The sound of a loud smack caused Elisa to look to her left again. Sandoval stood in front of Tanya and there was a red mark on the side of the rebel leader’s face. Sandoval turned his back on her and focused on Elisa.
“Elisa Hill,” he said. “My new friends told me everything there is to know about you.”
Elisa looked past Sandoval and saw Isabel and Sofia standing near the door. Now that she’d gotten her bearings straight, Elisa studied the rest of the room. Concrete walls, dark and dank, with very little illumination. A dungeon of sorts, she imagined.
Between the Montenegro Sisters was a small table and resting on the table was Mjolnir. Sandoval turned from Elisa and approached the hammer, running his hand along the engraved metal.
“I understand this is what has brought so many colorful new characters to my island.” Sandoval hefted the hammer in both hands and held it up. He pointed the head at Elisa and she shut her eyes, prepared for a bolt of electricity to surge through her body.
It never came. Elisa opened her eyes again and saw Sandoval approach her, still grasping the hammer. He held it up so it was inches from her face.
“The survivors from the ocean attack, they told me what you did,” he said. “They said you wielded this hammer like a god, used it to call down lighting and rain and wind from the heavens.”
“What about it?” asked Elisa.
“So why doesn’t it work now?” Sandoval hurled the hammer against the wall. It struck the concrete and fell to the ground. He spun on Elisa and wrapped his hand around her throat.
“Let her go!” screamed Asami, struggling against her chains. A crack of Isabel’s whip silenced her.
“You were able to unlock the power of the hammer,” said Sandoval. “Tell me how!”
“I-I—” Elisa struggled to speak with his hands wrapped around her throat.
“She can’t tell you what you want to know if you strangle her!” shouted Tanya.
Sandoval released his grip and stepped back. Elisa coughed and took a moment to catch her breath. The pain around her throat lingered, though. She looked up at Sandoval, narrowing her eyes at him.
“I don’t know.”
Sandoval’s lips curled into a sneer. “That is unacceptable.”
“The hammer worked for me once, yes,” she said. “But when I tried to use it again to stop your assault on the town, nothing happened.”
Sandoval turned from Elisa, his eyes going to the Montenegro Sisters for confirmation. “Is this true?”
“She held the hammer when we confronted her in the church,” said Isabel. “She threatened to use it, but didn’t.”
“She couldn’t,” said Sofia.
“So, it seems we have something of a conundrum here,” said Sandoval. “This hammer will provide me with the means to end the rebellion once and for all. But first, I need to know how you called upon its power.”
“I told you, I don’t know,” said Elisa.
“Even if you do summon its power, what then?” asked Tanya. “You think the rebellion is just me? Just that village your people razed? The rebellion is the people of Corbaton, crying out for freedom.”
Sandoval chuckled. “Spare me your speeches, Acosta. You’re as idealistic and foolish as your parents.”
“And you are every bit the monster they said you were.”
“Monster?” Sandoval scoffed. “I bring order to this land! Corbaton was chaotic before I took control. I give them life. People need order and discipline, otherwise they will become wild animals.”
“This coming from the guy with a torture chamber,” said Asami.
Sandoval cast his gaze over to the kitsune. “And this one. My men—the ones who survived, that is—spoke of her on the battlefield. How she is not a woman but some sort of…creature.”
“Y’know, that hurts my feelings,” she said. “And here I thought we were getting along so well.”
Sandoval ignored her taunt, turning back to Elisa. “The Montenegros told me of your past exploits. The artifacts you have recovered. And now, you have recovered this one for me. You will tell me how to use the hammer’s power.”
Elisa sighed. “Do you have a hearing problem or is it a language issue? I already told you, I don’t know! It worked for me on the ocean, don’t ask me how, it just did. But then in the church, nothing happened. Just like nothing happened when you picked it up.”
Sandoval back-handed her and Elisa’s head snapped to the side. She clenched her teeth, the sting of the slap still clinging to her cheek. She fixed her crystal eyes on the dictator.
“You can hit me all you want, it won’t change anything. I can’t tell you what I don’t know.”
Sandoval took a step back. “We shall see.” He turned around and walked to the door. As he passed the Montenegro Sisters, he spoke. “Do whatever it takes to get them to talk. So long as they still draw breath, I care not how you come about the information. Just find out what I want to know.”
“Si, El Presidente,” the twins said in unison.
Sandoval retrieved the hammer and left the room. Both Isabel and Sofia approached the three captives. Isabel held one of Elisa’s kukri in her hands and she stepped up to the myth hunter. She ran the edge of the blade lightly along Elisa’s cheek and flashed her a smile.
“Now we can have some fun.”
CHAPTER 16
Jason woke, lying beneath a broken door. He turned over and pushed the door off him. As he looked around, he saw he was in one of the homes—now abandoned. He rubbed his head, trying to recall the last thing he remembered.
They were fighting off the soldiers. Asami had just taken out the choppers and it looked like the rebels had won the upper hand. But then reinforcements arrived in the form of more choppers.
Missiles went flying. Jason jumped inside one of the homes for cover. The force of the blast must have blown the door on top of him and knocked him unconscious. He looked around and saw his Berettas lying on the ground nearby. Jason retrieved them both and pulled himself to his feet.
He stepped out from the house and into the village. Judging from the position of the sun, it was now past noon. How long had he been out?
Looking around the town, he was stunned by the amount of damage left behind. Houses had been blown up, cars were turned over, and there were bodies everywhere. Jason sighed as he took in the sight of the carnage. He wondered for a brief moment if this was his fault. Maybe if they hadn’t come to Corbaton, these people would still be safe.
“There you are!”
Jason turned around and saw Lucas jogging towards him. The mercenary had been bandaged up and looked even more ragged than usual. Jason holstered his weapons, realizing that the threat was now gone.
“Thought you were dead,” said Lucas. “Or taken.”
“Taken?”
Lucas nodded. “More choppers came. They took the others.”
“All of them?”
“Tanya, Elsie, Asami. All captured.” Lucas took a deep breath. “Fuck.”
Realization struck the Freemason. “The hammer?”
Lucas frowned and shook his head. Jason turned and kicked a piece of rubble lying on the ground.
“Dammit!”
“There’s more,” said Lucas. “Just before the next wave came in, I saw two people follow Elsie into the church.”
“What, soldiers?”
“No, not soldiers. Mercenaries—myth hunters, even.”
Jason placed his hands on his hips. “You know who they were?”
“Only saw ’em from behind, but best guess? The Montenegro Sisters. You ever hear of them?”
Jason gave a nod. “A little. From Mexico, right?”
“That’s right,” said Lucas. “Isabel and Sofia, about as deadly as they come. Elsie and I crossed paths with them a few times when we were partners.”
“Not on the best of terms, I take it.”
Lucas scoffed and lit a cigarillo. “That’s a damn understatement. But if they’re working with Sandoval, t
hat’s bad news for us. Especially if they’ve got the hammer.”
“We have to figure something out,” said Jason. “Find some way to get to them.”
Lucas took the cigarillo out of his mouth and gestured to what remained of the town. “Have you had a look around? Sandoval decimated us. We lost a lot of people in that raid and the ones who survived? Many of them have already started to run and hide. We don’t have much hope.”
Jason took a deep breath and exhaled. “How the hell did Sandoval even find us?”
“Hell if I know.” Lucas took a drag on the cigarillo and paced around the street.
Jason watched as the mercenary took stock of the situation. Everything he’d learned about Lucas Davalos suggested that the man had a heart of stone. But the look he wore on his face now…it wasn’t what Jason Shroud would have expected of this man. Lucas looked concerned—not only for the woman he was sharing a bed with, but for the rebel cause as a whole.
Lucas paused, as if he just had an epiphany. “Hold on…”
“What is it?” asked Jason.
Lucas ignored Jason’s comment and ran towards the church, dropping the cigarillo as he did.. Jason followed after him.
When Jason walked inside the church, he saw it’d been set up as kind of an emergency clinic. The pews had been shoved to the walls and the injured lay out on whatever bedding could be found. The few remaining survivors who didn’t run off were tending to them.
Jason watched as Lucas spoke to a few of the people and then he returned to Jason’s side. Jason held out his arms in a questioning pose.
“What’s going on?”
“Someone’s missing,” said Lucas.
“Several people. You already said that,” said Jason.
“No, I mean someone was never here,” said Lucas. “Jorge.”
“Jorge?” asked Jason. “The guy who was at the planning session before we went after the hammer?”
Lucas nodded. “The same. No one’s seen him since we got back.”
“You don’t think…?”
“I don’t know, but I’m sure as hell gonna find out.” Lucas walked out the front door and descended the steps leading up to the church.
Jason ran after him. “Where are we going?”
“‘We’?” Lucas stopped and scoffed. “What’s this ‘we’ crap?”
“Look, we’re oil and water, I get it,” said Jason. “But whatever crap there is between us, we’ve gotta stow it away. Because not only are our friends in danger, but we’ve got a dictator with his hands on one of the most powerful weapons the world has ever seen. So if you’ve got a lead on where we should go next, then I’m going with you. And that’s that. Are we clear?”
Lucas grinned and fished out his cigarillo case. “I gotta hand it to you, Shroud. Not many would be able to put that aside to do what needs to be done.”
“Desperate times.”
“I hear that.” He opened the case and held it out.
Jason studied the cigarillos inside. At first he considered refusing but instead, he took one and placed it between his lips. Lucas gave a nod of approval and took one for himself. The case went back into his pocket and he took out the Zippo, first lighting his own and then the Freemason’s.
“So if Jorge is a mole, he probably knows something about how we can get to our friends,” said Jason. “Any ideas on where he might have gone?”
“Matter of fact, I think I do.”
“Then what the hell are we waiting for?”
CHAPTER 17
Jorge finished his beer and slammed the empty mug on the counter. He called out to the bartender and pointed to the empty glass. The bartender, an older, balding man with a mustache, came over and gave Jorge the stink-eye as he refilled the mug. He set it in front of the rebel, some of the foam spilling over the edge of the glass.
The door to the bar opened, but Jorge didn’t pay attention. The place was a small, little dive not far from the mountain roads leading up to the village. The rebel drank the beer, ignoring everyone until he saw someone sit on the stool beside him.
“Ahh, Jorge, Jorge, Jorge…”
Jorge looked at the man and saw it was Lucas. “What do you want, Davalos?”
Lucas glanced to the bartender out of the corner of his eye. “Tequila.”
The bartender placed a shot glass in front of Lucas and filled it with the drink order. Without taking his eyes off Jorge, Lucas picked up the shot and swallowed it in one gulp.
“A bit early to start drinking, wouldn’t you say?” asked Lucas. “Most people at least wait until dusk.”
“It’s always happy hour somewhere,” said Jorge. “Now get out of here. Looking at your gringo face makes me want to puke.”
Lucas grabbed Jorge by his hair and slammed his head against the counter. The bartender moved to intervene, but he stopped when he heard the cocking of a gun. The bartender looked over and saw Jason blocking the exit, one Beretta pointed at the bald man. Jason drew the other Beretta and aimed it at some of the other customers, to illustrate the point that no one should move.
“This is a personal dispute,” he said. “Let them…talk it out.”
Lucas pointed at his empty glass to indicate he wanted a refill. He lit a cigarillo as the bartender prepared the drink. Jorge rubbed his head in pain.
“So tell me, how long have you been knocking back beers?” asked Lucas. “We had quite the party last night. Where were you?”
“None of your business, cabron.”
“He was here,” said the bartender, passing the tequila shot to Lucas.
“Is that so?” Lucas removed the cigarillo so he could sip his drink. “Kind of odd, isn’t it? Coming to drink in this pit alone—” He glanced up at the bartender. “No offense.”
The bartender gave a shrug that indicated he couldn’t care less what Lucas thought of his business.
Lucas continued. “So you come here to drink alone, even though your buddies are having a celebration back in town. Now why is that?”
“I like having time to myself,” said Jorge.
“Find that hard to believe.” Lucas took a drag on the cigarillo. He tapped it against the edge of a tray to shake off the excess ash that had accumulated. “Maybe it’s because you didn’t want to spend time with people you knew were going to die.”
Jorge shook his head and muttered something under his breath just before he sipped the beer.
“What was that?” asked Lucas.
“I said you’re full of shit, pendejo.”
“Now see…that’s not very nice.” Lucas drank down the shot and stood. He kicked the stool out from under Jorge and the rebel collapsed to the ground. Lucas picked up the beer mug and took a sip of it, only to cringe.
“Oh god, that’s just awful.”
He poured the beer out over Jorge’s head. The rebel slowly stood, but once he got to his feet, Lucas shattered the mug against the side of his face. Jorge was thrown by the force, landing onto the pool table.
“We’ve got some things to talk about, you and me,” said Lucas. “Like about how you turned on your own people.”
Jorge climbed off the table. He was clearly drunk, his movements sluggish. He spat at Lucas’ feet and then stared into the mercenary’s eyes. “Puta madre.”
Lucas scoffed and glanced over in Jason’s direction. “You hear the way he talks to me?”
“You do kind of have that effect on people,” said Jason.
Lucas nodded. “Valid point.”
He turned and threw a punch, knocking Jorge onto the table a second time. Lucas picked up a pool cue and slammed the thick end against Jorge’s back. Jorge grunted and tried to get up, but Lucas pinned the cue across the back of his neck, keeping him pinned to the table.
“You’re gonna tell me what you did and more importantly, what you know,” said Lucas. “If you don’t, then I might have to get violent.”
“I know nothing!”
“You were the only one missing from the village!” spat
Lucas. “Tanya trusted you and you repay her like this?”
“You don’t understand!”
Lucas tossed the pool cue aside and stepped back. He drew his Zastava CZ05 and pointed it at Jorge’s head. Jorge just stared down the barrel. Lucas turned the gun to the side and fired a shot into the floor. He grabbed Jorge by the collar of his shirt and jammed the gun into his side. Jorge screamed as the hot barrel seared his skin through the shirt.
“Okay!”
Lucas took a step back and raised the gun again. Jorge raised himself up and sat on the edge of the table. He had a defeated look in his eyes. Lucas looked up at Jason, who still had his weapons trained on the bartender and his patrons. They all remained silent, just watching.
“My mother,” said Jorge. “She lives on the other side of the island. The military, they find out I’m part of the rebellion. So they post guards around her building. They say I work for Sandoval or else they torture her. So I give them information. Tell them about our plan to retrieve the hammer.”
“And that’s why we had the welcoming party on the ocean,” said Jason.
“Yes. But then you got away. So they want to know where the rebel base is. They tell me to leave for the night. Tell me that they only want the hammer, that no one would get hurt. I didn’t expect…”
Lucas shook his head. “You stupid sonnuva bitch.”
“Take it easy, Davalos,” said Jason.
“If you just told us, we would’ve helped you,” said Lucas.
“Or gotten her killed,” said Jorge.
“And what do you think will happen once Sandoval’s done with you?” asked Lucas. “He’s not gonna keep you or your mom around.”
Jorge sighed. “So what will you have me do?”
“Help us,” said Jason. “You want to make amends for what you’ve done? This is your chance. We need to stop Sandoval and rescue our friends and it seems you’re the only one in a position to do that.”
Jorge threw his arms up in exasperation. “And how will I help?”
“You gotta know something,” said Lucas.
Hammer of the Gods (The Myth Hunter Book 5) Page 7
