The Wrong Girl (John Taylor Book 3)

by Travis Starnes

  “What are you planning?”

  “I’m going into the compound in the next thirty minutes or so. Shortly after that, I’m going to blow the hell out of it and come running back with two girls in tow. Odds are, what guys I can’t clear out of my way in getting the girls are going to be pissed and out for blood. I’m really outnumbered here buddy, so I need a safe fallback position.”

  “We’ll have something set up for you. Do you know what vehicle you’re going to be in?”

  “No. Whatever one I can get my hands on. It will be the one people are shooting at.”

  “We’ll be ready,” he said and hung up.

  “Do you think it’s going to be that bad?” Kara asked.

  “Yes. The explosion is going to get some of them but when I looked the compound over, there were a lot of guys. No way I will get them all. Speed is going to be our goal. Once we’re on the road, we just have to stay ahead of them.”

  They fell into silence, and Taylor thought Kara had fallen asleep, her face turned away from him and not moving for a long ten minutes, then she spoke, breaking the silence.

  “If I help you, I want a new deal.”

  “What kind of deal?”

  “Money isn’t enough. I want to go to America.”

  “Kara, I don’t have that kind of power.”

  “But whoever you’re working for does.”

  “What?”

  “You are working for a rich American, and I know you work with the security services, who not only are letting you run around shooting people but are setting up something on the other side of the border for you. I’m not stupid, you have someone powerful behind you. Someone who has the power to arrange this for you has the power to get me to America.”

  Taylor was again impressed with her brains and wondered who she would have been if she’d been given half a chance at a normal life.

  “Maybe. My employer does have some power, but I’m not sure she can just whip up a US citizenship. And if she can, I can’t make promises for her. What I can promise is that I will talk to her and push for it. Fair enough?”

  “If you promise to do all you can to make it happen, then yes.”

  Taylor was pretty sure Caldwell did have the power to get her into the US, and maybe even swing citizenship, or at least permanent resident status. Before the politicians started getting worried, the Army had done it for translators and a few others who’d worked for them. So it was possible. And Taylor was pretty sure he could talk Caldwell into it. But he didn’t want to get the kid's hopes up.

  “I promise I will do everything I can.”

  She looked at him for several beats then turned back to the window, curling up in the chair. Taylor drove on in silence, giving her a rest until they hit the outskirts of Reuya.

  “Kara, we’re getting close,” he said as they passed the first few buildings.

  As she sat up, he pulled out his gun and continued driving with his knees.

  Dropping the clip, he ejected the round in the chamber then slapping the clip back into the weapon. It would mean he had one less bullet, and he would be at a slight disadvantage when the action started, but hopefully, the surprise would cover for that. He didn’t want her walking around with a gun in her pocket that could go off unexpectedly.

  “Put this in your coat pocket,” he said, handing the gun over. “The gas can is already in the bag, on the floorboard behind you. Are you sure you’re OK doing this? I still have time to go and drop you off with my friend until this is over. I’ll still keep my promise to try to get you to America, even if you don’t go to the compound.”

  “No, I want to do this.”

  They pulled through the town and along another stretch of road until they exited the trees into the cleared area, the walls of the compound looming ahead of him. He pulled to a stop next to the small guard post.

  “Timor had someone call ahead. Name’s Taylor.”

  “Yeah,” the guard said and looked over at Kara, “I thought he was taking her with him?”

  “We worked out a deal. One of the things I’m here to talk to the boss about.”

  The guard looked him hard for a minute, then waved at a guy in the booth, who did something which caused the gate to open.

  “Park next to the other cars. They’ll need to check you at the door.”

  “No problem,” Taylor said, and pulled forward, into the compound, parking next to two other cars along an open cement covered area to the right of the main building.

  Taylor stepped out of the car and walked to the building, completely ignoring Kara, hoping the guards would do the same. Although a call had come in from one of their bosses, Taylor guessed it was unusual for a stranger to show up in the compound, and he certainly had their attention. He tried not to look around much, walking purposefully to the front door and the two guards who stood there. They, and those he could see out of the corner of his eyes were all watching him intently.

  Stopping in front of the men, he raised his arms in a clear ‘search me’ gesture, and waited. One of the guards stepped forward and roughly patted him down. It was thorough enough, Taylor was surprised they would be so lax with the girls brought to the compound. When the man told Taylor to turn around, he got a glimpse of Kara as she crossed the open area carrying the small bag, and sure enough, no one paid any attention to her.

  “OK,” the guard said, “You can go in. They are gathering in the ballroom. Hallway on the right.”

  Taylor nodded thanks and headed inside. Calling the building ostentatious didn’t go far enough. The entry way had two sweeping stairwells with intricately embroidered carpet and gold fixtures, with a huge, marble statue on the ground in between, towering halfway up to the second floor.

  After a moment to take in the sheer scale of the room, which would be more in place in a castle than a random building in the middle of Belarus, he heard sounds coming from the hallway to the right, as the guard had said. Heading along the hall, he found a pair of double doors halfway along on the left wall. They were open. Stepping through them, he found a large open ballroom with a stage on one end, and a buffet set up along the window-covered wall on the right. Maybe two dozen people were scattered around the room. Every person that Taylor could see just screamed criminal, which wasn’t a surprise. There were also no women present, no one had a date, and no female associates. If he had to guess, these were all business associates of Malik, which meant they were most likely all involved in trafficking women as well.

  A guard by the door stopped Taylor and frisked him again, just as thoroughly as the guy at the front door. After he was waved through, Taylor walked to one of the buffet tables, picking up a beer out of a large metal tub filled with ice. Twisting off the top, Taylor made his way across the floor, looking over faces and just listening.

  “I’ve seen you before,” a voice said next to him.

  Taylor turned and found Malik standing at his elbow.

  “You were at the auction. I saw you head to the back room near the end.”

  “Ahh, I remember now. You were the man who was escorted out.”

  “Yes,” Taylor said with a sigh, “I got too pushy with your manager over a girl I was hoping to purchase for my client. He has specific tastes, and she was exactly what he was looking for.”

  “I see. I’m curious how you made it into my party, then.”

  “I met back up with Timor and made my apologies. He had one of his men call and get me access.”

  “You’re Mister Taylor? Timor does not change his mind on people often. I’m wondering what you would have said to get him to change his mind.”

  “Although it will hurt me professionally, I had one of my clients . . . the one who is looking for a larger bulk purchase . . . call. I’m going to be cut out, which will be expensive for me, but I wanted to continue having access to your merchandise. From what I’ve seen, your product is of much higher quality than the other providers I’ve dealt with. Timor saw a significant windfall from being connected
directly to my client, and I kept access to continue providing for my current and future clients. So, it was win-win.”

  “Hmm,” he said thoughtfully. “Well, Timor has my complete confidence. If what you offered was that profitable, then I’m sure I wouldn’t have disagreed. Welcome to my home, Mr. Taylor.”

  “Thank you. And I understand I should be wishing a happy birthday to your son. How old is he?”

  “Sixteen.”

  “A good age. A man, really,” Taylor said, turning to talk to Malik face-to-face, but mostly so he could look around the room for Kara.

  “Yes, he’s grown fast. Well, if you’ll excuse me, Mr. Taylor,” the man said, offering a beefy hand, which Taylor shook. Malik pushed through the small crowd of people, which parted easily as people realized who it was. He made his way to the stage, walking up the small set of steps and facing the crowd.

  “Friends, I want to thank you all for coming. As you know, Leo has turned sixteen years old, and we are very proud of him. His tutor tells me he isn’t always as attentive in his studies as we’d like, but, he has shown real promise for joining the family business. On that note, Leo, please come up here.”

  A young man, thin and very pale, made his way to the stage, looking mildly embarrassed as he stood next to his father.

  “First, I want to say this publicly. I am very proud of the man you are becoming, and I think it is time for you to start learning the family business. Starting this week, you will begin splitting your time between studies and shadowing me, learning how we do what we do. Of course, this will only last for a few years, until he goes to college and gets more formal education; but I want to show everyone, publicly, how much faith I have in my son.”

  Everyone around them clapped, although Taylor couldn’t help but wonder what twilight zone he’d wandered into, as he clapped along, keeping his face passive. He knew these people were depraved and evil, but having a sixteen-year-old kid learn about trafficking in women at the side of his father was beyond belief. Malik, however, wasn’t done yet.

  “The second part is your present. We reached all the way to America and found the perfect thing for a boy becoming a man.” Turning, he indicated to someone off stage, saying “Alec, bring her, please.”

  A door near the side of the stage opened, and Mary Jane was pushed through. She looked rough, with bruises up her arm. Her eyes were wild as she was pushed toward the stage. The audience was hooting and shouting suggestions of what the boy should do with his present or in many cases more direct lewd comments. She certainly didn’t understand what was being said, since Malik and everyone else was speaking in Russian, but as she got near father and son on stage, she started to struggle against the guard gripping her arm.

  “She has spirit, that’s a good thing. This is going to be one of your first lessons. You must have a firm hand with them, and learn to control them. Right?”

  This last question was directed at the crowd, who yelled back at him enthusiastically. As Mary Jane pulled against the guard, flinching back from the yelling audience, Malik struck out, smashing the back of his hand into her cheek, causing her to stumble slightly. As she tried to regain her bearing, Malik grabbed her other arm and pushed her toward the boy, who grabbed her as cruelly as his father had.

  “Get going. Have fun,” Malik said, and the kid gave an evil grin as he pushed Mary Jane down the steps and back toward the side door, to the cheers of the audience.

  Taylor kept his cool, but it was a close thing. He might not have, going so far as to take a single step toward that side door, when a small hand grabbed his elbow. Turning, Taylor found Kara standing next to him, melting snow still on her shoulder.

  Taylor directed her over to the side wall, along from the side door, and pressed her against it, leaning over, making sure his body language and gestures showed everyone who might look of his anger at her.

  “Are we set?” His gentle whisper did not match the face he wore.

  “Yes. I set it, but it’s burning much slower than I thought it would.”

  “Put the gun in my pocket,” he said, leaning closer, so his coat practically covered hers, tilting in so the pockets were roughly the same height.

  He felt the weight of the gun settle into his pocket and was happy at least that part of the plan had worked. He was surprised when she put something lighter into his other pocket.

  He looked at Kara quizzically, and she said, “One of the soldiers stopped me on the way, for servicing.”

  The matter-of-fact way she said that made Taylor’s jaw clench.

  “I managed to take it off him when he was distracted.”

  Reaching into the pocket, Taylor was surprised at the familiar shape, while she gave him a mischievous grin. He was still looking at her in surprise when the ground heaved under his feet.

  CHAPTER 16

  If Taylor hadn’t already had his hand against the wall, leaning in so Kara could slip the gun in his pocket, he would have fallen over as the ground buckled under his feet. Several people in the audience did fall as glasses from the buffet table crashed to the ground, and a statue toppled over. A massive boom drowned out the shocked yells of the crowded ballroom as even those not knocked down screamed and shouted.

  Taylor didn’t hesitate, moving before the world settled from the massive explosion that must have happened outside.

  “Stay right behind me,” he said to Kara as he started to move toward the guard by the door, who’d gone down on one knee to keep from falling to the ground completely.

  His hand was still gripped around the small, round object in his pocket, which he now withdrew, pulling the pin, and holding the 'spoon' in place with his left hand. As he neared the guard by the door, Taylor pulled out the gun in his other pocket, barely slowing as he aimed it at the man who was only now rising, not having regained his wits from the explosion to realize danger was a whole lot closer. Taylor’s gun exploded less than a foot from the man’s head, sending his body collapsing in a heap in front of the door.

  Taylor normally didn’t condone shooting someone who wasn’t directly threatening him, but he needed to get out of the ballroom as fast as possible while everyone was still distracted. Also, considering this man had to know what he was actually guarding, Taylor was pretty sure he wouldn’t have any bad dreams about this man’s death.

  The gunshot came so close on the sound of the explosion it was unlikely very many people realized it had happened, although some had probably just happened to be looking in their direction. Taylor wanted to make sure they didn’t try to chase after him, and thanks to Kara, he had the perfect roadblock.

  Taylor moved his thumb, allowing the piece of metal holding the grenade 'safe' to pop off, then tossed the small metal globe into the mass of people still gathered for Malik’s presentation. It bounced once and rolled in between feet, a few shouts were raised as their owners realized what had just happened.

  Taylor didn’t see the results. He was pulling Kara through the door, shutting it, and getting a few steps along the hallway they found themselves in when a 'whump' sound could be heard from the other side of the door. There was one door on the left wall, which, if Taylor’s sense of direction was right, led back into the large foyer, and another at the end of the hall, which Taylor continued to.

  A man stepped through that door as they got close, and looked shocked as the first bullet caught him in the chest, his arms never lifting the assault rifle cradled in them. Taylor slowed as he got to the door. Pocketing his pistol, he grabbed the dead man’s rifle, checking the clip, and making sure it was set to fire. Thankfully this guard at least had enough sense to carry his weapon ready for action, although Taylor couldn’t help but give a mental head shake when he moved the selector switch from full auto to single fire. He didn’t know what it was with criminals and their love of going through ammo so fast, but these guys always seemed to go for full auto.

  Taylor turned at sounds coming from the door they’d entered the hallway from and saw two men come in
through the door, both with guns at the ready. Taylor had the gun already to his shoulder, and only had to lift the barrel of the weapon to bear on his target. Almost as soon as he saw the men, the stock of the AK-47 thumped into his shoulder three times as he sent a controlled burst their way. They were quick, however, and a bullet punched into the wall next to Taylor even as the first man fell, slamming into the door jamb. Taylor’s third bullet missed the second man, who prudently retreated back through the door and out of sight.

  Taylor knew that wasn’t going to be the last he saw of them, however.

  “We need to move fast. Where would the kid have taken Mary Jane?”

  “To his room, this way.”

  She turned and dashed through the door, into an open room with couches and a TV. Taylor had to run to keep up with Kara, who would have been running flat out if it weren’t for the need to dodge furniture. She circled one of the couches and headed to another door which opened to another hallway, this one with a wall of glass on the right side, looking out onto a pool covered with a black tarp for the winter. Two men were dashing through a small gate on the other side of the pool.