ACE (The Trident Series Book 1)

by Jaime Lewis

  “Understood, Sir.”

  Ace looked around at all the angry and pissed off expressions of everyone in the room. They all knew if Ashraf got his hands-on Alex, he wouldn’t let her live.

  “Where do we start?”

  “Don’t the trucks have a tracking device?” Frost asked.

  “It was disabled. I’ve already checked,” the Colonel stated, looking disgusted as the rest of them.

  “What about her cell phone? We can track it.”

  “That, too, has been disabled.”

  “Shit.”

  Derek spoke up. “Agent Noon, I will expect full cooperation from the agency and any of their partners who may be traveling through the area.”

  Chapter Sixteen

  The stinging slap across her cheek had Alex slowly opening her eyes. Her head hurt, and her mind was fuzzy.

  “How much of that shit did you give her, Bert?”

  Another slap. This time a little harder, and she gritted her teeth.

  “I gave her enough that she wouldn’t be a hindrance once she wakes up.”

  She lifted her heavy head and tried adjusting her eyes. Wherever she was, it was hot, and the air felt thick as sweat dripped from her brow. Not to mention, the stench in the room was enough to make her gag. It smelled like a garbage landfill on a hot summer day.

  Pushing back the bile, forcing its way up from her stomach, her sight became a little clearer. An older Middle Eastern man crouched down in front of her.

  “Salaam Alaikum,” he said with a slimy grin on his face. He was saying hello in Pashto.

  He had to be in his late fifties, early sixties. His styled black hair was streaked with silver throughout. The designer slacks and dress shirt he wore told her he had money. But it was his eyes that she wanted to turn away from. They were cold and uninviting. She fidgeted under his glare, but she didn’t move much, thanks to the restraints on her arms and legs. The hard floor she was sitting on offered her no comfort.

  Her eyes darted around the room. The first thing she noticed was the lack of windows, meaning limited escape routes. There was a door that led to what looked like a hallway. The only source of light was a single light bulb that hung by a wire from the ceiling in the middle of the room, giving it an eerie feeling. The small table off to the side, holding a video camera perched on a tripod, didn’t give her a warm and fuzzy feeling. This room was set up as an interrogation room.

  She looked back at the guy. He wasn’t getting any information out of her.

  “What do you want with me? Where am I?”

  He stood, and that was when she realized the other men in the room. She wasn’t surprised to see Bert standing off to the side. When her eyes locked on Hill, she saw nothing but evil as he glared at her. Was he a mole just like Bert? She wished she had free use of her hands because she would love to go one round with him. She assumed he was the one responsible for getting her here. She took another glance at Bert and wished she could wrap her hands around his neck, then watch his little beady eyes bulge out of his head. Shaking that thought from her head, she continued to eye her opponents. She spotted another guy who stood back in the far corner. He had a hat pulled way down, covering his eyes and causing a shadow to shield his face. With his arms crossed, she sensed he was staring at her. There was something familiar about him.

  “Hello, Alexandra,” another male voice said in a thick accent, causing her to look the other way, away from the mystery man in the corner.

  “Oh, God,” she whispered as she took in the man who walked with purpose towards her. One look into his eyes, and there was no mistaking who he was.

  “I can see you remember me.”

  How could she not? She would never forget the way he had looked her over the last time they’d run into each other. Her skin started to crawl.

  “I see you don’t need any introductions to my sons,” the older man said.

  Sons? Oh, Jesus. Her stomach knotted, and she felt as if she was going to be sick. She looked at Hill and Yaseen, and she saw the resemblance between the two. But if they were this guy’s sons, that would mean she was looking at… Her eyes widened.

  Ashraf Fayed.

  She swallowed hard and licked her dry lips, wishing she had a bottle of water right now. Her breathing grew rapid, and she tried pulling on the restraints only for the metal to dig deeper into her skin. It was a knee jerk reaction. She stilled as soon as she felt her skin tearing. She was panicking, and that was the worst thing she could do at a time like now. Remembering what her uncles had taught her in survival training, the first rule was to stay calm. That task seemed a little difficult, but she needed a clear head if she wanted any chance of getting out of this alive. But with seven men, all armed, the odds were stacked against her. She wasn’t a quitter, and if she had an opportunity to get her hands on any sort of weapon, she could do a lot of damage. But that wasn’t happening unless she could free herself.

  As gracefully as she could, she got up onto her knees and straightened her spine. She held her head up, lifting her chin to appear confident, even though her body shook with fear. She had no idea what she was about to face, but from the vile expressions, it wasn’t going to be good.

  Ashraf gave her a wicked grin as he approached and stood before her. One look into his dark eyes, and she knew she was in deep trouble. This man was bad news, but apparently, her mouth spoke before her brain warned her not to.

  “Finally, I get the pleasure of meeting you.”

  “That’s great, asshole, because I can’t really say the same for you.” No sooner had the last word left her mouth, than left side of her face exploded in a fire of pain. She tasted the blood as her lip busted from the blow. Damn, that had been a mistake. It was no use in poking the bear when she was in no position to defend herself properly.

  Observing her, Ashraf looked at Hill and Yaseen and smirked. “You were right; she’s a lively one.” Grabbing a fist full of her hair, he wrenched her head back. Her scalp burned, and she was breathing heavily, wondering what his next move was as his evil black eyes bored into hers. Too many bad thoughts had her shaking.

  Releasing her hair, he unsheathed the knife from the holster secured to his belt. He brought the tip of the sharp object up to just above her chest bone and held it there as he stared into her eyes, and she swore she could see into the depths of hell. With the knife hovering over her skin, she started to tremble, and he laughed as he eyed over her body.

  “My sons have been boasting about this exceptional body of yours. I think it’s only fair we get a better look.” Before she could take her next breath, he sliced her tank top from her body. The top fell to the floor, leaving her exposed in just her white lace bra and shorts. He ran his thick fingers along the top of the cups to her bra, making her grimace. His smile had her digging her nails into the palms of her hands. She was at their mercy, and there wasn’t a damn thing she could do about it. She dropped her head in defeat and closed her eyes. She was fucked.

  He took a step back and ordered the two men she didn’t know to release her.

  The cuffs around her wrists were loosened, and she was yanked to her feet. She groaned as her muscles stretched. Balancing with her feet bound was a problem until the two goons on each side of her gripped her biceps, holding her steady. She still wasn’t sure how long she’d been here. She couldn’t even tell if it was day or night out. She looked down and noticed her watch had been removed. Of course, they had probably taken her gun and phone.

  Ashraf cleared his throat, redirecting her attention.

  “You should be grateful for your uncle. After all, it was his phone call that saved your life two years ago. While you were outside on the phone, a couple of my men went into your house and killed your team before they blew it up.”

  That was no surprise to her, but she was glad to hear him admit the truth.

  “You see, you thought you had everything to obliterate my organization. But what you hadn’t known was that I knew you were watching the entir
e time. I knew the moment you stepped foot into my country.”

  He pulled a cigarette from his pocket and lit it. He took a puff and blew the smoke directly into her face, making her cough.

  “Having a link inside your government to wipe the servers, so there was no trace of your evidence, was a godsend. I honestly had all intentions of having Bert put a bullet in your head, but Yaseen objected. Having to lay low for the past two years cost me a lot of money, not to mention my reputation. After a year in hiding, I started rebuilding my empire again under a different name.”

  “When Bert told me the United States was looking into my past again, I couldn’t take any chances. When word got back that they thought I was behind the hostages at the armory compound and that they were bringing you onboard, it had been perfect. It was just a shame they had to create that bogus story just to get your assistance.”

  What was he talking about?

  He looked surprised, “Oh…I see you don’t know the truth yet. Your own government set you up. They want me so badly that they concocted the story about my men taking hostages the night we broke into the armory compound.”

  That sounded absurd. Yeah, the government was known to fib a little, but there was no way they would make a false claim about hostages.

  “I don’t believe you. I saw the videos.”

  “Yes, they were Yaseen’s videos, but it was all staged. We weren’t even sure if there was a hostage situation, but I just took it and ran with it. Bert, or should I say Reynolds found out the truth just yesterday.”

  Her eyes darted back to Bert. So it was confirmed, out of the mouth of the devil himself, Bert was the American traitor people in the criminal world spoke about.

  “Once we knew you were here, we took the Intel we stole from your team and doctored it. My only mistake was not being prepared for a team of Navy SEALs, a team that’s commanded by your uncle. But, with Bert and Naveed’s help, we were still able to take you right out from under them.”

  She just stared at him. This man, no doubt, knew everything in her life.

  He grinned. “You see, all of the Intel you received was either old or falsified. It was all a hoax and used as a means to get you and that SEAL team to go and investigate. I originally wanted you dead. Now, I’m grateful Bert’s traps didn’t harm you too much. Believe it or not, you are actually in one of the buildings your former team did surveillance on.

  She thought hard, wondering which one it was. From the size of this room alone, it would have been bigger than the others she and her team had scoped out. Then it hit her.

  “I can see in your eyes you know which one I’m referring to. Putting a safe house on the border of a green zone was one of the best ideas I ever had.”

  The green zone location was the lone one that she couldn’t get her government to get the go-ahead from the providence leader. At least that was the spiel she was given. But knowing what she knows now, that was probably a load of bullshit. The green zone was a no-fighting zone. The leader of the providence didn’t allow fighting or terrorists. Sure, terrorists tried taking over the village, but the villagers were prepared and didn’t back down. The valley was gorgeous land, and the people here made sure it was kept that way. The green landscape was a steep contrast compared to most areas in the region. Then it dawned on her. She was only about 60 miles northwest of Bagram.

  Her head was spinning with all this information. Bert had turned on his own country. She wondered how much money he had made working on the side for Ashraf.

  She glanced at Bert, who stood back, just watching and listening. Hearing what Ashraf had to say answered a lot of questions, like how Bert just happened to show up right after the explosion that night two years ago. He was probably the man she saw in the flashback, and he was perhaps the one who had made the call and not her. He was there the whole time, giving the enemy a play-by-play of what the team was doing. The fucking piece of shit! She hoped she would get the opportunity to give him a little payback. But that was looking like a pipe dream at the moment.

  “You know when my team finds you, they aren’t going to let you live. If I had the opportunity, I’d save them some time and do it myself. You are a worthless coward,” she spat at Bert, and he just shrugged his shoulders.

  “Powerful words,” Ashraf said, looking between her and Bert. “How about I help you out?” Before she could ask what he meant, he pulled a gun from the waistband of his pants and shot Bert, point-blank in the head. Alex closed her eyes as Bert’s body crumpled to the ground.

  When she opened her eyes back up, she sucked in a big breath. Holy shit! He actually killed him.

  “Bert was getting too comfortable. He needed to go,” Ashraf said, kicking Bert’s legs to the side.

  He stepped closer to her. Close enough that she could smell his pungent cologne. “Naveed speaks highly of you. Loyal to your peers, friends, and family, intelligent, and beautiful.” He ran his slimy fingers down the middle of her chest until he reached her belly button. His eyes were glued to her chest where her breasts threatened to spill out of her bra.

  She jerked. “Don’t touch me!” She screamed, then spit in his face.

  He wiped his face with the back of his hand. “You are stubborn, but we can fix that with a little bit of discipline, starting right now.” He swung his gun, hitting her in the temple, then followed it up with a fierce backhand across her face.

  He grabbed one of her breasts and squeezed so hard she cried out. “Get this straight, you little bitch. I’ll touch you whenever and wherever I feel like it. I own you now, and you’ll do what I say, or there will be consequences you don’t want to face.” His face was so close that when he spoke, she could feel the spittle spewing from his mouth, and it sickened her.

  Her body went limp, and thank goodness for the two men holding her up, or she would have crumpled to the floor. Lifting her head, which was still reeling from the blows, she peered up at him through her swelling eye. She spit some blood onto the floor.

  “You might as well kill me now because nobody fucking owns me. Mark my words, you bastard, I may die before the team finds me, but I can assure when they come for you, they will kill you the first chance they get.”

  His lips twitched. “We’ll see about that. And, don’t worry, I’ll definitely kill you. Just not yet. We haven’t had any fun.” He threw his fist into her stomach, knocking the wind out of her and sending her already bruised ribs screaming for mercy.

  Ashraf grabbed his knife, and she flinched, but he bent down and cut the ties around her ankles. “You need to understand how serious I am.”

  Alex stood still while Ashraf studied her. With her feet unbound, she could at least work out the cramps in the arches of her feet and calf muscles, but her ribs and face were hurting badly.

  He grabbed her jaw in a bruising grip. “You are going to get your first lesson in my form of discipline.” Sticking his tongue out, he licked a trail of blood from her jaw up to her temple. “Delicious. Just as sweet as I thought you’d be.”

  She cringed and tried to jerk out of his hold, but he moved his hand to her throat, putting enough pressure to cut off her air to the point she was starting to see black dots in her vision. With her arms immobile, her other reflexes kicked in. Lifting her leg, she kicked his knee. It was hard enough to knock him off balance, causing him to release her, and she started gasping for air and coughing.

  Rubbing his knee, Ashraf glared at her as his nostrils flared. “You little cunt.”

  The strikes to her body and head left her unable to fight back. He turned towards the two men holding her.

  “Get her to the table and hold her down.”

  Alex had no fight left in her. Between having her air cut off and being used as a punching bag, she hung there gasping for air.

  She was shoved face down on to the table and cried out as her ribs pressed against the hard surface. Her arms were pulled out to the side and held down as Yaseen held her by her neck. Ashraf stood behind her and kicked her legs
apart. Hill joined in the action tying ropes around her ankles that connected to the legs of the table. She didn’t want to know what they had planned for her next. Her only thought was that if it were death, hopefully, it would be quick.

  With no warning or time to prepare, she heard the crack of the whip right before her back lit up like the Fourth of July. She hadn’t recovered from the first strike when she heard and felt the second. Agony and pain ripped through her, and unable to hold it in any longer, she let out a blood-curdling scream as she felt her skin split open. The men all laughed as Ashraf whipped her repeatedly, over, and over, calling her names. From her shoulders down to her lower back, she could feel the wetness from the blood.

  Her lips quivered, and the tears flowed. She was on the verge of passing out. Every shallow breath she tried to take her ribs protested. If she didn’t pass out from the pain soon, the lack of oxygen would definitely do her in.

  Her legs began to shake, and she knew she couldn’t hold on much longer. She wasn’t sure how many times he hit her, but she imagined her back looked as if it had been filleted.

  She heard the whip fall to the floor, then felt a body press up against her backside. His shirt brushed against her back, tormenting her open wounds. He snaked an arm around her waist, placing his hand on her stomach. Using a finger, he circled her belly button before moving to the waistband of her shorts. The feel of his hands on her sickened her. She was crying and pleading with him to just kill her.

  “I can only imagine how it is going to feel fucking you.” He licked the back of her neck, then sunk his teeth into her bare shoulder, breaking the skin and making her cry out again.

  He yanked the button to her shorts, and she squeezed her eyes shut, praying for death to take her now. Mentally and physically, she could not endure any more kind of torture or pain.

  Just as she heard the zipper of his pants being lowered, a loud explosion rocked the building. Ashraf let go of her, and she fell to the floor. Everyone ran out of the room as if she never even existed.