Unleashed (Mr. Black Series Book 1) Page 4

  Again, I heard a man wailing from down the hall. I didn’t understand what he was trying to say, as it was muffled by the distance. The excruciating howls were clear and distinct, and undeniably tormented. I knew that I would have my turn before the day’s end.

  BLACK, ELIJAH XANDER, LIEUTENANT, UNITED STATES NAVY, 555231

  Amadi returned a few hours later.

  “I’m back, princess,” he said as he handed a guard a set of keys and motioned him toward me.

  The guard walked over and unlocked the metal bracelets attached to the chains on the wall. My arms, still weak and sore from being chained above my head, fell like limp noodles to the floor. I eyed my wrists, which were bloodied and raw, relieved the shackles had been removed.

  “Stand up!” Amadi yelled as he started walking back down the hallway.

  I tried to get up, but I was still weak from the injuries I sustained from the explosion. The guard grabbed me under my armpit, where the fresh cigar burn was, and lifted me to my feet. It took a moment for me to gain my bearings, but once I did, I pushed the guard away and headed for the door.

  “I can walk on my own, muthafucker,” I grunted.

  The concrete was cold under my feet. I shuffled them slowly forward as I followed behind Amadi toward the door at the end of the hall. The armed guard behind me was holding a gun to my back to ensure I didn’t make a run for it. I absorbed the pain of walking slowly over the sharp crumbles of concrete in order to survey my surroundings. I observed the frosted glass windows, noting how far off of the ground they were, how many there were, and if they were thin enough to shatter with my bare hands. The risk of cutting a major artery was one I really didn’t want to have to take, in case I was far from civilization.

  We walked through the musty hallway, stopping in front of another metal door, which Amadi unlocked with the longest key secured to his ring full of, what looked to be, about fifty keys. The door creaked open to reveal a stark, dimly lit room, boasting a wooden chair situated under a light bulb, which hung a few feet from below the ceiling by a straggly, shredded, brown extension cord.

  “Please, have a seat,” Amadi said in a gentlemanly voice as he pointed to the chair.

  I glared at him as I made my way to the chair, all the while scanning the room for any possible escape points. The guard behind me pressed the end of his gun into my spine, urging me to move forward.

  “Hurry up!” the guard barked.

  Amadi walked over and secured my wrists into the handcuffs that were already attached to the arms of the chair, and my ankles to the cuffs attached to the legs.

  “Are you comfortable?” Amadi asked facetiously. “A coffee, perhaps?”

  I stared off; relegating myself to a compartment in my mind I had created years ago, during my arduous BUD/s training to become a Navy SEAL, employing every tactic I learned during my Survival, Evasion, Resistance and Escape training.

  “No? Perhaps some tea then?” he said, obviously amusing himself.

  Pacing around the chair as my new boots squeaked under his foot, he asked, “So tell me, Mr. Black, what were you doing in my house in the middle of the night? Quite rude popping in unannounced, don’t you think?” he asked as he stopped circling, and stood in front of me, waiting for a response.

  “Black, Elijah Xander, Lieutenant, United States Navy, 555231…”

  “You fuckin’ Americans,” Amadi yelled as he punched me in the jaw, not allowing me to finish my prepared name, rank, and service number speech.

  My head jerked to the side, but quickly regained its position, zooming my focus on Amadi’s ear to see if either one had a missing piece. Both were fully intact. He obviously was not the target my team had been after. I allowed my training to take over as I fixed my eyes on the wall.

  Amadi laughed as he pulled a half-smoked cigar from his dingy pants and lit it with an antique brass square metal lighter; probably stolen from another prisoner. The smoke emanating from the cigar filled the room with the caustic odor of cheap tobacco. He made his way over to me and pulled the cigar out of his mouth, holding the smoldering end up to my cheek, taunting me with another burn.

  Amadi situated his face within an inch of mine and asked again, “What were you doing at my house?”

  “Black, Elijah Xander, Lieutenant, United States Navy, 555231…” I began to recite again, which angered him, made apparent by the absence of his usually arrogant smile. He lifted my shirt and jammed the cigar into the tender skin over my ribs, stopping me once more from finishing my service number. He let it remain there until the smell of burning flesh permeated the room. I gritted my teeth and held my breath to hold back my groans. Amadi pulled the cigar away from my skin, leaving a deeply charred quarter-sized circle. The burning sensation lingered and I felt like the cigar was still being held to my skin.

  He removed his belt. “So you think you’re a tough guy, huh?” he said as he began to whip me about the chest and head with the hard metal buckle.

  “Black, Elijah Xander, Lieutenant, United States Navy, 555231…” I could no longer maintain my composure and let out a slight moan. Upon hearing it, the smile returned to Amadi’s face as he continued to pummel my legs and torso with the belt. He finally stopped when it appeared that he had lost his breath due to all of the physical exertion. He was still panting for air as he slid his belt back through his belt loops, the brown leather still dripping with my blood.

  “Are you ready to answer yet?” Amadi asked as he clasped the buckle closed.

  I looked down to see the boots he had stolen from me.

  This muthafucker is still wearing my goddam boots.

  I shifted my gaze toward his face, spitting a mixture of blood and saliva at him. “Fuck you!”

  He angrily swiped the fluid from his face and clenched his fist, striking me right across the jaw.

  “You son of a bitch,” he yelled.

  “That feels so good,” I taunted.

  He threw another punch, and then a third. “Had enough?”

  “Have you?” I said, spitting blood on the floor.

  “You are fun to play with.” He smiled.

  “Where’s Cheng?”

  “He has more important things to do than deal with trash like you,” he said, punching me in the gut.

  I doubled over, my stomach churning. I held my breath, trying to keep from throwing up. The only thing I owned was my self-control, and I would be damned if I let them have that.

  “That’s all you have?”

  He chuckled as he rubbed his knuckles.

  He looked over to one of the other guards. “Do you want to have a turn?”

  He nodded and walked over to me.

  “Can’t finish me off, yourself?”

  “It’s not fair to hoard all the fun to myself,” he said as he leaned against a wall and pulled out a cigar.

  The guard stepped in front of me and pulled his belt from his pants.

  “I see that you need help,” I said, trying to focus, as my right eye had started to shut.

  The man looked back at Amadi. “How many before he passes out?”

  Amadi replied, “I say four.”

  The guard looked back at me. “I say one!” he yelled, striking me in the temple, instantly knocking me out.

  I woke up the next morning sprawled out on the ground with half a slice of bread and a small tin cup of water lying on the floor next to my head. I thought of these bits of food as my small reward for surviving another beating. The brutality continued day after day. Slowly the days turned into weeks, and it seemed like there would be no end to the cruelty. Secretly, I hoped Amadi would go too far and put me out of my misery.

  I rested my face on the cold, hard ground, longing for a soft bed and warm sheets. My whole body ached, and the hunger pangs were only exacerbated by the crumbs that were being fed to me. From a distance I could hear the belt buckle slapping against the flesh and bones of another poor soul, feeling fortunate that it wasn’t my turn yet and hoping that Amadi wouldn’t
send one of his lackeys to do his dirty work. One special day, I woke up face down on the concrete floor in my cell, feeling like my jaw had been run over by a Mack truck. Amadi had allowed his second in command to conduct the interrogation. Unfortunately for me, this guy had even more of an evil streak and inflicted more pain than Amadi would have. The guard had used my face as a human punching bag for hours, and only let up when I eventually passed out. It couldn’t even be called an interrogation since the guard never asked one question.

  So, weak and malnourished, I lacked the energy to even sit up, so I just laid there…still…contemplating ways to push Amadi over the edge, praying for death’s reprieve. After all, I hadn’t given Amadi any information thus far, so I didn’t know why they were keeping me alive, except for the sheer sport of having an extra bag of bones to beat on for the mere pleasure of it.

  RUDE PIG

  “Nasima,” I murmured her name quietly to myself, hoping it was nearing the time for her daily visit. It was the only thing, other than death, that I looked forward to during my waking hours. My eyes slowly closed, but then quickly opened when I heard the familiar clanging of the keys coming down the hallway. I raked my dirty fingernails across the floor and tried to muster up the strength to push myself up. Gritting my teeth, I performed one push up, propelling my back toward the wall.

  I didn’t want Nasima walking in on me lying on the ground like a filthy animal. It was a small gesture, but one that took all the strength I had left in my meager state. The metal door slowly opened, and Nasima stuck her head through the crack and looked in.

  ***

  Nasima

  “Oh my goodness, Elijah, are you okay?” I asked as I ran over and fell to my knees, cupping my hand to his neck.

  “Yes, I’m okay,” he replied in a crackling voice as he hooked his fingers over my thin wrist.

  I looked at his hand. The touch, although forbidden, brought a smile to my face. I enjoyed the daily time we spent together, even though it was painful to see him in so much agony.

  “I have something for you,” I leaned in and whispered into his ear, my cheek slightly grazing his.

  “What is it?” he whispered with a slight smile.

  I pulled out a piece of bread hidden in the sleeve of my cumbersome black dress. The bread had a small sliver of cooked meat stuffed into the middle of it. I pulled small bite-sized pieces off and gently fed him by hand, waiting as he savored each bite.

  “How is it?” I asked softly.

  “You’re too kind, but if you get caught you’re gonna be in so much trouble with Amadi.”

  “Hush now, you need to build up your strength,” I said quietly as I glanced back at the door to make sure it was still closed.

  “Strength for what?” he asked. “This is it for me. No rescue teams are coming, or they would have already been here.”

  I wiped away some crumbs from the side of his mouth with the rag I had brought with me, and tilted his head back in order to slowly pour some water into his mouth. “Just tell them what they want to know,” I said as I ran my fingers through his matted hair. “I cannot stand to see you in so much pain.”

  “Even if I knew anything, I wouldn’t tell them. I’d rather die than betray my country. Plus, not talking to them is the only thing that is keeping me alive. But at this point, I’m sure death wouldn’t be a bad thing.”

  “Don’t say that. I’m sure you have someone waiting for you at home. A wife, perhaps?” I asked inquisitively. I had wondered for weeks if his heart was spoken for, and finally decided to ask him directly.

  “No, no one. A plant…but I’m sure that’s dead by now,” he said jokingly, but then cringed when it hurt to laugh.

  “I find that hard to believe,” I said with a slight smile, elated that he did not have a woman at home. I wiped some blood away from his face then playfully added, “A man as handsome as yourself with no wife? Surely you are toying with my emotions.”

  “I didn’t know you had emotions for me,” he replied.

  “Stop it, Elijah,” I scolded, slightly tapping him on the shoulder.

  “Fuck, that hurt!” he chuckled.

  “Oh, stop being a baby, and stop cussing,” I joked, rubbing his shoulder to appease him.

  “There was someone once upon a time…but I found her in bed with one of my friends,” he explained.

  “Hardly a friend, in my opinion,” she said.

  “Hardly a woman in mine,” he retorted. “How ’bout you? Anyone get to see what’s under all that material at night?”

  My demeanor changed immediately, offended that he would ask about the body I kept hidden underneath my clothing. “Rude pig! How dare you?” I exclaimed as I threw the rag onto the ground, stood up, and headed to the door. “Let me out!” I yelled, banging on the cold metal.

  The door opened, and as I walked through the threshold, I glanced back at him. My glare said it all. The guard slammed the door behind me.

  ***

  Elijah

  I wondered what in the world I had just done, as I laid back down onto the hard floor, aching in places I never knew existed. My only connection to the real world, and I ruined it with just a few words. Mulling over the conversation in my head, I slowly drifted off to sleep for what seemed like only a few minutes before I was suddenly awakened.

  “Elijah. Elijah,” Nasima whispered, as she rocked my body back and forth, bringing me back to consciousness.

  I opened my eyes, which shot wide open when I saw the woman that was rocking me awake. She had Nasima’s voice, but she was not Nasima.

  Is she?

  “Nasima?” I whispered.

  The woman was not wearing a head covering and the huge black dress that usually covered every inch of Nasima’s body. Her long, thick, braided black hair, which slightly grazed his face, hung down past her hips and smelled of wild lavender…a smell that transported me back to a warm summer day on the Indiana farm on which I had grown up as a child. The same farm on which I learned to shoot and hunt with my brothers. The memory seemed like it had happened a lifetime ago, and to someone else.

  “Elijah,” she repeated, as she slapped me lightly on the face.

  “Huh…yeah…I’m awake,” I answered, snapping out of my memory. I cleared my throat and pushed myself off of the ground to take in her full composition. “Wow, you are beautiful.”

  She smiled slightly and blushed at my comment. She was almost exactly as I had imagined. My eyes traced over her long, slender arms, curving around her toned shoulders, and down her chest. Her breasts, swaying back and forth as she jostled my body, were round and plump. Lacking a bra, the silhouette of her small pearl-like nipples were visible through the tight spandex tank top she wore. Her slim waist led into a slightly curved set of hips, which descended into a long, lean pair of legs, covered by a pair of faded gray jeans. The shredded portions about her thighs and knees allowed her smooth brown flesh to peek through.

  I set my gaze upon her face. So soft and angelic, her familiar blue eyes sat above a petite nose, leading to a pair of lips which begged me to kiss her. But I wouldn’t dare touch her. Not after how angry she had gotten earlier from the simple mention of her body.

  “What is it? Have I already been beaten today?” I asked. “Shit, am I that out of it that I’m not even lucid enough to know when I’m being beaten?”

  “No. I came back to apologize. I should not have left you the way I did, for simply asking the same question I had asked you. My upbringing taught me that I should have been offended by such a question. But there is something undeniable about you, Elijah Black. When I am around you, and when I am not; my sense of what I should and shouldn’t do is carried away by the wind,” she professed, smiling at me.

  It was the first time I had ever seen her smile. Her beauty filled me with a will to live that I hadn’t felt in weeks.

  Refreshed by her presence, I laid my hand on her thigh. “No, don’t apologize. I was out of line.”

  She rested her palm on my
cheek and said, “No, Elijah. You were not. I was. I am going to help you get out of this place.”

  My ears perked up. “How?”

  “I have a plan, but you need to give them some sort of information, even if it is false…but you have to make them believe you are telling them the truth.”

  “How does that help anything? They will just kill me after.”

  “Yes, but they will have to take you outside to do so. That is when you make your move to escape,” she said excitedly.

  “Where are we? Can you bring me a map?” I asked. “I need to get to the US Embassy.”

  “I will try. I have to go before they find me here,” she said.

  “Are you a prisoner here as well?” I asked, trying to ascertain how she had so much freedom to come and go.

  “No, Amadi is my cousin, and I volunteer to work here so I can keep the prisoners alive. I don’t want anyone getting hurt, but if they must, I at least want to make sure they are tended to after,” she said as she leaned in and ever so slightly touched her cheek to mine, raking her fingers across the nape of my neck.

  The sweetness of her gesture intrigued me. I wasn’t used to this sort of woman. I always attracted the fast, loose kinds that were ready to open their legs the minute me, or any other dick, walked through the door. Nasima, however, was nothing like that. I was sure that her visit, not clothed in her usual overbearing garb, was a complete leap out of her comfort zone, to show me the body I had referenced earlier. Nasima stood up and slowly walked backwards toward the door. Her hair whipped through the air as she spun around and reached for the door knob. She glanced back at me. Her look was sultry, and unlike any look I had ever witnessed from her before. For a moment, I forgot where I was as the blood rushed from every part of my body, funneling into my dick. I felt a pulsating pleasure I hadn’t felt in what seemed like an eternity.