Page 93 of Gangster's Empire: Leeza & Havel

He figured Mbengue would be planning a public execution to show the world what he was willing to do about foreign interference.

He had no doubt his team was coming for him, but they might not make it in time. Mbengue was not a patient man. He would want to show the world his strength in the most gruesome way possible as soon as he possibly could.

Echoing Havel’s thoughts, the General said, “You will be beheaded at sunrise for the crime of removing the President from our country before he could be judged by his people.” Sadistic pleasure lit the General’s eyes.

Havel held his ground, showing no reaction to the General’s announcement. By the light leaking into the prison, Havel thought it was late evening, which meant sunrise was in eight to ten hours. That wasn’t a lot of time.

Havel’s tone was bored when he said, “You don’t want to align yourself with extremists. The world won’t take you seriously when it comes time to form a new government. You should go with a firing squad.”

Havel didn’t care how they planned on executing him because he wasn’t going to be there for it, but he wanted to get in the General’s head. Fuck with the man, maybe buy himself more time.

The General shook his head. “A beheading will tell outside forces they must take us seriously. Any foreign soldiers who step foot in my country will die the same way.”

Havel stayed silent. There was no point in talking. Mbengue had made up his mind. The man seemed even more convinced of his own power than he had last time Havel worked for him.

“I will return for you before sunrise.” The General stepped out of Havel’s cell and his soldiers followed. “I will handle the execution myself.”

Another mistake. Leaders delegated their beheadings; they didn’t get their hands dirty. Mbengue’s coup would eventually fail and he would die. But first he would cause untold damage to his home country and the people within it.

“Do I get a last meal?” Maybe he could get his hands on a fork. So far, his captors had been diligent in making sure Havel didn’t have access to anything weapon related. They’d stripped him, finding an armory of weapons strapped to his body.

A knife on each thigh and one in his boot. Two holstered guns under his arms and another in his boot. A half dozen grenades, two pipe bombs, a taser, a lock picking kit, and a switchblade.

He hoped he could get his weapons back, but he didn’t know where they were being kept. After stripping him, they’d allowed him his fatigues back and a borrowed T-shirt. He supposed it wasn’t good optics to behead a man in a medic uniform.

He sat on the single wooden chair in his cell. There was nothing else, not even a toilet. He’d had to piss in the corner, the dark stain in the dirt and the strong smell telling him other prisoners had done the same.

He rubbed his eyes with the heels of his hands. God damn, he was tired. The adrenalin of the job and his capture had worn off and exhaustion was making his head fuzzy. He needed to wake the fuck up if he was going to have half a chance of escaping.

A few hours later, he’d come up with a semi decent plan that he figured gave him a thirty percent chance of getting out alive. Fifty, if his team arrived in time to help, though he couldn’t count on them.

He knew without a doubt that Jozef would be on his way back to pick him up, but he would’ve taken the President and his family to safety first. Mission protocol. Secure the package first because they were the pay day and Guard Dog Securities was a business. Businesses had to make money.

Havel’s plan was a simple one. Call for a guard, ask for some water. When the guard opened the door, Havel would snap his neck and take his weapon, shooting the other guards nearby. He would then take their weapons, find a hostage to use as a shield and then get himself to the nearest vehicle.

He stood, ready to enact his plan when he heard a voice outside of the prison. His blood ran cold and his knees nearly gave out as he recognized it. What the fuck was she doing here?

“I don’t care what time it is, you get him out of bed right now.” Her voice sounded cold, in control, and angry. “A message was sent hours ago. He should have greeted me with the prisoner at the gate. Fetch General Mbengue now or I’ll have your heads.”

Motherfucker. Not only was she in one of the most dangerous places on the planet, but she was demanding an audience with a warmongering General, a man who was a known murderer, torturer, and rapist.

She was going to die if Havel didn’t find a way to get her the fuck out of there.

CHAPTER THIRTY-NINE

Havel gripped the bars of his prison cell and shook them, but they were solid.

“Hey!” he shouted, trying to get someone’s attention. When he was ignored, he tried again. “Get the fuck in here!”

He was left to pace his cell like an angry tiger. If he could tear the thing apart with his bare hands he would, but he’d already tried it when he was first brought to the camp.

After ten minutes of waiting without hearing her voice again, terror set in. Fuck, this was bad. What was she doing out there? He was going to fucking murder everyone complicit in bringing her to this camp, starting with Jozef. His brother in arms had to be part of this insane plan.

If Mbengue associated her with Havel, her head would go on the chopping block alongside his. She wouldn’t be spared. She was a foreign operator in a hostile country during a military coup.

He was about to start shouting again when he finally heard her voice. His relief was short-lived when he realized she was speaking with Mbengue. Her tone was sharp, which served to heighten Havel’s anxiety. What was she doing speaking to the General like he was a pesky nuisance? The man was a narcissist, he jailed people who didn’t agree with him.

The flap was shoved aside and the tent filled with people. Havel's eyes zeroed in on Leeza, checking her out, making sure she was unharmed. A state that could change at any moment.

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