Bare Facts (19 page)

“Okay, I can send a message via the security system. It won’t be much. I wonder if he knows Morse code?”

“Anna.”

“It was just a thought. Hold on. There are three computers on in the building…”

“No,” Charity said. “You can’t send a message—we have no idea who’d read it.”

“Well, I’m fresh out of ideas then,” Anna said.

“I’ll go in and get him out. Justine will provide cover and backup. Anna, are you on your way here?”

“Yes, I am. But still about ten minutes out.”

“Should we wait?”

“Yes,” Justine said. “I want to go in.”

Charity knew that Justine was a logical choice to go in with her to rescue Daniel. But she didn’t want to wait.

“How about you wait for Anna and I’ll get a closer look? See exactly what we’re up against.”

“How about no?” Justine said.

“I’m going. It makes sense. Every second we stay here could be the difference between life and death—his.”

“Dammit.”

“Bloody hell, you two fight too much. Go ahead, Charity, but don’t move in unless we’re both in position.”

“Affirmative,” Charity said. She knew that she’d move if she thought Daniel’s life was in danger. She wasn’t about to lose him.

D
aniel wished that real life was a little more like the movies. Then he’d have a lucky lighter or a knife up his sleeve. But instead he was tied to a chair, and short of falling over and trying to roll out of the room, he had few options.

“Corbin?” Daniel asked as soon as they were alone. The other man was suspended on the tips of his toes, head forward.

“Yes?” Corbin didn’t lift his head, just continued to stare at the floor.

“You okay?”

“I’ve been better,” Corbin said. “What the hell is going on?”

“I’m being blackmailed.”

“I hate to break this to you, but this is more than blackmail.”

“True, that. I’m not planning to let it go any further.”

“Great intentions, but we’re both kind of stuck here,” Corbin said.

“Can you get free?” Daniel had to ask. He knew that with Sekijima watching, Gumi had bound him very tightly to the chair.

“I’ll try.”

“You haven’t?”

“Uh, no,” Corbin said a little sheepishly. He lifted his feet and let his arms take the weight of his body. The knots simply tightened and didn’t give way. Not that Daniel had expected them to. Sekijima hadn’t become Oyabun by being incompetent.

“We’re going to die here,” Corbin said.

The other man’s voice was shaky, and Daniel had no real way to reassure him. That wasn’t something he’d ever been good at—comforting anyone. And somehow he didn’t think he ever would be.

“Not if I can help it.”

He visually searched the room, looking for something they could use to cut themselves free. If he could get closer to the metal filing cabinet he might be able to use the edge to cut the rope.

But they’d bound his legs so that his knees were bent and only the tips of his toes rested on the ground. He tried shifting in his chair but it wouldn’t budge. And he could tell from the way that Corbin looked that the other man was close to losing it, to just saying to hell with everything.

He spotted a packing tape dispenser with a razor edge attached on top of the cabinet. If he’d been bound like Corbin, he’d be able to swing his legs and…

“Can you kick out far enough to reach the filing cabinet?”

“I’m not sure, why?”

“See that roll of packing tape?”

“What are we going to use it for? We’re already bound.”

“We need the blade.”

“How is that going to work?”

“The edge is serrated.”

“I get that part. But how are we going to use it…”

“Kick it over to me. I just need to be able to get my finger on it. Umm…try to aim for my left side.”

“I’ll try, Daniel. I’m not sure I can do it.”

Daniel saw the doubt and fear in Corbin’s eyes. “This isn’t our last hope. Take your time. I know you can do it.”

Corbin swung his legs and missed the cabinet completely. The other man groaned as his arms took the weight of his swinging body. Daniel needed Corbin’s help, but he wasn’t sure the other man was up to the task.

“Sorry.”

Daniel shook his head. He couldn’t be demanding or harsh with Corbin. He had to be the man he’d learned to be in the corporate world. “It’s okay. You’re doing great. Take a deep breath this time. Can you use one foot for balance?”

“Let me try it.”

He did and it worked a lot better. Corbin’s leg reached the edge of the metal vertical file, but not quite the top of it.

“Extend your lower leg a little further. You’re going to need more momentum…”

With a burst of energy, Corbin lifted his foot and skimmed the top of the filing cabinet, catching papers as well as the packing tape dispenser, which flew from the cabinet and landed on the edge of Daniel’s knee.

Daniel rocked backward quickly, keeping the tape in his lap. He extended his fingers, catching the edge of the tape and drawing it closer. He worked the dispenser with his finger until he got the serrated edge where wanted it.

“Hurry,” Corbin said.

Daniel tuned the other man out. He knew that only patience would free him from the chair. He rocked the blade back and forth in his fingers, feeling it cut into the bottom of his palm but watching as it slowly penetrated the nylon rope, the threads slowly coming undone. He didn’t have to cut it all the way through—he just needed enough give to move his hand.

“Daniel—”

“Be quiet, Corbin. Conserve your strength. I’m going to be free in a few minutes and then you will be and we’re getting out of here.”

Corbin nodded. “I thought I saw a shadow reflected in the plate glass windows.”

“Where?”

“Deep in the left corner.”

Daniel continued working the blade but kept his eyes on that corner. He didn’t see anything at first but then noticed a pool of black stillness in the darkness. He knew that someone was there, watching. Sensed it was Bo Long, his old rival. He wanted to believe it was the team from Liberty Investigations but suspected it was one of Sekijima’s men instead.

A flash of movement told him that there was some type of confrontation going on over there. And that distraction was exactly what he needed to get out of here.

Charity was in position when she heard Sekijima leave the building. Using the night vision goggles, she could see Daniel under the bare light of an exposed bulb in the office. He looked a little worse for wear, but determined.

Daniel was cutting the hell out of his wrist. She couldn’t go down because it’d be stupid to risk her life when she’d have backup in less then ten minutes. But dammit, she wanted to.

She was tense, and the focus she felt in herself she’d only felt one other time…when she’d gone after Kenkichi. She’d carefully buried that part of herself, made sure she could keep that killing rage bottled up. But seeing Daniel bound, his employee helpless and beaten…it brought everything to the surface.

“I’m going in,” she said.

“Wait—we’re almost in position.”

“I can’t.”

She had opened an air vent in the side of the warehouse and now lowered herself onto one of the steel beams that ran along the ceiling of the building. She had to bend low but was careful to keep her center of gravity so she didn’t lose her balance.

She moved the way she’d been taught to by her Master in Kobe. Quickly, silently, deadly. She reached for the knife that she’d always worn back then but the holster wasn’t on her chest. She only had her gun, a weapon that was noisy but effective.

She felt someone behind her and glanced back to see Justine on her heels. “We’re going to talk later.”

“Whatever. We have to get Daniel and the other man free before Sekijima gets to them.”

“I’ll lower you. You can cut them free. Anna’s providing cover from the roof, and I’ve got your back from here.”

Charity nodded. She already had the harness on, having put it on back at the hotel. She knew that Justine and Anna would have one on as well—they were always ready for any possibility.

Justine looped a heavy climbing rope around the steel bar and secured it, then let it drop down. Daniel glanced up at them and stopped sawing at the rope at his wrist. He shook his head.

She tipped her head to the side, trying to figure out what he was saying. He arched one eyebrow at her and nodded to the corner of the warehouse.

“I think someone is over there,” she said to Justine, careful to keep her voice almost soundless. Dropping the rope had given away her position, but anyone watching wouldn’t be able to ascertain if there was only one person or more. “It a good bet he knows I’m here.”

“But I’m a variable.”

“Yup. You want to go do a little hunting.”

Justine smiled before disappearing. Charity clipped her harness to the rope and slowly lowered herself. She had to maneuver her body through the cage where the ceiling tiles should have been, but in less than a minute she was on the floor near Daniel.

She unclipped her harness; bending low, she took the knife from her ankle sheath and cut him free. “I need a weapon,” he said.

She handed him her spare semiautomatic from the holster at the small of her back. Up close she saw the bruising on his face and the wound on his thigh oozing blood. She wanted to wrap her arms around him and hug him close, then stash him someplace safe while she found Sekijima.

“Why are you staring at me?” he asked.

“You look a lot worse than you did earlier…”

“So do you.”

She shook her head. “This is about you.”

“It’s about us now. Sekijima isn’t going to let either of us walk away unless I give him what he wants.”

“Daniel—”

“Not now. Someone is watching us from the corner.”

“Justine’s on him,” she said, letting him bring his focus back. But she wanted to take care of him first. And that was ridiculous. Security—their security—was the most important thing.

This was the first time she’d been tempted to forget that. “Is he coming with us?” she asked.

“Yes,” Daniel said. “Corbin, this is Charity—she’s going to free you. Do you have the strength to get out of here?”

Corbin nodded at Daniel.

“He’s going to be dead weight—can you handle that?” Daniel asked. For all her height and strength, a man’s dead weight was a lot to bear.

“Of course.”

She cut the man down and caught him as he slumped forward. His weight made her sag for a second, but then he straightened and held his hands out for her to cut them free. She did it quickly and saw that he was in worse shape than Daniel was.

She keyed her wireless mike. “We need medical.”

“Not a problem. I’ll be there with the first-aid kit,” Anna said. “There’s some activity near your car. I think they know you’re here.”

“I know they do,” Charity said.

“What’s the plan?”

She turned to Daniel. Her first thought was to leave Corbin tucked away somewhere because he’d slow them down and Daniel was her client. But she didn’t know how he’d feel about that.

“Got any ideas about how to get out of here? The girls are covering us, but there’s the guard in the corner and at least four others that we know of. And he’s going to slow us down.”

“Leave me. Take Corbin and get him out of here.”

She shook her head, watching Daniel. “I’m
your
bodyguard.”

“Now you’re his. Get him out of here. That’s an order.”

She started to argue. “Charity, you’re an employee of mine, nothing more. You still work for me.”

She drew back, fighting the urge to punch him for talking to her that way. Her emotions were ricocheting out of control. She took a deep breath and reminded herself that this was just a job and Daniel was only a client.

“We can argue about this later. For now, we’re all getting out of here.”

“Charity—”

“Daniel, you hired me to do a job and it’s about time I focused on that.”

“You help Corbin. I’ll make sure we’re clear.”

She scanned the room, seeing nothing from the corner they’d dispatched Justine to. She motioned for Daniel to follow her.

She heard him curse as she led the way out of the office.

“I can walk,” Corbin said as soon as they were outside the office area.

“Save it until you have to,” Daniel said, hating everything about this situation. What the hell was wrong with Charity? Didn’t she understand that he needed her to be safe?

“If you’re given an order, don’t argue, just do what your told, okay?”

Corbin nodded. Daniel had the spare gun that Charity had given him in the office and he was hyper-aware of his surroundings. He knew that whatever the reason was for Sekijima leaving, it would have been frivolous, and the other man would be back soon.

Charity moved like the professional she was—they were both here to do a job. Of course, she was trying to save his life, and he was here to make sure that Sekijima stayed dead this time.

Charity motioned them down and he grabbed Corbin’s arm and drew the man down toward the floor, searching for cover as Charity swept her gun left and right. She went back to the left, narrowed her eyes, and fired. He heard no sound but the impact of the bullet.

He knew she’d hit whoever was hiding back there but they didn’t cry out. There was an immediate return fire, and Charity dove for the ground, rolling until she was in position behind a metal storage container.

She motioned that she’d cover them and laid down some cover fire while he and Corbin ran for her position. Running made his thigh hurt like a bitch—the wound opened and blood was once again dripping down his leg.

“Fuck.”

“What?” Charity asked in a soundless whisper, not turning her gaze away from the warehouse floor. “Are you hit?”

“Earlier,” he said from between his teeth. He fought to grab her arm and pull her back further into the cover of the container. This was one situation he’d never been in before—in a shoot-out in the past, he’d only cared about himself.

He wouldn’t give a fuck who died as long as his enemy was not breathing and he could walk away. But he felt…oh, what the hell was this? Fear? Yes, he feared for Charity. And it was making it damned impossible to concentrate as he should.

“Daniel?”

“Hmm?”

“I asked you if you can bind your wound.”

“We don’t have time.” He wasn’t going to die from the blood loss. He’d fought in worst shape than this, and he always survived. There was a bit of the cockroach in him, he thought. No matter what, he always continued to exist.

“If you lose too much blood and pass out, it’ll be worse,” she bit out from between her teeth. “And as you pointed out, you hired me to do a job.”

“Dammit, woman, we don’t have time—”

“I’m not moving until your wound is bandaged. I can’t carry both of you out.”

He knew she’d stay put. He heard the stubbornness in her voice. “Give me your knife.”

She handed it to him without taking her gaze off the warehouse and the open area. He felt nothing but pure admiration for the soldier that she was. He understood the complete faith that Sam Liberty had in Charity. It was plain to see from the way she held herself that she was simply the best.

“Corbin, help him. Tear his shirt into strips and wrap the wound. Do we need to cut off your pants?”

“No. Find out who’s firing on us. I’ve got this.”