Toni shifted the pistol to a two-handed grip as she made her way through the door. She was followed by two balaclava-clad men carrying Steyr rifles.
‘Guess I’m maybe not as dumb as I look, Jay,’ Toni said.
Jay moved his weapon deeper into the soft flesh under the Major’s jaw. Not quite enough to break the skin, but close. The men took up their positions on either side of the room. Smart. There would be no possible way for him to launch from one to the other. Not without risk. He didn’t know the game to fully understand the consequences just yet.
He focused back on Toni. ‘I know you need me alive. So what’s with the weapons?’
She grinned and lowered her pistol. ‘You got further than I thought with the good Major here. Why don’t you just drop the puny piece of porcelain and we can all walk out of here nice and calm-like.’
‘I don’t know. I’m a patient man. Perhaps we can discuss exactly what’s going on here before I put aside my weapon.’
Toni gave a grin. ‘Not exactly a weapon when you compare it to what’s pointing at you.’
Jay looked from one guard to another then back to Toni. ‘You’ve obviously played around with that type of weapon before. No doubt had to hold it up like that before engaging a target. Probably got the wobbles fairly quickly. Remember? Although it’s lightweight for a rifle, it’s a real bitch trying to keep it steady and locked on for any given period. Take a look at me. Comfortable position. Natural positioning of the hand against the neck and the arm’s resting quite nicely. I’ll easily outlast these two. Bet you their sights are bobbing back and forth between me and the Major here with their nervous breaths. They pull the trigger at the wrong time and they’ll take him out instead of me.’
Toni gave a quick glance to the soldiers. ‘It’s not as if you can just walk out of here. What’s say we just walk out and wait until you fall asleep? How long do you think you can last? Twenty-four hours? Forty-eight, maybe?’
Touché. Jay knew she was right. They only had to wait outside. It was obvious they had neutralised the two secret service agents and George already. But maybe Bill and Mary had got away in time. He cleared his throat. ‘Depends what’s more important to you, me or the Major.’
‘You won’t hurt him. You can’t. You may not be an interrogator anymore, but you still go by their code of ethics. Killing a prisoner is a big no-no. Semantics anyway. We haven’t got time for this bullshit.’
Toni turned and walked out of the room. The two soldiers still had their weapons trained on Jay. The Major was breathing heavy, but so far had said nothing, nor made to move.
George appeared at the doorway. A trickle of blood on his forehead and thick black tape across his mouth. Toni had one hand on his shoulder, guiding him into the room.
‘On your knees,’ she said.
George swayed as he went down one knee at a time. He looked at Jay. A look of finality in his eyes, of acceptance. He closed them before lowering his head.
Jay noticed a change in Toni. Something he hadn’t seen before. Ruthless. No innocence, no beauty. Just a stone-faced, cold, hard look. She held the silenced pistol at an angle pointed towards George’s head. She didn’t have to say anything. Jay could tell she would pull the trigger. He’d seen the look before. He slowly took his hand from the Major’s neck and dropped his weapon on the floor. The echo of the porcelain hitting the concrete bounced through the room. He pushed away from the Major and stood.
One of the soldiers placed plastic zip ties around Jay’s wrists, binding them tight behind his back. The other soldier retrieved the key and unchained the Major from the bolt in the floor. The Major hugged the blanket tight and paced the room while George assumed the position with the chain placed on his wrists. All the while Toni’s gaze never left Jay.
The Major stopped pacing and turned to Toni, one arm outstretched. ‘Give me the pistol.’
She raised her arm and peered over the top of the barrel at the Major. ‘Where’s my cousin? We had a deal.’
The Major lowered his hand and gave a slight grin. ‘Looks like you’re coming with us too. He’s still safe and as soon as we have this one locked up you can have your cousin back.’
‘He’s bluffing,’ Jay said. The butt of a rifle caught him on the shoulder blade, dropping him to his knees. A numbing sensation ran down his arm. He clenched his jaw and held his breath, waiting for more blows. They didn’t come and he slowly started his breathing pattern. He looked up.
The Major had dropped the blanket to the floor. His hands were pumping into fists by his side as he stared at Jay. ‘I’m going to enjoy finishing you when this is all done. It’s going to be a slow, painful death for you.’ He kinked his neck and nodded to the soldiers. They lifted Jay to his feet.
The Major turned back to Toni. ‘Where are the others?’
‘The two agents are just outside. The wife and his friend left before your men got here.’
The Major looked down and shook his head. ‘Bring them in.’
Toni lowered her pistol and backed out of the room. She returned in less than twenty seconds following the two gagged secret agents. They were instructed to kneel in the back corners of the room, facing the wall.
‘We wait for the wife to come back then waste them all,’ the Major said.
Toni said, ‘You can’t just go and kill them. They’re government agents. Just lock them in here and let’s go.’
‘They’ve seen my face thanks to Mr. Ryan here. Too much risk.’
Toni shook her head. ‘The wife hasn’t. Only these three.’
Jay thought it odd she made no mention of Bill.
Rubbing his hand across his forehead, the Major asked, ‘What about his friend?’
‘He was upstairs the whole time. Didn’t see your face.’
The Major wiped a hand across his face. ‘You want the other two to live. You kill these three and we get out of here before they come back.’
‘I ... I can’t just kill...’
‘You want your cousin back or not?’
Toni looked up at Jay then at each of the three bound men before she nodded.
‘Then you have the choice. Kill these three, the other two live and you get your cousin back.’
The Major nodded to the soldiers and Jay was pushed out of the interrogation room. He made it to the bottom of the stairs before he looked back into the room through the one-way mirror. The two soldiers and the Major stopped and turned to look as well. From their angle, they could see the bound men but not Toni.
One at a time, the agents fell to their sides, red exploding high on their backs. Toni walked up to them and checked their pulses. She looked up at the mirror. Tears streamed down her face. She closed her eyes and shook her head.
Something struck Jay as odd. Although the pistol had a silencer, it would still have made for a decent bang. In a confined area like the interrogation room, Toni would have ringing in her ears for quite some time. There shouldn’t have been any blood exploding from their backs either. Experience told him, if the bullets had made it through, blood would explode out of the exit wound. He wasn’t sure what had happened in there, but he knew the shootings had been staged.
‘Impressive. Didn’t think she had it in her,’ the Major said. ‘Move.’
Jay contemplated what had happened as he was pushed up the stairs. He stopped at the top and waited for one of the soldiers to pass by and open the cellar door. He looked down towards the door of the interrogation room as Toni walked out. She looked up at him.
‘How’s it feel?’ Jay kept his voice low. Loud enough for her to hear if her ears weren’t ringing.
She gave the slightest nod and said, ‘Fuck you, Jay.’