Total pages in book: 153
Estimated words: 140965 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 705(@200wpm)___ 564(@250wpm)___ 470(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 140965 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 705(@200wpm)___ 564(@250wpm)___ 470(@300wpm)
The second the guards broke apart, he was all business, gaining the porch as if he owned it, swinging up onto the eaves, holding the automatic so it didn’t clank against the wood and long fronds making up the roof as he made his way up the steep pitch to the open sunroof. He’d chosen the darkest side, where the shadows from the forest would help him blend in.
He glanced down into the interior and then entered, again without hesitation. He had memorized the layout after studying it before, and the moment his feet hit solid flooring, he went low and looked around, a full sweep, to ensure he had entered without being seen. Adrenaline pumped through his body, heightening his senses until each was razor sharp.
Movement came from the bedroom, and he took a moment to sweep the rest of the small house to ensure he and his target were alone. Satisfied, he once more put the mask on to be certain he wouldn’t leave any of the virus behind and headed for the other room. The commander sat at the desk, head in his hands, pushing at his hair over and over. He didn’t look happy.
Draden walked right up behind him and removed his sidearm. “Don’t make a sound or I’ll shove this knife right through the base of your skull.” He spoke in the local dialect, and immediately the man stiffened.
“I speak English.” The man stared straight ahead feeling the tip of Draden’s knife. It wasn’t in any way trifling. He preferred smaller knives, but when you wanted to make a statement, you did it big. He wanted this man cowed and willing to talk.
“I suggest you listen and obey every word. Do not cry out for help. If you do, I won’t kill you outright. I’ll gag you and slice you into little pieces.” To make his point, he trailed the tip of his knife from the base of the man’s skull down along the left side of his spinal column, cutting through the clothes and leaving a thin streak of blood.
The man nodded his head.
“Your name?”
“Intan Lesmono.” The new commander mumbled it. There was a tremor to his voice. He kept his eyes fixed on the wall across the room, holding himself very still.
“I’m a little pissed, Intan. Not only did you wipe out the people of Lupa Suku, but you infected me. Do you know what that means to you? If I sneeze on you or breathe too hard, you’re going to die a very ugly, painful death. Just like the death you condemned those people to.”
Lesmono shook his head. “Not me. I didn’t have anything to do with that. I swear …”
“I saw them. Men. Women. Children. All dead. And they died hard.”
Lesmono made a choking sound. “I know. I didn’t have anything to do with it. They needed money …”
“Who? Who needed money?”
“Agus Orucov. He grew up here. We all know him. Worked for a big shot in the U.S. and they had a falling-out. He claimed he developed the virus, but his former boss somehow cut off their funds.”
He was talking too much. Telling him things he wasn’t asking for. Either he expected company, or he really was horrified that they’d wiped out so many innocent people.
“They had a buyer, big money, but they need some kind of vaccine against it. They thought they had it, but something went wrong. They tested it on a couple of Orucov’s enemies. That’s the way he is. He holds a grudge. They were in school together as kids, and he still is angry at them. Maybe he thought the vaccine would work, but it didn’t.”
That explained the three men who had died before those in the village. “Where’s the rest of it? You still have more of it.”
A sob escaped Lesmono’s throat. “I don’t know how to get rid of it. I don’t want it around me, my men or these people. This was my village. I grew up here.”
“You knew the people of Lupa Suku.” Draden made it a statement.
Lesmono nodded, his head hanging. “Yes.” It came out a whisper.
This man had taken charge, but he wasn’t happy with what had gone before him. Draden wanted to feel sorry for him, but he didn’t. Lesmono hadn’t done anything to stop his former commander from killing innocent people.
“Where is it?”
Lesmono pointed a shaky finger to the door that was on the side of the desk where he sat. Draden’s heart gave a powerful jerk of shock. What the hell were they thinking?
“Take it out.”
Lesmono shook his head. “I’m not touching it.”
“Open the door.” To emphasize that he meant business, he let Lesmono feel the very, very sharp edge of his knife, by tracing another path from the base of the skull down the right side of the spinal column, leaving a second trail of blood.