He was completely focused on the girl, leaning over her, speaking. My boots creaked. I froze, but he didn’t move. What were they talking about?
I gently pressed the Bren Ten against his left ear. “Hello,” I said. “Como le va?”
The girl was sitting up now, pressed against the bed’s headboard, her eyes wide, silent as death. She was terrified.
I felt him coil then relax again. He said, “If you kill me you’ll never get out of here alive.”
“It won’t matter to you, Molinas,” Laura said very calmly.
“How do you know who I am?”
“Who else would they send down here?” Laura asked. “You were assigned to keep us. As for all the fun you had with us, that was your own idea, wasn’t it?”
“Some of the men are animals. I protected you.”
I looked over at the girl, who still clutched the sheet to her throat, her narrow hands clenched. I said in Spanish, “Don’t be afraid. We’re not going to hurt you.”
Slowly she nodded and said in perfect English, “Who are you?”
“My name’s Mac. What’s yours?”
“Marran.”
Molinas moved and I gave him all my attention. “Keep an eye on her, Laura.”
I came down beside him and raised the pistol. “You’re going to take us to where you’re holding the other two agents.”
“They’re dead,” he said.
“Then so are you.” I pressed the pistol against the side of his mouth and cocked it.
“No, don’t,” he choked out. “They’re not dead, I swear it. I’ll take you to them.”
“Did you drug them like you did me?” “Yes, but not in the same way. They’re all right.” “You’d better hope that we agree. Now, I want you to get up real slow.”
“We should probably bring the girl along,” Laura said.
Molinas lunged for me as he rose, but I brought the pistol down on the side of his head. The girl groaned.
Laura clapped her hand over the girl’s mouth, pressing her head back against her pillow.
Molinas went down but not out. He landed on his knees, moaning, holding his head. I knew the pain must be bad, the bastard.
“If you try that again, I’ll kill you.” I said it in a near whisper. I didn’t want the girl to make any more noise. I thought about hauling her with us and decided it wouldn’t improve our odds. We’d leave her here. I opened my mouth to tell Laura when I saw that she’d already begun ripping up the sheet. I waited for her, keeping the tip of the Bren Ten against the back of Molinas’s head. The girl was silent now. I saw tears running down her cheeks.
“Who is she?” I asked Molinas, who was still holding his head in his hands.
He tightened like a spigot in January. “Touch her, you bastard, and I’ll rip your head off your shoulders.” I believed him.
It took Laura a few minutes to tie the girl firmly. I noticed she had skinny arms. They were pale with sharp blue veins running beneath her flesh. Her beautiful shiny hair streamed across her face. Laura smoothed it back after she’d fastened the gag in her mouth.
I hoped Molinas could walk. I started to help him to his feet. He snarled at me and made it himself. A proud man, I thought. I looked back at the girl, who was staring at him, her eyes large and frightened.
“Turn out the light, Laura.”
The room went dark.
We heard a whimper from the bed.
I could feel him resist when he heard the girl’s distress. “We didn’t do anything to her,” I said. “She’ll be all right, if you don’t do anything stupid. Now walk.”
The moment we had him back in his office, Laura motioned for me to stop. I kept three feet between me and Molinas. She walked to the door, opened it quietly, and leaned out. She turned back to me and nodded.
“Now,” I said quietly, “you’re going to take us to the other agents.”
He said nothing, merely walked from the office and turned left down the corridor. “You’re dead if one of your soldiers tries to take us out.”