Hatch, page 15
She slid her gaze over toward Corbin, who was watching their byplay with interest. “That won’t happen,” she announced, as she crossed her arms over her chest. Hatch was already at the front door, as she added, “I don’t feel good about this at all.”
He stopped, looked at her, and asked, “In what way?”
“I don’t know,” she replied. “I just feel like there’ll be a reception waiting for you.”
He studied her for a long moment. “Okay, thanks for the warning. I’ll see you soon.”
Her eyebrows shot up. “Won’t you listen to me?”
“I’ll take it into consideration,” he explained, “because we believe in instincts, but I can’t let something like fear stop me.”
She felt the heat on her cheeks at that. “That’s fair. Obviously I am afraid. I’ve just lost my father, been kidnapped, struggled to find my way back out of the death-trap sand dunes, where I was left to die. Now I just don’t want anything to happen to you guys,” she muttered.
“I get it. Fear is definitely an issue, but so is self-preservation. It’s what I am really good at, and actually … it’s what we’re both good at. Thank you for caring. I appreciate it.” And, with that, he turned and stepped out the door.
She glared at the closed door for a long time, then turned to look at Corbin, who was studying her carefully. “Will he really be careful?”
“Actually, he will,” he stated immediately. “Hatch is very good at what he does.”
Her shoulders slumped, she muttered, “But everybody gets caught.”
“Sometimes people get caught,” he agreed. “But remember. You also wanted answers.”
She flushed at that and stared at Corbin, realizing that, but for her need for answers, they’d be safely away from here. A hard thing to accept. “God, if something happens to him, … I’ll be responsible for it, won’t I?”
“No.” Corbin shook his head. “This is what we do, what Hatch does, so let him go do it.”
“What if he gets hurt while he’s out there?”
“Then he gets hurt, and we’ll do our best to patch him up.”
She stared at him. “What if it’s not that simple?”
“So”—he smiled at her—“I gather you like him.”
She flushed and then shrugged. “Yeah, well sure. He’s a nice enough guy.”
“He’s more than a nice guy.” Corbin chuckled. “He’s a really nice guy. And he’s all heart.”
She glared at him. “I didn’t say that I was attracted to him or anything.”
“Sweetheart”—he shook his head, with a gentle smile—“you really don’t have to try to hide it.”
And, with that, he returned to eating the food in his container. She stared at it, but all she could think about was Hatch and whether he would come back, safe and sound.
Hatch quickly retraced Corbin’s steps and then did a wide circle, approaching the property in question from a different angle. This area was crowded with buildings, cutting down on the sunshine reaching the pathways here. Plus, looking up at the sky, Hatch noted it was overcast. Maybe a rainstorm was moving in. Regardless, it all helped to reduce the impact of the heat for the moment.
He leaned up against the wall and watched his surroundings. Unlike when Corbin had been there, it was pretty quiet right now. Hatch studied the shadows and smiled when one of them moved. The man stepped forward, searching the area around him, before walking up to the property and slipping inside the big wrought iron gate and headed to one of the nearby doors.
From the little bit that Hatch saw of the robed man, it was Aman, the jailer Hatch was looking for. And that surprised him. He figured Aman would have been long gone by now. That he was still here meant that his boss was likely here too. Or maybe Aman had been left behind to keep an eye on things. Like Millie.
Hatch waited and watched but saw nobody else appear. He stepped forward and quickly entered the same gate. Almost immediately, he came to the door which Aman had chosen earlier. Hatch must get inside unnoticed. He tested the doorknob to find it unlocked and quickly slipped inside.
Somebody shifted, somebody who had been waiting for him and now tried to come after Hatch. He took him down without too much trouble, but, even down there on the ground, Aman looked really big. Hatch stared at him, looking at the fury in his eyes.
The big man glared at him. “Who the hell are you?” he snapped. His accent was guttural and harsh, as though he was capable of speaking English, but it wasn’t his language of choice.
“Somebody who’s very interested in where you left your kidnap victims, Aman.”
He shrugged. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“Good,” he replied, “because I want to know everything there is to know, and, if you don’t want to tell me, I’m totally okay with that. Although I should warn you that I’m a little pissed about the whole thing.”
Aman snorted. “You won’t get anything from me.”
“Probably not. But once your boss finds out that we’ve had this little talk, how much will he trust you?”
At that, Aman’s gaze widened, but he remained quiet.
“That’s what I thought. He’s not the trusting type, and he’ll want to make sure that you got out of this with the upper hand. Yet I can tell you right now, that ain’t happening, buddy.”
“You and who else will stop me?” Aman asked. “Do you think I didn’t let you take me?”
“Glad to hear that too,” Hatch noted. “I’m really quite ready for a bit of a dustup. Assholes like you piss me off, and I could really use a better fight than this one was.”
Aman sneered. “You’re no different than me.”
“You don’t know anything about me,” Hatch replied.
Aman shrugged. “I don’t care to either. You’re in my home. You’re an intruder and a foreigner,” he snapped. “Believe me. All of law enforcement will be on my side.”
The thing was, Aman was quite correct on that point. “Oh, I know,” Hatch agreed cheerfully. “No disagreement there. I’ll just have to make sure you don’t get a chance to talk then.”
Aman stared at Hatch silently. “I don’t know anything about what you’re talking about anyway,” Aman said.
For the first time, Hatch saw fear in Aman’s eyes, and Hatch liked that. “Yeah, of course not. So you know nothing about Marcus and Millie. They were kidnapped, and apparently Marcus is dead now. Where did you dump the body, big guy?”
At that, Aman’s eyes widened even farther.
“And, of course, your boss has skipped to England,” Hatch added. “We’ve already tracked his flights, leaving you to face murder charges.”
Aman didn’t say anything to that either.
“How long before the boss finds out that you’re such a loser that you got taken down?”
Still Aman remained silent.
Hatch smiled. “But none of that matters. What I want to know is where you put Marcus’s body and what your boss is doing in England.”
“Well, you’ll have to kill me for that.”
“Except you won’t tell me much when you’re dead, will you?”
“I won’t tell you anyway,” Aman snapped. “Do you really think that a man who would kidnap two people will give a shit about what happens to me?”
“Well, he appreciates loyalty over and above everything else,” Hatch noted softly. “So just how loyal are you?”
“Very,” Aman replied. “I’ve worked for him for a really long time.”
“I know.” Hatch nodded. “Got into a lot of trouble, and now even your family doesn’t want anything to do with you.”
“I don’t want anything to do with them either,” he snapped.
“Except for your brother, I guess.”
Aman hesitated for just a second at that mention of his brother. “They’re losers, the whole lot of them.”
“Why, because they work for a living?”
“I work too,” Aman stated. “I do a hell of a lot better than they do.”
“Yeah, but you kidnap innocent women to die in the desert and the old men? You beat them until they die. How noble is that?”
“You don’t know anything about it. Marcus was a danger to Egypt.”
“Well, if you were working for the Egyptian government, I might give a shit,” Hatch admitted, “but, since you work for a guy who only wants what Marcus may have squirreled away, that doesn’t endear me to you at all.”
“I don’t give a damn. You think you know so much, but you don’t know shit.”
“No, maybe not,” Hatch agreed. “But I do know that losers, like you, just don’t change their colors. I believe you’re the same guy who you were before, Aman, and that’s just a liar and a cheating loser.”
At that, the other man glared at him.
“So, where is your boss going?”
“I thought you knew he would go to England.” He sneered.
Hatch shrugged. “We’ve got feelers out, but you could save me a lot of time.” Aman just stared at him. “Right, so you won’t be helpful. You don’t care about who you kill in the process, and the fact that you left that poor woman to die in that cave doesn’t matter to you in the least.”
Aman shrugged. “I didn’t kill her.”
“No, but you were supposed to, weren’t you?” The guy continued to stare at him, mute. “But you couldn’t even bring yourself to follow those instructions.”
“What? So now I’m too empathetic?” he asked. “You just accused me of being a killer because I left her alone in the cave to die.”
“Well, at least you’ve admitted to doing that much.”
Aman immediately clamped his lips together, realizing just how much he had said.
“I already know that it was you, so I wouldn’t worry about it. What I do want to know is what else you can tell me.”
“I can’t tell you anything. I won’t tell you anything.”
At that, Hatch nodded. “Well, you could, but you don’t want to.”
“Not much difference,” Aman replied. “I talk to you, and I’m dead.”
“Once he finds out you’ve talked to me at all, death happens anyway,” Hatch noted. “From where I sit, you’re dead already.”
Aman glared at him. “Not if I take you out first.”
“Well, that ain’t happening.” Hatch gave him an eyeroll.
“Says you. Do you think I haven’t been up against worse assholes than you?”
“I’m sure you have,” Hatch murmured. His muscles were tensed, waiting for Aman to make his move. It would be nice if Hatch had backup, but that wouldn’t happen here. And, as relaxed as Aman was underneath Hatch, obviously Aman had something else planned. Hatch quickly glanced around for any other dangers he hadn’t seen, but it looked to be a fairly empty building. “You obviously have a lot of confidence in your ability to handle whatever comes your way,” Hatch murmured.
“Of course.” Aman laughed. “Assholes are everywhere, and, in my line of work, keeping them at bay has always kept me in good stead.”
“Sure,” Hatch agreed. “As long as you can. It’s when you fail that you get into trouble.”
Aman shrugged. “Hasn’t happened yet.”
“Oh, I’m sure somebody in your little corner of the world will tattle about my visit here.” Hatch smiled.
Aman shook his head. “No, that won’t make any bit of difference. I’ve worked for him for a long time.”
“I know.” Hatch nodded. “But, if you won’t help me and take this opportunity—” In a sudden move, Hatch quickly hit him hard with an upper cut.
But Aman just stared at him and barely blinked in reaction to being hit.
Hatch sighed. “Great, so you think you’re a tough guy too, don’t you?”
He sneered. “I can certainly handle any of that bullshit you think you’re passing my way.”
“If you say so.” Hatch then hit him again and then again. At the same time, Aman just laid there and didn’t even fight back. Hatch knew that he would have to come up with something that shook Aman off balance.
Hatch was used to taking down these big guys. The fact that Aman wasn’t even fighting back worried Hatch. Maybe the big guy was waiting for Hatch to wear down. He didn’t know. This guy was big and ugly to boot. And, for the first time, Hatch wondered just what he was missing here. When he heard a sound behind him, he ducked and rolled to the right.
And, when the blow came down, instead of hitting Hatch, it hit Aman in the chest.
Hatch bounded to his feet, and, kicking out with a lethal right kick, he cracked the new assailant in the jaw, snapping his head backward, collapsing him to the ground. Then Hatch dropped to Aman, staring up at him, with a knife in his chest.
“Shit.” Hatch bounced to his feet. He looked at the second man, unknown to Hatch, and confirmed by the odd angle that his neck was broken. With a groan at the way things turned out, Hatch quickly slipped out the rear of the property and disappeared.
Chapter 11
“Hatch should be back by now,” Millie fretted for the umpteenth time.
Corbin looked over at her and smiled; yet he hadn’t said anything the last few times she’d muttered about the delay. When the door opened suddenly, and Hatch slipped inside, she raced over and threw her arms around him.
“Are you okay?”
He wrapped his arms around her, held her close, and whispered, “I’m fine, but we need to move, and we’ll need to do it quickly.” Hatch nodded to Corbin. “We’re leaving now.”
“Trouble, huh?” Corbin was already on his feet and packing up.
“Go pack up your things,” he told Millie, and she quickly headed into the bedroom to comply.
“Isn’t there always trouble?” Hatch asked Corbin, then quickly relayed what happened with Aman and the stranger.
Corbin’s eyebrows shot up. “Interesting,” he murmured. “I don’t suppose you got any information out of them.”
He shook his head. “Not much, but I did grab both of their cell phones.”
“Oh, that’s great. So it wasn’t all for nothing.” Corbin’s gaze brightened.
Hatch tossed the cell phones to Corbin.
“We won’t get out of the country,” she called from the bedroom, then came out, looking over at Hatch, her expression worried. “Will we?”
“Not that fast, no,” he replied, “but we definitely have to change locations. I’ve asked for a safe house,” he murmured. “All packed up?”
Within seconds, she stood by the door, stunned, looking at all their personal belongings gathered beside her. The suite was all packed up; the leftover food had been tossed into the trash. “If I knew we would toss it—”
“Don’t worry about it. We’ll order more food,” Hatch whispered. Soon they were outside.
She sniffed the cool air. “Such a hot mugginess here even when cloudy, even at this hour.”
“I think it’s the precursor to a rainstorm, but regardless we need to move fast. We’ll have visitors soon.”
“Did you leave somebody behind?”
“Nobody who’ll talk.” She pinched her lips together and just stared at him. He placed a finger against her lips, “It was necessary.”
“You had to kill him?”
“One, yes, but he killed the other guy, Aman. I’ll explain later.” And, with that, he wrapped an arm around her shoulder, tugged her up close. “Stay with me, and let’s be quiet.”
Corbin went ahead, and they quickly followed. Corbin checked his phone a couple times, as if looking for instructions or directions, and, before she knew it, they were up against a building in a dark alleyway.
As Corbin stepped into the building, she hesitated. Hatch looked at her and whispered, “Safe house. Remember?”
“Scary, sketchy, dark cave. Remember?”
He nodded. “Trust me.” He didn’t really give her an option and just tugged her forward.
She wanted to protest, but there wasn’t any protesting to be done. It was this or nothing, as far as they were concerned. She stepped in behind Corbin, and they were in a large room, with four bunk beds. She turned around and looked at Hatch. “Nobody knows we’re here?”
Hatch immediately shook his head. “Not unless we were followed.”
“Is that a possibility?” she asked.
“Isn’t it always a possibility?”
“I’ll go keep an eye out.” Corbin dropped his load and stepped back outside again. As he walked past, he handed the phones back to Hatch. “Take a look at these while I’m gone,” he muttered.
She sat on the bottom bunk closest to her and whispered, “What the hell happened over there?”
He quickly explained, while she stared at him in shock. “He killed his own friend?”
“I don’t know about friend. Maybe somebody was keeping an eye on Aman or possibly somebody was sent to kill him. It may have been somebody in cahoots with Aman who refused to share the spoils. I don’t know. The unknown guy would have killed me but stabbed his buddy instead, and I turned around and snapped his neck, without meaning to.”
“Wow, the cops will really love you.”
“No, they sure won’t,” he noted. “I highly suspect neither of those two were model citizens, and, even though it’s a mess for the local authorities, they definitely won’t love me, … if they find out that I was even there.”
She snorted. “Spies are everywhere. Remember. Did you get a picture of the other one?”
“I did,” he confirmed. “I took pictures of both before I left.”
He held up his phone, and she stared at it. “He seems vaguely familiar, but I’m not sure if he was part of my kidnapping or not.”
“I wouldn’t be at all surprised if he was.”
When she looked at the photo again, she shifted in the light. “You know what? I think this was the second guard, the one who was more like the boss’s assistant. It’s just a really crappy photo.”
“Well, he’ll never get any better photos now,” Hatch murmured.
She nodded slowly. “And I know I shouldn’t be happy about that, but I find myself incapable of feeling sad that this asshole and Aman are dead.”
“I get it.” He sat down and brought out his laptop, then started typing away.
