When Arthur arrived, he parked nearby another house and put a few things in a backpack and headed towards the back of the property. He made a clearing in the hedge, laid down on the ground and looked at the hacienda and its surroundings. He took out his night-vision binoculars and took inventory of Cross' men.
There were three men walking around the back of the hacienda and two on the roof. All heavily armed with guns and Kalashnikovs. He memorized their routine and shift changes over the three following hours. He also took a mental note of all the possible ways to enter the property. He had managed to get the blueprints of the hacienda through a contact and there were a lot of different places that Cross could have been keeping Julia. But for having kept people hostage, Arthur was more than certain that it wasn't on the ground floor. It left the second floor and the basement and if he picked the wrong one, the commotion of him killing Cross' men would bring attention and Cross would more than certainly kill Julia and he couldn't let that happen.
Time was his worst enemy. He knew that once the sun would rise, it would be harder to get in and not be seen. He headed back to the SUV, geared up and took the duffel bag. His best bet was to get onto the roof, take down the two men and go through the attic window. He climbed a high tree on the property next door and walked out over the sturdy branch. He quietly jumped on the roof of hacienda and hid in the darkness waiting for one of the men to come his way. When the man came within reach, he grabbed him from behind, silencing him with his firm hand and planted his knife in the side of his neck. He then pulled the guy away and left him on the side of the roof. He slowly walked over to the other corner and waited for the second guy and repeated what he had done with the first before opening the attic window and letting himself in.
Julia stared at the ceiling as she listened to her heart pounding in her chest. She was thinking about Arthur and hoping that she had been right in telling Jake earlier that he would come and rescue her.
The door flung open and she watched as Jake walked in with two of his men, including Rafael. The two men walked over to her and unlocked the shackles and lifted her from the bed. She tried to break free as they dragged her over to Jake.
Jake moved his hand towards her face and she turned her head away, sending his blood boiling.
"I'm sure your father is doing everything he can to get me my money, but I think a little incentive won't hurt".
The men dragged her past Jake into the room next door and shackled her back up in a standing position and waited for Jake to follow them.
"Remember Jules, this isn't personal, babe".
She stared him down. "I'm not your babe and I'll never be. And you're wrong, this is personal".
"I'm sorry you feel that way because in the end, it's just business. You are merely collateral damage in what I consider to be a business transaction"!
He leaned against the wall and nodded to Rafael and the other guy to leave them.
Jake placed himself in front of her and punched her in the stomach. The force of the blow was so strong that it took her breath away momentarily and she had been unable to scream the pain she felt. He then punched her again in her side and her body swayed in the other direction as if she was a punching bag. She clenched her fists in anticipation of the next hit but instead he looked at her.
"You're a coward Jake", she said through gritted teeth. "It's easy to beat someone who's chained up. What's wrong? You're afraid of taking a few hits back"?
With the back of his hand he slapped her violently across the face, sending droplets of blood flying and landing on the floor.
"You're really starting to get on my nerves Julia, maybe this will keep you quiet".
She turned her head towards him and lifted it, blood dripping from her nose and mouth.
She spit in his direction. "Go to hell"!
He slapped her again and then grabbed her throat.
"I should kill you right here, right now"!
With the little energy she had and as she could considering his hand was tightening around her throat, she managed to say what was going through her head at that moment.
"Go ahead, do it. What are you waiting for"?
Jake blinked a couple of times, loosened his hold on her throat and took a step back. He was taken aback not by what she had said but how it had been said. It had sounded almost like a plea. Almost as if she was begging him to do it. If she wanted to die, he wouldn't do it by punching her. The only way he knew how to kill was with a gun, it was quicker, easier and less messy. But he knew he couldn't kill her, not while the video feed to Gideon was still on, if he killed her before he had his money, it was useless. He punched her again in the side, then in the stomach and slapped her again once in the face.
Everything went black around Julia as she lost consciousness. Jake looked at the camera.
"Gideon, the quicker you get me my money, the easier it will be on Julia. I won't hesitate to keep going"!
He shut the camera off and returned his attention to Julia.