Read Online A Bloody Storm: A Derrick Storm Short by Richard Castle - Free Book Online

him was killed. It had been a trap and the Viper escaped.
    “Do you know the Jihad Group?” she asked him.
    “Yes, the Viper is a truly evil man.”
    “They all are.”
    Oscar emerged from the bushes and Casper finished with his map. “You girls going to chat all afternoon or are we ready to go kill someone?” Casper asked.
    Dilya said, “Why must you be so unpleasant?”
    “Actually, Scarface, I’ve been on my best behavior just to impress you.” Looking directly at Storm, he added, “Tick, tick, tick.”

CHAPTER TEN
    “Let’s begin with the most obvious question: Where is the gold?” Hasan asked Showers.
    “What gold?” she replied.
    Hasan chuckled. “So this is how we will play our little game.” He scanned the various torture devices that he’d carefully placed in front of him and then yelled something in Uzbek. Two men hurried into the room. One carried a metal folding chair, which he set up directly across from Hasan. He hoisted Showers from the mat and forced her into the chair. The guard jerked her injured right arm behind her, sending a jarring pain up her shoulder, but she refused to scream. He handcuffed her wrists in back of the chair.
    The other guard brought a large truck battery with jumper cables into the room and dropped it near her feet.
    “Didn’t you say shocking people was mundane?” she chided.
    “Consider this foreplay,” Hasan hissed. “I will get more creative as our evening together progresses.”
    At least now she knew it was nightfall. Hasan rose from his seat, walked behind her, reached down, and suddenly grabbed her right shoulder, digging his thumb into her wound.
    Showers screamed. He pressed again, clearly trying to separate the collarbone that the hospital surgeons had labored to repair. The pain was so intense, and she was so exhausted that Showers mercifully blacked out.
    “Langley has a bird’s-eye view of the dump where they are entertaining the FBI broad,” Casper announced as Dilya drove the SUV toward Jizzakh. “Intel says there are currently only four men inside the building.”
    “Four?” Oscar replied.
    “What sort of building is it?” Dilya asked.
    “A slaughterhouse,” Casper said, chuckling. “I didn’t think Muslims ate meat.”
    “Muslims practice
Halal
,” Dilya said. “We don’t eat pork or any meat that has blood in it. Nor do we drink alcohol.”
    “Pity for you, Scarface. No booze to help you sleep during those lonely nights,” Casper said. “Maybe we can get together after this little escapade and I can introduce you to a friend of mine named Jack Daniel’s”
    “Does this mean women only find you attractive when they are drunk?” she asked.
    “What’s your rescue plan?” Storm said.
    “KISS,” Casper replied, smacking his lips at Dilya. “It stands for Keep It Simple Stupid. When we get there, our little scientist friend here will stay outside and shoot anyone who tries to come in to help the other tangos.”
    He grabbed the barrel of his shotgun and said, “I’m going to take my little friend here and blow open the door.”
    “You don’t have C-3?” Dilya asked, referring to plastic explosives.
    “Don’t need it,” he replied. “A few rounds of double-aught buckshot fired into the hinges and my boot heel will do the trick. And I’ll still have a few left over for the tango inside.”
    “That’s your plan?” Dilya said. “Shoot the door and then run inside?”
    “Well, it’s a bit more sophisticated than that. I’m also going to have lover boy here toss in some flash bangs.” He was referring to Storm. “When those bangs explode, there will be a very, very loud noise, a blinding flash, and a shock wave that will knock whoever’s inside on their asses like they were standing next to a giant speaker at a heavy metal concert.”
    Casper paused. He liked being the center of attention and being in charge. “Now,” he said, “I figure Scarface here has more time firing an AK-47 than our lover boy. As