"You see?" she said. "That was perfect. Except for some burned hair and red skin, you can hardly tell where I was working, but I'm sure it hurts like h.e.l.l."

He moaned. "You don't understand. The Eternals will f.u.c.k me up if they find out I talked!"

"I'll f.u.c.k you up right now."

She began to roast his other nipple. He pulled hard against the steel wires that bound him, but all he accomplished was adding to his own pain.

"Stop! Stop!" he cried. "You win!"

"Good." She smiled. "I knew you were an intelligent man."

He swallowed. "The Eternals are a covert government agency created to stop organized crime. I've been secretly working with them for years..."

She ran the torch across his fingers, causing him to screech in agony.

"Oh, sorry," she said. "I interrupted you. Maybe you should start over, but tell the truth this time."

He took a moment to catch his breath. His eyes rolled in his head like a terrified animal.

After he settled down, he said, "Really! They're feds!"

She grabbed his t.e.s.t.i.c.l.es. "You're a brave man. I admire that." She squeezed and he gasped. "But you'll be a brave castrated man if you don't change your story."

Aaron instinctively pressed his legs together.

"You b.i.t.c.h!" Wise said.

Marina gave his b.a.l.l.s a sharp yank and his entire body clenched.

"Excuse me?" she said. "What did you say?"

He groaned.

"Enough messing around," she said. "I'll burn out your eyes next."

She released his t.e.s.t.i.c.l.es and brought the torch close to his face.

"Wait! Stop! The Eternals are a.s.sa.s.sins!"

She held the torch back. "How do you know that?"

"Because I hired them to kill people," he said in a low voice. "That's why I made all those phone calls. I was putting out contracts."

"Keep talking."

"They're expensive but they never screw up. Total professionals."

"The Eternals eliminated witnesses for your clients?" she said.

He nodded. "I get a commission on every contract. All I have to do is make a call. It's a beautiful thing. If you let me go, I'll give you a cut of the action. We could even expand, go national. I've been looking for new partners."

"No, thanks. How many times did you use the Eternals?"

"I don't know." He shrugged. "A hundred? It's my most profitable business. The legal stuff barely covers expenses."

"But it helps launder the money."

"Yeah."

"What methods do they use?" she said. "How do they kill?"

"Accidents and poisons, mostly. They think guns are for amateurs."

"Hmm." She nodded. "Now for the most important question. How do I find them?"

"I don't know. Really!"

"Then how do you do business with them?"

"I just call the number and leave a message," he said. "Then I get a note telling me where to deliver the money. The drop location is different every time."

"They are professionals." She raised her eyebrows. "Are you sure you can't tell me anything else? Think hard."

"That's all I know!"

"Maybe I can jog your memory." She applied the torch to the bottom of his right foot.

His whole body contorted. "Stop! Please! f.u.c.k!"

She slowly worked her way up the leg towards the groin. The smell of burning hair irritated Aaron. As she approached Wise's genitals, he began to screech like a terrified girl.

"Is your memory improving?" she asked in a pleasant tone.

"Yes!" he cried.

She withdrew the torch. "Talk."

"You heard about the Daly case?"

"I saw a headline in the newspaper."

"There is a witness, a guy named Santorini. The feds are protecting him but I hired the Eternals to kill him. The hit will happen in two or three days."

"Good." She smiled. "But I bet you know even more." She started to roast his p.e.n.i.s.

"Enough!" Aaron yelled. "Take a break. We have to talk."

She turned off the torch and stepped back. Wise was panting like a dog. His lip bled from where he had bitten it.

Marina came over to Aaron. He whistled to get Smythe's attention and waved for him to join them.

When the three Spears were together, Aaron said in a low voice, "Are we done here?"

"Yes," Smythe said too quickly.

"No," Marina said. "The interrogation isn't finished."

"Or maybe you're enjoying yourself too much to stop."

Aaron gave Smythe a sharp look. "Hey! That was out of line."

Smythe looked down.

"Wise can tell us more," Marina said, ignoring him.

"We have enough," Aaron said. "It's obvious what our next step is. We have to stake out Santorini and capture the Eternals when they try to a.s.sa.s.sinate him."

"I'm the senior member of this team, so I will decide when we have enough."

"And I'm the sanest member of this team, so I will decide when you're out of control."

They glared at each other for a moment.

"I'll call Ethel," she said. "She'll decide what to do."

"Can you give her an unbiased report?" he said.

She snarled. "Yes, of course."

She opened her phone and made the call. He listened as she delivered her report, and as promised, it was completely factual. He felt bad about doubting her.

She closed her phone. "I have new orders. We have to kill Wise."

"Why?" Smythe said.

"If we let him go, he'll warn the Eternals we're coming."

"Then let's take him back to headquarters. We can hold him until the mission is over."

She shook her head. "We never take prisoners."

"So you just kill people instead? First torture, then murder? You're a bunch of sweethearts." He rolled his eyes.

"Why are you so concerned for Wise? He is human garbage. He hires murderers for profit. He's not even man enough to do the dirty work himself."

She walked over to Wise and jabbed her black fingernails into his neck. She injected venom for a long time, until his eyes closed and his breathing stopped.

"That's it?" Smythe said.

"Yes," she said, "and he got better than he deserved. Let's go."

"What about the body?"

"Flies and ants are G.o.d's creatures. They could use a free meal."

Chapter Fourteen.

Aaron stood across the street from a small green house. He tried to imagine how an a.s.sa.s.sin would sneak in. The house was single-story and didn't appear to have a bas.e.m.e.nt, but there was a vulnerable crawls.p.a.ce under the main floor. Burglar bars covered all the windows. Getting through the bars would require cutting thick steel, but the right tools could do the job quickly and quietly. To a professional a.s.sa.s.sin the bars were just an inconvenience. Even the roof might be a point of entry. An intruder could make an opening with a saw and drop down into the attic.

"Keep moving," Marina said. "Somebody might see you looking."

She, Aaron, and Smythe were walking along the sidewalk together. It was early evening and getting cold. A steady breeze in Aaron's face made his eyes water.

"Are we sure that's the right address?" Smythe said. "It didn't look like much."

"We're sure," Marina said. "Santorini is there, guarded by four federal agents. The information came straight from our friends in Washington."

"What kind of friends?"

"Government officials. The Society maintains a network of high ranking contacts in every agency. That's how we found out about you."

"I a.s.sume these officials don't know who you really are."

"Correct," she said, "and each believes a different lie."

"Isn't it hard to keep track of all the lies?"

"You get used to it."

He shook his head. "That's sad, really."

"In your opinion," she said. "Let's get down to business. The Eternals will try to a.s.sa.s.sinate Santorini soon. We need to be ready."

"We don't know when or how they'll attack," Aaron said. "It might be a guy delivering poisoned pizza, or a home invasion, or a sniper. Maybe they'll set fire to the house. There are a thousand possibilities."

"We'll set up surveillance cameras and motion sensors all around."

"Without the FBI spotting us?" Aaron shook his head. "No, we need to be inside the house, so the Eternals will have to go through us to reach Santorini. Otherwise, they might slip by us."

"Are you crazy?" Smythe exclaimed. "You want us to stand in the line of fire and let professional a.s.sa.s.sins get the first shot. That's suicide."