Yuri waved him off with disgust. “Too much blood. Get the surgical sheers. You may cut off the first joint of every finger one at a time. We will be sure of the truth soon about this Muerto.”
“I am trying to tell you about him,” John insisted, reciting the mantra Nick had suggested to try first if they did not believe him. “He is the ‘Dead One’. His hallowed sidekick, the deadly ‘Payaso’ named him because of his horrific manner of dealing torture and death. What do you wish to know? I will tell all.”
“Cut off his finger joints,” Yuri instructed. “I am sick of hearing about this fantasy character.”
Yuri heard a thud and gurgle, as the scalpel hit the floor with a clatter. He turned to see Hadi’s hands grasping the knife handle protruding from his throat with panicked eyes wide as saucers. “What has-”
“It is El Muerto,” John explained.
*
“You should be at a room,” Gus said. “It looks as if you are standing very near John.”
“There is a door ajar on the left,” Nick whispered. “Hang on.”
Nick heard voices, one of them John’s. He grinned, hearing John speak of El Muerto. He slipped into the room behind where he could see John hanging by a chain. The grin went away to be replaced by his Terminator mask of concentration. In the split second Hadi looked questioningly toward the figure near the room door, Nick’s stiletto flew unerringly to its target. Nick strode to the man staggering with blood pumping around his hands. Nick’s left hand held the MP5 trained on Yuri, who stared in disbelief at Nick, raising his hands in surrendering form. John chuckled, knowing Yuri’s surrender meant little to El Muerto. The man with the stiletto in his throat collapsed, his body gradually relaxing into a final death spasm as life blood pooled around him.
“El Kabong. I’m very happy to see you, my very good friend. Payaso. Kabong is alive and well, but I don’t much care for his new position though. Did this guy put you up there?”
“Yes, Muerto.”
“Payaso says hi. You there. Get my friend down.”
Aman rushed over to John, bear hugging him around the waist, and lifting him so he could free himself of the hook holding the chain. He then fished in his pocket for the key to John’s manacles. Once John was free, he flexed the blood painfully into his hands once again while gingerly working his feet and toes.
“Put the manacles on your buddy, and put him on the hook if you can, Kabong.”
John smiled at the horrified Yuri. He swiped his captor across the face with the manacles, driving Aman to his back clutching his face. “Hold your hands out, Yuri, or I’ll smash you in the head again. If you make noise, I will smash you for that also.”
Yuri held his shaking hands away from his bloody face. John put the manacles on his wrists, and helped him to his feet. “Put your arms up with hands held apart.”
Yuri did as ordered. John lifted him easily to his own former position on the hook. Nick handed John a piece of duct tape, which John placed over Yuri’s mouth. “Sorry, Muerto. They received word from the East I was dead much faster than we figured.”
“It’s a small thing, brother.” Nick poked the swinging Yuri back and forth while John dressed. “I am unhappy finding you in such a position, Kabong. It’s a good thing to have your new pal waiting on the hook while I take care of his Isis recruits. How are the living conditions, John?”
“They have three living quarters. They feel invulnerable. If you dealt with the man at the entrance I marked he was the only one watching outside. They do not have anyone below on watch. Very sloppy terrorists. In their defense, they do not know the crazy Muerto.”
“Here, Kabong, you can listen to Payaso laugh at your disrespect of the fantastic El Muerto.” Nick handed John an earwig to network with Gus.
“Payaso! I am here.”
“If you can, hurry Muerto along. He wants to do cartoon movies too.”
“Yes! It will be the return of El Kabong. It will have a million more hits than the closest cat video. Kabong may even pass the laughing baby ones.”
“C’mon, John. We better get moving or Payaso will start whining steadily until we want to rip our own ears off.” Nick plucked his stiletto out of Hadi’s throat with a towel from the utensil table Hadi had been preparing for John’s torture.
Nick gave John the MP10 he brought with extra clips along with the gas mask. “Show me the quarters, and then we’ll decide how we want to do this. We’ll recon quietly, take a quick look, and come back here. Is the sealed lab and weapons stockpile you spoke of in a corridor away from the living quarters?”
“Understood. Yes, it is on the far end of the complex in the opposite direction of the way you proceeded to find me from the entrance I marked.”