John Steel Collection - Books 4-6

Chapter 10-2

A long thin pale face emerged from the blackness and loomed over Walter. Williams had high cheekbones and large maddening eyes, and a long Roman nose under which was a smile. Pearly white teeth behind ruby red lips. His blond hair was brushed back to reveal a large forehead.

Williams leered down at Walter like a tiger looking at its prey.

“Well, Walter … I can call you Walter, can’t I?”

Walter nodded quickly to the question so as not to antagonise his captor.

“It seems the powers that be feel that you’re a bit of a fibber and a thief, which is good. I mean, that’s what we do, isn’t that right?” Then Williams’s tone changed; his voice went deeper. “But we don’t appreciate it when we get this treatment from one of our own. It’s kind of takes you off the Christmas card list,” Williams growled.

Their eyes met. Walter wanted to look away, but Williams’s eyes were strangely hypnotic. Williams drew closer so that his nose rested on Walter’s.

“I have been asked to come down here and find out if you’re lying or not. So far—”

Walter held his breath. He waited for the words: ‘No you’re not lying’ or ‘I believe you’.

But Williams said nothing more. He just sunk his teeth into Walter’s nose and bit down hard.

Walter screamed in pain. Williams jumped down from the table and spat the bitten off chunk of flesh back at Walter. There was a small burst of light which illuminated the operating table from above, then a scrape of metal. Suddenly Walter found himself moving as the table was being repositioned. To the side of him was a large mirror.

“This is for you, Walter, because I don’t want you to miss anything,” Williams rambled. “It is very rare that I get an audience so I can’t wait to share my performance with you. That is until you either die or blackout. Whichever comes first, I guess.”

Walter felt the warm urine flow down his leg, making Williams smile.

“Oops a little accident, oh well, never mind,” Williams joked as he moved back into the darkness.

“OK, Walter, last chance. Where’s the goodies?” Williams asked again as he pulled on some long surgical gloves, then pulled at a metal stand covered with various bottles of fluids. Williams clearly had enough chemicals and drugs to keep Walter alive and conscious. Tapping the side of Walter’s neck, Williams found an artery and stuck in a needle.

“Normally we would use an arm but … Well, you get the picture.” Williams laughed as he began to walk off to fetch more equipment.

“Please don’t—”

The torturer turned and slammed a gloved hand over Walter’s mouth.

“Dear Walter. Here’s the thing. If you say that sentence once more, I will rip out your teeth. You’ll need your tongue to tell me the truth later. So, tell me the truth or don’t say anything, OK?”

Walter nodded frantically.

“Smashing!” Williams said, clapping like a child who had won a prize. He moved to a small table that contained some bottles of water. He wiped his forehead then cracked open a bottle. As he moved the opened drink to his lips, he stopped and turned towards the bleeding Walter.

“Oh, dear me, where are my manners? Walter, you must be parched. Do forgive me, won’t you?” Williams walked over to Walter, who opened his mouth to receive the cool liquid, his mouth feeling drier than a sandstorm. Williams took care to pour a bit at a time into his victim’s mouth, so as not to choke him.

Walter nodded a ‘thank you’, careful not to speak after the last instruction. Williams smiled, pleased that he understood.

“You see, Walter, I am not such a bad guy. All I want is the truth, that’s all.” Williams smiled again and pulled up a chair that was at the far side of the room. He placed it next to Walter’s head and sat down.

“I got the information from the courier and proved it was the real thing,” Walter explained for what he thought must be the thousandth time. “It was then sealed in the safe, and then I gave the keys to the night watchman—Donald, I think his name was. Anyway, after that, I left. That’s it. That’s all I know.”

Williams sat and tapped an index finger on his lips. “So, your aunt is ill, you say? Sorry to hear about that.”

Walter looked at his captor in some confusion.

“What?” the powerless man answered, surprised to see the compassionate look on the other man’s face. “Yeah, I got the call this morning. The hospital called to let me know.”

“I believe you, Walter, really I do. In fact, the hospital confirmed your story just a while ago,” Williams explained.

Walter exhaled a lungful of air in relief.

“So, am I free to go?” Walter felt a huge surge of relief at the thought of his ordeal being over.

However, Williams’s sympathetic expression changed to a callous grin.

“I believe your story about your aunt, my dear Walter. But I never mentioned anything about the other matter.”

Walter’s face fell, and his fear returned with a vengeance.

“You said you sealed it in the safe, but the safe was empty. You said you gave the keys to the watchman Donald. Tell me, who the f**k is Donald? WE DON’T HAVE A DONALD; YOU ARE LYING PIECE OF CRAP!” Williams yelled.

He lost control, and in one swift movement he turned, picked up a meat cleaver from the instrument table and smashed it down onto Walter’s right wrist. Blood erupted from the wound as his hand was separated from the wrist.

Walter screamed in shock and pain as he looked in the mirror. Williams stood back in disgust at the screaming Walter. He had been a trusted member of the organisation. Suddenly the door opened, and a guard rushed in, holding a cell phone. Williams looked over at the guard with a disapproving look.

“What is it?” Williams simply said, not in the mood for chit chat on the phone. The guard sheepishly held up the phone.

“It’s the warehouse, sir,” the guard said, sweating.

“What do they want? Oh, never mind, give it here before you give yourself a friggin’ heart attack.” Williams took the phone and held it to his ear. The guard’s eyes were transfixed by the sight of the meat cleaver that Williams was playing with as he listened. Williams nodded to the guard, indicating that he should silence the still-screaming Walter. The scared guard put his hand over Walter’s mouth to dull the screams.

“Yes … Uh … Yep … R-right. OK then, thanks.” Williams pressed disconnect on the phone and smiled at the guard.

“Oh dear, this is s-so embarrassing. Really it is,” Williams said, laughing and passing the phone back to the guard, who reached for it.

Quick as a flash, Williams grabbed the man’s hand and swung the cleaver, neatly slicing through his wrist, severing the hand entirely. A cascade of blood-drenched the poor confused Walter.

Williams threw the freshly amputated hand at the guard, who was cradling his wound, the shock so fresh he hardly realised what had happened.

“So, tell me. How long did you wait outside before you gave me the phone?” Williams said calmly.

The guard turned to face the madman, still dazed. But as he began to reply, Williams’s fury peaked once more. He threw the cleaver so hard that it embedded itself deep into the man’s skull.

“Well, you know what they say. Don’t shoot the messenger. Thankfully they didn’t mention decapitation or the severing of limbs,” Williams joked. He looked down at the still-bleeding Walter. Williams grabbed the clothes iron that he had been saving for later and slapped its red-hot soleplate directly onto his gaping wrist, thus cauterising the wound. Walter screamed even more, and Williams rolled his eyes and stuck a rag into his mouth to silence him.

“I am sorry, Walter, it appears there was a bit of a mistake. They found that apparently there was a guy called Donald working there that night. A Donald Soap. Apparently, he was a sick relief for the regular man. Anyway, it looks like we were all duped and now I have egg on my face.”

wasWilliams headed for the door and called for a guard. A large man walked into the room. He seemed to have virtually no neck, and his bull-like appearance probably matched his IQ.

“Mr Hobbs has been, erm … injured. Make sure you take good care of him, OK?” Williams said, keeping his voice level down. The guard nodded and smiled, revealing bad teeth, a sight that made Williams jump backwards in repulsion.

Williams left the room and started marching down a long corridor. Suddenly he heard a gunshot. Williams stopped and stood still. He looked at the ground and shook his head.

“How can I soar like an eagle, whilst working with turkeys?” he wondered.