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Selena was in pain. Her hands were bound together in front of her. She touched her face and winced. Gingerly, she moved her jaw. It hurt, but she didn't think it was broken.
I wouldn't have believed that little bastard could punch that hard.
She lay on the carpeted floor of an empty room. There were no windows. She didn't know where she was, but she had a sense of being in a large building. Maybe an apartment somewhere. She thought she heard the faint hum of a city, more vibration than sound.
She got to her knees, then her feet. There were two doors in the room. One led to an empty closet. The other to whatever lay outside the room.
Gently, she tried the handle of the door. It was locked.
There was nothing in the room she could use as a weapon. With her hands tied, she was at a disadvantage.
How long had she been here? How long unconscious? There was no way to tell. Her message about the location in Osaka would have reached Elizabeth. She would have passed it on to Nick. It was only a question of time before he came after her. It didn't take a rocket scientist to figure out Nobuyasu would be headed for the spot where the gold was hidden. Her best hope was that Nick would get there ahead of him.
It occurred to her that she was alive because part of the document hadn't been translated. Once Nobuyasu decided there was nothing more to learn from her, he'd kill her. He'd only keep her alive as long as she was of some benefit to him.
She heard the lock on the door click. She stepped away, ready for whatever came next.
The door opened. Hachiro stood in a hallway outside the room, glowering at her.
"You. Come. No trouble or I hurt you."
He stepped aside as she came out of the room and pushed her to the left, down the hall. She passed a closed door on her right. The hallway ended in a large living room with a picture window looking out over a city. From the quality of the light, she guessed it was midday. She'd been unconscious for many hours.
Nobuyasu sat on a Western-style couch under the window. He watched her with eyes that reminded her of a black mamba, a poisonous snake she'd seen in Africa.
"You have caused problems, Doctor Connor," he said. "It would have been simpler if you had cooperated. But it doesn't matter. It's time for you to continue your task. Finish the translation."
"Why should I? You're only going to kill me at the end of it. Don't deny it, I can see it in your eyes."
"Not necessarily. If you cooperate now, I will think about letting you live."
"And if I don't?"
"You are probably not aware of the many ways in which my ancestors treated those whom they regarded as enemies or spies. Please believe me when I tell you that if you don't do as I ask, you will think your fires of hell a field of bliss compared to what I will do to you."
"You would resort to torture?"
"I prefer to think of it as scientific persuasion. Come now, Doctor Connor, we are both civilized people. There's no need for such nastiness. Finish the translation. I assure you, I will be grateful. Or would you prefer that I allow Hachiro to do what he likes with you before I begin questioning you in earnest?"
"You are a despicable human being," Selena said.
"Names will not affect me. Time to decide, Doctor Connor. What do you say? Will you finish the translation?"
His eyes told her he wasn't bluffing.
"You leave me no choice."
"There's always a choice. In this case, you've made the right one. The computer is over there on that table. For your information, it is no longer connected to the Internet. Don't think you can send something to your friends."
He was watching her carefully as he spoke. He must've seen something in her eyes.
"Ah, as I thought. That's what brought the security agency to my door. Well, that's not going to happen again. You have enough information to finish. Perhaps you should get started."
"I need my hands untied."
"Hachiro," Nobuyasu said.
Hachiro came forward, took out a knife and cut the bonds around her wrists. She rubbed her hands.
"Begin, Doctor Connor. Time is fleeting."
She sat down at the table and opened the file with the partially completed translation.