David Dun - The Black Silent

Sam went ahead, deciding to forget Frick. What was Rafe doing? He tried not to let his imagination start. A desperate sadness came over him. Just what he'd wanted to avoid… another fellow traveler. Sam wondered if he was in love with Haley and then put the thought away like a jewel in its case.

He slowly moved up the hill under the cover of darkness, wanting to get to the porch so that he could get to Haley. As he neared the porch, another car pulled up, a man got out and spoke to Frick. As they talked, Sam slipped up on the porch and went through the front door.

At last the car started and Frick peeled out. The second man was no doubt coming to the house.

One more problem.

Gibbons looked at Sam and nodded upstairs.

With a painful effort Sam yanked off his shoes. He had seconds at best.

On the way back to the foundation, Frick made a quick call to the hog farm, explaining that he would need the grinder by the next day or the day after. He would land at a private strip. After what Rafe and he would do to Haley Walther, she had to disappear.

Ground up with grain and turned into hog feed. The public would learn of a tragic boating accident as the suspect sought to escape justice, after which Walther's body fell victim to strong tides and/or marine predators.

It took him about four minutes, driving at reckless speeds, to get back to the foundation.

He needed to get on the phone with Nash, but Nash didn't like cell phones. At the conference room he found eight men waiting and decided to put off the phone call.

These were crude men-the ones with lengthy criminal records-and they were here for a pep talk and the dos and don'ts of the job. Calm and baritone, Khan's voice carried the certainty of authority. As he spoke, he strode in front of a blackboard on which he had made some notes and taped large photos of Robert Chase and Ben Anderson. Khan sounded as calm as a college professor, but everyone knew he was as ruthless as any thug. Consequently, he did well leading rabble, staying above the fray, while at the same time letting them know he was serious. When Khan did lose his cool, it was part of a very effective act.

Some of the men worked as hard money collectors, some as personal bodyguards for some very tough people, who ran meth labs and worse. Three were bouncers in the seediest Vegas strip clubs, places that were little more than fronts for prostitution. Many had personally been beaten senseless by Khan, which engendered a respectful attitude.

Using these types worried Frick, but the thought of an out-of-control operation headed for failure worried him more.

Khan abruptly ended the lecture. "You've been entertaining Haley Walther?"

"Not yet," Frick said. "We need to talk."

They walked into the hallway outside the conference room.

"You must be pretty desperate, having me use this crew," Khan said.

"You got that right. So what?"

"Is there extra if I deliver?"

"You know it."

"How much extra?" Khan said.

"Fifty K for good measure," said Frick. "Additional fifty K per head if you or Rafe have to waste somebody. You work it out with Rafe."

"That'll do it. How are we gonna solve your problem by Monday?"

"It's a small island. We're hitting everybody Ben Anderson knows and watching all the harbors. Rafe has Haley Walther. She may be able single-handedly to solve the problem."

"He'll rape her."

Frick just stared at Khan.

"I'm telling you 'cause Rafe tends to get distracted by his own pleasure," Khan said.

"You need to know that"

"Yeah, well, he was all I had at the moment. We've got eight more men to dispatch."

"Give her to me, instead."

Frick thought about that. "Maybe later. Right now, I need you running these guys."

"I'm a professional. I'm not looking for conjugal rights. I'll get the information."

"Just manage your boys. If I need your help with her, I'll ask."

Frick then laid out the places they needed to search and watch. After Khan had his questions answered, they got down to the specific assignments.

That took a few minutes. Khan had one last comment.

"With what's going on inside that house between Rafe and the girl? That boyfriend of hers will come back. In his gut he knows."

"He would if he could, but he's hurt. Ran off the property. I left another guy with Rafe. I don't expect the boyfriend will be back all that soon. We need to discuss the most important job you got. I need you to supervise personally."

"Okay."

One of the things Frick liked about Khan was that he listened. And he was smart.

"You caught up on what McStott's pulling out of Anderson's research?" Frick asked.

"Octopuses, genes, and proteins. Crazy shit, but I followed."

"McStott's nothing more than a dirty scientist; he's got a couple lab tech helpers that are greedy bastards to help out. You supervise and try to tell the pony from the horseshit."

Khan simply nodded.

"I'm putting you in charge of the gold mine," Frick said. "I want results, and I don't want McStott getting any ideas about hiding what he finds. It's a little after six. I figure we have sixteen hours, maybe even until Monday evening, but no more, and by then, somebody will blow the whistle. Somebody will ask why Sergeant Frick is still in charge. Then the state comes in and we're done."

"McStott won't steal anything or turn us in," Khan said. "But I want to tell you something. Strope knows a man in the government. This government man heard a little about a guy named Sam who has a lot of names." Khan smiled, but it had the look of derision. "You made a big mistake not killing him when you could. And a bigger one leaving Rafe with his woman friend."

Sam heard Haley say something unintelligible as he climbed the stairs. Occasionally his feet made a creak on the old hardwood, but Sam knew that a man in Rafe's frame of mind wouldn't be likely to hear.

When he reached the landing, he went to the first door and listened.

Nothing.

"No."

The word came out muffled. The bed creaked. Quickly he stepped to the next door, where he heard her more clearly. He put his hand on the knob and concentrated on moving the latching tongue out of the door frame without a sound. Once he had the knob all the way turned, he slowly opened the door. They were on the bed. Her hands were tied and her feet, so she was spread-eagled, gagged in a bra and panties.

Rafe had his knife under her chin.

It was time to move. Sam passed through the doorway and stood quietly, worried about the knife so near her carotid.

"Just talk to me and I'll stop," Rafe said.

On a dresser stood a large, glass snow globe. In one smooth motion Sam picked up the globe and hurled it at the back of Rafe s head from a few feet away. The ball exploded on Rafe's skull; Rafe fell on top of her, quivering. Sam checked his pupils and determined he was out cold.

He grabbed Rafe's knife and quickly cut Haley loose. Once she spit out the gag, she grabbed him and held him tightly. He wrapped himself around her. He knew they had to leave and did his best to calm her as fast as he could.

"I was so scared," she cried.

He murmured assurances as he helped her dress. Together they went back to the stairs.

Gibbons, at the bottom, gave a nod with his head. The second man was in the living room, no doubt assuming the crash upstairs was part of the torture program.

"Listen," Sam whispered. "I need you to run down those stairs hysterical, with me chasing you. The guy in the living room will go after you. I'll be right behind."

"That's risky," she said. "What if I get too far ahead?"

You won't."

They looked at each other one more time and without hesitation she ran down the stairs screaming.

"Help me! Help!" She sounded terrified.