Chapter 67

  Chuah tried to avoid the motorbike, but his speed and momentum failed to maneuver the heavy SUV in time to avoid the crash. The impact wasn’t as bad as Jesse thought it would be, yet it was bad enough. The driver of the motorbike was thrown on top of the hood, and the small young man crashed into the windshield without breaking it. Jesse watched in horror as he rolled off the windshield and onto the street.

  Even before the SUV finally came to a stop, Jesse was out of the vehicle to see if he could help the stricken man. He was at his side in an instant, checking for any injuries as the young man lay semi-conscious on the ground, groaning in pain. He was happy to see that he had on a safety helmet and that there were no apparent broken bones, although he was concerned that he might have sustained internal injuries. Jesse looked back as Ken and Chuah approached them. Then, to his amazement, he saw the young man sit up and start to curse in his native tongue. Jesse knew a few of these words that were universal to every language, but he still needed Chuah to interrupt. Then the young man stood, took off his helmet, brushed himself off, and started to walk over to his ruined motorbike. Chuah and the young man spoke in a heated conversation before Chuah turned to Ken and Jesse.

  Chuah said, "He says he's fine and that he's sorry for the accident."

  Jesse was instantly relieved. "What does a motorbike like that cost?" he asked Chuah.

  Chuah looked at the mangled Honda Click and said, "About fifty thousand Baht or about $1,600 U.S. dollars."

  "Ask him again if he has any injuries."

  Chuah did.

  "He said his right leg and shoulder are the only things that hurt. He insists that he's ok."

  Satisfied, Jesse returned to the SUV, opened the rear tailgate door, and pulled out a mid-sized black bag. He opened a side pocket, and after finding what he was looking for, he walked back to the three men standing by the motorbike that Ken had dragged off the road.

  Jesse handed Chuah $5,000 U.S. Dollars. "Give him this money and tell him we're very sorry for the accident. It should be enough to buy another motorbike and care for his injuries."

  Chuah just looked at him and said, "For that amount of money, I would've taken that hit."

  "Just give it to him and get his name and cell number. I want to check up on him after this is over."

  Chuah nodded and went to speak to the man.

  Jesse’s anxiety was mounting with each passing minute. He was torn between his moral obligation to the young man, a man he didn’t even know, and the fate of his friend less than a mile away. Finally, all three were back in the SUV, and on the road again. They were close. But could they get there in time to save Shawn and his friends?

  “How long,” Jesse asked.

  “Very soon…that’s all I can tell you,” Chuah responded.

  *****

  Shawn spun around and tried to bring his weapon up, but it was too late. Knowing that he had the man, Ivan Rakov smiled and fired his weapon. The twin darts from the M26 Taser hit Shawn squarely in the chest, sending 50,000 volts of electricity surging through his body, effectively immobilizing him instantly. The charge sent Shawn sprawling to the floor, and his whole body went rigid.

  Ivan was on top of him before he could recover as Shawn tried to fight back with limbs that didn’t quite fully respond. Ivan placed a handheld Taser against the side of Shawn’s neck, and another surge of electricity jolted through his body. With his captive in complete control, Ivan relieved Shawn of his weapons, bound his arms behind his back with plastic ties, and then did the same to his legs. Satisfied with his job, Ivan spoke into this lip mic and informed Mr. Smith that he had Harris secured and under control.

  Ivan grabbed Shawn by his shirt collar, dragged him down the staircase, and purposely banged his head against the stair treads several times on the way down. Smith, who had turned on the foyer lights, was waiting for him with Kim at his side. He had removed her gag and forced her to stay on the floor. She cried softly at the sight of the man she loved being mistreated. Shawn looked up at Kim, and he could see the agony on her face. His heart was broken at the sight. Her face was bloodied and bruised, and he felt ashamed that he couldn’t protect her. He did a quick scan of the room and was a little confused when he didn’t see Kasam or Choi or any blood on the floor.

  Mr. Smith looked at Kim with unmoving eyes and said to Shawn, “This could have all been so easy…unfortunately, you wanted to do it the hard way. Ivan, please help Mr. Harris off the floor and hold him from behind so I can talk with him politely face to face and man to man.”

  Ivan let out a small laugh and complied with Smith’s request. Ivan roughly pulled Shawn off the floor and held him firm by his arms. Smith moved forward until he was face to face with Shawn and asked in a very calm tone.

  “Now that I have your undivided attention, why don’t you spare yourself and your friends a lot of pain and give me what I come for…otherwise I’m going to let my sadistic associate have his way with your girlfriend, and after he’s through with her…well you’re a smart guy…I’m sure you get the idea. Now, I’m only going to ask you this one time. Where is the document?”

  “What have you done with Choi, my housekeeper and gateman?” Shawn asked with more than a bit of concern in his voice.

  “Mr. Choi is no longer among the living. I’m afraid that’s what happens when you play with guns. As for your housekeeper and you’re so-called security man, they are tied up and safe for the moment,” Smith lied.

  Shawn looked at Kim, who was shaking her head. He knew that these men would kill them the instant they got what they wanted, but he wasn’t going to let the ugly Russian touch Kim. His only hope was to distract the asshole standing in front of him.

  Smith was too close, and Shawn saw his opportunity. Despite being held tightly by Rakov, Shawn lunged forward and head-butted Smith squarely on the nose. The surprise move caught Smith off guard, and he instantly backed up and touched his bleeding nose. In the blink of an eye, he was all over Shawn. He pummeled him repeatedly with blows to the head and body until his rage subsided and his cool demeanor returned.

  Smith looked at Ivan coldly and said, “I told you to hold him. Was that too much to ask?”

  Ivan didn’t respond, although inwardly, he was very pleased with himself.

  Smith then brought his attention back to Shawn and said, “So I take it by your response that your answer was a “no” or were you just showing some bravado for your girlfriend?”

  Shawn spit a glob of blood from his bleeding mouth and said, “Fuck you… go to hell, you prick.”

  “Oh, that was quite novel. You disappoint me, Shawn. From someone of your background, I was hoping for a well done. You bested me fair and square. I’m very disappointed in you, Shawn. You sadly responded like all the men I’ve beaten…with vulgarity in the face of defeat. Oh, and another thing, I personally don’t believe in hell…but if there is such a place, I’m almost certain that I have a reservation waiting for me, although I’m pretty sure that it’s not for today.”

  *****

  “The gates are just ahead,” Chuah announced. Jesse looked up as they finally turned off the main road and onto the private drive. Thirty yards ahead, Jesse could see the black wrought iron gate illuminated by the SUV’s lights. He hoped to have eyes in the sky, but that was not in the cards. He would not have a satellite over Shawn’s home for another half hour. They would have to go in blind. The gate was closed, and Ken was out of the vehicle before it stopped. With his flashlight, Ken found the gate switch and the jumper wire still attached at two different terminals and concluded that the intruders must have bypassed the gate alarm. Ken hit the gate switch and hoped it would still work. Nothing happened; the gate remained closed. Chuah jumped out of the SUV and was about to assist Ken when he heard a soft click and the hum of an electric motor as the gate started to open. Chuah waved at Ken, and both men got back into the SUV just as the gates were fully open.

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  *****

  Smith nodded at Rakov, who sneered with delight because he had just been given permission to do what he loved, inflicting pain on others. Knowing what was about to come, Shawn lunged backward and caught Ivan off guard, driving him into the stairs. Ivan let out a groan as Shawn landed on top of him. Shawn tried to turn and face Rakov so he could use his bound legs and head against the man, but Rakov was too strong. He easily pushed Shawn away, pulled out his handheld taser, and delivered another burst of electricity through his body. Immobile and helpless, Ivan went after Shawn with a vengeance. Smith held Kim, who was openly sobbing now at the sight of her man being beaten to death.

  Smith had finally seen enough.

  “That’s enough, Ivan.”

  Rakov ignored his command and continued to inflict more punishment on Shawn.

  Smith yelled out, “I said that’s enough. I need that document, and I want him alive so he can tell me where it is. He can’t tell me if he’s dead, you idiot.”

  Ivan stopped and glared at Smith until he looked away and backed off.

  Smith was concerned that Harris’s housekeeper had somehow slipped out of their hands. If he had gone for the police, they didn’t have much time and searching for the document wasn’t an option. He wasn’t even sure that Harris had it at his home. Smith told Ivan to hold Kim and not hurt her, and then he bent down to look at Shawn. His face was bloodied and starting to swell, but he still remained defiant.

  “Is he supposed to be your muscle asshole? Because if he is, you’re in trouble, he hits like a fucking little girl.”

  Smith grinned. He had to hand it to the man. He was ballsy.

  “Shawn…I hope I can call you by your first name. I feel like I know you so well.”

  Shawn didn’t respond to his obvious sardonic rhetorical question.

  “Well…I’ll take that as a yes then. Shawn…I honestly don’t want to hurt you anymore.”

  Smith let out a long sigh. “But if you don’t give me what I want…you will force me to. Now, if you just give me the document, this will all be over, and my associate and I will leave.”

  Shawn had no delusions as to the nature of the man before him. Despite his soft-spoken, pleasant demeanor, this man was a stone-cold killer who took great pleasure in inflicting pain and suffering on others. What these men would do to them after they got the document in their hands wasn’t hard to figure out. He knew he would eventually give in to the pain, but he was going to remain defiant until that moment came.

  “Why don’t you and your sadistic butt buddy go fuck yourselves?” Shawn said through blood-stained teeth.

  Mr. Smith’s face boiled with rage, but he quickly composed himself. He pushed himself off the floor and motioned for Rakov to continue, much to the delight of the ugly Russian.

  *****

  Chuah drove with his headlights off up the winding drive that led to the top of the hill and Shawn’s home. Jesse was the first to spot him. A man limping was leaning on a broken tree branch as a crutch on the road ahead. He had no visible weapon in sight. Jesse ordered Chuah to stop, and both Jesse and Ken were out of the vehicle with guns drawn in seconds. Kasem immediately dropped his crutch and threw up his hands with a forced smile, a smile that was mixed with fear. Who were these men? Whoever they were looked far more dangerous than any policeman he had ever seen.

  The conversation only lasted a couple of minutes, and with each passing second, Kasem’s heart rate came down, from threatening to explode from his chest to a mere cardiac arrest. Jesse told him to wait in the guard shack but warned him not to call the police even if he did get a signal. Kasem didn’t argue; he simply nodded and stepped back from the vehicle as it moved forward.

  Leaving Kasem behind, they soon came upon the assault team's vehicle. Jesse told Chuah to stop. Jesse got out and checked to see if the keys were in the ignition. The doors weren't locked, and he found no keys. He then removed his tactical knife and cut the valve stems on the two front tires. He got back in the SUV and told Chuah to proceed. The house came into view, and Jesse said, "Cut the engine and use your emergency brake to stop. I don't want them to see the brake lights. And take the keys out of the ignition."

  Chuah complied, and they came to a stop. Once outside the vehicle, they locked, and loaded their weapons. Ken took the lead in a fast sprint, and within seconds, they were outside the main entrance of Shawn's home. The only light emitted from the inside was in the main entry foyer, and they could see that four people were concentrated there through the opaque glass. However, there was no way to tell the good guys from the bad. Ken tried the door. It was locked.

  Through a large broken-out window just a short distance from the main door, Jesse could see where some of the men had entered, and he quickly ruled that out. The broken glass would give them away and take away their tactical advantage of surprise.

  Jesse split up his men and had Ken enter the home through one of the third-floor balconies while he and Chuah entered through the lower level on the backside of the home. He was about to ask Ken if his shoulder was good enough to climb, but he knew that Ken would lie rather than admit that he wasn’t healthy enough, so he let it pass. Ken found the ladder rope the men had used to gain entrance to the top-floor balcony and climbed it with ease, although it bothered his sore shoulder just a bit. He made his way inside the home and entered through a guest bedroom. He found a dead man lying on the floor just inside the doorway with no apparent injury. He checked for a pulse and found none, then stepped over the man and quickly looked into the hallway. At the top of the staircase, he could see an unmoving figure on the floor. The rest of the hallway was clear. He could hear men speaking and the sounds of a woman softly crying. The hallway was dark except for the defused light coming from the main foyer. He stepped into the hall and tested the floor for any unwanted sounds. Finding none, he swiftly moved to the open landing and the unmoving figure beside it. One look at the man’s face, and he knew he didn’t have to check for vital signs. He was clearly dead and informed Jesse very softly of his finds through his lip mic. Ken dropped to the floor and crawled the last few feet, where a large potted palm was placed right next to the edge of the staircase. When he was in position, he peered through the palm branches and staircase banisters to the floor below.

  *****

  Shawn tried to avoid the blows, but with his hands tied behind his back and legs bound, there wasn’t much he could do. He had no idea how he would get out of this bad dream, yet he was determined to try. He decided to just let it go and take the pain because he knew that Smith wasn’t going to let this go on forever. Finally, Smith ordered Ivan to stop again and wondered how much more Harris could take. He again asked Shawn to give him what he wanted, and he told him to go fuck himself in no uncertain terms. Now, Mr. Smith’s patience was running out.

  “Well, I truly have to commend you on your resolve, Mr. Harris, but unfortunately, my time is running out. I could resort to waterboarding or use a gas mask like the Russians, but in my humble opinion, they’re much too crude. I know, I know, it worked on KSM, but I believe that you are a much tougher man than that pussy ever was.”

  Smith walked over to Shawn and sat on the floor in front of him with his legs crossed.

  “Now, Shawn, I can’t afford to be here all night … so I’m afraid you’ve left me with no choice.”

  Mr. Smith waited for a smart retort. When none was forthcoming, he cocked his head sideways to study his captive for a moment, and then he suddenly jumped to his feet. He walked over to Kim and pulled her to her feet by her hair. He removed her gag and asked her to persuade Shawn to give up the document.

  When she refused, it left him with no option.

  “Shawn, if you don’t give me what I want before I count to three… I’m going to blow her brains out. It’s your choice, Shawn.”

  After waiting only a few seconds for Shawn to respond, Mr. Smith started to count. “ONE

  *****

  Jesse and Chuah ran to the west end of the home and spotted the cantilevered balcony that jetted over the side of the hill. Directly below it was a pebbled stone apron and patio area surrounding one swimming pool. Jesse spotted a tree very close to the outermost point of the balcony, and from the look of the branches, it appeared to be an easy climb to the balcony railing. Jesse had no way of knowing who the dead men were that Ken had found. They could have been the intruders or with Shawn. Jesse told Ken to key his mic once and leave it open when he got into position and just monitor the situation. He was given the green light to take out the bad guys if any of the hostages were in immediate danger of death, but only under those circumstances. Otherwise, he was only to observe, stay out of sight, and wait for them to get into position. He wanted to take the men alive if possible. They needed answers.

  From his vantage point, Ken noted that there were two staircases that led to the third floor. One that led to the west side of the home and one that led to the east. They were also connected by an open hall that looked down onto the foyer. The main entryway was wide. Ken estimated the distance to be about thirty feet, with a vaulted ceiling above him. Ken was just off the east staircase landing and he could only see one person in the foyer. It was a woman sitting on the floor with her arms tied together. Then, a man came into view and stopped before he could get a full look at the man. He was mostly hidden by a large group of potted plants and what appeared to be a flowing stream or water garden that Ken guessed to be the central point of the foyer.

  Suddenly, the conversation stopped, and the partially hidden figure walked from behind the water garden and over to the woman. He pulled her to her feet by her hair and shoved a gun into the side of her neck. He was tall and blond with a hard, chiseled body. The man looked like he could handle himself quite well. He roughly removed her gag and spoke to her, although he couldn’t hear what he was saying. But his next forceful words he did understand.

  Jesse and Chuah climbed the tree quickly and were on the balcony and heading for the open door when they heard Smith start to count from Ken’s open mic. Ken didn’t know if the man was bluffing, although he suspected he wasn’t. He stuck the short barrel of his assault rifle through the palm and just back from the balusters, then placed the crosshairs on the side of Smith’s head. Ken was a highly trained professional and an expert marksman. He had no problem with taking out the target below him. He hoped Jesse and Chuah could get into position because he couldn’t see the second target.

  Smith jerked Kim’s head back and yelled out, “ONE.”

  With her head tilted backward, Kim noticed the barrel of a rifle poking through the palm branches and what appeared to be the face of a black man behind it. She instantly knew that this man wasn’t with Smith and his men, and to Smith’s utter surprise, Kim yelled out, “Do it.”

  Mr. Smith looked down into her eyes and said in a confused tone, “Why are you so eager to die, my dear?” He pulled her hair back harder and shouted, “TWO.”

  However, when Kim yelled out even louder, “DO IT NOW,” Smith had a very bad feeling come over him. He finally realized she wasn’t speaking to him.