Page 49 of The 9th Man

It was lifted from Luke’s face. He let out the breath he was holding.

“A rifle,” she said. “An old one.”

That magic word again. Which had an effect on Persik. The Indonesian was definitely interested. “I’m listening.”

“It’d been there a long time,” Jillian said. “It was carefully wrapped. Obviously important to my grandfather.”

“What kind of rifle?”

“Like you don’t know,” Luke said.

Persik turned toward him. “For this to be your ticket off that board, I need to know what kind of rifle.”

“A Colt AR-15. First or second generation.”

He wanted to see what reaction the truth would bring.

But nothing was offered, only Persik asking, “Where is it now?”

“It’s back where you caught me,” Jillian said. “I hid it in some tree roots. You won’t find it on your own.”

“Anything else?”

“That’s all I know,” she said.

“I don’t believe you.” Persik motioned to the guards. “Continue.”

“If you do this, I won’t help you,” she made clear.

“I’m going to drown Mr. Daniels until he’s almost dead. And I’m going to keep doing it over and over and over until it’s your turn. By the time I’m done, neither of you will have a secret left in your head.”

“I swear to God,” Jillian said. “You’ll get nothing from me.”

The towel was draped back over his face.

Everything went dark.

He kept telling himself, keep your head, snatch breaths when you can. Unless they killed him while he was still strapped to the board, there’d come a moment when they’d move him to make way for Jillian. Meager as it would be, that could be his chance.

A phone jangled.

“Hold there,” Persik ordered his men, then took the call. After a few moments of listening, he said, “I’ve got them both here.” Another pause. “I’ve just started.” More listening. “How far out are you? Okay, we’ll stand by.” The call ended. “Remove the towel.”

The guards complied.

Luke blinked his eyes clear.

“Just a delay, Mr. Daniels,” Persik said. “Don’t get your hopes up.”

A few minutes passed and, from outside, came the revving of an engine. Tires skidded on dirt, followed by a door opening and shutting. A sole man entered the hangar. Tall and broad-shouldered with close-cropped black hair, he walked straight to Persik with a slight limp. The man gave Luke, then Jillian, a once-over.

“Is this them?” the newcomer asked. “They don’t look like much.”

“Why were you sent? I have things in hand.”

“Tell me the situation.”

Persik recounted all that he knew. When finished, he said, “I believe Mr. Daniels is lying, so I was about to persuade him to be more truthful.”