Page 42 of Murder Island
Through her scope, Kira saw two red dots appear on Hemple’s forehead. A long green snake, tied by its tail to the top of the tent post, was now squirming and twitching, its venom spent. The boomslang.
Kira watched Hemple drop to the ground, feet thrashing, hands clawed. She put away her scope and slipped back into the jungle. Based on her estimate of his weight and the potency of the neurotoxin, Kira figured Hemple had about three agonizing hours to live.
She smiled with bitter satisfaction.
Couldn’t happen to a nicer guy.
CHAPTER 50
IT WAS MORNING, but barely. The sky was just turning from black to purple. I was bouncing in the passenger seat of a beat-up Land Rover with my right ankle chained to a metal bar running across the footwell. We were splashing through streams and weaving through stands of tall oaks and evergreens. Leo was at the wheel. Clearly, he knew the route.
“Where are we headed?” I asked. “Company picnic?”
“You’ve had enough rest,” said Leo curtly. “Time for evaluation.”
I thought again about killing him, but it still felt premature.
This was my first time outdoors since I got plucked off my sinking boat. I’d spent most of my time locked in a cell equipped with a universal and free weights.
My meals were delivered through a slot in the wall. It was top-notch fare, heavy on protein—chicken, salmon,venison. Every day, I worked out for hours on the gym equipment. I could feel my muscle mass returning.
I also had a lot of time to think. I spent most thinking about escaping. I knew it wouldn’t be easy. I expected that Leo would be pretty solid on security.
And then, there was the money. Leo hadn’t been lying about that. Every night, at exactly 10 p.m., somebody slid a wrapper through my slot containing a pile of hundred-dollar bills—ten grand in crisp American currency, neatly wrapped. I stacked it in the corner like building blocks. My little nest egg.
But for what?
Even if I could find my way out, where would I go? Back to Chicago, where a pack of assassins was probably waiting? No way. For all I knew, they’d bombed my apartment, too. I was probably homeless. Sure felt that way.
But that was nothing compared to how desperately I missed Kira. I had to believe she was alive; it was the only thing that kept me going. But I had no clue about where to start looking for her.
“Hold on,” said Leo. I braced myself as we headed down a steep ravine. For a few seconds, we were almost vertical. We bounced over an outcropping of rocks. I thought we were about to tip over. Leo held the steering wheel with his left hand. His right hand—the gnarly one—rested on the shift lever.
We hit bottom, scraping the undercarriage, then started climbing up the other side. As soon as we were back onlevel ground, we cut through a stand of trees into a small clearing, about the size of a tennis court. It was covered in stubby grass, and the center was worn down like a playing field.
Leo cut the engine and reached over to unlock my leg.
“Get out,” he said. “We’re here.”
He led the way to the center of the clearing and stood there with his arms folded. I looked around. Thanks to Kira’s conditioning, my hearing and eyesight were almost superhuman. But all I could hear was wind, and all I could see were trees.
Then, suddenly, I sensed movement. Not just on one side.
Oneveryside.
Five men emerged from the tree line all around me. Three white guys. One Black guy. One Polynesian guy. They were all bare-chested—and built.
I thought I was big.
They were all a lot bigger.
CHAPTER 51
I TURNED IN a slow circle, muscles tensed, adrenaline pumping. Was this some kind of initiation rite? Maybe Leo wanted to see how I handled myself when I was jumped by a gang of giants.
The five guys moved closer in a ring around me. Then—at the same time—they just stopped. Almost like robots.
“Weapons ready!” shouted Leo. He was a twig compared to the rest of us, but he had a definite command presence.