Page 2 of Fear and Desire

He looked up at his second-in-command, who held up his hands. “News to me, boss. Master 3 brought her in this morning.”

“God fucking dammit! All right, let’s get her body out of here.” He motioned to one guard hanging around outside the cage. “I want Master 3 in my office inone minute!” The guard nodded and left. Dan reached down to grab the woman’s limp arms, and Josh grabbed her legs, and together they dragged the body out of the cell, ignoring the quiet crying coming from the huddled forms they locked in behind them.

As soon as they reached Dan’s office, they eased the woman to the floor. Dan bent over her body and probed for her carotid artery, then nodded.

“Call Garcia. We need him to take care of this quietly.” He left the office briefly and came back with a black bag. Together, they lifted the body and placed it inside, zipping it up with care, and then lifted their still burden and then made their way out the back door. A patrolling guard raised his eyebrows but said nothing as they placed it into the large trunk of a dark car.

“Let me know how it goes. I’ve got to deal with Marco.” Dan walked back into the building.

Josh:

Josh started to close the trunk, but then leaned over the bag, pulling the zipper down just enough that it didn’t cover her face. He said a prayer, shut the trunk, and made a call as he climbed into the driver’s seat.

Twenty minutes later, he pulled off the road into a small, unlit rest area. He climbed out and unlocked the trunk, and another man emerged from a dark van to join him.

“Goddammit. This isn’t supposed to happen!” Garcia felt for a pulse in her neck and nodded. “She’s still alive.” The two of them lifted her carefully out of the bag and carried her over to the van. Together, they climbed inside and laid her on a stretcher. Garcia began issuing instructions to a woman in scrubs. The two of them quickly hooked up an IV and a heart monitor.

“Let’s get the hell out of here,” Garcia muttered. He slipped into the driver’s seat as the woman seated herself next to the stretcher. Josh slipped out of the van, and the makeshift ambulance spun its tires on the gravel as it sped off towards the lights of the city.

Dan:

“You goddamn idiot! How could you not know she was diabetic and needed insulin?”

Marco’s mouth dropped open, and the wad of gum he was chewing threatened to tumble out. “I swear, boss, she never said nothing about that when we were at the restaurant! I had no idea!”

“What the fuck did you think this was?” Dan waved a small device in front of Marco’s face. When the man looked confused, Dan threw it at him. It bounced off his chest and skittered across the floor. “It’s an insulin pump, you dumb-ass! You ripped it off of her when she came in. Didn’t she say anything?”

“Sure she did, but they all say something to make us feel sorry for them!”

“And you didn’t think this pump might have backed up her story? She couldn’t survive without it. How the fuck did you think we’d be able to train her and sell her if she could eat only certain foods and had to take insulin through a pump? Goddamn idiot! Any time there’s a body, there’s a chance of it being discovered and a chance of this whole thing coming down around our ears. We weren’t going to take any more women! It’s getting too close and too dangerous. We had a dozen to sell, which is plenty, but you think you’re above the rules every fucking time!”

“We have plenty of time to break another bitch!”

Dan’s stomach twisted just a little.One more woman who would have to go through hell on earth before this was over?He made his voice as cold as he could manage. “We’re supposed to train these women, not kill them. If you don’t get that, you’re useless to me. You’re on guard duty and off training.”

Marco’s face turned purple. “You can’t do that! My uncle–”

“–is a businessman. He knows how to take care of his merchandise,” Dan finished for him. “Don’t worry. I’ll be updating him on this little debacle. And Marco, if I find out that you’re taking out your anger on the women, I’ll make sureyourbody is never found. Do you understand?” He didn’t wait for an answer before waving at the guards holding Marco, who promptly escorted him out the door.

Once Dan was alone, he steeled himself, muttered a prayer—one of many, lately,—and dialed a number. DeLeo answered right away.

“Some unfortunate news, sir.” He gave an update of the night’s events. “I have a disposal specialist who will make sure her body is never found. I’m very sorry about this.”

The laugh on the other end surprised him. “Dan, my boy, these things happen. Marco’s young and stupid, but he’ll learn.”

“I’m taking him off training, sir.”

“No, you’re not.” The hardness in DeLeo’s voice was a surprise.

“But, sir–”

“Dan, I like you, and you’ve moved up quickly in this organization. Don’t make me regret my decision to put you in charge. He’s my nephew and just needs to learn the business better. You’ll keep him right where he is.”

The knot in Dan’s stomach grew even tighter. “Yes, sir.”

“He can make up for his mistake by getting a replacement.”

“Sir, it’s too close—”

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