Contract: Sicko (Sei Assassin Thriller Book 2)

by Ty Hutchinson

  She continued to question why she felt so sleepy.

  “Yanick drugged you. I’ll explain later.” He grabbed her hand and placed the bottle in it. “Just keep on drinking the water.”

  Akil put the car in gear and merged back into traffic. The afternoon rush hour was in full swing. He slammed a hand against the steering wheel and cursed their situation briefly before his thoughts turned back to what had happened at Yanick’s place.

  At first, he assumed things had gone from crap to worse, but then the assassin attacked the gang. Akil had been just as confused as the gang had been, but he wasn’t about to stick around to find out why. He carried Sei away the first chance he had.

  None of it made any sense, but Akil accepted it as good fortune. He could still hear them fighting when he’d sat Sei in the front seat of Yanick’s vehicle; he didn’t dare hesitate for fear he would end up in the same position he’d just escape.

  Akil looked over at Sei, hoping the water would bring her back to life; her slow recovery worried him a bit. He drummed the top of the steering wheel with his thumbs as his eyes peered into the rearview mirror. Every step on the brake was an opportunity to be caught. Sure, Yanick was the reason for the gang showing up, but what about the assassin? He was able to locate them a third time. Did he have an array of resources at his fingertips? A drone? A satellite? Or was it something as simple as following the gang?

  After twenty minutes or so, the spacing between cars widened, and Akil was able to drive forward in a gear other than first and second. He used his shoulder to wipe his nose and relaxed a bit.

  They continued driving southwest toward the edge of the city on Highway 4, which would take them to the town of Koh Kong, and the Thai border. It wasn’t heavily traveled because the highway was notoriously known to be the most dangerous one in all of Cambodia due the severity of traffic accidents along its route. Most people took the well-maintained Highway 5 or 6 toward the Poipet border crossing. Akil figured if the gang or the assassin had guessed where he was heading, they would cover Poipet.

  Besides being chased, Akil was worried about Sei’s condition. He thought the effects of the drug would have lessened, but she seemed just as woozy then as she had in Yanick’s apartment. He figured her diminutive size was the reason. He also started to wonder again if he really needed her.

  The border wasn’t too far away, and as far as he could ascertain, no one seemed to be following them. Why not get rid of her? They would have separated eventually. What would be the harm in parting sooner rather than later? It was farmland in all directions from there on out. It would only take seconds to dump her body in one of the many irrigation ditches on the side of the highway. Ah, to be free once again, chasing the little ones.

  Chapter 50

  The officer swung the cuff down toward Mdivani’s left wrist. But Mdivani was faster. He grabbed the officer’s left forearm and replaced his own wrist with that of the officer. Click, the hardened metal cuff locked itself into place. Mdivani then grabbed the arm of the officer holding the cell phone and slapped the other cuff around his wrist.

  The left hand of one officer was handcuffed to right hand of the other officer resulting in a tug of war as to who would draw his weapon first and how—each man’s holster sat on the opposite hip of his free hand.

  As they continued their struggle, Mdivani slammed both of their heads together. Thunk! One officer lost consciousness and immediately dropped to the gravel, pulling the other officer to his knees. Dazed, he desperately tried to get back to his feet, but Mdivani planted his left foot and swung his right leg around. The hardened tip of his shoe slammed into the officer’s left temple, sending him straight to the ground, his body convulsing in fits.

  A few seconds later the officer’s movements slowed, but by then Mdivani had already exited the parking area. He wasn’t sure if the kick had killed the officer and didn’t care. His only concern at the moment was whether he could pick up Akil and Sei’s trail.

  While on the run, Mdivani pulled up Google Maps on his phone and evaluated his next move based on the direction Akil and Sei had taken. That road eventually turned into Highway 4, which ended at the Koh Kong border crossing into Thailand.

  He got into the first taxi he saw and asked the driver to take him to Koh Kong, but the driver declined with a friendly smile. Mdivani withdrew his handgun, leaned forward, and pressed the barrel against the man’s temple. “Drive!”

  As the taxi approached the outskirts of the city, Mdivani had yet to see Akil and Sei anywhere. Part of him hoped that he would, but he knew they had gained a fairly large head start. The thought did cross his mind that he might be wrong about where they were heading, but so far he’d been right more than he’d been wrong. He had to trust his gut.

  For them to come to Phnom Penh, where the threat of those gang members existed, there had to be a good reason. They needed something. And whatever it was, it wasn’t of value to Sei. If it were, they would have parted, but again they stuck together. She still needs him. That was the premise Mdivani was working on as Phnom Penh faded behind him.

  After thirty minutes of driving outside of Phnom Penh, the driver’s whimpering had exhausted Mdivani’s patience. He ordered the man to pull to the side of the road. When the car behind them passed and was a safe distance away, he had the driver exit the car and then executed him with a single bullet to the back of the head. The body tumbled into the ditch that ran along the side of the road. Mdivani moved into the driver’s seat, buckled up, and pulled back onto the road.

  Chapter 51

  I drew a sharp breath as my eyes shot open. Where am I? My eyelids fluttered as I struggled to focus in the dark. I swallowed, but my tongue stuck and my throat followed suit. I was still dressed; I could feel my clothing, even my shoes. Calm down, Sei. My hands were clenching something soft beneath me. A blanket? I relaxed my grip and rubbed the sleep from my eyes, wondering how long I had been unconscious and a little surprised that I wasn’t dead.

  I closed my eyes and inhaled deeply for a few moments before propping myself up on my elbows. My chest felt heavy and my head dizzy with a slight throbbing. I glanced around, and my surroundings slowly came into to focus. There was a small desk pushed up against a wall with a chair in front of it. The short boxy thing next to it looked like a dresser. I could see a window with curtains drawn across it. At least it looked like a window. A soft hum and the cool air told me there was an air conditioner somewhere. My blouse was sticking to my back, and I reached behind me to pull it away from my skin. The material was slightly damp. There were two doors, one ajar but it was too dark to see inside. Bathroom? It was clear to me that I was in a bedroom and very much alone.

  Did he run again?

  I swung my legs over the side of the bed. On the floor there was a liter of bottled water, and seeing it triggered an itch in my throat. As I gulped the water, I had remembered Akil mentioning something about Yanick drugging me but the reasons were unclear. I wasn’t in pain, and all my senses appeared to be intact. The effects of the drug seemed to have mostly worn off.

  A quick pat down of my pants pockets told me I still had my money and cell phone. I squinted at my watch; it was a little after eight thirty p.m. If Akil had abandoned me, why not take my money or my phone? I stood and walked over to the desk; the balls of my feet ached for the first couple of steps. There wasn’t a note or any indication elsewhere in the room that he would be returning.

  I moved the curtain to the side and looked out the window. There wasn’t a view, just the gray bare wall of another building about ten feet away. The alley was dark with the exception of the entrance where a street lamp was positioned. I pressed my face against the window and peered in the other direction—a dark dead end.

  A copy of the Phnom Penh Post lay folded on the desk. I switched on the small desk lamp for a better look. It was printed in English and dated two days earlier. An educated guess told me I was still in Cambodia, but I questioned whether it was Phnom Penh.


  I took a quick peek outside the door and saw a short, bare hall. There were two other closed doors but they had no markings indicating whether they were bedrooms like mine. I could only surmise that I was in a small guesthouse or place where rooms were rented by the hour. I closed the door and sat on the edge of the bed. I could feel the heat rise in my cheeks as the realization that Akil had left me set in. I told him not to run.

  In that moment, everything I had gone through filled my thoughts: fending off multiple attacks and bribing officials, not to mention just having to be around that despicable person. To think after all of that, he had the upper hand. I had to wonder if this was his intention from the very start.

  If truth were told, I was angrier with myself than I was with him. I had allowed this to happen. From the moment I discovered the truth about my daughter, my emotions had clouded my judgment. It seemed as if I could rationalize every decision as necessary. Desperation drove me. I felt powerless. I wanted so badly to find my daughter that I essentially saw hope where there was very little. How else could I explain the situation I was now in? I swore to myself then that if I ever crossed paths with Akil, I would show no mercy. I had just begun to contemplate my options when I heard the deadbolt on the door slide open.

  Chapter 52

  “You’re up,” Akil said, appearing in the doorway. He felt the wall for the light switch.

  “Don’t. Leave it off.”

  “Okay.” He closed the door behind him.

  I had gotten myself so worked up that when I saw Akil, I wanted nothing more than to charge at him and snap his neck. “I told you to never run from me.”

  “I didn’t. I got us food,” he said, holding up two plastic bags. “You were still sleeping.”

  I didn’t care that he was telling the truth. It was only a few seconds ago I thought everything was for naught, that a conversation with the nurse who held my daughter would not happen. I had given Akil too much power and allowed him to determine the terms of our agreement. No more.

  “Where are we?”

  Akil placed the bags on the desk. “We’re in a small town near Talat. I’m not sure of the name.”

  “Why did we stop?”

  “I was worried about your condition.” He took a seat on the chair and explained everything to me from the moment Yanick drugged me until we reached the guesthouse.

  “You’ve endangered my life one too many times, Akil. It stops now.”

  He opened his mouth to speak but instead shook his head, turning away while waving off my last remark.

  “You think this is a game? You think you can treat me like you do those girls—like something disposable?”

  “No, I don’t—”

  “Stop lying!”

  “It’s me they’re trying to kill. Don’t forget that,” he shot back.

  I exploded off the bed, and my right hand latched on to his skinny neck. The momentum tipped the chair back, and I rode him down, his head hitting the floor hard. I slid up and straddled his chest and gripped his neck with both hands. He tried to bat them away, but I increased the pressure, my thumb digging into the soft flesh just to the side of his vocal cord. “I don’t care what happens to you. I care about what happens to me.”

  He was unable to speak. His eyes grew wide. Saliva spilled from the side of his mouth. At that moment, I didn’t care if I killed him. I wanted him to pay for his involvement with my daughter’s kidnapping, for what he did to Yesmine’s daughter and all the other little girls who had crossed his path. But I couldn’t. Not just yet.

  I released my grip and got off of him. He gasped for air and rubbed his throat as he leered at me from the floor, his chest heaving up and down.

  I took a seat on the bed and a moment to calm down before speaking to him again. “Are you positive the assassin attacked the gang members and it wasn’t the other way around?” I asked.

  Akil nodded and sat up, still rubbing his neck. “That’s how it looked to me.”

  “And when we left, they were still fighting?”

  “He had already killed two of them.”

  Why would the assassin attack the gang? That made absolutely no sense to me unless the conditions of his contract stated he needed to be the one to eliminate Akil and not the gang. Still I couldn’t see why the Wolf would care as to who killed Akil or how.

  “You said this assassin was hired to kill me. How much is he being paid?” Akil asked.

  I thought it strange to inquire. “Twenty thousand euros, from what I understand. I can’t be sure, though.”

  “Twenty thousand? They must really want me dead.”

  “They do, and it’s time you told me the name of the nurse.”

  “But we’re not at the border. That was the deal.”

  “You’re safe enough. The deal is complete. Tell me her name and where I can find her.”

  “The border isn’t far—only a three-hour drive. We can cross in the morning.”

  “This isn’t a negotiation.” I said as I stood up.

  So did Akil.

  “I’m not afraid of you. You can’t keep threatening me,” he said with a raised voice.

  I closed the distance between us, hooked my right arm under his neck, and swung my body completely around, landing on his back. I applied a chokehold. Akil gagged for air.

  “You need to understand that I am in charge.” I applied more pressure, and he dropped to his knees.

  He grabbed at my forearms in an effort to pull them away, all while trying to shake me off. This of course was wasted effort. My legs were hooked around his skinny waist and locked in. I applied the pressure to his throat in bursts, enough for him to take a tiny breath before I clamped down again. It wouldn’t render him unconscious, just mimic the feeling of choking.

  After a few seconds of this, he tapped rapidly on my arm. I released the pressure and jumped off his back. He fell to all fours, coughing and breathing deeply at once.

  “Her name and where I can find her,” I repeated.

  Akil said nothing.

  “I will not ask a third time.”

  Between coughs, he told me her name. “Amina Jelassi. She works at a hospital.” He turned over and leaned back on his arms. “But I don’t know the name of the hospital. I swear.”

  “Not knowing which hospital she works at isn’t very helpful.” I picked up the chair; the four legs were wobbly. “It’s the difference of whether this information has merit or is worthless.” I slammed the chair down on the floor. Two of the legs broke off, one of them splintering into a sharp point. “Akil, you should know that I didn’t partake in this journey because I’m fond of you.” I picked up the makeshift stake. “It’s not because I pity your situation or care about your safety.” I walked over to Akil. “And if I’m to be truthful here, it hasn’t much to do with your role in the abduction of my child, seeing that it was minimal at best.”

  He began to scoot away from me. “So you believe me?”

  “But there is good reason for your life to end.”

  “Wait! You said you wouldn’t hurt me. You made a promise.”

  I stood over him. “And I always keep them.”

  His eyes locked on the stake in my hand. “I made a promise to Yesmine. I told her when I found you I would deal with you.” I raised the stake high above my head. “You’re being dealt with.”

  Chapter 53

  Mdivani kept his eyes peeled as he drove through the small towns along Highway 4. He couldn’t think of any reason for Akil and Sei to turn off the main road. At most, he figured they would stop for a bathroom break or to pick up food.

  Catch-up came in a small village. Mdivani had to double back for a second look at the white vehicle parked in front of a restaurant. It had been a while since he saw it, and when he had, it was from a distance. Upon closer inspection, he saw it was a Suzuki Swift, maybe three or four years old. He was seventy-percent sure he had located the right vehicle. He peered into the restaurant and scanned the surrounding shops but saw no sign of
them. Did they ditch the car? Are they still here? Mdivani glanced at his watch; it was fifteen after nine at night. He had a decision to make: camp out or continue searching.

  He drove thirty yards farther down the road and parked. He bought a newspaper, took a seat at a table outside a nearby coffee shop, and kept an eye on the car. I’ll give it fifteen minutes.

  And he did, but still he didn’t see the two. Mdivani walked back toward the vehicle, wondering if they had indeed abandoned it and stolen another or if they were possibly spending the night here. The border wasn’t that far. Why stop?

  He turned to the small restaurant, basically a large open space filled with ten metal tables accompanied by plastic stools. Two tables were occupied by patrons. There was no front wall or window enclosing the restaurant; it was wide open. The open kitchen was located at the rear, essentially a couple of men operating two searing woks and a prep counter where two women put the dishes together. Whatever they were cooking triggered his stomach to growl, but eating wasn’t an option at the moment.

  He approached a server sweeping the sidewalk. “Excuse me. English?”

  The boy—a teenager—nodded. “Little.” He squeezed his forefinger and thumb together.

  Mdivani removed his phone and showed him a picture of Akil. “You see this man? He drives the white car,” he said, pointing.

  The teen leaned in for a better look and crinkled his pierced brow before nodding yes. Mdivani showed him Sei’s picture, and he received the same response. “Did they eat here?”

  “No,” the teen said.

  “Where did they go? Which way?” Mdivani pointed up and down the street.

  The teen pointed, but it wasn’t left or right. “Upstairs. We have guestroom.”

  Chapter 54

  Mdivani couldn’t believe what he had heard and inquired again.