Page 123 of The Warrior
“The officer was able to track down his drone and wristband, but no one in the small town would tell him where Magni had gone from there.”
Franklin stood up. “They have to know.”
“According to them he bought an old wreck of a drone and took off.”
“He talked about a cabin?” I said. “Do you know which cabin that might be?”
“We’ve already been to a number of cabins. So far no luck.”
“Hmm,” Franklin scratched his dark beard. “If what you’re saying is true, I’ll go myself and interrogate the people who sold Magni the drone. My methods are different from those of the security team.”
“There will be no torture,” Pearl exclaimed, with a finger pointed at Franklin.
He straightened his back. “I’ll do whatever it takes to get information on the Commander.”
Pearl looked baffled. “Why in the world would you risk your career and life to find Magni?”
“The Commander would do the same for us.”
One of the three men who’d come in earlier returned. “Nothing so far, sir. He’s not being kept in his suite as you suspected. We’ll keep searching.”
Franklin lifted his chin in a nod. “Why don’t you tell them what the Commander did for you last year?”
The man was wearing his uniform, and straightened his back. “The Commander saved my life.”
I leaned forward. “What happened?”
“Three other Huntsmen and I were on a mission to stop a group who were believed to be conspiring against Lord Khan. It was a set-up and we were captured.” He scratched his shoulder. “The rebels demanded Lord Khan in exchange for us and when we insisted that would never happen, they tortured us. They were mean motherfuckers and had already cut off Newman’s ear when Magni came to our rescue. He convinced them that their chances of getting you to come in person were better with him as the hostage than us.”
My hand closed in a fist, and my breathing was shallow as I listened.
“They released us, although two of us had to crawl out of there after the severe torture we’d gone through in the few hours they had us.”
“They smashed your knees in.” Khan nodded as if remembering something.
“Not mine, that was Kennedy’s, Lord. With me they broke both my feet.”
Pearl gasped. “That’s horrible.” She looked like she was about to cry. “Why would anyone be so cruel to another human being?”
The man frowned. “So I couldn’t run or fight,” he said in a tone that revealed that he thought it was self-explanatory. “The Commander took our place and saved our lives that night.”
“And that’s why we’re doing the same for him now,” Franklin said. “Commander Magni wouldn’t hesitate if one of his men was in peril, and we’re not stopping either. Not until we find out what happened to him.”
“I told you. He’s cooling down his anger in Alaska somewhere.” Khan leaned his head into his hands, his elbows resting on his knees.
“With all due respect, Lord Khan. The Commander would never stay away this long without getting in contact. It’s been a month.”
“He had his reasons.” A sideways glance from Khan told me that he was blaming me for Magni’s impulsive decision.
“It was my fault,” I admitted. “We had a fight and he left in anger.”
Khan shook his head. “I think we all contributed, but you don’t owe them an explanation.”
“If he’s not in the mansion, we’ll go to Alaska to track him down. We’ll keep you here all night until we find him.”
Khan closed his eyes and leaned his head back. “I don’t have time for this shit.”
“Maybe the universe is forcing you to take a break.”
