“Where should we put them?” Carden asked as he pulled the handle and lowered the overhead.
Zack swiped the air as if to brush the comment away. He leaned against the mudroom’s doorframe, raised his brow, and stared at the trunk of the car. “You had to listen to that all the way here?”
Anthony chuckled. “Not all the way. I helped the agent with a much-needed nap about an hour back.”
Zack glanced at Carden and winked. “I take it that was the disturbance you mentioned?” He opened the van door and peeked in. “What about her?”
“She isn’t half as bad as her brother,” Antonio said. “We’ll keep them under control. Don’t worry.”
“Good, then let’s go inside. We’ll deal with them later.” Zack held the door open, and the three men entered the house ahead of him. “Sit down and take a load off. We’ll eat, and then you can tell me how tomorrow is going to play out. Anthony and Antonio can escort the guests to the basement after dinner. I’m sure they can find something useful downstairs to act as restraints.”
Carden tipped his head toward the table. “Have a seat, boys. It looks like there’s plenty of food for all of us.” He pulled out four twenty-dollar bills and handed them to Zack. “Appreciate your help, man.”
Zack opened the cardboard boxes and passed a plate to each man. Steam wafted from the pizzas. “Help yourselves while they’re hot. There’s plenty of beer in the fridge too.”
Anthony crossed the room and opened the refrigerator. He pulled out a six-pack by its plastic sleeve, set it on the table, and returned to his seat.
Zack dropped a slice of pizza onto his plate. He pulled off a round of pepperoni and popped it into his mouth. “So how do you intend to breach the truck?”
“We have semi and fully automatic assault rifles. If the guns and our threats don’t do the trick, we’ll use the magnetic IED. That’ll bust open the back door without any problem. I doubt if anyone inside will live through it, though.” Carden bit into a piece of pizza and burned the roof of his mouth. “Son of a bitch, that’s hot.” With a snap, he popped the beer tab, gulped a mouthful, and swished it around before swallowing. “Damn cheese. Anyway, we’re better prepared than we were in 2014, and we got away with it then. This should be a piece of cake, and having the agent as a decoy will help too. Let’s take a look at that basement. I’d still like to get a good night’s sleep once we have them squared away.”
“Sure thing. I forgot, you haven’t been to this house yet. Right this way.” Zack pushed back his chair and rose from the table. He munched on a piece of garlic bread as the three men followed at his back.
The lower level of the rented house had been used as office space at one time. Two rooms separated by dated paneling filled the left half of the basement. One large room, devoid of anything except the cement floor and the beams holding up the first story, filled the right side.
“This is perfect. The sister can go in the first room, and Mr. Macho can be chained to the beam farthest away from her in that wide-open space. Let’s bring them down,” Carden said.
Zack cracked his knuckles then grasped the handrail as he climbed the stairs. “He’s blindfolded too, right?”
“Absolutely. He doesn’t need to see either of our faces. Boys, bring the sister in first. We’ll give her some garlic bread, she can use the facilities, and then she’s going downstairs. J.T. will be a problem, as usual. He may have to get knocked out again to keep the transition to the basement easier.”
Julie’s muffled cries got louder as they led her through the door and into the house.
“Keep it down unless you want a broken jaw like your brother. That makes eating far more difficult.” Antonio pressed his mouth against her plugged ear. “Hold out your hand. I’m going to give you a piece of garlic bread to eat.”
She stuck out her bound, shaking hands. Antonio wedged a piece of bread between her palms then ripped the duct tape off her mouth. She winced and moaned as blood droplets formed on her lower lip.
“Suck it up and eat that bread.” Antonio pushed her down on a wooden kitchen chair and leaned against the table as he waited for her to finish it. “Okay, let’s go.” He took two steps, slipped his hand under her armpit, and pulled her off the chair. “The bathroom is over here. You get three minutes, then I’m coming in after you.” He entered the room, lifted the toilet lid, and walked her to it. “I’ll be right outside, and don’t even think of pulling that blindfold off.” He left the bathroom and closed the door behind him.
“How’s it going?” Carden asked. He threw the smashed beer can into the recycling bin and took a seat on a chair in the living room.
“She’ll be done in a minute, sir, and then we’ll get her secured downstairs.” Antonio studied his fists. “J.T. might have to get a knuckle sandwich, though.”
“Do whatever you need to do to get him in the basement with as little drama as possible. I’m growing tired of his resistance.”
Antonio banged on the bathroom door. “I’m coming in.” He turned the knob and pushed, then he looked at Anthony and laughed. “The bitch locked the door.” Antonio shouldered the door with a hard thrust and snapped it off the hinges. “What the hell did you think that was going to accomplish?” He grabbed Julie by the hair and yanked her to the basement stairs. She screamed with each downward step. Once she was tied to a beam in the first room, Antonio stretched a fresh length of duct tape across her mouth and tightened the blindfold. “Enjoy your last night alive, Julie.” He jammed the earplugs deeper in her ears then closed the door and returned to the living room. “Let’s get the agent, brother. I’m on a roll.” He stared at his large, somewhat unscathed hands. “Guess it’s time to scrape up these knuckles.” Antonio led the way out to the garage. With the driver’s side door open and his hand on the trunk lever, Antonio gave Anthony a quick glance. “Got the gun?”
“I’ve got it.”
“Okay, I’m opening it, but he’s not going to come out willingly.” Antonio jerked his head toward a baseball bat that leaned against the wall. “That should convince him to behave. Grab it.”
With the bat in hand, Anthony gave his brother a nod. “Pop the trunk.”