Page 56 of Cade

CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN

“What do you mean, what is my business? It’s business!” barked Hausman.

“You will tell me your business, or you will not enter my country,” said the guard. He would gladly send this man to a room to be stripped and searched.

“I’m a doctor. I’m here to discuss new vaccines with your medical team,” he said calmly. The other man looked at him, then back down at his passport.

“Very well.” He took the passport and turned, walking toward the taxi lines. As he approached, he felt someone grip his shoulder, twisting him around. “What the hell?”

“Hello, Jon,” said Pitre, staring at the man. “I was expecting you sooner. I’m surprised it took you so long to get here.”

“General,” smiled Hausman. “What are you doing here?” A taxi honked, and Pitre shoved him toward the vehicle, pushing him inside. Seated together in the backseat, Pitre gave the driver the address, and Hausman swallowed. How could he know where he was meeting the buyer?

“Did you think I wouldn’t figure it out?” he spat.

“I have no idea…”

“Don’t!” he barked, pulling the pistol from his coat. “Don’t think I’m some idiot, Jon. It was you. You were the Marine that left my sons to die. You were the coward that ran away, leaving them to be butchered by the Somalians.”

“No, that’s not what happened at all,” said Hausman, frantically shaking his head. “It wasn’t like that, Bill. I wouldn’t have left them. I was his best friend. The Somalians, they were all around us. We were surrounded. Your sons wanted to be heroes. I didn’t want to die, Bill!”

“You left them. You watched them walk into that trap, and you left them!” He pointed the gun at the other man, shaking it in his face.

“Please, please, Bill. I loved them. They were like brothers to me.”

“Like brothers? They were brothers. You left those brothers in that fucking place. You walked away because you were afraid. You were concerned for your own well-being, not that of my sons. You followed me. In D.C., you followed me.”

Hausman knew he was caught. He wasn’t about to die, but he damn sure wouldn’t run from the old man. He was tired of him calling the shots.

“You always had a taste for the girl, Bill. I just didn’t think you’d ever actually kill her.”

“Except, I didn’t. Did I?” said Pitre. “You followed me, and you went in that room after I left. Yea, we fucked and played rough. We always do, but you killed that poor girl.”

“She was a liability,” said Hausman. “Your tastes can be extreme, and sooner or later, that was going to catch up with us. I was trying to save both our asses.”

“No, you were trying to save your own ass. If I was gone, you had the whole project at your fingertips. You must think I’m a total fool.”

“Look, Bill, we’re meeting the Malaysians, and everything will work out. They’ll jump at this,” smirked the other man.

Pitre wanted to put a bullet in his head, but that was too good for him. No, he wanted him to suffer. He wanted him to feel the fear and suffering that his sons had felt.

The driver stopped on the long dock, nearly in the water. Pitre got out first, grabbing Hausman’s briefcase. The man frowned, shaking his head. Alright, we’ll play the game, he thought. As the black car stopped and the doors opened, Hausman was feeling confident. When the faces of the men appeared, he wasn’t feeling anything except fear.

“Kim. What is he doing here?” he murmured to Pitre.

“He’s our potential buyer. Of course, he’s pissed off that you took their work and tried to make it your own. You’ll have to answer to that.”

“What the fuck are you doing, Bill?”

“What’s the matter, Jon? Are you feeling scared? Are you feeling your fight or flight kick in?” The General smiled at him. He felt the sting at his neck and knew. Son-of-a-bitch, the old bastard injected him. “Feels terrible, doesn’t it. Don’t worry. It’s my understanding it will go away in a few minutes.”

“General, you have two minutes of time to explain why you have my invention in your briefcase and why you are trying to sell it to the Somalians.”

“Actually, sir, my colleague here, Dr. Jon Hausman, he was trying to sell it. However, we believe we’ve worked out all the bugs. To show you, I’ve just injected Jon with the device. We can test his fight or flight right here, right now. You should know he’s a miserable coward without the injection, so we should be all set to test this.”

Kim stared at the General, then back at the other man who was beginning to sweat. He pulled his weapon, pointing it at his leg. It was as if Hausman were frozen in place. His feet slowly turned toward the exit of the dock, and Pitre pulled the small disc from his pocket.

“Did you think I forgot, Jon? Did you think I wouldn’t remember that I could increase the pulses to your brain?” He clicked the small disc several times, depressing the button on the surface. Hausman gripped the sides of his head, screaming in pain.

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