Page 85 of Mouse Trapped

The last time I saw her, she said she hated me.I’d put that to the back of my mind. But now I feel so close to rescuing her, it worries me.She hadn’t meant it, had she? It was only something flung at me out of her own desperation. Wasn’t it?If not, I’ve fuck all chance of making her my old lady.Shit. Worry about that later.For now, I have to concentrate on fulfilling my promise to Drew to bring his sister home.

Once again everyone’s fallen silent.

When the trucks halt, it’s a trek across open country. Devil’s mapped out a path which takes us through forest then along a tree line. Eventually the compound comes in sight. Drummer leads our team to the prearranged location, then we wait.

We’re going on a timed entry. Drummer studies his phone. “Going in five.”

In my head I’m going through the countdown, and then Blade, Marvel and I are off.

We’re the first to attack. Getting over the wall proves easy. Silently we approach the first guard. Blade slices his throat, then throws a grenade. A few shots give away the position of our attack, then we’re running back fast, sprinting to get away.

Shots fire around us, but none hit. As expected, a few guards flood out to our point of entry. Drummer, Viper and Dollar have our backs and take them out.

Now there’s firing the other side of the compound. Some guards look panicked, and start to run towards that sound. We make our second approach; I shoot one in the back with no remorse.

They turn. We run. Drummer and the others again do their stuff. A third approach and we find no one, though there’s still sporadic firing from the other side of the compound.

“Let’s get into the house,” Drummer suggests. “Devil’s got the others distracted.”

“They might have retreated inside,” Viper inserts.

“Yeah, so take care, Brothers.”

Inching around the building, using the brickwork to protect us, we approach the rear entrance. Yup, a couple of their soldiers are guarding it, but we’re fast and take them out. A back corridor, a door leading downwards. We ignore it for now, and carry on into the house.

Devil’s men have entered. A quick nod shows he’s taken the rest of the men guarding the exterior out. The only casualty is the man called Carter, and that’s just a graze to his arm. He seems more annoyed than incapacitated. Slowly we clear all the downstairs rooms. There are some women looking scared in the kitchen.

Questioning them in quickly spoken Spanish, Devil discovers they haven’t seen the woman who had been living in the house for a while. Whether they’re lying, he can’t tell. We lock them in the pantry. From the sight of them they won’t be a threat, but we’re not taking any chances.

There are two floors above us. Shouts of ‘clear’ come from each room.

Satisfied, when apart from the kitchen staff, and of course, us, the house seems devoid of life, Devil swears when he can find no trace ofEl Procurador, or his lieutenants. I’m devastated that Mariana can’t be found.

“The door. There’s a basement,” I remind Drummer.

“Could beEl Procurador’s escape route,” Devil suggests. “Carry on searching,” he says to his team. “They might have a priest hole or something.”

As Drummer looks at him in confusion, Devil explains. “Old houses in England have hidden spaces where priests used to hole up when the Protestants were killing Catholics. Hard to find, but that’s the type of shit we’re looking for.” His men, mostly British, all nod. One starts moving a tapestry, one pushes at a wardrobe to see if it will slide. “I know he’s here, somewhere.” Devil looks disgusted.

“Could blow this house up,” Viper suggests.

“Not with Mariana in it,” I spit out.

“We’re wasting time. Let’s explore the basement.”

We’re used to sound proofed doors and walls; it comes in useful in our storeroom. But I didn’t expect to hear what I do when we carefully open the door to the basement. As soon as we do, cries and loud howls of distress reach us.

“Fuck!” Drummer looks at us, then says quickly, “Proceed quietly, Brothers. If it’s soundproofed down here, they might not have had warning of what’s happening up above. Blade, if we can take them out without shooting…”

The enforcer’s knife is already in his hands.

The first two guards go down easily. They’re standing, smoking, laughing at a woman being raped. Her eyes widen when they see me, but that’s all the warning the rapist gets before I cut his throat.

“Gracias. Gracias,” the woman cries as I roll the body off her. I hold a finger to my lips. Through her tears, she nods.

We proceed past cells which are more like cages. I check every one, but see no sign of Mariana.Where the fuck is she?But seeing, and smelling, this environment, I become more and more certain we’re looking in the wrong place. Even a bastard like Mariana’s father wouldn’t treat his daughter like this.

“Women and children to be trafficked,” Drummer says out of the side of his mouth. He’s probably right, but for now we can do nothing for them.

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