Lampreys

by Alan Spencer

  Bavardi returned from outside. He smelled like a freshly smoked cigarette. The man had a different demeanor, as if he hadn't just ruthlessly punched out a helpless person. Everything was calm and good in the psycho's world.

  Amati issued orders. Keyes and Fryer helped Conrad out of the chair. He was still wobbly on his feet and his head was full of pain. Moving outside, they laid out Conrad on the floor of the van. Everybody loaded in and they were driving. Once again, Conrad had no idea where the hell they were going.

  Chapter Seven

  "Henry received the pictures and video of Conrad on his phone," Amati said to everyone. "Henry will be calling any minute. I bet he's fucking pissed."

  A cell phone rang right after Amati made the comment. After a heated discussion, Amati hung up the phone. "Henry agreed to meet us at the rendezvous point with his team. We could come up against some gunplay there. The best idea is to avoid any escalation. We state our terms, disarm Henry's team, and we get on that chopper that'll fly us to the private installation. Conrad is our collateral. Henry won't jeopardize his son's life. He's all the collateral we'll need. My hope is to get through this without a single bullet fired. So take this time to clear your minds and get your head in the game. This is the hard part of the job."

  Conrad didn't like the silence. The silence made it too easy for concerns to spin in his head. How many different ways could Conrad die in this situation?

  Many.

  How many different ways could he live?

  Few.

  Conrad felt ridiculous wearing the vest, combat pants, and gear. Then it hit him what was going to happen. Why else would he wear combat gear of any kind? He was going to be forced into a fighting situation. Wherever Henry and his team were being forced to go, Conrad would be right there with them.

  No, Conrad argued to himself. His father wouldn't let that happen, but then again, the man wasn't in control of the situation. Anything could happen, and nobody could stop it.

  The van kept driving.

  Conrad kept imagining the various and colorful methods he could die.

  Chapter Eight

  "Henry's real pissed," Amati kept saying to everyone. Conrad thought the man sounded scared. "But let's look on the bright side; I'm glad I'm not on the receiving end of this business deal. Henry's a good soldier, but shit, they don't know what they're up against. We still don't know what's going on in that installation, really. Either way, we've got Henry where we want him.

  "When Henry saw the photos of your bloody veal face, Conrad, it sounded like he was ready to go on a rampage. That's why we can't be lazy. A split second is all it takes to make a mistake. Henry and his team will be going in hot. We stick to the plan. I expect everybody to be on top of it. You get me?"

  Keyes, Fryer, and Bavardi each yelled, "Yes, sir!"

  Conrad couldn't see any of them. He was still on the floor with his wrists tied behind his back. Keyes had her foot on the small of his back in case he tried to escape. After the speech, she pressed her foot down even harder.

  The drive lasted a few more hours. Conrad was exhausted, and his head felt like a grenade had gone off inside his skull. Bavardi's snarling, mad dog expression as he pummeled Conrad with his unrelenting fists repeated itself in his head. These people weren't just mercenaries, guns for hire, or ex-military tactical teams, these were trained killers capable of doing a job without an ounce of remorse. Bavardi was a prime example of a tried and true killer. Conrad didn't want to deal with the mad bastard ever again.

  Amati spoke up after a long stretch of silence.

  "I don't want you guys to feel like you're double crossing anyone. This is a business just like any other. We create ties, and we break them all the same. Keep your eyes on the dollar signs. This is the biggest take I've ever had, and I know you guys haven't made this money in one shot before either. Henry trained us all for special combat. He did a job and he was paid for it. You don't owe him anything. This is business. Keep it that way, and you'll keep getting the better paying gigs. You can make money the hard way, and keep throwing yourself into the hot zone like Henry and Duke do, or you can fast track your way up the food chain and be like us. Or do you want to chase terrorists in caves for the rest of your careers like Henry's team does for chump change?"

  Keyes, Fryer, and Bavardi laughed.

  No, they didn't want to do the shit jobs for shit pay.

  After roughly another hour, the van stopped. Conrad had no idea where they were now. Keyes hoisted Conrad from up off of the floor. It took a moment for Conrad's legs to be strong again. They wanted to buckle and drop him to the ground. He still didn't feel right after Bavardi's assault. Nausea came and went in waves. The nervous energy in his body refused to dissipate.

  Duke had told Conrad about his time in Iraq one time. Duke would be pinned down by snipers, and he would stay awake for fourteen to twenty hours, if not longer. Duke started seeing things in the corner of his eyes that weren't there. He imagined voices telling he was going die a horrible death. Would that start happening to Conrad? Would paranoia and exhaustion do him in? How much longer before he cracked under the pressure of a bad situation?

  Conrad's nose started bleeding again. It trailed across his lips and soaked into his already blood covered shirt. The pain in his face spread like a gasoline fire.

  "Good, he's bleeding again," Amati said, noticing Conrad's face. "The worse he looks, the more likely they'll go along with the plan."

  "I can do some touch up work," Bavardi chimed in when he also stepped out of the van. "He's not quite ugly enough. He should be wearing scars for the rest of his life. However long that may be."

  Conrad's body tensed. Keyes laughed, sending out a girlish shrill. "He went stiff when you said that, Bavardi. He's scared shitless."

  Bavardi's ice-cold eyes met Conrad's. Bavardi was face to face with Conrad. Conrad was trembling. What was coming his way next? The man was clearly psychotic, Conrad thought.

  "If I had my way, I would've killed you earlier with my bare hands," Bavardi said. "You didn't say anything, you didn't fight back, and you didn't do anything at all to stop me. You're useless. You're nothing. You're a shame to your father. You should've been aborted the second you squirted out of your mother's pussy."

  Looking back, Conrad would tell you it was the punches to the head that ruined his reasoning power. This wasn't an act of bravery; it was an act of temporary insanity.

  Conrad growled through gritted teeth, "I should've been aborted, huh?"

  Bavardi realized he had Conrad going. "Yeah, she should've done you a clothes hanger favor. Pussy, you're a—ahhhhhhhhhshit!"

  Conrad head butted Bavardi's nose. The blow was rewarded with a distinct snap. Blood was running down the bottom half of the angry man's face. Growling with the ferocity of a starving bear, Bavardi motioned to grab Conrad by the neck and throttle him.

  "I'M GOING TO KILL YOU!!!"

  Keyes jumped on Bavardi's back.

  Her weight did nothing to stop the raging freight train.

  "No, Bavardi!" Keyes shouted. She was all in a panic. She knew she couldn't contain the beast. "He's our hostage. He has to be alive. You can't kill him. Bavardi, listen to me. Bavardi! Don't fuck this up!"

  Fryer, the taller, leaner version of Bavardi, wrenched Keyes off of Bavardi's back. Then Fryer tried to put Bavardi in a headlock, but Bavardi threw Fryer to one side and charged full on at Conrad. Conrad couldn't believe what he'd just done, and now the punishment was coming with interest due.

  Conrad fell backwards, stumbling in fear, and landed on his back. His hands were tied by plastic twine, but his legs weren't. He crawled backwards to avoid Bavardi's backlash. It wasn't enough. Bavardi was on top of Conrad. Both his hands squeezed Conrad's neck. Bavardi's face was the color of freshly ground meat. Conrad couldn't stare incoming death in the face. He closed his eyes.

  Bavardi was dripping blood from his nose onto Conrad's face. "Look at me. I said look at me!"

  Conrad opened his ey
es and made eye contact with the devil. Bavardi's sinister eyes seared into Conrad.

  "Nobody does that to me and lives. Fear me, because no matter what happens, I will kill you. Not even your father can help you. I'll eat you alive and shit out your soul. I'll—"

  "Gaaaaah!" Bavardi went stiff, then did a jerky dance with his entire body. His hands released from Conrad's throat. Conrad felt like all the blood rushed to his head at once. He coughed and gasped for air. Keyes and Fryer helped Conrad off of his feet.

  "You got some big ass balls," Fryer said to Conrad. "I'll give you that."

  Keyes didn't agree. "No, the idiot has balls for brains. You don't piss Bavardi off. He's a psychopath. You don't cross someone you can't take in a fight. Nobody can take that psychopath."

  Conrad couldn't help but ask, “Then why did ENTECH hire him if he's a psychopath?"

  Amati was standing over Bavardi's twitching body. He clutched the Taser gun he used on Bavardi in his right hand in case the team member decided to get back up.

  Amati turned around and faced Conrad.

  "Why hire him? Because Bavardi's a tough son-of-a-bitch. If things get out of hand, Bavardi can take a bullet to the head and keep on coming. I just shocked him with enough voltage to take out three guys, and Bavardi's going to recover from that jolt in minutes. Now get your heads on straight. We can't fuck this job up. We do that, we're out of the business, and we're out for good. You're out, you're fucking dead. Got it, people? You'll count the money you made in the grave."

  Bavardi got up off the ground.

  He refused Amati's help.

  "Bavardi," Amati said, "stop playing games. You can have all the fun you want when this is over. When you're on my time, you do as I fucking say, or next time, I don't get the Taser gun. I'll just shoot you between the eyes and call it a day. Better yet, the rest of us get the cut of your pay. You want that to happen?"

  Bavardi gave Conrad a shifty-eyed glance. Satan had left his expression, and the stoic solider returned. "No, sir, I'm straight. I want my cut."

  "Good, now move out."

  Keyes had Conrad by the arms from behind, and Fryer stood in front of them, shielding the hostage from Bavardi who stayed with Amati at the very front of the pack.

  Conrad wasn't sure where they were at this point. Thick woods surrounded them for miles. There was a dirt road Amati had traveled, and the van was tucked away off that road and well hidden. Now the group was taking a trail through the woods to an unknown destination. NO TRESPASSING signs appeared periodically during their journey nailed into the body of trees.

  Where are they taking me, Conrad kept thinking.

  "The area is under constant surveillance," Amati said, updating his crew. "If anybody stumbles on this land, they're either escorted off the property or shot on sight. I just got word from our superiors that Henry and his crew are close. That gives us roughly two hours to get ready. We make this quick. We don't give them time to think or strategize. It'll soon be dark, and we don't want the sun down when they show up. Darkness is not our friend."

  Twenty more minutes of hiking on a trail, their destination appeared cut out of the woods. Conrad read the sign on the tall perimeter fence topped with reams of barbed wire mesh:

  ENTECH INDUSTRIES

  PRIVATE PROPERTY

  TRESPASSERS WILL BE SHOT ON SIGHT

  A gated entrance opened up. This looked like the outside of a prison, Conrad thought. A military jeep with two armed guards pulled up and questioned Amati. After a short back and forth conversation, the team was allowed inside the secure area. The gate closed behind them.

  Up ahead, Conrad couldn't believe what he was seeing.

  Things were only getting worse.

  Chapter Nine

  Conrad studied the oversized helicopter. He imagined soldiers spilling out of it in wartime situations. The helicopter was black and menacing. Conrad had no idea where they were going in the bird. The private landing pad was suspicious. He thought back to ENTECH INDUSTRIES. Conrad figured ENTECH didn't sell children's toys.

  The buildings surrounding the air pad were mostly offices and two story buildings with black tempered glass windows.

  ENTECH remained a mystery.

  Armed guards started to appear from many of the buildings. Like Amati's team, they were on edge. They expected Conrad's father to come in with gun's blazing.

  The group approached the helicopter.

  "There's our ride," Amati told everybody. "There's already a pilot waiting inside the Mi-17. That'll take us to where we're going. We wait for Henry and his team to show up. They'll check them in at the gates, they hop on board our ride, and we stay with Conrad. Nothing will happen to us as long as we've got a gun on Conrad."

  Fryer stepped in first to take the job before Bavardi could. "I'll keep on a gun on him, sir."

  "Okay, Fryer, but I want two guns on him. Keyes, you back Fryer up. Now let's wait in the chopper. It won't be much longer that we're airborne. Once we deliver Henry and his team to their destination, get ready for your paychecks. They're going to be big. First round of drinks are on me."

  Keyes and Fryer helped Conrad into the Mi-17. They strapped him into one of the seats and secured him. Their nozzles stayed pointed in Conrad's direction.

  Time dragged on, and Keyes gave Conrad a once over. "I always wanted to know what Henry Garfield's other son was like. You're nothing like Duke."

  "He's got Garfield in him somewhere," Fryer said. "I don't know of any son-of-a-bitch with the stones to head butt Bavardi in the face like that."

  "Balls for brains," Keyes said. "That's all it is with all you men. I have a feeling we're going to be at a standstill for awhile. I'd be curious to see what's going on in that installation we're flying to. "Private research" is a pretty vague. I still feel bad for double crossing Henry. We've worked for him for so long."

  "Doesn't matter what kind of work our bosses do. It's about money, not loyalty," Fryer said. "Henry trained us, sure. He gave me an opportunity to work after my time in the service was up. Henry's a good man, yeah, but business is business. He's getting older too. You don't retire from this job. You either quit or die. I'm learning my lesson from this situation. After this job, I'm quitting the business. I'll take my chunk of money, lay low, and then meet a nice woman, have her pop out a few kids, get a cushy safe job, and do whatever I want for the rest of my life."

  Keyes disagreed with that ideology. "I still feel bad for screwing over my mentor."

  "No, ENTECH screwed him over," Fryer said. "They planned this whole expedition. There's no loyalty in the business. How's that your fault? It's not."

  Amati told them all to shut up. "Not another word about the mission. You keep your ears open."

  Amati was called on his walkie. His face lit up.

  "What is it, boss?" Bavardi asked.

  "Henry's team is here. They checked in at the front gates. They're unarmed, and they're coming willingly."

  Everybody tensed up. Conrad peered out of the side door of the Mi-17. A large group of armed guards was escorting Henry, Duke, and two other persons he didn't know to the chopper. The team was dressed in black military garb.

  Conrad tried to read his father's face, but it didn't betray any emotion. Duke, on the hand, looked like he wanted to start cracking skulls. The other soldiers, a man and a woman, shared the same intense expression as Duke.

  Amati met up with Henry before they got too close to the Mi-17.

  Henry started talking first. "What is this all about? I've known you for how many years, and you're pulling this shit, Amati? It starts with you, but it doesn't stop with you. After you showed me those horrible pictures of my son assaulted, I dialed up ENTECH. My contact's not answering his phone. ENTECH could be compromised. Even if they weren't, why are they having you kidnap my son and having us go through all of this bullshit? Another thought, why would you agree to do any of this, Amati, at any price?"

  Without warning, Henry rolled on the ground, tripped up Bavardi
, and landed four direct blows to Bavardi's skull. "I know it was you who hurt my son!"

  Henry stomped on Bavardi's stomach. Bavardi was about to get back up when Amati stepped between them. Bavardi was snarling, and Henry was eyeing the blood on his hands with pleasure.

  Keyes and Fryer both aimed their weapons at Henry. Amati showed Bavardi his stun gun. "Calm the fuck down, everybody."

  Bavardi's face demanded violence. Then as quickly as he got worked up, Bavardi was calm again.

  "This isn't a time for questions or explanations," Amati said. "Your team is getting on that chopper. We're all going to our destination. That's it. Nothing else needs to be discussed."

  "You're wrong. A lot needs to be discussed. How much did they offer you?" Henry laughed at his own question. "I bet it was a ridiculous number, perhaps in the millions? Sure, they can offer any sum if they're not planning to pay you. I'm telling you, we all work for the same company, and they're trying to pull a fast one on all us. If you'd just take a moment to think. I can't reach my trusted contact at ENTECH. There's something wrong here."

  "I'm smart enough to handle myself," Amati argued. "Just because you trained me and hired me doesn't mean I have to answer to you for the rest of my life. I'm done with this business. This is my final job. I've had too many close calls in the line of duty. I'm almost as old as you are, Henry, and I'm damn sick of this shit."

  "So you're going soft on me?" Henry scoffed. "There's no convincing you to think rationally. Fine. You've got my son. What's the mission? What hell are you throwing us into?"

  "That's none of your concern until we get there," Amati said. He snapped his fingers, and the armed guards from the base urged Henry's team into the chopper. "Now get in the helicopter. If you do anything, my boys will kill your son."

  The mention of his son changed Henry's temperament. "We're going along with your plan. We're unarmed. ENTECH's goons checked us over real good. It might as well have been a prostate exam. They didn't get their gloves dirty, because we're clean."