The Nostradamus File by Alex Lukeman Page B

so tough," he said.
    "You're not getting paid to think about how he looks." The voice was cultured and came from behind him. Nick had heard it somewhere. Then he remembered. Anderson, the attaché at the Embassy.
    As if reading his mind, Anderson stepped in front of him, letting himself be seen. It meant they were going to kill him. Nick's adrenaline kicked in.
    "You're thinking your friends will find you in time," Anderson said. "That isn't going to happen."
    "What do you want?"
    "Come on, Carter, you know what I want. Where is the Ark?"
    "I don't know where it is. If I did, I wouldn't be here, would I?"
    Anderson squatted down in front of him and looked Nick in the eyes. "Let me tell you what's going to happen. You're going to tell me what you know. We can do it the easy way or the hard way."
    "You don't have a better line than that?"
    "This is Willy," Anderson said. He gestured at the other man. "Willy likes to hurt people. Right, Willy?"
    "Yes, Mister Anderson."
    "The first thing he'll do is break your fingers."
    "Fuck you, Anderson."
    "Now who needs a better line?"
    They hadn't bound his legs. Nick ducked his head and launched himself at Anderson, still squatting in front of him. The back of the chair caught him over the nose. It was a satisfying sound. Anderson went down like a stone. Nick rolled over him and slammed into Willy's legs. The man fell down, flailing. Nick tried to get up, but Willy was quicker. Nick saw the shoe coming at him but couldn't get out of the way in time. Everything went black.
     

 
    CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE
     
     
    Selena knew something was wrong when Nick wasn't back in a few minutes. She called Ronnie and Lamont. Now the three of them stood at the end of the hall by the ice machine.
    "They can't have taken him far," Ronnie said. "How long's it been? Ten, fifteen minutes?"
    "That's time enough." Lamont paced back and forth. "Look, I was down in the lobby. If they'd gone out the front, I would have seen them."
    "Plenty of other ways. Back entrance, the laundry, through the kitchen."
    "That would cause a stir," Selena said. "You know he wouldn't go without finding a way to stop them."
    "If they had a gun in his ribs..." Ronnie said. "No, he'd find a way around that."
    "They had to knock him cold," Lamont said. "If he'd been conscious there'd be signs of a fight."
    "Hard to go unnoticed if you're dragging someone through the kitchen," Ronnie said.
    "Maybe he's still in the hotel," Selena said.
    "If he is, they couldn't take a chance on being seen in the elevator." Lamont stopped pacing. "Either the stairs or he's still on this floor."
    "It would have to be a room close to the ice machine," Selena said. "Same reason. They wouldn't risk dragging him down a long hall like this. Someone might see it."
    "If they've got him out in the city we won't find him," Ronnie said. "'Our only shot is if he's still here."
    He looked at the long row of doors. "Selena, take the right. Lamont, you take the left, I'll go down the middle. Look for marks, anything. If they dragged him it might show up on the rug."
    They began working their way quietly down the corridor. Ten doors down on the right, Selena held up her hand. She gestured at the floor. There was a soft indentation, barely visible, where something had been dragged across the threshold. She knelt down. There was tiny drop of blood on the carpet. She took out her gun and placed her ear against the door. Ronnie and Lamont came over, pistols in hand. There was a murmur of voices inside.
    "That son of a bitch."
    "You all right, Mister Anderson?"
    "No, I'm not all right."
    "What do you want to do?"
    "We're wasting time. Wake him up and hurt him. He'll talk."
    Selena stood and whispered in Ronnie's ear. "In there. At least two."
    Ronnie nodded. He stepped back and wound himself around like a discus thrower and slammed his foot into the door. The frame splintered. He kicked again and the door flew open.
    Selena took in the scene. Nick was unconscious, slumped over