Part 11 (1/2)
”Heas betrayed us,” Warlord said.
”No doubt about it,” Magnus answered.
”Benjieas always been the one to take the easy road. I wonder what they promised him?”
”Money.”
”No. Respect. Thatas what our foolish Benjie craves.” Warlord thoughtfully dabbed at the blood on his split lip. ”Very well. Bring him to me. Letas see if I can convince him to give me a different version of the events.”
”Down by the fire pit?” Magnus asked.
”Oh, yes. Definitely down by the fire pit.” Warlord clapped Magnus on the shoulder. ”Bring him in.”
When the Scotsman left, he was whistling.
Warlord opened a chest, pulled out a long-sleeved T-s.h.i.+rt, and dragged it over his head. He tucked it into his jeans, b.u.t.toned up, pulled out a studded leather belt, and slipped it through the loops. Seating himself, he pulled on wool socks and heavy black boots that laced up his calf. Reaching into the chest once more, he extracted two sharp, slender knives and slipped them into his boots. He stood and shook his jeans down, then strapped a large holster around his chest and a smaller one around each arm. He placed a Smith & Wesson 952 in the larger holster, Kel-Tec P-32s in the smaller ones.
The man was gunning for bear.
He pulled on a loose black coat, checked his weapons, then glanced at Karen.
She closed her eyes and pretended to be asleep.
So of course she didnat hear him approach, didnat know he was there until he whispered in her ear, ”I wonat be long, darling. Youare tired. Stay in bed.”
She sat up so fast she cracked him under the chin with her head.
He laughed and rubbed his battered face. ”Itas not my day.”
”This is real trouble, isnat it?”
”What makes you think so?”
”Magnus. .h.i.t you. You donat let anyone hit you unless . . .” Turning her head, she looked up into his facea”the pale skin covered by the heavy beard and surrounded by the wild hair, the strong nose, the supple lips, and, dominating the whole, those black, black eyes.
”Unless I deserve it?”
”Yes.”
”Do you know what I love best about you?”
”Iam not stupid?” she said tartly, but at the same time she lightly touched the split in his lips.
He corrected her. ”I used to lie on my stomach above the construction site and watch you.”
”You watched me?” That explained that p.r.i.c.kly feeling she used to get at the back of her neck.
”I couldnat tear my eyes away. You work hard. Youare smart. Youare stubborn. You s.h.i.+ne with an inner light, and I hated what you were doing to me, making me realize what Iad become, changing me against my will. Iave had other women, but I remember only you. You fill my mind. You fill my soul.”
d.a.m.n him. How dared he try to enchant her?
”Itas a little late for sweet talk.” She turned her head away. ”Are you going to kill him? That Benjie?”
”It depends on how much heas willing to tell us and how fast he gives out the information.” Warlord sat back on his haunches. ”Why? Do you feel sorry for him?”
”No. Not if heas betrayed his comrades.”
”You donat think much like a woman.”
”How does a woman think?” She froze him with a steely cold gaze.
”Women are always all”a”he wiggled his fingers and made his voice high and girliea” ” aOoh, donat hurt him.a ”
”Youave been watching too many old movies, the ones where the female always falls down and twists her ankle while trying to escape. ” She bared her teeth in a feral smile. ”Try Kill Bill. Itall give you a new appreciation of just what violence a woman is capable of.”
”Youare such a pretty woman. Such a strong woman. A construction manager.” Leaning over her, he slid his fingers through her hair. ”What made you decide to become a construction manager?”
Like she was going to tell him about her early private h.e.l.l. ”What made you decide to become a ruthless warlord?” she countered.
His fingers never paused, and his eyes gleamed like obsidian. ”I have a natural talent for murder.” Yanking her hair, he tilted her head back and kissed her deeply.
She tasted his blood on her tongue anda”
The first grenade flew from his hand in a beautiful arc through the bright blue Tibetan sky, right into the convoy, and landed in the lead Jeep. The little p.i.s.sant of a driver screamed; then the explosion rocked the pa.s.s and blew the Chinese general into a million pieces of chicken chow mein. In the moment of shocked silence that followed, Warlord smiled with bone-deep delight; the mean son of a b.i.t.c.h would never again beat a woman to death and firebomb a nomad settlement in retaliation for offering hospitality to an American.
Then the Chinese soldiers sprang into action, spraying the rocks with bullets. His men returned fire. The narrow pa.s.s rang with shots. The smell of gunpowder stung his nose, and still he smiled as he fitted the bayonet to his weapon, charged down the hills, and spitted the yellow b.a.s.t.a.r.ds until blood spattered him from head to toe.
A bullet struck him in the back. Pain exploded in his lungs. He staggered. Dropped to his knees.
But no one on this battlefield could kill him.
Twisting, he looked up at the guy pointing the pistol at him.
Victor Rivera was an older mercenary. He was taking advantage of this opportunity to rid himself of a raw young American interloper. He was from Argentina. And the word he screamed when Warlord speared his gonads was pure Spanish profanitya”and the last word he would ever speak.
Warlord lifted Victoras genitals on the tip of the bayonet. Blood dripped down his rifle onto his hands, and into the sudden silence he roared, ”This is my enemy! Who else is my enemy?”
The Chinese gaped, then broke ranks and ran.
Riveraas mercenaries moved in.
Warlord laughed, pulled Riveraas pistol from his belt, and shot the lead man in the head.
He was going to h.e.l.l.
Noa”he was in h.e.l.l.
With a gasp Karen returned to the present. She was in Warlordas tent. Warlord was gone. She lay p.r.o.ne on the bed. Her heart pounded, shaking her chest. Wildly she lifted her hands and looked at them. They werenat covered with blood. She looked down at herself. She wore a loose, pale, sheer nightgown, unstained by gore.
Porcelain clinked softly. Mingma knelt beside the low table, arranging the breakfast dishes and pouring tea into a mug. The scent of her tobacco wafted across the tent. Everything was . . . normal.