This chapter carries on from the previous two Chapter 1, The offer to be a sex slave, Chapter 2, The revelation that this was to stop her family being killed. This chapter details the efforts to gain entry to the mobster's lair and turn the tables on the bad guys.
Chapter 3
Intelligence gathering
The next morning a bright Andrew was cajoling a barely functioning me into a run. Despite my protestations he said I needed to clear the brain cells which I hadn't drunk away. We ran or rather I stumbled, swayed and cursed. We had an audience. I have to say my acting was worth an Oscar and a six-movie deal.
We ran, stopping frequently due to my condition, around the estate by the Vine residence, all on public ground. I would gesticulate at the house which caused Andrew to shake his head.
It confirmed the muscle on all sides close by the house with, in addition, a patrol out at 400 metres and another at 700 metres. Thirty-five all told.
Taking the need to rotate, that could mean the same inside at least. We needed inside intelligence.
Andrew smiled which I took as a warning. I was right. He had a plan. For those of a delicate nature, it stank!
He had spotted the sewer main just along the road from the house. Access was out of sight but we would need help. A text to Mo with a time and location and our needs later. We returned to my home to wait for darkness.
If I had been in any doubt those responsible were going to die slow, painful deaths, coming up through those sewers sealed their end.
The evening was uneventful apart from a call by Joanna's Mum and Dad pleading with me to go to her. They used a coded phrase we had rehearsed to tell me they were being forced to call with others in the room.
I really set off on them. Shouting, "How many times do I have to say, I'm not going to do anything to help the whore, your daughter. She chose that over me." We argued for over half an hour. Mum's screams were deafening and cut through my heart. Those bastards were going to pay!
We set the snoring on and set off. The cop was still awake but again no cover on the back fence. We made our way carefully wearing our camouflage gear and carrying the wizard cloaks to shield us if we got into the building.
At the rendezvous point we met Mo and Junior. Three others were in coverage in the tree line. All were heavily armed. If we were caught, we would take them down and try and rescue Joanna. Mo and Junior would back us up. The tree line would take care of the outside crew. We hoped to be silent and clear within an hour and a half at the latest.
Andrew just smiled as we headed down the sewer pipe. You can really go off someone very quickly. It hadn't rained in days so the smell made your stomach turn. He just laughed, quietly.
The first six hundred yards took us near to the side of the house. We couldn't see any sign of sensors so, so far, so good. Now the pipe was joined by the house sewage pipe. Given the size of the house and the number of rooms, staff, that pipe was just about 30 inches diameter. Crawling on my hands and knees, I didn't think of it as a bonus. I felt quite some animosity towards Andrew.
We came to a grate so used a camera feed to check out where it was and get our bearings. It appeared we were in a basement area. It made sense to have a grate to allow access if a problem. There was no one about. I pulled one of my Glock's as Andrew slowly opened the grate. I went up quickly and took a position to give him cover.
Once out, we went to the door. Both of us had our weapons at the ready. From his bag, Andrew pulled a little thin wire, no more than five feet long. It was a camera. He attached it to his phone and pushed it under the door. The hallway was clear and there were deep recesses by the doors to hide in, if necessary. The picture clarity astounded me.
The door opened silently. The first thing I heard was the sound, followed by the smell of people huddled together off to the right. A quick look confirmed it looked like a prison and held a number of women by the sounds. Andrew was furious. "We're killing those bastards slowly, very slowly!" he hissed.
We moved along slowly intent on checking each room out. We came to the next one which had to be the "rec room." There were a few clues. There was blood on the floor. A whipping cross and a sex horse with leather straps. There was blood all over both. A rack and an iron maiden were also there. The implements attached to the walls showed that some serious pain had been inflicted on those unfortunate to be held there. They didn't look like they bothered cleaning anything. No thought on infection control!
We would use them on the proper bastards later.
We put our miniscule cameras in areas where they would never be seen. One microphone was hidden within the sex horse so we could hear better what was going on as well as see. The depth of the wall and the doors would muffle the sound anyone screaming if closed. As we left, Andrew placed a clear liquid on the door hinges and locks.
Noticing my quizzical face he said, "I borrowed a new reactive substance that does nothing until you switch it on. If needed it blows up the hinges and locks in less than one second so we can get in."
There was nothing of interest on the rest of that floor so we slowly made our way up the stairs to the next level. It was the ground floor. We quickly found the dungeon and planted our cameras and microphones. We were in the ballroom when we heard someone approach. We drew on our cloaks which use sensors like mirrors to blend with where you are to confuse what others are seeing. Okay we hid behind large settees as well. The guard's check was cursory before he continued on his way.
We watched him on Andrew's phone till he left the floor. We thought he would keep to the outside time so we had less than ten minutes to set the next room which looked like a live theatre. No prizes for guessing what they showed. Again we set our surveillance.
The next room was the bar so we hid behind the large sofas as the guard was due. He duly appeared and we finished that floor.
I pointed upstairs and Andrew nodded. We headed up very quietly as I thought this could be the house bedrooms so at least some would be in use. I must get Andrew's camera for my phone. It showed the hallway was clear. We, as quickly as we could, without making a sound, placed our cameras to allow us to monitor the hallway as it would have been too dangerous to try the rooms.
As I did, I heard sobbing. That voice could only be Joanna. Andrew heard it. He pointed at me to go and see her. "Tell her Iain's plan and that we'll rescue her. Get her to call you to persuade you to come and you tell her to fuck off. Code for someone with her."