Carson felt his blood turn cold. He remembered Jack saying that Jabulani was up to something, that there had to be more to his disappearance than fear of what Jack might do. That Jabulani was usually behind every major criminal event in Jawara.
"Shit," he whispered. "You're working for Jabulani."
Batho's eyes narrowed to slits. "Very smart. Do you also know who I am?"
No point in denying it. "Kenan Batho."
"And you are?"
"Carson Bodine. I work for Jack." He almost said "under" Jack, but he didn't think Batho would appreciate the pun.
"Tell me exactly what you know, Bodine, or I'll go downstairs to the bar and start shooting."
Staring into the gunman's eyes, realizing he meant it, and fearing for Kit and her customers, Carson decided to be honest. "We only found out about the robbery last night. You and the security guard, Hondo, stole the diamonds. Then Hondo got drunk, talked too much and ended up being arrested. The last we heard there was an APB out for you. That's pretty much it."
"And the diamonds?"
Carson shrugged. "The package must've slipped under a seat, because we didn't find anything."
Batho gave him a speculative look. "And MacKenzie, where is he?"
Carson hesitated. He had no wish to lead this man to Jack. He thought briefly about trying to subdue the gunman, but a Glock was still an impressive weapon. And since Carson was supposed to be leaving for New York in a couple of hours, he was unarmed.
Not to mention that Batho was about Jarod's bulk and height. Gaining the upper hand would be difficult--if not impossible--even if the thief wasn't keeping a respectable distance between them, which made it much harder for Carson to jump him. He would have to wait for the right moment.
Batho seemed to read his thoughts. "I can still go to the bar and shoot some customers full of holes."
"I don't know where he is," Carson bluffed. It wasn't a total lie; Jack could have left the museum long ago. "He said he was going to ask around, see if anyone knew where to find you."
Batho seemed satisfied with his answer. "Well, I guess that means a change in plans. My orders are to get the diamonds back at any cost and that's what I'm going to do. If I can't find MacKenzie, I'll just have to make him come to me. I think I'll trade the diamonds for you. We can't stay here in Jawara City, though, it's not safe for me. From what I was told, MacKenzie has a great network of spies; he'd end up finding us. Either him or the cops. Extend your arms, put your hands together," he ordered abruptly, reaching into his pocket with his free hand and removing a pair of plasticuffs.
Seeing the plastic strap, Carson raised an eyebrow. "You always carry handcuffs around with you?"
"I was expecting to find MacKenzie here. I might've had to subdue him. Put your hands together."
This was it. Pretending acquiescence, Carson positioned his arms as ordered, waiting until Batho was right in front of him to strike. A knee to the groin and a stout punch to the face, and the gunman collapsed, the Glock slipping from his hand. Carson reached frantically for it, only to have his legs kicked right from under him. The impact unexpected, Carson was unable to break his fall, his temple thumping into the floorboards painfully, leaving him stunned.
"You're a very bad boy, Bodine," Batho growled in his ear as his strong hands easily subdued Carson.
Carson gritted his teeth as his wrists were firmly and expertly bound together in front of him. Batho gagged him with a handkerchief, and set him up against a wall.
"Now, I think you were probably telling the truth, but I'm going to search this place all the same. MacKenzie might've found the Alitash and decided to keep them to himself. And I need to leave a message for him, letting him know I'm willing to trade for the diamonds. It's going to be fun letting him stew for a day or so, wondering what's happening to you. I'll be right back. Don't go anywhere now, you hear?"
Batho disappeared from Carson's line of sight, his laughter slowly dying away. Carson shook his head, trying to clear the fog in his mind. This was getting ridiculous. Here he was, beaten up again. About to be kidnapped. Again. And in serious risk of getting killed. Again. Same old, same old.
He looked around for something to use as a weapon, but Batho had left him in the corridor and it was completely bare of furniture. There was a window two feet away, but jumping out was madness. Assuming he would be lucky enough not to break his neck, there was still no way he would survive the fall in one piece.
His eyes fell on the broken door. Of course, there was always the obvious solution; he could just get up and walk out. The door that led to the bar was out of the question, as it would mean walking past Batho. But the back door was another matter.
He slowly got up on his knees using the wall as support, then pushed himself up to his feet. He pulled the gag down to his neck and exhaled softly in relief. He had taken maybe three steps to the door, when he heard Batho clearing his throat pointedly.
"You weren't trying to escape, were you?"
Carson turned, trying to look guileless, but knowing he was missing by a mile. "Uh, no?"
Batho gestured with his gun. "Come here." When Carson hesitated, he said, "Come on, I won't bite you."
Sighing in defeat, Carson walked over to him. Batho shoved him into what used to be the main bedroom. Now there were clothes scattered over every surface, all the drawers were open wide or on the floor, paintings were hanging off the walls, and there was shattered glass from the closet mirror everywhere.
Batho threw him on the bed. "Now, stay there."
Batho left, locking the door behind him. Carson jumped off the bed, and grabbed the biggest shard of glass he could find, intending to cut through the plasticuffs. It didn't work. Batho had bound his hands back-to-back, and Carson couldn't really reach the strap.
After slashing his wrist yet again, Carson tossed the glass aside. He walked over to the window, but there was no one out on the street he could signal for help.
"Jesus Christ," he muttered in frustration. "Give me a break, will ya?"
Leaning sullenly against the wall, Carson looked for inspiration, but his mind was drawing a blank. Cursing the apartment's soundproofing, he could do little more than to await his fate while the thief destroyed the rest of the flat in his forage for the Alitash.
When Batho finally reappeared, he was sweating, but looking remarkably happy.
"That felt good." He chortled. "I guess you were being honest, huh? Too bad about this place. Well, time for us to go."
He grabbed Carson by the arm, putting the gag back in place before shoving him out of the apartment. There was no one in the alley to witness as Carson was manhandled into a Hummer, and thrown in the backseat. As Batho was slowly driving out of the alley, Carson abruptly saw Roger, Jarod and Brendan in the opposite lane and coming closer. Desperate, he began to pound on the glass with his tied hands, hoping to get their attention.
He felt something sharp strike against his head, and before he could do more than moan, he was falling unconscious into the seat. He never noticed Batho taking him swiftly out of town and into the wilderness.
# # #
Chapter Twelve
Jack climbed out of the jeep with Vivian, leaving Jackie to find a parking spot. They walked in the Jungle Tavern, and Jack saw Jarod, Brendan and Roger having breakfast at a table in the back.
"Morning, boys," he said as he and Vivian joined them. "Where's Carson?"
Brendan shrugged. "We haven't seen him today. We thought he was with you."
"No. He must still be at the apartment. Probably overslept." Jack glanced down at his watch. "He better hurry if he wants to catch his flight." He looked at Roger. "How did it go in Njau?"
"We didn't find hide nor hair of Jabulani," Roger told him. "But if you ask me, he's there. The people we talked to looked a little too spooked for my taste. They were probably afraid to rat him out."
"We may have a real problem on our hands soon," Jarod said. "There's a fire in the jungle. Bad, from what we mana
ged to see from the road. It's bound to hit some villages."
Jack rubbed his face tiredly. "Great, just what we needed. Vivian, tell them about the diamonds, I'm going to get Carson."
"Okay."
Jack climbed up the stairs, feeling a little frustrated. The curator hadn't been able to tell them anything new, so he had no idea where to start looking for the Alitash or Kenan Batho. Jabulani was still out there, and Jack wouldn't put it past him to have something to do with the theft of the diamonds. And now they had the aftermath of a jungle fire to deal with.
That meant days on end trying to relocate whole tribes, of trying to account for missing persons, of trying to minimize the damage done to these people's food supplies, by helping them plant new crops or salvaging what remained of their cultures.
He unlocked the door and stepped into the hall. "Carson?" he called out. "Carson, get a move on. Come on, sleepyhead, or you'll be late for--"
The words froze in his throat as he saw the condition the bedroom was in. He ran from room to room, finding the same level of destruction in the whole apartment. And no sign of Carson anywhere. In the living room, written on a once pristine wall, was a message: I want the Alitash. Trade them for Bodine. I'll be in touch soon.
"Somebody's going to pay for this," Jack growled under his breath.
He would kill anyone who dared to hurt Carson. What happened with Geils aside, he didn't like to think of himself as a violent man, but there were things he wouldn't put up with. One of those was anyone messing with his friends. And Carson was so much more than that.
He forced himself to think past his fear for what Carson might be going through and focused on the message. What the hell did this mean? He didn't have the Alitash. Had someone found out he was searching for the diamonds and mistakenly thought he had them?
"Jack?"
He turned to see his six teammates standing by the door, looking at the devastation around them.
"What the hell's going on?" Roger asked, gesturing to the message on the wall. "Vivian's just told us some guy stole the Alitash. Why would someone believe we had them?"
Jack opened his mouth to reply, when his eyes fell on Jackie. She was staring down at a small, black pouch in her hands, looking a little pale.
"When I parked the Wrangler, I heard something rolling on the floor," she said, raising her head. "I'd never seen this before, I thought it might belong to Carson." Her fingers touched the outside of the sack. "It feels like there're stones inside. You don't suppose..."
Jack took the pouch from her and opened it. Inside were the five Alitash diamonds.
"Holy fuck!" Vivian exclaimed.
"I don't get it," Jarod said. "Why would someone steal the diamonds only to put them in Jack's jeep?"
"Maybe someone trying to frame him for the theft?" Roger suggested.
"That can't be it," Jack countered. "The police knows who the real thieves are."
"Maybe that was an accident," Brendan said. "After all, the security guard wasn't supposed to talk. Maybe the idea was to blame us, make us lose face with the tribes. We wouldn't be able to keep on working here."
"If that was the case, why ask for the diamonds back?" Vivian asked.
"Well, their plan backfired, right?" Roger said. "The security guard's in jail, so it's got to be this Batho guy. Maybe he thinks he should get something for his trouble. I bet he's working for Jabulani. This sounds just like the kind of thing that dirtbag would cook up. And he would love to get rid of us."
"Maybe," Jack said. "But we won't know for sure until we find this guy. It might not even be Batho. We're flying blind here."
Vivian walked up to the wall, careless of the debris scattered on the floor. She brushed a finger lightly over the message. "Lipstick."
"My lipstick," Jackie scowled. "Whoever did this is a real piece of work." She bit her lip. "You think Carson's okay?"
"As long as we've got the diamonds," Jack said grimly. "But we need to get one step ahead of this bastard. Get out on the streets, talk to our informants, maybe someone knows something. Batho might not be the one who kidnapped Carson, but he's our key to finding out exactly what's going on. See if anyone knows where he's hiding. And we better give Kit the diamonds for now. She can keep them in the safe downstairs."
"Got it, boss."
The others rushed out the door, Jack falling behind. He felt numb, a little shocky. He should be used to this kind of situation, but somehow when it was someone close to you things changed. He only hoped whoever had Carson was a straight player, willing to trade without any doublecrossing. If things went wrong, if Carson ended up dead... Jack closed his eyes, leaning against the wall for support. He couldn't bear the thought of never seeing Carson alive again.
# # #
Slowly, Carson crept back into consciousness. The first thing his tired brain registered was the extreme headache pounding at his temples. The second, that he was inside a vehicle and moving fast. He grunted as he was thrown against the side of the Hummer. Batho was ignoring both the rough terrain and the dense jungle as he forged determinedly ahead.
As if reading his mind, Batho brought the truck to a violent halt, propelling a startled Carson forward. He collided hard with the front seat, before falling down between the seats. He remained still, panting, eyes closed against the pain.
The thief turned to look at him. "You okay down there?" he asked as he removed Carson's gag.
Carson clenched his jaw. "Never better."
"Good. We're almost there." Batho left the Hummer, opening the back door and dragging Carson out by the arm.
Looking around and seeing nothing but jungle, Carson asked, "There, where?"
"You'll see."
With Batho keeping firm hold on his arm, Carson had little choice but to follow the man. He did his best to ignore the burning in his wrists and his throbbing head as he stumbled along through the dense vegetation. They walked for what felt like forever, but was most likely a little over five minutes, when Carson finally saw a cabin not far ahead. From its size he would guess it to be a one room shack. And rustic wasn't the word for it either; whoever had built it hadn't been worried about aesthetics or sturdiness. He wouldn't be surprised if the whole thing fell on them, should one of them happen to sneeze.
They made it to the cabin and Batho got them inside. It was indeed a single room shack, surprisingly clean and comfortable considering its outer appearance, although there was a moldy scent in the air. Glancing around, Carson could see a portable table and two folding chairs. There was a cot tucked in a corner, some blankets, and a large duffel bag. In the opposite corner there was an oil lamp, several boxes with canned food and flagons filled with water.
"Don't stand on ceremony," Batho grinned as he availed himself to one of the chairs. "Make yourself at home."
"Yes, and such a lovely home, too," Carson quipped, sitting on the cot. "Build it yourself?"
"Nah. Found it by accident a few years back, when I was hunting," Batho said, ignoring the sarcasm in Carson's voice. "According to the busybodies in a village near here, it was built by a city dweller that went crazy. The poor bastard decided to leave all his worldly possessions behind and become one with nature. I never saw him, so I'm guessing he died and became animal food." He smirked. "Sort of ironic, isn't it? Anyway, finders keepers, isn't that what you Americans say? I put on a new door, a new lock and made it my hideaway. It's far from town, but all the tribes around here are friendly, so it's the perfect place."
Carson looked out through the boards covering the only existing window. "There's a strange smell," he noted suddenly.
"I haven't been here in a few days," Batho said. "The air's bound to be a little stale."
Carson shook his head. "No. It's coming from outside. It's like smoke, but burning wood too."
Batho sniffed. "You're right. Probably one of the villages burning to the ground. These tribes are always at each other's throats."
"I thought you said they were friendly."
&n
bsp; "They are, to strangers. But amongst themselves... They have feuds going on for generations. One of the ways they get back at an enemy tribe is to burn down their settlements. Happens all the time."
"What does Jabulani plan to do with the Alitash?"
Batho gave him an exasperated look. "You ask more questions than my five-year old nephew. He has a buyer lined up, and willing to pay a fortune for the diamonds. A South American magnate or something. Anything else you want to know?"
Carson glared sullenly. "No."
Carson leaned against the wall with a sigh. The others had to have found out about his kidnapping by now. After all, he was supposed to have had breakfast with them before they were to drive him to the airport. And dammit all, he had missed his flight again. He wondered how Jack was coping with all this. Probably mad as hell, and ready to tear apart anyone who got in his way. Carson wouldn't want to be in Batho's shoes, if Jack ever got his hands on him.
But if Carson knew Jack, he was mostly scared of losing him. And if Carson was honest with himself, so was he. He didn't want to die over five pieces of greasy-looking crystallized carbon. But would Batho keep him alive once the trade was made? Then again, Jack was sure to come up with some kind of plan, and Batho was outnumbered. Maybe that would be enough to tip the scales. Carson certainly hoped so.
He wrinkled his nose. The scent of smoke and burning wood was getting stronger. He looked out the window again, up at the sky. The weather had grown progressively worse during the morning, with dark clouds hovering in the sky and a fierce wind increasing. It shouldn't be long until it began to rain.
He tilted his head, paying closer attention to the clouds. There was something off about them. They seemed to be rising up rather than moving closer or away in accordance with the wind's direction. It took a shower of sparks exploding from one of the clouds, for Carson to realize it wasn't a cloud he was looking at, but smoke. Thick, gray smoke.
The Ripple Effect Page 15
