Last Mission Ch. 04

The plane was converted from an old Boeing 727. It was spacious inside, with single seats running along the sides so that every seat was next to a window. The passengers consisted of twenty-five women and two Chinese men. In the cockpit were two male pilots, both African Americans. All four men were on the payroll of Green Dragon.

Of the twenty-five women, all but one was dressed in simple white T-shirts and blue denim jeans. As soon as the plane reached cruising altitude, the two Chinese men distributed cold peanut butter sandwiches and cokes to the twenty-four women. The men did not have sandwiches. They used the onboard microwave oven to heat up fried rice for themselves.

A lone woman sat at the back of the plane. She was naked and tied to the seat by thick ropes around her wrists, elbows, waist, thighs, knees, and ankles. The women noticed that she was not given any food. Instead, ice cubes were inserted in her mouth from time to time. She must have done something big to seriously offend the gang, the women thought. The women remained timid and did not cause any trouble during the long flight, for fear of offending the men.

It seemed to be an eternity before the plane landed in a private airport twenty miles from Hong Kong. A bus and a BMW approached the runway. The women squinted as they were marched into the strong headlights from the bus. The pilots were the last ones to board the bus, which rolled off and headed for a Green Dragon safe house in Kowloon, across the harbor from Hong Kong Island.

The remaining men cuffed Susan before cutting away the ropes around her. She was brought to the rear of the BMW. When the driver saw her in the mirror, he popped open the trunk. She was thrown into it, landing head first. One of the two men, the short and obese one, closed the trunk.

Inside the trunk, it was dark. Finally alone, Susan allowed herself a broad smile. She was now one giant step closer to her ultimate mission.

She could hear the men in the car speaking in Mandarin Chinese. Unknown to everyone in the criminal world, Susan was born to missionary parents in China. After both her parents died during her seventh grade, she was brought up by her grandmother in Seattle. Everyone thought she was just a regular girl who grew up in Seattle. Nothing could be further from the truth.

"I wonder what makes this bitch so important that the dragonhead wants to personally handle her," the taller wiry man said to the obese man. "What have you heard?"

"My sources tell me she is an assassin hired to kill our Dallas chief."

"But isn't Brother Rocky still alive?"

"Yes, she tried but failed. Her long-time partner betrayed her."

"A hit woman, how unusual." The wiry man spoke aloud to himself, not expecting a response.

The smell of chicken farms was overwhelming, prompting both men to curse. A string of vulgarities later, the BMW stopped. Susan heard the electric sound of the car window rolling down. The driver punched in an eight-digit code. The heavy steel gates rumbled as they slid noisily sideways, opening a gap to let the car in.

Johnny Chan was waiting when the BMW rolled to a stop inside the warehouse. The two men exited the vehicle, tipped their heads in Johnny Chan direction, and proceeded to drag Susan from the trunk. The warehouse was dimly lit, so she did not recognize him at first.

"Susan, welcome to Hong Kong. I am honored to finally meet you." Susan instantly recognized Johnny's voice. She had been studying his speech patterns for years.

Johnny continued, "I would shake your hand, except that your hands are locked behind." Susan bit on her tongue to suppress her strong desire to burst out laughing. She had been longing for this moment for a very long time.

Speaking to his men in Mandarin, he ordered that Susan be bounded to a heavy iron chair in the middle of the room. Her arms were crisscrossed behind the back of the chair. Her legs were spread, the ankles bent back and tied to the wrists.

Satisfied with his work, the obese man stood back from Susan, produced a pocket camera, and snapped several frontal pictures. The wiry man went to the car and carried a small box toward Susan. The box contained a pair of nipple clamps and a three-inch ball gag.

"Unlike other gangs, Green Dragon does not believe in violence for violence sake. We always give our enemies a chance." Johnny spoke as if he was giving the opening statement in a court of law. "You are a smart lady. Why don't we cut a deal?"

"Johnny, what are you offering?" Susan was impressed that Johnny had not called her names so far.

Johnny was surprised she knew who he was, but did not show any emotion on his face.

"I am offering not to kill you, even though you are guilty of attempted murder."

"You would let me go free, able to kill you or your leadership again?"

"I didn't say that."

"You'll let me live but I won't be free. Paint me a picture of what my life would be."

"Susan, you know very well my business. You'll be one of my most sought after escort in my business. Many men prefer smart, educated, feisty women to simply another piece of meat."

It was obvious Johnny was using escort as a synonym for prostitute.

"You want me to be your sex slave for the rest of my life, is that correct?" Susan was asking Johnny a leading question.

"Are you accepting the offer?" Johnny liked to answer a question with another question.

"What do you want in return?"

"The name of the person who hired you to erase my head of Dallas."

"Have you not heard of assassin-client privilege?"

"Is that a no?" Johnny asked another question in response to a question.

Susan knew that it had been three days since her capture. Studies have shown that a captive was most likely to crack on the third day. Susan knew that. She also knew that Johnny knew that as well.

Without another word, Johnny signaled his men. The fat man inserted the ball gag in her mouth and secured it tightly so she could not breathe through her mouth. The ball was pushed inside her teeth, forcing her mouth to remain open.

"Because you refuse to talk, I am taking away your ability to talk." Johnny's tone turned from neutral to dark. "When you're prepared to talk, nod your head."

The thin man clipped the clamps on her nipples, carefully adjusting them to have maximum pressure at the tip of each nipple. When he pulled the chain connecting them, her nipples were painfully extended inches away from her body.

"Bring in water." Johnny barked his orders to his cell phone.

Two men brought in four buckets were brought in. Johnny stood back as all four men lifted up Susan's chair and inclined it. Susan's legs were now higher than her head. A wet tower was placed over Susan's nose. Water was poured for a minute. She was turned upright and allowed to breathe. The thin man adjusted her clamps, allowing blood to flow back and restoring sensation. The cycle was then repeated.

She lasted almost an hour before nodding her head. It was long enough to appear convincing to Johnny.

"Remember I have other sources too. Tell me the truth or you'll suffer a painful and slow death." Johnny announced in a matter of fact manner as her ball gag was removed.

"It's Joey of New York," Susan confessed between thundering coughs. To reward her, Johnny removed the clamps.

"Second question, is Ivan the Russian part of the plot?" Johnny offered her some water to stop her coughs.

"Yes, he was there when Paul and I met with Joey."

"I'm going to confirm what you said. If you lied to me, I'll slice off your skin layer by layer, rubbing salt in until you go mad. You'll take at least four hours to die."

Johnny punched numbers into his phone as he walked out of the warehouse. He offered Paul another $100,000 if he would verify the treason of Joey and Ivan.

TO BE CONTINUED