Electra Chapter 20
My first assignment as a new agent hadn’t been this nerve-racking for me as I recalled.
I knew it was so bad due to the number of people at risk.
I cared for the Horsemen. Add to it the fact that Swerve and Boone were mixed into it, and I was ready to scream.
Waiting for someone to send the all-clear or to have enemies enter the clubhouse and engage with them was stressing the hell out of me.
I felt the same tension I felt radiating off Swerve.
We would occasionally pass each other on our circuits and touch hands, exchanging loving looks or whispering I love you.
I didn’t know how much time passed before the end came.
After being stretched like a wire, it was so anticlimactic that I had a hard time believing it was over.
Dead silence descended. While waiting for it to restart, we heard the all-clear alarm sound.
Again, one that was prearranged to communicate with everyone.
Swerve and I exchanged disbelieving glances.
Maybe two minutes after it sounded, the door to the clubhouse opened. We had our guns at the ready. However, we realized when Thunder and Butcher entered, there was no need for alarm. They wore triumphant smirks.
“Is it over?” Swerve asked.
“Yep, or at least the dangerous, hard part. We still have some fun to be had. Diablo wanted us to let you know they’re mopping up things out there. We’re popping in and letting you know to hang tight a while longer,” Butcher stated.
“Thank God,” Swerve muttered.
“Is anyone on our side hurt?” I asked.
“Nothing major. We’ve had no casualties, thank God. Wolverine is taking a look along with Suture. They seem to have everything under control,” Thunder assured us. Suture was the Marauders’ equivalent of Wolverine.
“Do they want us to remain inside?” Swerve asked.
“Not that we know of. Do you want us to let Dozer out or have him stay in there?” Butcher asked.
After a couple of seconds of contemplation, Swerve sighed. “Let him stay. We’ll give him freedom soon. I want to see what it’s like out there. Thanks. Baby, are you ready to go see what the outside looks like?” he asked me.
“I’m more than ready. Let’s go,” I immediately responded.
The two Horsemen, Swerve, and I cautiously opened the door to the outside.
Walking out and scanning, we got a good look at the mess.
The ground was torn up, items were knocked over, and more.
However, for as loud as it got, the damage, once I looked closer, wasn’t nearly as horrible as I thought it would be.
The compound gate and walls as far as the eye could see seemed to be intact.
No massive holes blown into them. There were bodies scattered around.
Our people were milling around, checking that those on the ground were dead.
If not, they were rounded up and corralled into a tight circle of bodies.
We made our way to where those bodies were gathered.
Sitting on the ground, backs to each other in a circle, wrists and ankles secured, were four men. They were worse for wear with bloody lacerations, dirty and sooty faces. Their expressions said it all. They hated us, and if looks could kill, we’d be dead.
Right before we reached them, one man’s eyes landed on us. When he saw me, rage filled his expression. “You! You fucking whore! This is all your fault,” the man snarled.
Boone was closest to him. His fist clouted the man alongside the head.
“Shut the fuck up, asshole. The only one at fault here is you and your minions. You’re the ones stealing people’s organs and selling them.
You got the bright idea to try to invade this compound and come after her.
Don’t get angry with her because she’s smarter than all of you combined.
You will be the poster children for other dumbasses like you. Mess with us and you’ll be dead.”
The man he cuffed sneered. “Dead? I wouldn’t count on that.
We’ll be sent to live in a cushy prison for a few years at most. Our business won’t suffer a bit.
You’ve accomplished nothing. And she’s still a marked woman.
She got a reprieve today, that’s all. We’re not the only ones who’ll come after her.
Wait until I spread the news of who she is to others.
It’ll be a race to see who kills her first.” He chuckled darkly.
“Ah, so you decided to keep her identity to yourself to get the prestige of taking out Bellona. But now that you didn’t, you plan to spread the truth so others like you can come after her. You wanted the glory,” Anderson said as he walked up.
“So what if we did? That will be fixed once I speak to my lawyer. You can’t deny me legal representation.
The next group will plan to move against her by this evening.
You simply delayed the inevitable and guaranteed your entire club will die with her.
Why help her out? You should be working with us.
There’s so much money to be made,” the leader bragged.
Swerve growled, causing the man to focus on him.
“What the hell is this? Fuck, I’ve seen it all now. A cripple is allowed in a motorcycle club.”
Instead of Swerve losing his cool and punching the leader, he smiled. It was a chilling one. “You’re in for such a rude awakening. I can’t wait.”
The smirk faded from the man’s face. “What the hell does that mean?”
“You’ll see.”
As time ticked by and the preliminary cleanup occurred, the man continued to demand to know what Swerve meant and taunted us with how he and his men would soon be free.
When Boone and Anderson introduced themselves as representatives of the FBI and other government entities, he demanded to know when they would be able to speak to a lawyer. All they were told was to hold on.
???
I looked around the building we were in.
It had taken most of a day, but things had been ironed out.
The bodies of the men killed while attacking the compound had been removed.
When I asked where, I got smirks and was told that I’d see.
Anderson had sent Boone back to report to Director Whitehall that the threat had been eliminated and there were no survivors. They all died in the attack.
Boone knew this was a lie, but when Anderson ordered him to do so, he went along with it.
No one in their right mind would oppose a man with Anderson’s connections and clout.
However, to prevent him from further guilt, Anderson informed Boone that the four men remaining would be taken to a government black site for questioning and then would be locked away for the rest of their lives.
He claimed that they had critical information on terrorists, which had them falling under the Patriot Act and therefore not handled the same way as most people arrested.
Threats to national security weren’t dealt with the same way as other criminals.
Did I feel guilty that Rho believed this? No, and a part of me wondered if he genuinely did or if he had chosen to pretend. Whatever made it possible for him to sleep at night. As for me, I knew I’d be able to live with the morally gray for the right reasons. This situation was one of them.
I joined Anderson, Diablo, Swerve, and a few others, along with the four prisoners, in a building at the very rear of the compound.
Swerve referred to it as the swamp box. The organ traders were soaked with sweat.
They’d been locked in here with no fresh or cool air while we cleared everything else away.
They were drooping with fatigue. They hadn’t been fed, allowed to use the bathroom, or given water.
I recognized this for what it was—interrogation techniques.
The kind that didn’t require one to lay a finger on someone.
Sometimes, those can yield better results than physical tactics.
Anderson stood in front of them, looking as cool and collected as could be. I swear, he didn’t even sweat, even though it was hot there. To help those of us now in the box, there was air circulating.
“Now that you’ve had time to think, I hope you see the only way for this to go is for you to answer our questions one hundred percent truthfully,” Anderson told the leader.
“Go to hell. You can’t do this. I demand we be handed over to the police and be allowed to call our lawyers,” the man rasped.
The Horsemen and Anderson all chuckled and shook their heads.
“They’re still clueless.” Diablo snickered.
“Clueless about what? I know you’re breaking the law. We’re entitled to due process and representation,” one of the other men gasped.
“You’re clueless, thinking that you’re entitled to the same thing as a regular prisoner. See, that’s not true,” Anderson stated.
“And why the fuck aren’t we?” a third asked.
“Because they’ve tied you to terrorists, which in turn labels you as such. Your type doesn’t get the same considerations. Isn’t that right?” Swerve directed to Anderson.
“That’s right.”
“And even if it did, I don’t see anyone here making a fuss over it. After all, these bastards came after all of us and intended to kill a federal agent, who happens to be your woman, Swerve. I bet that doesn’t make you feel the need to be nice to him.” Butcher smirked.
“I know that time is precious and we all have a lot to do, so we’ll make this quick.
Tell us who gave you the identity of Agent Prescott.
And while you’re at it, we want the names and other pertinent information on anyone else in your organization.
You give us that, and we’ll see how merciful we can be,” Anderson added before Swerve did more than shake his head.
I’d like to say they complied, and we were done and out of there in under an hour. No such luck. They continued to demand, threaten, hurl ugly insults, and more for an hour. At the end of that time, Anderson ended it.
“I gave you a chance. You refuse to cooperate. What comes next, I leave to them. I need to get back to DC. Diablo, when your men are through, give me a call and tell me what you got out of them. My team will follow through on removing the others that remain a threat to Prescott or anyone else. As for you, Agent Prescott, I meant what I said. You should consider joining my team. Or at the very least, not working for the FBI. They’ll never give you what you need.
And congratulations on joining the Horsemen’s family.
We’ll see each other again, no matter what you decide. ”
As I stood there stunned, final handshakes and hugs were exchanged. Before Anderson walked out, he took my hand, squeezed it, and smiled. Then, he was gone.
“While I’d love a good, long torture session, I’m hungry and tired. What do the rest of you think? Do we leave them here another day or get straight to it and take them to meet Bert?” Scorpion asked.
His suggestion caused a bunch of excited muttering. I had to ask, “Who is Bert?”
The smirks they wore told me they were enjoying me asking.
“Bert is a legend around here. A lot of people know Bert, and they don’t fuck with him. If you’re smart, you tell us what we want to know and save yourself unimaginable pain,” Diablo stated mysteriously.
“We’re not telling you cocksuckers anything.
And if you don’t want the rest of our people to kill every last one of you, you’d be wise to let us go and give her to us while you’re at it.
What’s one woman compared to dozens? Even someone like you can easily get another woman to suck your cock if you pay enough,” the lead asshole said snidely to Swerve.
The way his upper lip curled when he looked at Swerve pissed me off. I took a threatening step forward but was stopped by my man’s hand on my wrist. He shook his head.
“Electra, he’s jealous and lashing out. Let him ramble.”
I took a deep breath and did what he said.
Swerve then replied to the bastard’s remark.
“You can only dream of having a woman like her. You consider yourself whole, yet I wager you can’t even get it if you pay for it.
And there is no other woman like her in the world for me.
While I know we’d love to drag this out for days, we’re on a schedule.
We need to capture the person who sold her out and capture those remaining in your disgusting business.
My vote is we take them to meet Bert, and they can confess their hearts’ content there,” he told Diablo.
Ultimately, it was the president’s call on how to handle them. Diablo studied the four prisoners for a few moments, then nodded.
“I agree. We don’t have time to waste, no matter how gratifying it would be. Get them loaded into the side-by-sides. We’ll head out as soon as they’re ready.”
As the other Horsemen got moving, Swerve took my hand and led me outside to where the various bikes, side-by-sides, and such were that we had used to get to the swamp box. I was anxious to see this done and to meet Bert. I wondered how he’d get them to confess when the Horsemen couldn’t.