had told him that Brandy had bragged to her about receiving ounces of cocaine from Clive in lieu of payment for sexual favours. Brandy had said that Clive was a big player who provided his smugglers with fake passports. It was the passports that caught Jack’s attention. If a drug dealer had access to those, perhaps some terrorist could also get access to them. He later identified a known cocaine importer by the name of Clive Dempsey, and when Brandy became his informant, she confirmed that it was the Clive she knew.
Jack ignored a red light and the angry blast of a horn as he stepped on the gas. A moment later he pulled into the hotel parking lot. Forty minutes had passed since Brandy called him. He glanced up at the top floor of the hotel, wondering what awaited them, then gave a nod to Laura and they both thought the same thing.
It’s showtime.
Chapter Five
In room 1201 at the Emerald Hotel, Brandy closed her eyes and tried to project her mind outside of the nightmare she was in. She was straddling Liam, who now sat naked on the chair under her. He was covered in sweat and grunting like a pig, but was apparently too tired to thrust his buttocks upward, relying on her to pump up and down on his penis.
“He keeps slipping out. Clamp him tighter,” Klaus ordered as he stood behind her. Searing pain on her rear caused her to cry out, but her voice was muffled with the gag.
She heard Klaus suck on the cigarette. She tensed her buttocks and bit the gag in anticipation of more pain to come, but a knock on the door caused the men to stop and look at each other.
“Fresh meat,” Liam said with a smirk.
Clive, who had been sitting in another chair watching, was the only one wearing a hotel robe. He plodded to the door and looked out the peephole.
An attractive woman with auburn hair smiled at him from the hallway. She was wearing feathered earrings and had on the perfect amount of makeup to make her look sexy without looking trashy. She slowly unzipped her raincoat to reveal a red silk blouse unbuttoned enough to expose plenty of cleavage that was barely constrained in a black lacy push-up bra. “I’m Laura,” she said sweetly. “I was invited to a party here.”
Clive fumbled in his haste to open the door. “Welcome to the par —”
Jack rammed the shotgun into his gut and literally ran him backward into the room as Laura stepped in and closed the door behind her.
Jack saw Brandy staring at him from where she was straddling a man on a chair. She was gagged and one eye was swollen shut. Her butt was peppered with cigarette burns.
Klaus’s mouth dropped open and his cigarette fell to the floor.
“You fucking bastards!” Jack ran across the floor and pivoted the shotgun with his hands, smashing the butt end into Klaus’s mouth. The man’s head snapped back with a sickening sound of breaking teeth, and he fell to the floor like a wet bag of cement.
Liam, whose eyes were as big as his gaping mouth, shoved Brandy onto the floor and started to rise from his chair, but Jack spun around and rammed the barrel of the shotgun onto his forehead, forcing him back down.
“Jack! Don’t!” Laura cried. “You can’t —” She stopped as Clive tried to make a run for the door and dropped him with a kick to the groin.
A vein on Jack’s temple throbbed with rage as he stared at Liam before slowly stepping back. “Okay, none of you fuckers move unless I say so,” he ordered. The smell of fecal matter from Liam indicated that he wouldn’t be a problem.
Klaus hadn’t moved and Jack stared at his motionless body. Is he dead? I didn’t mean to kill him, just… A feeling of panic gripped him. Wait a minute, his chest is moving. He’s alive!
Jack took a deep breath and glanced at Clive, who was curled up in a fetal position on the floor, holding his groin with both hands and moaning.
Laura’s eyes met Jack’s and her voice was barely audible. “Is he …?” She gave a worried nod toward Klaus.
Jack could see the angst in Laura’s eyes. He felt awful about the position he had put her in. He knew he had overreacted and would face severe consequences if charged criminally. He regained his composure enough to play the role he intended. “Not yet. The fucker’s still breathing.” He caught the fleeting look of relief on Laura’s face, quickly replaced by a glare. “I barely tapped him,” Jack continued. “He must have a glass jaw or something.” He hoped a little humour would lighten the situation. “I’ve heard about guys like that.”
Laura frowned at Jack, unsure if she felt like laughing or screaming in response. Her attention was diverted when Brandy lurched to her feet and mumbled through the gag. Seeing the battered face, Laura decided she didn’t feel like laughing or screaming. Tears of frustration and compassion clouded her vision when she thought of what human beings could do to one another.
“Take her to the bathroom while I take care of these guys,” Jack ordered.
“Please don’t kill us!” Liam wailed.
His shrill voice aroused Klaus, who sat up, cupping his broken jaw with the palm of his hand. A broken tooth emerged from between his fingers and fell to the carpet. He looked at Jack and growled, “Who the fuck are you?”
Jack glared at him. First of all, you beat and torture a young woman, then scare the crap out of me because I thought I’d busted your neck. I really do hate you. “I’m with hotel security,” Jack snarled. “I’m here because the music is too loud.” He then pointed the shotgun at Klaus’s head and said, “You dumb piece of shit! Who the hell do you think I am?”
Klaus gingerly felt his broken teeth with his fingers, before picking out another broken piece and tossing it on the floor. The glower he gave Jack was meant to intimidate.
Jack acted like he didn’t notice, just shook his head and muttered, “I can’t believe what you did to my girl.”
“I’m sorry,” Liam spouted. “Things got a little carried away. We’ll make it up —”
“Shut the fuck up!” Jack snapped. He turned his attention back to Klaus and said, “Hasn’t anyone told you that you have really bad teeth? Don’t you ever go to the dentist?”
Klaus’s look turned to pure hatred.
“Lie face down on the floor and put your hands behind your back,” Jack ordered.
“I’ll kill you,” Klaus spluttered.
“Trying to tell me I should kill you first?” said Jack menacingly.
Klaus decided to obey, arching his shoulders to rest his forehead on the carpet before putting his hands behind his back. His movements were slow, but Jack didn’t know if it was in defiance or due to pain.
Jack gestured at Clive and Liam with the shotgun. “You two goofs, lie face down on each side of your buddy with your heads in the opposite direction.”
“The opposite direction to who?” Liam asked as he got out of the chair and meekly crawled forward on his hands and knees.
“To your stupid friend who won’t be eating any corn on the cob for a while. Who do you think I meant?”
“Please,
