War Dog

Chapter 48

Diego's voice droned on over the comms. I hadn't even stepped foot into the house and I was already sick of listening to the mans dull monotonous ranting. I'd have sworn black and blue this was payback for the ringtone debacle if he hadn't already told me the mans name before that.

Ghosts voice thankfully cut through Diegos on the comms. "Wolf, target is comfortably seated at a cafe. You have several hours, but you know the drill, get in, get out. Don't mess around."

"Yes Ghost. Diego, cut the cameras please, going in." I pull out the lock picking kit and insert the picks into the lock. My sensitive hearing let me hear the pins fall into place and I twisted the lock and open up the door. I step inside, confident that Alejandros man was as good as Ale had said he was. If not, oh well. I had my mask and the balaclava on hiding my most prominent features. It's not like I'd be recognisable on any database anyway.

I slip through the house and find the door to the basement. This door has a security pad, fortunately Alejandro had been prepared and given Diego a run down on what to expect. I was starting to suspect Alejandro had had his eye on this guy for longer than we've been in Mexico, and I was doing his dirty work for him. The security on the door took longer than expected to crack, but Diego was successful in the end, and the door opened. 

"Careful Wolf. We don't know what's down there."

"I do." My gruff voice was pinched in disgust, the smell from the basement strong enough that it was filtering through the mask. I was glad for the heavy duty protection that my new mask gave me.

"Wolf," Ghost growled warningly. "What's going on?"

"Ghost, he has bodies in his basement. I don't even have to see them to know they're in various states of decay."

"That bad? Isn't the mask meant to help filter the smells?"

"It's doing its job, Ghost. The mask is working.

"Fuck. Wolf-"

"Don't worry about it, I'm already going." I say taking the decision out of his hands as I start descending down the basement stairs. I pull out a flashlight and flick it on, and then immediately flick it off again, freezing on the stairs.

"Ghost..." My voice wavers. I cough clearing my throat. "It's fucking bad." I begin ascending the stairs again. I get to the top of the stairs and push down the rising panic. All I want to do is rip my mask off, but I know if I do that, the smell will be a thousand times worse. I begin hyperventilating, the sound too loud to my own ears. 

"Wolf," I can hear Ghosts voice getting louder and louder over the comms. "Wolf!"

"I'm here, I'm here," I whisper, barely hearing myself.

"I saw it on the camera Wolf. We need to know everything. You have to go back down there. We need you to set up some of the bugs down there."

"Fuck!" I yell emphatically, a hand clawing at my face leaving scratches behind in the fur out of frustration.

"Wolf. Do you need me to come assist?"

"No. I've got it." I say far too quickly. Without a respiratory mask on, Ghost wouldn't be able to smell past the horrific scent emanating from the basement. I didn't understand what kind of seal the man had on that door to keep it trapped.

"Sorry to interrupt, but you only have about ten more minutes before the camera system resets itself."

"Fuck fuck fuckity fuck." My voice is mumbled, but I gather my nerves and stride back down into the basement. I turn my flashlight back on, letting the camera attached to my harness capture the grim scene below. The lifeless glassy eyes of the kidnapped and enslaved people stared up at me accusingly. Or maybe that was the weight of my own guilt weighing me down that I couldn't save them. Some were so fresh, they looked like they were just sleeping. With their eyes open. Some of them, I could see their bodies deteriorated enough that sunken cheeks had cracked open revealing muscle and hints of bone. Most of them though, had been carved up. Deteriorated. Rotting. The meat had begun to slide off the bone. Skin pooling in spots like liquid as the muscle beneath it gave way.