed since she'd woken up in the cell, yet she knew that she would never see Patel again.
She was led back down the dingy corridor by the soldiers. The tall man had left them at the lift upstairs, and Kalina wondered what her fate would be. She could be locked up forever, or just until Patel had run after Gregorovich. She felt a twinge of guilt at betraying him, although betrayal was a strong word since she owed him nothing. Still, she hoped Patel didn't find him. Seeing the man the night before about to shoot the Russian had made her act to save him and she recognised that same concern for his safety now.
Maybe it was the way he smiled that made her feel so.
She was pushed roughly back into the tiny cell and turned to face the soldiers. After a brief and rapid conversation in Portuguese Kalina didn't understand, one of them stepped into the cell and the other swung the door shut and locked it. Kalina took a step backwards against the wall by the bed and stared at him in disbelief and awful comprehension.
The man raised his hands in peace, said something in a gentle but mocking tone, and stepped towards her. Kalina shook her head.
"No"
The man cocked his head, shrugged, and pulled a long knife from his belt.
No no no no no no no!
A/N: Yay pagebreaks! Many thanks to Chalice Blackbird for the html. I was using "simple mode" before but the break button on the toolbar stopped working. Meh. Anyway, i've hopefully made everything right again!