Bloody Truth: A Granger Spy Novel

by John J. Davis

  “That’s all? What about the earpieces? You said if they were CIA, they’d have earpieces to communicate with their teammates. That’s why I brought the RFI jammer from the office with me. You’re telling me you got this wrong?”

  “No; they could’ve ditched the earpieces. They’re CIA no question. Your report says so.”

  “Hold on,” Leecy said interrupting, “you’re basing all this. The tazer attack and the kidnapping on the presence of some kind of earpiece?”

  “Shut up,” Tia barked slapping her hard across the face. “No one is talking to you.”

  “Even so,” Leecy said undeterred, “you’re making a huge mistake. That report, whatever it is, doesn’t have anything to do with me. I’m not with the CIA, and neither is she,” Leecy added, nodding her head in Val’s direction.

  Drawing her sword and spinning counterclockwise, Tia stopped the blade inches short of cutting into Leecy’s throat.

  “I had no intention of harming you or the other woman, but speak again, and I will end you.”

  “You’re really not very bright, are you?” I asked, looking Leecy in the eye. I could see the fear washing across her face. Cutting her eyes in my direction, I hardened my gaze, hoping she would follow suit and remember to never let the enemy see fear.

  Tia pressed the sword into the nape of Leecy’s neck, and blood trickled from the wound, running down the length of the sword, “You dare to insult me with my blade cutting into the flesh of your partner? You’re the one who’s not very bright.”

  “Insult you? No, I’m just pointing out the obvious. You’ll probably kill all of us. Of that, I have no doubt. Sadly, that will be a waste of great mercenaries, but I’m not going down without a fight. I hired her and the other woman out of Turkey a year ago. I don’t know them. Don’t care to know them. All I cared about at the time was they’re really good at their jobs. That’s something you should care about, too.”

  Tia dropped the sword from Leecy’s neck and walked away, dragging the tip of the blade across the concrete floor. She circled the three of us and asked, “So what you’re trying to tell me is that their safety is of no concern to you? Is that right?”

  “It’s kind of a code with people like us. We’re in this business to make money, not friends.”

  “Okay, so be it. Let’s see if you care so little about your own self-preservation.”

  “Are you moving on to the main event so soon?”

  “Oh yes, Mr. Heely. It’s time to employ some of your own agency’s tactics.”

  “The CIA?”

  “Yes, your government released a CIA torture report for all the world to read, and now Mr. Furukawa is going to use your agency’s methods on you.”

  “Sounds ominous, but like I always say, if you’re going to do something, give it all you got.”

  “Still with the jokes? Even now? Knowing what’s about to happen to you?”

  “Sure. Why not? I mean, what the hell difference does it make? But there is one thing: before you start working on me with scary toys, tell me about the other report you have. Tell me about the report that says I’m CIA, and give me a chance to refute it. At the very least, check and see who you really killed today. If you did that and nothing else, you’d see I’m right. You killed a tourist. You should really check it out. You’re wrong about that man being my backup, just like you’re wrong about me.”

  Spinning my chair around again to face her and Furukawa, she said, “You’re stalling. Last chance. Who are you, who are you working for, and who are these women?”

  “Why don’t you run their prints like you did mine and find out for yourself?”

  Tia leaned forward, her hands on my knees, and said, “I’m not hacked into AFIS out here. You do know what AFIS is, don’t you?”

  “Automated Fingerprint Identification Method,” I answered. “Yes, I am aware of what it is. People like me and my team work very hard to stay out of databases like that.”

  “Okay, then, I’ll tell you what,” she paused long enough to straddle my legs and sit on my lap. “After Mr. Furukawa finishes with you and you’ve screamed, cried, and begged him to stop, I’ll keep you alive; I promise I will. And I’ll bring you back to the office with the women and let you watch as I run their prints, and then when I know who they really are, you can watch them die first. Okay?”

  “There’s one problem with that plan,” Val said.

  “What’s that?” Tia asked, still perched on my lap.

  “Weren’t you listening? He just told you people like us work hard to stay out of databases. My prints and the kid’s here aren’t in any database. We’ve never been printed. Ever. You won’t find anything on us. So, I guess that leaves you with two choices.”

  “And what’s that?” Tia asked, looking into my eyes and stroking my hair.

  “Let the two of us go,” Val said. “We’ll forget all about this. It’ll be like it never happened.”

  “Ridiculous. I’m not letting any of you go till I get the truth.”

  “Okay,” Val said, smiling and shaking her head. “Then you better kill me right now, ‘cause if you leave an ounce of life in me, I’ll use it to find you wherever you go. You’ll be looking over your shoulder for the rest of your life.”

  Tia grabbed the sides of my head in her hands, forcing me to look her in the eyes. Ignoring Valerie, she said, “Tough talk from your woman. Let’s see how tough they are when I’m finished with you. Personally, I think they’ll be singing a different tune.”

  “What happened to us?” I asked. “Hmmm? Where’d we get off track? I helped you find the device, didn’t I? We came to a mutually beneficial agreement, then it all fell apart. What happened?”

  “Let’s just say I had a meeting yesterday that will make me very rich and very powerful. The deal I made is much bigger than anything you could offer me.” Standing suddenly, she spun on her toes, walking toward the wooden crate on the floor at Furukawa’s feet. Laughing, she looked at Furukawa and asked, “Are you ready?”

  Furukawa removed a set of jumper cables from the crate with one hand and a car battery with the other.

  “We’ll start slow, okay?” Furukawa said, walking toward me. “I don’t want to kill you by accident.”

  Watching him connect one end of the jumper cables to the battery, I tried to prepare myself for what was going to happen next, but I knew that was impossible. Touching the positive cable clamp and negative together, Mr. Furukawa held them up a few feet from my face, the sparks erupting.

  “Last chance to admit who you really are,” Tia said.

  “I’m Peter Heely. I helped you discover you were being spied on. Someone’s trying to turn you against me. Why is that? Ask yourself who benefits the most if me and my team are out of the picture.”

  Mr. Furukawa motioned to Lee and Hector. Lee walked forward, removing a knife from his pocket and cutting away the duct tape from around my chest. Splitting my sweater and undershirt down the middle and pulling the cut halves away, he exposed my bandaged torso.

  Seeing the bandage, Tia walked toward me and said, “Hold on a second. What’s this?”

  “It’s nothing,” I answered.

  She pushed her hands inside the cut halves of my clothing, pressing her palms against my sides, getting the reaction she was looking for when I winced. She smiled.

  “Looks like we don’t need the battery after all. Our man, here, has a soft spot we can exploit. Get him out of the chair and…” She looked around the room and pointed overhead, “hang him by his wrists from the engine hoist and remove the bandages. I want him dangling with his toes barely touching the floor.”

  “Physical torture is very unreliable,” Val said. “I’ve never been a big fan of it. No, I prefer a more cerebral approach. I’ve been known to use a little psychological torture now and again.”

  “Interesting,” Tia said, walking toward Valerie. “I was going to make you two watch as I made your boss tell me what I want to know, but you did threaten me, and no
w you’ve given me a better idea.”

  “Psychological torture takes planning,” Val said. “What could you possibly do to us on the spur of the moment?”

  Spinning Val’s chair around to face the rear of the dark building, Tia leaned close to her ear.

  “Did you notice the rectangular holes cut in the floor?”

  “Sure. I think they were once used to work on the trucks that came in for service.”

  “Very good; that’s correct. And did you know this place belongs to my father?”

  “I assumed.”

  “Yes, of course you did. You see, at one time it was a very successful shipping operation. My father owned a fleet of big trucks that hauled merchandise all over Europe, but that was a long time ago; back when I was a child. I was a very curious young girl. Much like you are, I imagine,” she said to Leecy. “When my mother brought me here to see Father in his shipping office, I would sneak away to play and explore the property. One day, I discovered the doors to this place had been left open, and I came inside. I saw the openings in the floor beneath the big trucks, and I couldn’t help myself; I just had to see what was down in those holes.”

  “Dangerous place for playtime,” Val said.

  “That’s true; it is a dangerous place. It’s also like a maze. You know, thinking back, it was a wonderful place to play. However, judging from the snarling sound and smell emanating from the pit tonight, I’d say it’s become more like a labyrinth now. Something is living down there.”

  Seeing that Hector and Lee were busy with me, she continued.

  “Mr. Furukawa, if you don’t mind bringing the ladies down into the pit while we wait for Mr. Heely to be lifted into position, I‘d be very grateful.”

  Dropping the jumper cables into the crate, he looked up and asked, “Are you serious?”

  “Yes, and I want you to tie them securely to the end of the stair railing at the bottom of the stairs.”

  “Yes. Right away, Miss Reins.”

  Tia watched Furukawa grab a flashlight and a gun from the box on the floor before cutting away the tape holding Valerie in the chair. With her hands still bound with duct tape, he led her down the stairs at gunpoint.

  The sound of metal grinding on metal got Tia’s attention. She looked toward the noise, seeing both Lee and Hector pulling on the chain, lifting me from my sitting position with the old manually operated engine block hoist. Furukawa returned, cutting Leecy free from the chair and escorting her down into the pit.

  Shining the light on the two women, Tia could see them standing with their backs against the vertical post at the end of the stair rail, their hands secured to the post behind them. The oily black paw prints of the animals inhabiting the pit covered the metal stairs. Tia completed her inspection of Furukawa’s handiwork from a safe distance.

  “No need for me to come down there. The knots look good from here. Come on; you’ve got more work to do.”

  Turning away from the pit to see me dangling just as she instructed, Tia admired my bruised physique, now suspended, shirtless and bandage-free.

  “Tell me you’re CIA, and I’ll let you down and end this quickly.”

  “I can’t admit to that,” I said through gritted teeth. “I’m Peter Heely.”

  Laughing, she asked, “Oh, Peter, you’re determined to make this very painful, aren’t you?”

  “You’re wearing the same outfit you wore yesterday, and I could smell the sex still on your skin when you sat on my lap. Let me guess. This mystery partner of yours promised you the world, then screwed your brains out, and now you’re in love.”

  I could barely see Hector, Lee, and Tia standing on the edge of the darkness. Furukawa, walking toward me, touched the ends of the cables together, sending sparks arching toward the ceiling. He smiled, moving the cables over my chest, and I screamed.

  “Tell me I’m wrong, Tia,” I yelled as soon as Furukawa backed away from me. “I think your new boyfriend planted that information about me being CIA. He probably even rigged up a dummy CIA site, and your people think they hacked the real thing. He planted that device. He was in your system, so it’s possible. Is he part of the reported army of Russian hackers Putin employs?”

  I’d struck a nerve. I could see the change of expression on her face even in the semi-darkness, despite her best efforts to hide it.

  “Even if everything you said is true,” she said, “it doesn’t matter. Goodbye, Mr. Peter Heely. I won’t see you again after tonight. I have a plane to catch, and a new life to begin. Furukawa, I want you and the boys to take your time with him, then kill them all and dump their bodies inside three empty oil drums. There are plenty of them lying around the property. Or just drop them down in the pit and let the animals eat them.” She turned and walked into the darkness, adding. “I’ll drive myself back to the office.”

  “What? You’re leaving before the fun starts?”

  “I have preparations to make and a plane to catch. I’m satisfied you’re CIA. I don’t need to hear anymore.”

  “No, you’re not satisfied; that’s why you’re leaving. You want to hurry back to the office and check the legitimacy of the hack your people claim to have made. No one hacks the CIA, lady. No one. This is a set up; that’s all it is. Your new lover wants you isolated so he can control you. When you see it’s all fake, you’ll know I’m right, but it’ll be too late.”

  “Too late for you, but not for me.”

  “You really believe these bozos you’ve hired are capable of killing a man like me?”

  Walking slowly toward me, she said, “Here’s what I know. You’re CIA. My bozos captured not only a man like you, but your teammates as well. You’re hanging by your wrists and your women are food for wild animals. I’ll be airborne by midnight, and you’ll be dead.”

  Laughing as much as the pain would allow me to, I said, “Best stick around and make certain the job is done right, ‘cause if these boys make one mistake, I’ll be coming for you and the money you promised me. You’re making an enemy of the wrong guy.”

  “Miss Reins,” I heard Lee calling in the distance. The sound of his cowboy boots running across the floor toward the exit echoed off the walls. “He’s right.”

  “Right? Right about what?”

  “The man you killed. I checked. I pulled up the local news on my iPhone, and the police say the man you killed outside the station was just an American tourist. A man named Bill Kirby. He was from Kansas City.”

  “Impossible,” she said. “I heard the voices screaming in his ear. Like he had an earpiece.”

  “No, you didn’t. You didn’t hear any voices in his ear,” I said to the darkness. “You heard the voices of the people around you screaming as you killed that man. I bet the police are looking for you.”

  “No one saw me. I made certain of that.”

  “I’m sorry, Miss Reins,” Lee said, “but he’s correct again. Your description is listed on an all points bulletin the police have released. They’re looking for you. They even have a description of the car.”

  “Damn it,” she said. I heard the clicking sound of retreating footsteps followed by the sound of a car door opening and closing. An engine revved to life.

  CHAPTER NINE

  THE SEARCH AND ESCAPE

  “HELLO ZACH,” WAKEFIELD SAID into her cell, “I’m at the airport walking toward the private hangars south of the Fixed Base Operator office.”

  “Great. I’ve got news, also. I’ve found where they’ve taken the Grangers.”

  “That’s great. Send Hodges to the location immediately.”

  “He’s en route as we speak. No need to check the hangar now, I guess.”

  “Maybe so, but I’m going to take a look anyway. I mean, I’m here.”

  “Yeah, that makes sense. Just be safe and all.”

  “There’s something else I want you to do for me.”

  “What’s that?”

  “They’re several private planes here. I’m going to text you the tail numbers, and I
want you to run down the owners for me.”

  “All due respect, but why waste time with that? I’m already working on the Tia thing. You know Granger’s hunch? She didn’t take a train. I’m scanning airport CCTV now.”

  “Christ, is Ryan rubbing off on you? Now I need to explain myself?”

  “Absolutely not. I’m sorry. I was just curious as to your thinking on the tail numbers is all I meant.”

  Pausing to regain her composure, she ignored him, shining her flashlight through the window of the pedestrian door of the hangar. “I’m at the hangar and it’s locked up nice and tight,” she said. “No sign of anyone inside or of anyone having been here recently.”

  “That’s good, then; we can be confident Hodges is on the right track.”

  “Yeah, tell me about that. How’d you find the place?”

  “Oh,” Zach said, typing on his computer keyboard. “Well, it was actually something Hodges said about something Ryan said that got me thinking.”

  Walking away from the metal building, toward the row of six private planes, Wakefield paused.

  “What are you talking about? Back up and start from the beginning.”

  “Okay, sure. Well, let me think. Where to begin? All right, after you left the hotel with Ryan, I was working on the search for CCP holdings that might…”

  “Yeah I got that part. Jump forward to what Ryan said and when he said it.”

  “Sure. After Ryan came back to the hotel to help with the search…”

  “He did what?” Wakefield asked.

  “Ryan came back after you two left, saying you told him to help me with the search I was doing. Hodges showed up, Ryan left, and Hodges said…”

  “Forget that,” Wakefield said. “I need you to tell me exactly what Ryan did when he came back to the hotel.”

  “He sat down at your computer and helped me search.”

  “My computer? Is that right? Ryan used my computer?”

  “Yes. I’m sorry, but he said you told him to help me, and it was the only other computer in the room.”