Page 76 of Rough Stock
“Warm enough.” They exited the building, Shyanna carefully concealing the shotgun, and forced him into Amber’s little car.
“Well, hello there!” Amber said with a laugh. “Thanks for coming along with us! This should be fun! I take it he knows what’s going on?”
“Not where Jensen’s concerned, but he’s in the middle of everything else,” Amos snapped.
“Uh-huh.” Amber’s phone rang and she handed it to Shyanna.
“Yeah. Okay. On our way. Ready for some fun? Good. Here we go.” Shyanna ended the call and glanced at Amber. “This is about to get interesting.”
Amber’s little car rolled to a stop outside Max’s motel room, and in seconds, SammyJo’s car pulled up alongside. “It’s showtime,” Amos said with a chuckle as they helped Bergman out of the car.
“What’s the plan?” SammyJo asked as she hopped out, and Shyanna watched as she racked a round into the chamber of a Glock.
“We’re going in. You got that roll of duct tape?” Shyanna asked Amos, and he held it up. “Then let’s go.”
Standing right outside Max’s motel room, Shyanna leaned toward Bergman. “I’m going to knock. He’s going to open the door, and we’re going to storm the room. You’re going to behave yourself or I’ll show you no mercy. Got that?” Bergman nodded. “Amos is correct. It’s showtime.” She pointed to the door and Bergman knocked.
The door opened just a crack and Max asked, “What are you doing out there?”
Amos gave the door a hard, fast kick and it flew open, knocking Max across the room with it. Before he could scramble up, Shyanna was above him, her shotgun pointed in his face. “Don’t even think about it,” she said as she watched him draw his hand away from his side. The sound of the door closing behind her filled the room and then it was silent. “Get up,” she told him, and Amos grabbed his arm and helped him stand, then started wrapping his wrists behind him with duct tape. She didn’t even have to look?she knew SammyJo was holding Wallace on the other side of the room. “Now we’re going to get some answers.”
“I ain’t tellin’ you nothin’, bitch,” Max almost spat.
“Max, they know everything. If you know where this Strader guy is, you’d better tell her. She’ll kill us both,” Bergman said.
“Smartest thing you’ve said since I met you,” Shyanna told the man without looking at him. “Start talking, Max. I know wherever Jensen is, you’re the one who put him there.”
“Fuck you, bitch,” he snapped. The sound of the butt of Shyanna’s shotgun making contact with Max’s skull filled the packed space. He reeled, but Amos kept him upright.
“I can keep this up all night, Barlow. I won’t mind at all. Now, I want to know. Where. Is. Jensen?” She waited, but he sat there mute. “Hey, I’ve got an idea. Honey,” Shyanna said, pointing to Amber, “grab one of those bottles of oxycontin.” The pills rattled in the bottle as Amber carried them across the room and handed them to Shyanna. “Here’s how this is going to go. You’re going to talk. For every question I ask you, I force one of these down your throat when you don’t answer.” She thought for a second and smiled. “Think we’ll do the same with ol’ Bergman over there.”
“Max, please, tell them what they want to know,” Bergman said.
“Go fuck yourself, Owens,” Max said again.
“Well, if that’s how you feel about it, let’s get started. Where’s Jensen?” Shyanna asked, her shotgun planted in the center of Max’s chest. He stood there, sullen and silent. “Well, okay then,” she said, nodding at Amos. “Hold his nose until he opens his mouth, darlin’, and stuff one of those in there.”
Amos let Amber drop a pill into his palm, then grabbed Barlow’s nose and held it tight. When he twisted his torso to fight against Amos, Shyanna whopped the side of his head with the barrel of the shotgun. “Open your damn mouth,” she growled.
“Fuck you,” he repeated.
“You know, the funny thing about all these boxes is that they act as soundproofing for this room. Isn’t that interesting? That means we could do all kinds of things in this room and no one would hear it.” She pointed the shotgun at Barlow’s foot. “Lastchance. Here are your options. Tell me where Jensen is, swallow the pill, or I’ll shoot your foot. What’s your pleasure?”
Max’s voice was like acid when he said, “You won’t kill me. I’m the only one who knows where Strader is.”
He didn’t have time to blink before Shyanna hit him in the side of the head with the shotgun’s barrel again, then pointed it at his foot. “I take it you want me to shoot you. Well, okay then, if you insist. Move back, hon,” she said to Amos just before she pulled the trigger. The sound of the shotgun’s blast was deafening. Fortunately for Max, she’d moved the barrel far enough to the side that most of the shot embedded in the floor, but some buckshot hit the cowboy’s foot, pierced his boot, and bored into his toes.
“Son of a bitch! You’re crazy!” he bellowed just as she hit the side of his head with the shotgun barrel again. “Stop it!”
“I’m going to ask you again: Where is Jensen? That time I showed you a little mercy. Next time, I won’t. Hon, get an extra pill,” she told Amos. “Now you get two, Barlow. Or I take your knee out with the shotgun. Doesn’t matter to me.”
“The cops will be here in a few minutes,” Max said, a snarl in his voice.
“That’s funny. See, there’s nobody in the rooms on either side of you. The people on the other sides of those rooms are going to think that was a car backfiring. Nobody’s calling the cops. We can do this all night. It’s kinda fun, watching you sweat.”
“For the love of god, Barlow, tell them what they want to know!” Bergman yelled.
“Shut up, dumbass! You’ve already told them too much,” Max yelled back.
