by Amy Cross
***
“Seriously,” Nathaniel Bones whispered as he stood in the corridor, with his mobile phone against the side of his face, “we haven't made any noise at all. The only noisy thing I've done is answer your goddamned call!”
“He's here somewhere,” Cavaleri hissed on the other end of the line. “He...” She paused for a moment. “Okay, there's no need to panic, let's just keep our heads. There are a million things a man like Edgar Le Compte might be doing in the middle of the night. This house is like a maze, I swear I've walked down the same corridor twice now!”
“I don't like it,” Nathaniel replied, taking another drag on his cigarette. “I think it's time to get out of here.”
“You won't get another penny if you leave.”
“Come on, the deal was that we had to come up here with you, and we've done that! It's not my fault you can't find the guy! I thought he was supposed to be tucked up all nice and quiet in bed by now?”
“That's the information I was given.”
“By who?”
“By my informant,” she replied evasively. “The same person who arranged for the door to be left unlocked.”
“Well your informant clearly doesn't know everything,” he pointed out. “I don't suppose he gave you a back-up plan, did he? The longer we spend looking for Le Compte, the more likely we are to get spotted.”
“I'm going to find him,” she told him. “I'll be in touch again soon, just... Keep a watch out, okay? Let me know if you see any sign of him.”
“And if I do see him,” Nathaniel replied, “should I drop him, or should I wait for you to have the pleasure? I could kneecap the son-of-a-bitch and leave him writhing in agony on the floor until you get here. I like knee-capping people. It's such a simple thing to do and it's kinda old-fashioned, but you should hear the screams.”
“If you see him, kill him,” she said firmly. “Don't hesitate, not even for a second. He won't give you a second chance. Don't listen to anything he says, don't let him try to talk his way out of anything, just take him down. The man's a -”
“Relax,” Nathaniel continued, taking another puff on his cigarette, “he's not a goddamned superhero. You think I can't handle myself against some spoiled little rich kid? Sure, he takes care of himself, the guy's probably got a private gym and a personal trainer and someone who tells him all the right rabbit food to eat, but that's nothing against someone like me. When you grow up on the streets, you learn a lot more than you can learn anywhere else. You learn how to survive. That ain't something you learn in a gym.”
“What are you doing right now? Where exactly are you in the house?”
“Right now?” He smiled, keenly aware that he couldn't exactly be honest with her. “Oh, me and Tom, we're checking the joint out, you know? We're not a pair of hired hands, Inspector, we're professional criminals. We know how to case a place, how to move silently and track down our prey, so don't worry about us. Everyone's getting what they wanted out of this little trip.”
“And you haven't encountered any of the other people who live here?”
“Absolutely not. We're being as quiet as two little mice.”
“Keep in touch,” she told him. “I need to know everything that's happening.”
“Will do, Inspector,” Nathaniel replied with a faint smile as he cut the call. Slipping his phone into his pocket, he took a moment to glance both ways along the dark corridor. He didn't like the idea of Edgar Le Compte being a loose agent, but at the same time he felt protected. Reaching inside his jacket, he felt the handle of his gun, and he reminded himself that no matter what people said about Edgar Le Compte, there was no way the guy could withstand a few shots to the head. Having been in his fair share of difficult situations over the years in his dealings with other criminals, Nathaniel knew one thing for certain: he was supremely confident of his own abilities, and he knew damn well that no-one, not even Edgar Le Compte, was ever going to get the drop on him.
Once he was sure there was no sign of anyone nearby, he took a final drag on the cigarette before putting it out against the top of an antique dresser and leaving the stub behind. Turning, he headed back into a nearby room.
“She's a feisty one,” Tom Ward hissed, struggling to hold Alice Marco down on the bed.
“Just the way I like it,” Nathaniel replied, pushing the door shut and reaching down to start unbuckling his belt.
“She's got some scars, too,” Tom continued, tearing the front of her dress open to reveal the deep incision running down Alice's chest. “Shame. I reckon she was pretty hot before, but someone sure carved her up. This is one hell of a scar, and there's another one around her neck. It's almost like she was taken apart and put back together again.” As Alice tried to twist away, he gave her a punch on the side of the neck. “Careful, darling. Show some respect.”
“Don't knock her out,” Nathaniel complained. “I want her awake for this.”
“She's awake,” Tom muttered. “Did you speak to Cavaleri?”
“Yeah. She's screwing it all up.”
“So Le Compte's still alive?”
“Let me know if he pops his head into the room,” Nathaniel said with a smile. “I reckon I can drop the asshole without even breaking my pace.”
“Don't worry,” Tom said, holding up his gun, “he won't get very far if he shows up.”
As Nathaniel made his way over to the bed, Alice continued to struggle while tears streamed down her face. Tom's hand was clamped over her face, preventing her from screaming, while her eyes were wide with terror. Her dress was ripped and torn, with the front having been pulled partially away, while her underwear had been pulled down and tossed to the floor. She tried to kick out at Nathaniel as he climbed onto the bed, but she was powerless to prevent him grabbing her ankles and forcing them apart.
“She's not giving in, is she?” he asked with a smile as he pulled his trousers down.
“Some of 'em don't,” Tom replied. “Some of 'em are too dumb to realize they should just accept their fate. I reckon she's a virgin, too. She doesn't know what it's like to have a man in her.”
“Come on, darling,” Nathaniel continued with a leery grin as he stared down at Alice's terrified eyes, “you never know, you might even like it, but that's never gonna happen unless you relax a little. Some of 'em do like it, you know. They just accept what's comin' to 'em and they figure they might as well get a grunt out of it.”
As he got started, Alice tried to scream, but Tom's hand was held too firmly across her mouth.
