Independence & Consequences by M J Marlow (top 10 novels .txt) 📖

couple of days.” He shook his head as she saw Gordon’ look. “You have a lot of really talented men and women out there looking for your niece, Mr. Talbot.” “You just get my young friend well, Doctor,” Gordon said as he got out of bed and pulled his clothes out of the closet. “I’ll worry about my agents and my niece.” Gordon left the hospital room and saw Max at the end of the hall, waiting. He followed the man into the room they had commandeered and found Jake cuffed to a chair. The false Lang smiled at him coldly as he came into the room. The smile died slightly as Max left Gordon alone with him. It died even further as Max returned with a needle and a drug vial. He set it down on the desk and filled the needle. “I know you are only going to lie to me, Armstrong,” Gordon smiled at the prisoner coldly, “so we are going to circumvent your will and use a little Sodium Pentothal.” “You are never going to see your niece again, Talbot,” Jake hissed at him as Max approached him with the needle. “By this time, her mind is completely gone. She won’t remember anyone.” “What have you done to her?” Gordon demanded as Max gave Jack the shot. He watched the man’s eyelids begin to droop. “Now, Jake,” he said as he pulled a chair around and sat in front of his prisoner. “You are going to tell me where my niece is.” “They never told me,” Jake laughed, his eyes all soft and innocent. “I was hired as a wild goose, you old fool!” “She belongs with her family, Jake,” Gordon stated coldly. “Tell me what you’ve done with her.” “I told you,” Jake smiled goofily. “Never knew.” He frowned as he thought of something. “She has a new mother now, a new life. One you will never be a part of.” Gordon watched as Jake passed out then and Gordon turned to Max. The man turned off the tape recorder and looked as confused as Gordon felt. What was he talking about? “He,” Gordon continued as he nodded toward Jake, “won’t tell us anything more.” The door opened and Dennis came into the room. “Anything on that yacht, Den?” “The Andromeda is registered to a very close friend of yours, sir,” Dennis told him. “Enrique Alvarez.” “Take Armstrong into custody, Max,” Gordon told Max. “Dennis, I need you with me. I think it’s time we found out what Enrique Alvarez knows about all of this.” He pulled his cell phone out of his jacket pocket as they walked out of the hospital. “Ricardo? It’s Gordon.” Gordon got in the passenger side of the car Dennis brought up to the walkway. “We have a lead that goes directly to your brother. I think your presence at the interrogation might help us.” He frowned as he heard what Ricardo said. “He’s there now? We’ll meet you in 15.” He looked over at Dennis. “Enrique and his daughter are at his home. It seems that Alejandra was discovered on the yacht. The men Armstrong had left behind with her had raped her.” “Not a very wise move,” Dennis frowned as he headed out of town. He headed west towards the upscale neighborhoods north of the city. Fifteen minutes later, they pulled through the immense gates of the Alvarez estate and turned the car over to a guard. Dennis followed Gordon inside and another guard showed them into the lounge. Enrique was standing over at the bar with a large drink in his hand. His eyes narrowed as he saw the man enter. “What is he doing here, hermano?” Enrique demanded of his brother, who was standing at the French doors leading out into the garden. “They can tell us nothing we do not already know.” “We can tell you that Jake Armstrong is in our custody,” Gordon said as he went to the bar and poured himself a drink. “His confederates still have Isabel.” He saw Ricardo turn then and look at him. “He says that our girl is fine, Ricardo,” Gordon told the man. “But he can’t tell us who took her. He says he was hired merely as a wild goose.” “This Armstrong,” Ricardo asked as he poured himself a drink, “he knows more than he is saying.” “We didn’t get that far with the interrogation.” “Which leaves us where, amigo?” “About where we are at the moment, my friend,” Gordon lied to his friend. He had already decided what the next move should be. With the real Lang Tolliver pretending to be Jake Armstrong. He saw Enrique’s expression and wondered why the man was looking so worried. “I heard that Armstrong had your daughter raped when she tried to help her cousin. Is she well enough to speak to me?” “Ana is still under sedation,” Enrique lied to Gordon. “I trust the man who ordered such an atrocity will remain in custody.” “We’re burying him so deep, Enrique,” Gordon told him, “that a mole couldn’t find him. Don’t worry,” he continued, deliberately playing to the man’s ‘concern’ for his child, “he won’t find his way out of the hole we’re dropping him into.” “I will go see to my hija now,” Enrique said coldly. “If you will excuse me, hermano. Director Talbot.” Gordon nodded to Dennis and the man followed Enrique. He heard his voice coming from the study and found a hiding place where he could listen. The fact that the man was speaking in Spanish did not keep Dennis from learning what was happening. Dennis was fluent in seven languages thanks to his training as a linguist for the Special Services. He frowned as he heard what Enrique was planning. He heard the man slam down the receiver and went back into the lounge to join Gordon and Ricardo. He whispered what he had overheard into Gordon’ ear and he frowned. “We have to see to something, my friend,” Gordon said to Ricardo. “Why don’t you join me at the penthouse later for drinks? I’ve asked Tabitha to bring along a friend.” “I look forward, as always, to spending time with the delightful Dr. Evans,” Ricardo smiled briefly. “Bring her back to us, Gordon. Isabel has been away from home too long.” “Don’t worry, Ricardo,” Gordon replied. “I won’t rest until she is back here with us where she belongs.” * Later the next night, Lang Tolliver drove to the hotel where one of the women that Jake Armstrong knew was a manager. He had no problem pretending to be the bastard who had stolen his identity. It seemed only right after all the trouble that lunatic had caused in his name. A young girl’s life was hanging in the balance because of the man’s duplicity. He made himself at home in the bar and ordered Armstrong’s favorite drink. Ten minutes into his second, a long-legged brunette sauntered into the bar and approached him. She grabbed him by the lapels and kissed him warmly. Lang met her emotional greeting with a slap to her backside and a look of supreme indifference. Jeff had told him enough about the bastard for Lang to know how he had to play it. “Gayle,” Lang nodded to the woman. He didn’t ask, he ordered. He could see from the woman’s expression that he had played it right. “I will have a suite.” “The usual suite is always held open for you, my dear,” Gayle purred as she watched him rise. “You are injured,” she whispered as she saw him wince with the movement. “Your ‘talk’ with Talbot did not go as smoothly as you had hoped?” “How it went is none of your concern, woman,” Lang hissed at the woman. He saw her instantly lower her head in deference. “I will go to the suite now. Send up the usual goodies.” He finished his drink and followed Gayle to the main desk. She retrieved the key to the Imperial Suite for him and accompanied him upstairs. Once they were inside, she began removing his clothing. Lang did not fight her, but kept his face as impassive as possible. This was Jake he was pretending to be. The bastard had a God complex. He treated women as if they were nothing; merely a means to release. He let Gayle undress herself as he went to the bar and poured himself a third drink. He turned to find her lying on the bed. He found himself almost envying the bastard as he carried his drink to the bed and held it to her lips. The woman did not fight this. In fact, the woman did not fight anything he wanted to do. He watched her once they were done and wondered just what it was about Armstrong that he could command such devotion from seemingly intelligent women. She left him alone and he locked the door and went to take a shower. When he came out there was another woman sitting on the bed. This long-legged, blue-eyed woman with warm copper brown hair held a gun in her hand and her eyes were cold. She made him put on handcuffs. “You really thought you could fool me, Tolliver?” she asked as he quit trying to free himself and met her cold eyes. “It was worth a shot,” Lang replied. “You going to use that?” “It’s a thought,” Nell replied. She set the gun aside. “But I have no wish to go to prison. The cuffs are merely to keep you under control while we have a little talk.” She got to her feet and went to look out the window. “You want to play my husband. I want to take down the bastard that put him back in prison.” “Why would you do that?” Lang asked as he made himself comfortable. “Because he is the same bastard who ordered the abduction of his own niece,” Nell said as she turned from the window. “The same bastard who kept me chained like an animal and brutalized me when I went to him to ask for his help.” She looked him over. “You have Jake down cold, Agent Tolliver. The only reason I knew you were not Jake is because I know every scar on his body. I put some of those injuries on him personally. Yours, though a very nice body, is lacking those crucial marks.” She pulled the keys out of her pocket and twirled them on her finger. “If I help you, I want to be allowed to take the bastard down.” “You don’t want your husband released?” Lang asked her. “My husband will be dead,” Nell told him. “The bastard will have seen to it.” She met his eyes coolly. “Do we have a deal, Agent?” She smiled as he nodded his head and came to unlock the cuffs. She watched him closely as he got up. He dropped the cuffs on the table and went to pour himself a drink from the bottle the manager had set out for Jake. She called for room service and had breakfast waiting when he came out. “I do not know what you appreciate, so I ordered Jake’s favorites.” “It will be what they expect,” Lang nodded. He sat down and ate what she had ordered. “You’re not eating?” “I had my breakfast before I came up,” Nell replied. Lang knew she was lying but he didn’t push. Her secrets were hers to keep. “Once Jake is dead, we will go after the bastard; convince him that he just murdered a federal agent. He will believe it to be so when I am there to claim you as my husband.” Her eyes went quite cold then. “I want him completely unaware when I drive a knife into his worthless heart.” “The authorities will want him alive, Nell,” Lang protested. He saw her head snap around. “Although I have no problem