28-03-2019, 02:50 PM
She walked over to the pile of weapons and retrieved the cattle prod. A balisong knife on the floor caught her eye and she picked it up, flicking it open and closed a couple of times. Helen remembered nights in her early teen years sleeping with a less-ornate model of the same blade under her pillow. She cut off a strip of tape and put her new knife in her new jacket as she walked over to the man Lisa had pointed out.
"You like this one, don't you," she asked him in Cantonese. He didn't want to nod his agreement but found himself unable to stop. Helena gave him the roll of tape as she looked down the length of the prod.
"You're going to go back into the cell with this. You're going to tape down the button, and then you're going to shove it up your ass by the live end as far as it will go." She thought for a second, and then put the tape over a spot about a foot down its length. "You can stop when you get to..." She moved the mark down another four inches. "Here."
She held out the prod, and with a terrified look, he took it and rose to his feet, crying as he grimly walked back to the cell, knowing he was unable to stop himself from obeying her commands. Helena smiled at the faces of horror on the remaining criminals.
"The night's young, gentlemen," she said to them. "Coming right back. Don't go anywhere."
Helena stepped outside, her new jacket keeping away the chill of the wind blowing off the Mediterranean. Generalissimo Ramirez was overseeing other soldiers escorting the women to a group of ambulances or onto buses. She took out a cigarette and lit it, offering one and the lighter to Ramirez, who took them.
"Excellent work, Hernando," she said to him. "How's the other team doing with the ship?"
The Generalissimo looked out over the water at a ship sitting in the harbor. From the bow, a green flare lifted off into the sky. He gave a little smile.
"They have taken it, Contessa. I suspect I'll have a more full report soon. Our inside man has also arrested the gate guard and wants to know what you want done with him."
Helena meditated on the idea for a few puffs before speaking.
"He's not really a part of this. Go through the motions of arresting him, then contact the Ministry of Intelligence and set him up with a handler. There were five hundred Euros in that envelope. Tell him whenever someone gives him another; he'll get twice that for notifying us immediately."
Ramirez took in what she said and nodded.
"We're rewarding him for accepting bribes?"
"We're gaining an asset. If we throw him in prison today, someone else will be at that gatehouse taking bribes tomorrow; someone who won't owe us his freedom and new source of income. A man who'll stay bought is a valuable thing." She looked at him a moment. "Something else is bothering you."
"You should not have come on the raid. The Ultimados could have brought the criminals to you. You certainly should not have been the first inside."
"I'm a countess, I make entrances. It's what I do. And don't tell me about harm's way when you strode right into the building with no regard for your own safety."
The Generalissimo took a long drag of his cigarette before responding. He knew about the strange power that La Contessa had over the wills of men, but had been against her being involved personally in the raid from the beginning.
"La Contessa promised that she would have them all disarmed before we entered and I know you well enough to know that it would be true. Nonetheless, entering a room like that with no smoke or flashbang cover, I took the lead to draw fire from the men behind me." She inhaled for several seconds as well before responding.
"That's because you understand what it is to hold people's lives in your hands, Ramirez. You take that seriously. So do I." They smoked in silence until electric sounds and screaming came from deep within the warehouse.
"So what is that," he asked. Helena smiled as she put out her cigarette.
"A noteworthy exception." She turned to enter the building, then stopped and turned back to face him. "Why is it, Hernando, that the only time we ever share a smoke is when lives are on the line?"
* * *
"You like this one, don't you," she asked him in Cantonese. He didn't want to nod his agreement but found himself unable to stop. Helena gave him the roll of tape as she looked down the length of the prod.
"You're going to go back into the cell with this. You're going to tape down the button, and then you're going to shove it up your ass by the live end as far as it will go." She thought for a second, and then put the tape over a spot about a foot down its length. "You can stop when you get to..." She moved the mark down another four inches. "Here."
She held out the prod, and with a terrified look, he took it and rose to his feet, crying as he grimly walked back to the cell, knowing he was unable to stop himself from obeying her commands. Helena smiled at the faces of horror on the remaining criminals.
"The night's young, gentlemen," she said to them. "Coming right back. Don't go anywhere."
Helena stepped outside, her new jacket keeping away the chill of the wind blowing off the Mediterranean. Generalissimo Ramirez was overseeing other soldiers escorting the women to a group of ambulances or onto buses. She took out a cigarette and lit it, offering one and the lighter to Ramirez, who took them.
"Excellent work, Hernando," she said to him. "How's the other team doing with the ship?"
The Generalissimo looked out over the water at a ship sitting in the harbor. From the bow, a green flare lifted off into the sky. He gave a little smile.
"They have taken it, Contessa. I suspect I'll have a more full report soon. Our inside man has also arrested the gate guard and wants to know what you want done with him."
Helena meditated on the idea for a few puffs before speaking.
"He's not really a part of this. Go through the motions of arresting him, then contact the Ministry of Intelligence and set him up with a handler. There were five hundred Euros in that envelope. Tell him whenever someone gives him another; he'll get twice that for notifying us immediately."
Ramirez took in what she said and nodded.
"We're rewarding him for accepting bribes?"
"We're gaining an asset. If we throw him in prison today, someone else will be at that gatehouse taking bribes tomorrow; someone who won't owe us his freedom and new source of income. A man who'll stay bought is a valuable thing." She looked at him a moment. "Something else is bothering you."
"You should not have come on the raid. The Ultimados could have brought the criminals to you. You certainly should not have been the first inside."
"I'm a countess, I make entrances. It's what I do. And don't tell me about harm's way when you strode right into the building with no regard for your own safety."
The Generalissimo took a long drag of his cigarette before responding. He knew about the strange power that La Contessa had over the wills of men, but had been against her being involved personally in the raid from the beginning.
"La Contessa promised that she would have them all disarmed before we entered and I know you well enough to know that it would be true. Nonetheless, entering a room like that with no smoke or flashbang cover, I took the lead to draw fire from the men behind me." She inhaled for several seconds as well before responding.
"That's because you understand what it is to hold people's lives in your hands, Ramirez. You take that seriously. So do I." They smoked in silence until electric sounds and screaming came from deep within the warehouse.
"So what is that," he asked. Helena smiled as she put out her cigarette.
"A noteworthy exception." She turned to enter the building, then stopped and turned back to face him. "Why is it, Hernando, that the only time we ever share a smoke is when lives are on the line?"
* * *
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