Stronger (The Unit Book 2) (6 page)

“Let’s clear the first one,” Aaron said bringing Rob out of his reverie. He couldn’t afford to be drifting off on a mission. He shook his head and crouched at the opening of the back door as Aaron picked the lock. Aaron went through the open door and Rob brought up his gun. The building was pitch black. No one occupied it. “Shall we have a closer look, just to be safe?” Aaron brought up his gun as Rob stepped past him into the large, dark space. The men donned their night vision goggles. They proceeded to make their way from the back of the building to the front, inspecting each office as they went.

“Clear,” Rob yelled just loud enough for the other men to hear. He began walking back the way he had come.

When they opened the door to the third building, Rob crouched and pointed his gun. When Aaron breached the door, Rob was pointing his gun directly at the back of a man’s head. Rob held up his fist. Rob pulled out his knife from his bootstrap holster and cautiously and quietly approached the man. Rob didn’t make a sound. With one move, Rob brought his hand around the neck of the man holstering a weapon and sliced his neck from ear to ear. There was a loud gurgling sound as the man sputtered out blood from his mouth and drained from the deep cut in his neck. Rob quietly lowered the man to the concrete floor. They removed their night-vision goggles. The lights were on in this building. Once Rob cleared Ortiz’s guard, he motioned for the men to enter noiselessly. There was a large airplane standing between Rob and the voices he heard coming from the other side.

“I hear four distinct voices,” Rob whispered to his men.

“So do I,” Tony agreed. “Let’s assume there are two that aren’t talking.”

“We need to take Luis alive. Steve and I will hide. Tony and Aaron, you get yourselves caught. That way we’ll find out where Luis is before we kill everyone.” Rob gestured to each of the men.

“Why do I always have to be the one to get caught?” Tony questioned with a look of devilment in his eyes. It was true; every mission that required this tactic, Rob always volunteered Tony.

“You’re so good at it, brother,” Rob bantered.

Rob watched from his hiding spot, as Tony and Aaron made their way, guns drawn, to the men at the front of the hangar. “Don’t shoot,” Tony warned the men. “Ortiz sent us as reinforcements. There is going to be trouble tonight,” Tony said to Ortiz’s men.

“Why didn’t I know about this?” a man asked as he aimed his gun at Tony’s head.

“Don’t ask us. Ask Ortiz. We were hired to be extra security for the shipment which is coming in tonight,” Tony said keeping his gun trained on the man who was speaking. “Which one of you is Luis? We were told to check in with him.”

Rob had taken up position behind one wheel-well. He was a marksman when it came to his assault weapon. He had a clear view of the front of the room from where he crouched behind the wheel. He could use the wheel to level his gun and point it in between the space of wheel and the airplane. He could clear the room before Tony or Aaron had a chance to be captured.

Luis stepped forward. “I am. Who did you say hired you?”

“We didn’t,” Tony quipped as he lunged for Luis.

Rob fired his first round taking down the man to Luis’s right. Steve’s bullet took out the second man who was standing guard at Luis’s left. They made quick work, two rapid bullets, and the other two men were taken down without a bullet wasted. Signaling the all-clear, Steve followed Rob from behind the airplane. Tony and Steve had managed to disarm a shocked Luis and zip tie his hands behind his back as Rob and Steve appeared.

“You have no idea how much shit you just brought on yourselves,” Luis spat in Rob’s direction.

“I think it’s you that should be worried,” Rob said with a cold calm which overtook him in the heat of a battle. “Grab him.” Rob pointed to the dead man lying to his left. “You’re going to pose for some pictures,” Rob told Luis as a slow smile spread across his face. “And if that doesn’t work, we will resort to extreme measures,” Rob continued.

“Ortiz will hunt you down and kill your families,” Luis spat out.

“What family?” Rob grunted as he pulled the pants off of the dead man. “Sit him down.” Rob pointed to Luis. Luis was now seated on the cold, concrete floor of the hangar. “Just like we used to do,” Rob reminisced with Steve and Tony. Tony squeezed Luis’s cheeks together effectively prying open his mouth. Rob stood at the ready. This was the part he didn’t like, but the results were usually the same. Tony had forced Luis onto his back and held his hand on his face forcing it to the side. Rob positioned the dead man’s crotch in front of Luis’s face. Rob picked up the man’s penis and placed it in Luis’s mouth. Luis gagged and coughed trying desperately to turn his head. But Tony had the upper hand and kept his face turned to the side to thrust the dead man’s penis in his mouth.

“Smile,” Steve said standing over Luis’s body as he held the cell phone camera overhead.

As Luis coughed and gagged, Rob removed the penis from Luis’s mouth. “Now cooperate and no one will ever see what appears to be you giving this man here a blow job.”

“That doesn’t frighten me. What frightens me is Ortiz.” Luis raised his chin now that Tony had let him go.

“What should frighten you is me and my three bad-ass, mother fucking brothers here who have been trained to get information from reluctant participants. That man’s dick in your mouth was for our amusement. We’ll show this picture to your family. In fact, my man Tony here will broadcast it all over the Internet, and it will go viral within the hour,” Rob said in his most menacing voice. “What do you think men, more pictures first?”

“We could have him butt-fuck that dead guy.” Tony laughed.

Rob was a cold, sadistic bastard, but after everything he had seen and witnessed, after all of his harsh training and the brutality of five tours, after losing his Lizzie, he really didn’t give a fuck anymore. Anything went. In fact, he would start with the fingers instead of the fingernails. He easily rationalized Luis was nothing more than the scum on the bottom of his shoe. He sold young, innocent girls into the sex-slave trade. Nope, Rob didn’t feel sad or sorry, or even guilty, for what he did or was about to do to this piece of shit. Rob reached down and removed Luis’s shoes. Then he pulled Luis pants off of his legs. “Flip him over.” Rob pointed to the dead man with no pants. Tony flipped him onto his stomach. Aaron and Steve helped Luis to his knees and positioned him so it would look like he was butt fucking the dead man. “Smile pretty. This one goes on the Internet tonight.” Rob laughed as he snapped a couple of pictures of the man mimicking the sexual position. “I’ve had my fun. Let’s cut to the chase. “Where are the girls from your shipment of a week ago? We know you get your shipments on Saturday nights and fly them out shortly after they arrive.” It pained Rob to talk about innocent, young girls like they were nothing but cargo. They were someone’s daughter, someone’s sister, someone’s love. They didn’t deserve to be sold just because they were easily attainable or neglected by family. No girl deserved that. In his book, girls and women, should be revered, especially the innocent ones. Sure he slept with his fair share of women and always left before they could awake in the morning, but he was always upfront and always gave his women more pleasure than they could stand.

Rob had better snap out of his thoughts or he was going to kill Luis before he had the information he needed to rescue Lola Sardeson. “Grab a chair,” Rob barked. Tony brought the chair from the office and sat it in front of Rob. Tony and Steve transferred Luis to the comfortable cushiony office chair. “You comfortable?” Rob coldly asked Luis with a look of death and fury in his eyes.

“Get me the branch cutters from the bag, please,” Rob asked Steve. Steve returned from the back of the hangar with a black bag which had all kinds of fun little tools they could use on Luis. “I am going to start with your fingers. I don’t have time to shit around.” Rob held the orange tree branch cutters in his right hand by the black handle. He closed the distance to Luis in three long strides. “Hold his hand flat over the armrest.”

With Luis’s fingers protruding over the end of the arm rest, Rob started with his forefinger. He placed the sharp metal blades and brought the handles of the cutters together slightly, just enough to cut the skin. “Tell me where the girls go once they leave here, and I will stop,” Rob implored Luis. But Luis remained tight lipped. He had drawn his lips into thin lines and his jaw worked back and forth as if he was grinding his teeth against the pain. Fresh tears sprung to his eyes. Rob brought the handles of the cutters together cutting at the joint of Luis’s forefinger. Luis heard a loud scream as he squeezed his eyes shut. Blood was quickly pooling on the concrete floor. “We can’t have you bleeding to death before we get our answers, now can we, Luis?” Rob said as he retrieved a blow torch from the black bag. He turned it on high. Reaching into the bag, he pulled out a flat piece of metal no bigger than a book. He took the torch and heated the end of the metal until it glowed red. Grabbing the cooler end of the metal with pliers, he placed the glowing end against Luis’s nub of meat. The smell of burnt flesh quickly filled Rob’s nostrils, and Luis’s screams quickly filled his ears. “Had enough yet?” Rob asked Luis as he stared at him with steel grey eyes. Luis’s eyes were raining tears. Rob barely had enough time to jump out of the way as Luis lurched forward and vomited into the pool of blood on the dusty floor. “I always forget about that part,” Rob said smiling. Once Luis was done, Rob asked the same question, “Tell me where the girls go from here.” Apparently, Luis was a weak man because it only took the removal and cauterizing of one finger and Luis was spilling his guts.

“They go to the personal property of Ortiz. He has huts he keeps them in until they are sold.” Luis said through thick and heavy breaths.

“How long does he keep them before he sells them?” Rob asked.

Luis brought his breath back under control and tightened his lips again. At the sight of Luis being closed lipped, Rob reached for the cutters. “You know, I really have no problem with this. If I run out of fingers, I just move to the toes. Then there are other body parts I save for the truly tough ones.” Luis remained tight lipped. Rob brought the cutters and positioned them over Luis’s middle finger. He applied pressure as he squeezed the handles tighter. Luis’s middle finger flung across the room at the pressure it took to remove it from his hand. It really was amazing what one could do with the right tools. He brought the blow torch up to heat the metal and cauterize Luis’s stub.

“Stop,” Luis shouted. “I will tell you anything you want to know. No more. I can’t take any more,” Luis begged of Rob. Rob looked at Steve, Tony, and Aaron with pride glinting in his grey eyes. Rob was known as one of the most effective interrogators the Army had ever seen. He could break even the toughest man in a matter of hours. Rob had a knack for knowing what to start with and what would cause the least amount of damage but yield the highest results. It truly was his gift.

“How long does Ortiz keep the girls?” Rob demanded.

“About twenty days. First they see a doctor and then a shopper. That way they look their best on auction day. He doesn’t drug them up on auction day either. He is sadistic like that.” Luis was telling all. He was answering questions Rob wasn’t even going to ask.

“Where are the auctions held?” Rob asked realizing Lola Sardeson was probably getting ready to head to auction now.

“Colonia Hidalgo. About thirty minutes from his property,” Luis replied. “Do you want the address?”

Stunned, Rob nodded his head. He really did have a way with torture.

“There’s a farm at the northeast end of town. They hold the auction in a barn. Well, it only looks like a barn. Inside is something else. Each man is assured anonymity by the two-way mirror in a private room which separates him from the auction floor. The girls are paraded outside each mirror, one at a time, and the bidding begins. Usually, there is a packed house on auction night. Ortiz’s girls are mostly virgins, so they fetch a premium bid, always six figures.” Rob was shaking his head in disbelief at Luis’s words. He couldn’t think about what the men did once they purchased the girls, or he would be sick.

Rob reached into his pocket and pulled out his phone. He dialed Tyrrell and quickly communicated the information to him. They would need to regroup and strategize.

Once the FBI arrived, Rob turned over Luis to an agent. The agent eyed Rob suspiciously when he looked at Luis’s blackened nubs of his hand. Rob ignored the look and proceeded to the SUV with the men. Time was of the essence.

“Dangani? How are you feeling?” Lola asked as the dark box truck she and the other girls rode in bounced up and down over the rough roads.

“I’m scared. What is going to happen to us?” Dangani grasped Lola’s hand and squeezed. In a reassuring gesture, Lola squeezed back.

“I overheard the guards saying they were moving us to the farm today. They didn’t give me any pills. Did any of you get yours?” Lola asked confident the answer was no.

“No, just a small piece of bread and some water,” Cece replied from the other side of the box truck. “Did you hear what waits for us at the farm?”

They were loaded into a small box truck. The floor was gritty to the touch. Upon entering, they were ordered to sit up against the walls. The truck bobbed and weaved and so did Lola’s body. She was swaying back and forth and landed on her rear each time the truck hit a ditch. She was sore from the ride. She steadied herself by placing her right hand against the floor as the truck came to a stop. This stop was longer than a stop-sign stop. She reckoned they were at the farm. It had been a short trip. If she had to guess, she would say thirty minutes. Dangani began whimpering, and Lola placed her arm around her small shoulders, pulling her close and hugging her. The back door opened and sunlight flooded the box. Lola could see the fear in each of the girls’ eyes. This was the end of the line. Their destiny awaited them inside the barn. Lola helped Dangani to stand.