Enemy in Blue (19 page)

The Chief and Tyler knocked on the doctor's front door. They backed their car up to the garage door and were getting antsy the longer the doctor didn't answer. The Chief knew that sometimes the doctor holed-up downstairs, engrossed in his sick experiments, so he tested the door knob. It surprised him a bit that the door opened freely. Tyler pulled his gun out.

“
You stay here with the girl, I'm going inside to see what the hell's going on. I'll open the garage door too so we can get her inside,” the Chief said, drawing his own gun. The Chief raised his gun and moved into the doctor's home. He scanned left and right as he stepped through the threshold. Everything appeared to be in order, except for one thing. The elevator was open and on the first floor at the far side of the home. Doctor couldn't be downstairs then.

The Chief moved from room to room until he got to the doctor's bedroom. This was the only sign of disorder. Two drawers were open. The top drawer was lined with red, crushed velvet and had indentations resembling handguns. The drawer underneath it had some boxes of ammunition. It didn't appear that anyone was around on this level.

“
What made you run out of here so fast, Doc?” the Chief wondered. He moved back through the kitchen, into the garage and hit a button to open it. Tyler backed the car in and got out.

“
Where's the doctor?” Tyler asked.

“
Hell if I know. I haven't gone down to the basement level yet.”

“
What? Well I'm sure he's down there.”

“
Don't be so sure. The elevator is up here on the main floor. Shaver is a crafty bastard. I don't like the feel of this.”

“
No way. Shaver just about died in that accident.”

“
Don't underestimate him or his will to stay alive and serve up some revenge. Get the girl inside, I'm going to the basement.” The Chief moved back into the house and stepped onto the elevator. He held his gun up at eye level. His body temperature started to rise. This was not his strong suit. Wreaking havoc from behind a desk was a much different way of getting his hands dirty. The elevator bounced to a stop and its doors opened, revealing a poorly lit corridor with doors on each side. All of the doors were open, including one that had an electronic keypad.

“
Doctor?” the Chief called. Beads of sweat were now gathered enough to roll down the Chief's face. He wiped them off with his forearm and pressed his back against the wall opposite the first room. As he slid in front of the room it became apparent no one was in there. Medical supplies were scattered on the floor though, and the preserved head of a woman sat on a desk in the middle of the room.

The Chief performed the same maneuver as he checked the other rooms. When he slid in front of the last room he couldn't believe what he saw. The doctor was sprawled on the ground in a pool of his own blood. The side of his face swollen and deformed. A hanging stand for an IV bag was lying next to the doctor. He went to the room with the electronic keypad. This room had the most signs of rummaging. Papers and journals were strewn about on the floor. As the Chief sorted through journals, sweat began to collect even faster on his face.

“
Goddammit!!” he screamed and raced back towards the elevator. He got to the first floor and went straight to the kitchen.

“
What the hell's wrong?” Tyler called out.

The Chief grabbed a glass and filled it with water. “The doctor's dead.”

“
Shaver?”

“
Gone.”

“
Holy shit. He should be fucking dead!”

The Chief looked at Sandra who was half-in and half-out of consciousness. “I told you not to underestimate him. He's a tough son of a bitch.”

“
What now?”

“
Nothing changed, Tyler. We still need to get that video back.” The Chief's phone rang and Tyler watched him as he turned his back and spoke in a low voice.

“
Who was that?” Tyler asked after the Chief hung up.

“
Never mind who it was,” the Chief answered. “What matters is the message.”

“
Well, what was the message?”

“
Get ready for an attack.”

* * * *

Martinez held a black gun out to Cruz, “You ever handled one of these before?”

“
Can't say I have,” Cruz answered.

“
It's a Glock 22. You can't use a heavy finger on this puppy, so be mindful of that.”

Cruz held the short, black gun in his hand.

“
Pretty lightweight,” he said.

“
It's a great gun. Easy to aim, most of us use them.”

“
What's that you got?” Cruz asked Martinez.

“
That's a SIG 226,” Diego chimed in.

“
You know guns?” Martinez asked.

“
Sure. You don't fight your whole life without knowing guns,” Diego answered. “I've got a few myself,” he said as he pulled open a safe, which happened to be a war chest. There were at least ten guns in the six foot high safe, ranging from rifles to shotguns to handguns.

“
Christ. Prepared for battle, huh Diego?”

“
Whatever it takes.” He handed two guns to Alfonso and took one for himself.

“
So—what's the plan with all this firepower?” Cruz asked Martinez.

“
Pretty basic. We ambush the Chief and his sidekick when we go to hand off the video.”

“
You don't think he'll be expecting that?”

“
Maybe, but one thing about the Chief is that he's a total pussy in direct combat. He's a master at all those psychological games. In person, I'm not worried about him.”

“
What about the other guy that's helping him out? The sidekick,” Cruz asked.

“
I don't know much about him. We've heard rumors before of the people the Chief uses, but it's such a wide network that it's hard to pin anyone down. He literally has people
everywhere
.”

“
Entrenched,” Alfonso grunted.

“
Yeah, you can say that,” Martinez answered. Cruz stood in the middle of the room as the other men packed gear and ammunition into a black duffel bag. “I'll be right back,” Martinez said while he walked out of the room.

“
Gonna hit the head,” Diego said, following Martinez. The room that Martinez went to was right next to the bathroom. He dialed his wife's phone number and connected after a few rings.

“
Carmen?” he asked in a hushed voice.

“
Roman! Why has it taken you so long to call me?!”

“
Some crazy stuff has been going on baby. This is the earliest I could call you.”

“
Are you okay?” she asked with some panic in her voice.

“
Yeah, baby—just a little banged up.”

“
What happened?? When are you coming down here?”

“
Did you go to your brother's in Mexico?” he asked.

“
You sure you want to know exactly where I am?”

“
I guess that's a yes. Tell Raul I said hello...and thanks. How's Alicia?”

“
Oh, she's hanging in there. She has periodic bouts of crying, to be expected. How are you dealing?”

“
Haven't had much of a chance to think about anything. It's been tough not seeing you in awhile.”

“
I know, honey,” she answered.

“
Carmen, I need to tell you something then I gotta get going.”

“
Okay...” she said hesitantly.

“
It's...it's about to get ugly. I want you to know that I love you with all my heart.”

“
What?!” Carmen cried out. “Why the hell are you talking like this? I'm coming back up there right now. You aren't gonna pull any crazy shit on me and get killed, Roman!”

“
You aren't going anywhere,” Martinez answered calmly. “I need you to stay down there until this is over.” Carmen stayed silent on the other end of the phone. “I promise I'll be just fine, Carmen. I love you.”

After a moment she responded, “I love you too, Roman. Please, please be safe.” He could hear the frustration in her voice.

“
Will do...bye,” Martinez said. He went back toward the living room and bumped into Diego coming out of the bathroom. Diego flashed him an odd look which Martinez wrote off quickly, too quickly.

T W E N T Y-F I V E

__________________________________________________

T
yler and the Chief went around the doctor's house securing doors and windows. Their plan was to create a single, defensible point of entry into the home. Sandra had recovered a good amount of her energy and was spitting venomous comments at the men when they walked anywhere near her.

“
What the hell are you two cowards getting ready for?” she asked.

“
Put the gag back in her mouth Tyler, this is getting ridiculous. I'm about to kill her and that would be a mistake right now,” the Chief said. Tyler walked over to Sandra and pulled the cloth up that was hanging around her neck. He put the cloth in between her teeth and tightened the knot. She focused a piercing stare at him.

Feeling generous, the Chief added, “To respond to your question, we are getting ready for your friend, or boyfriend or whatever he is, and Martinez to come storming in here and try to rescue you.” The Chief turned to Tyler, “You can call them now, by the way. Let them know where this place is and tell them to be here in exactly one hour.” Tyler went to another room in the house to get his phone. “You see,” the Chief started after concentrating on Sandra again, “a little bird has told me that your friend and Martinez don't intend to give the video up. It's such a shame because this really could be an expeditious transaction.” With that, the Chief spun around and took the elevator down to the basement.

Sandra wondered how the Chief could know all of this. What “bird” had this kind of inside knowledge? It seemed doubtful that Martinez would feed the Chief information. Cruz didn't even know the Chief. And then it dawned on Sandra. She tried to figure out how this creep Tyler got to the hospital where Martinez was nearly as fast as she and Cruz. The only person that knew where they were going? Diego. Same thing here. The common denominator is Diego. But why? Why would he stab both her and Cruz in the back? Sandra had no answer to that question.

As Sandra thought about this she wiggled her wrists and ankles in an attempt to loosen her bindings. It was no use, though, as there was hardly any play between the bindings and her body. She heard the elevator start up. When it reached the top the Chief stepped off and called for Tyler. He whispered something in Tyler's ear, who then came her way.

Tyler hooked his arms in Sandra's armpits and dragged her to the elevator. At first she struggled, but then stopped as there was no purpose.

“
Given up, have you?” Tyler said with a smirk. Sandra glared at him. “It'll all be over soon, princess.” The elevator reached the basement and Tyler pulled her out. She hung loosely as the hall they were in took shape backwards. It was cold, disturbingly sanitary and humming with overhead lights. Sandra watched as one, then two, then three doors passed. Tyler pulled her into a room and went to turn a light on. Sandra turned her upper body to see what was behind her, and when Tyler flicked the light on she shrieked. It was a stainless steel operating table.

“
Let's get you up there,” Tyler groaned as he tried to pick Sandra up. Now she struggled. With every ounce of energy in her body she kicked, head butted and tried to shoulder Tyler away. “This...isn't going...to stop the inevitable,” Tyler gasped as he worked to contain her struggle. Eventually the fight in Sandra died down, although not from desire. Her body was exhausted.

Tyler lifted her onto the operating table and put her on her back. He first strapped her down to the table with duct tape around her chest. Then he wrapped the tape around her waist and ankles. Finally, he wrapped tape around her forehead, completely immobilizing her.

This was horror. At least before she was only bound by her hands and her feet. She could move, shift and struggle, albeit in vain. Now, Sandra was essentially in a straight jacket. Tyler leaned over her and smiled. The fear in her eyes made him excited. He ran his hand over her neck and watched as goosebumps rose. He got closer, breathed her fear in and then licked her forehead.

“
My God,” he said, “I love that taste.” Tyler grabbed the piece of cloth tied in Sandra's mouth and pulled it down a bit. She whimpered and he pulled it down some more. “If you don't scream I'll take this out,” he said as he looked at her. “Are you going to scream?” Sandra shook her head no. Tyler reached behind her head and untied the cloth. Sandra drew a long breath in.

“
There...see, I'm not all bad.” Tyler stayed close to Sandra and put his ear close to her mouth. Her short, shallow breaths aroused him even more. “Oh yeah, that's nice,” he whispered. He put his hand in his pants and started to rub himself. Just as he did Sandra thrust her chin up and bit through the bottom half of his earlobe.

“
Fuck!!!!!!!” he screamed as he pulled back. Blood streamed down his neck and into his shirt. She cackled as he spun in a circle. “You bitch!! I fucking did you a favor! Now I'm gonna make this reallllly fucking uncomfortable.” Tyler pulled the light over the operating table down to just inches above Sandra's face. He turned it on and Sandra was instantly blinded.