Shadows and Silk (26 page)

Darcy moaned as she felt the bile rise up in the back of her throat. Her head felt
like men were taking jackhammers to her skull, and her stomach was on a
never
ending
rollercoaster ride.
Her jaw ached where she’d been struck, and she spat out blood from the cut inside
her mouth.

They’d given her something—not
Rabbit
, thank God—but some other kind of drug to knock her out. She’d fought them for as
long as she could before one of the so
ldiers had backhanded her. A
nother had jabbed a hypodermic needle in her arm filled with the drug
and it had been lights out
.

Her head and limbs felt leaden, and she tried moving her arms, wondering why
they’d gone numb. She lifted
her head
and the nausea rolled
through her once more, but she gritted her teeth a
nd breathed in
and out
through her nose.
Once the room stopped spinning, she saw that her hands were cuffed above her head
and attached to a long chain that was anchored to the ceiling.

She pulled and tugged, hoping the chains would loosen, but the cuffs rubbed her wrists
raw the more the
y
moved. Tears coursed down her cheeks and desperate sounds escaped her throat as she
struggled
.
S
he finally gave up, her head dropping to her chest
and her body shaking with sobs
as she tried not to become hysterical.

The chains were raised high enough so she
had to stand
on the balls of her feet, and the muscles in her calves cramped and knotted as she
tried to relieve the pressure.
She still wore
the red bikini she’d ha
d on before they kidnapped her
, but terror gripped her as she remembered what Ramos liked to do to his victims.

The room was
numbingly
cold. Chills broke
out across her skin and her teeth chattered
uncontrollably
.
She tried to get her wits about her, to start thinking instead of cowering with fear,
but it was harder than she imagined.

She closed her eyes and pictured Brant as he’d been before they’d covered her eyes.
He’d been fighting like the devil himself, and she prayed that he was all right. She
had to keep hope that he’d come for her. It was the only thing she had left to keep
her sane in this nightmare.

Darcy took in a deep, shuddering breath, and then she repeated it several times until
the fog cleared from her mind and her fear was contained—at least for now.
She looked around, wanting to have a plan in mind if they let her out of the chains.

The room she was in was
perfectly square. The floor and walls were gray concrete, and it was obviously temperature
controlled to stay cold
. A gray metal door was the only way in or out
, and there were no windows or nat
ural light, only the bright fluo
rescents that hung overhead.
Long sterile tables lined two of the walls, and she knew enough about chemistry and
the equipment used to know she
must be
in one of the
cartel
cooking labs.

They’d taken her to
Kaminaljuyu
.
In Guatemala.
Though she had no idea how long ago that was. She could have been out hours or days.
Darcy tried pulling at the cuffs once more, and she winced
and cried out
as her wrists became slicked with blood.

“You’ve damaged yourself,” an accented voice called out. “Naughty girl.”

Da
rcy gasped as she looked at the
man
who’d come
in
to
the room
like a wraith
. She hadn’t even heard the door open he’d been so silent. Or maybe her
fear was just that loud.
She didn’t recognize
him
, but she recognized the evil in his
ice cold
eyes. He
was average height and
whipcord lean
, and he wore gray trousers the same color as the walls
and a white lab coat.
His hair was so blond it was almost white, but
it was
thick and long enough
to pull back in a tail.
He looked like a painting she’d once seen of the angel of death.

She couldn’t place his accent. Not German, but something similar.
She had to pull it together. There was no way she’d ever be anyone’s victim willingly.
She just had to hope and pray she didn’t lose her nerve.

“Who are you?” she asked.

“I’m Doctor Lindberg.”

“Is that sup
posed to mean something special?
” she asked, ignoring her fear and giving him an unimpressed stare.
“Never heard of you.”

“Tsk, tsk, Doctor
MacKenzie
. I’ve heard you can be quite—difficult to control,” he said, giving her a smile that
didn’t help the shudders wracking her body. “You might as well save your energy. You’re
going to need it.”

He turned back towards the door and flicked the heavy lock, the click de
afening in her ears with finality.

“Tsk, tsk, yourself, Doctor Lindberg. I don’t think Alexander Ramos would want you
to lock him out of a room. He seems like the possessive type. And if I know Ramos,
you’re just one of the many people who take orders from him. Why have I been stuck
with you and not the top dog?”

Darcy felt satisfaction as she saw the brief flash of rage cross Lindberg’s face,
but it was gone almost as soon as it began.
He gave her a cold smile and walked toward her, his finger
nails
scraping along the edge
of the metal tables.

“Alexander Ramos is a petty thief. He’d be nothing without me, and he knows it. This
is my drug. And I can take it away just as easily as I make it. The power is in my
hands. Not his.”

“Sure, honey. Keep telling yourself that. I don’t recall anyone ever referring to
it as the Lindberg Cartel. You’re just the hired help. I bet Ramos can find any number
of scientists to cook for him. Now run along and get Mr. Ramos. I’d like to speak
to him face to face.”

He laughed and the sound slithered up her spine. “You’re something else, Darcy
MacKenzie
. A pain in the ass for sure, but you’re entertaining.”

“So my brothers tell me often.”

He reached in his pocket and p
ulled out a pair of latex gloves, snapping them in place with quick familiarity, and
Darcy felt her blood run cold. He smiled at her when he saw her fear, and she stilled
like a statue as he reached back into his coat pocket.

“Do you know what this is?” he asked, holding up a gold pillbox that fit in the palm
of his hand.

“Compact powder? Believe me, you’re pale enough without it. Maybe try getting a little
sun
instead
.”

“This is my creation,” he said. “What these underground labs were built for, and why
Ramos has paid me so much money he’s almost bled himself dry. But let me tell you
a little secret. This is the pure stuff. Not the mix I’ve been passing off on Ramos.
We’re going to have some fun, Doctor
MacKenzie
. I always did prefer my women to have some intellect.
And I like it when they fight.
”

The promise of what was to come flashed in his eyes
, and
Lindberg opened the little round case
in his hand.
Darcy could see it was filled with a loose white powder, and s
weat coated her frigid skin
while
her heart pounded against her chest. There was no way out of this. She was going
to die. And she was going to die painfully.

Think
Darcy, think!

He moved toward her and stuck the tip of his gloved finger into the powder
, holding the case steadily in his hand. She’d only get one chance, but he had to
get close enough.
Just a couple of more steps.

He was just about to close the case when he made that last step, and she kicked up
with her legs, ignoring the excruciating pain in her arms and wrists as all of her
weight was put on them, and she kicked out at his hands so the case of powder flew
up and into his face.

All it took was one small touch of
Rabbit
on the skin for the drug to take effect. Doctor Lindber
g had just taken an entire face
full. White coated his face and eyelashes, and his pale eyes looked up at her with
disbelief and hatred.

“You
bitch!” he yelled.

If he touched her she would be just as dead as he was, and she prayed the increased
dose would work even faster than a small amount. He stumbled back, and his skin flushed
red from the effects of the drug, even as perspiration dotted his skin. She wanted
to look away as he began tearing at his clothes, trying to get them off to seek the
release his body craved, but she couldn’t take her eyes off the horrific sight in
front of her.

She had to be ready to fight him if he came for her. Her mouth went dry with fear
as he tore the last of his clothes away, and his erection stood angry and red away
from his body. Madness gleamed in his eyes, even as he took himself in his hand and
started working the shaft with impossible speed.

He took a step towards her and Darcy screamed
and screamed, praying for Brant and a miracle. The monster took one more step and
then his eyes rolled back in his head and he collapsed to the ground, his head hitting
the concrete with a sickening thud. His nude body lay still next to her feet, and
the scent of death filled the air.

Darcy couldn’t control the nausea this time
,
and she turned away as her stomach heaved and her eyes flooded with tears.

“I want communication every step of the way,” Declan said. “Smith and Huxley take
the north side. Max and Brant cover the southwest and I’ll take the southeast. Jade
will cover us from here.
SEAL Team 6 and 4 are both here. Don’t get in their way. Our mission is to get all
of t
he hostages out alive if we can
.”

They were all dressed for battle—dark green
camo
and
facepaint
, and night vision goggles strapped to their heads. The SEALs would go in first and
take down as many as they could to clear the path for the agents going inside the
underground compound. It must have taken Ramos every bit of four years to build such
a place.

The sound of gunshots echoed in the distance
, and
Declan gave the signal for them to move into position. T
hey all split off in the directions they’d been told to go. Dec had been right about
this looking like a military operation.
And not just any military operation.
The way
Ramos
had
his soldiers
set up
around the perimeter
, and the way they moved in coordinated fighting positions looked
like it had been taken from the US military handbook
.

There was no time to scout the area any more than had already been done. It was sink
or swim now, and the longer they waited the less of a chance for survival Darcy had.
Brant and Max cleared the chain
link fence and then ran for
cover
as all hell seemed to
be
break
ing
loose around them.

The ruins were exactly like Darcy had said. No more than mounds and valleys of grass
with the occasional broken tablet or carving scattered about. It was a large area
square footage wise, but they headed away from the main ruins and towards the opposite
end of the gated area. There were
valleys and hills here as well that were apart of the original Mayan site, but it
wasn’t the main area where the temples and relics had once stood.
And
within the swells of the hills were doors that led to the underground tunnels of
Ramos’s organization.

“We’re in position,” Huxley called out. “Going in.”

Brant and Max ran to their own entry door
, taking care of the guards they’d caught from behind quickly, and rigging up the
small explosion to blast through the heavy door.

“We’re in,” Brant called out, going low through the smoke and into the tunnels.

“In,” Declan said.

“Both of your areas are clear,” Jade said.

“Shit! Shit!” Huxley
suddenly
yelled. Rapid gunfire
and the screams of the dying echoed in theirs ears
.