The Athena Project

CHAPTER 35

Radek Heger screamed in pain as the weight of his body crushed down on his shattered collarbone. So far, Megan Rhodes had been true to her bet with Vlcek. Technically, she had not laid a hand on her prisoner.

Squatting so she could speak directly into his ear and be heard, Rhodes said, “They say the pain you are feeling is akin to being crucified, just upside down.”

Heger tried to choke back his screams.

“I can make it stop. Just tell me what I want to know.”

When Heger refused to answer, Rhodes took her thumb, jammed it down into his shoulder and dug it around. It didn’t take her long to find what she was looking for as the Czech’s body went rigid and he practically levitated off the board.

He screamed bloody murder as his head snapped to the side and he tried to bite Rhodes through his hood.

After a few more seconds of imposed agony, Megan nodded and Ericsson tilted him back up so he was lying flat.

Heger’s breathing came in rapid, short gasps. Rhodes allowed him a minute to catch his breath. She didn’t need to remove his hood to know that his face was wet with tears. She took no pleasure in aggravating the man’s pain, but he held the keys to his own deliverance.

“Radek,” she said when she thought he had calmed down enough to listen to her. “We’re going to keep doing this until you cooperate.”

“You are dead,” he mumbled from beneath his hood. “All of you will die.”

“Listen to me, Radek. Remember when I told you about the damage done to your back? Remember what I said about internal bleeding? What do you think happens to those injuries every time we tip you upside down like that?”

Heger didn’t respond.

“Sooner or later, you are going to tell me what I want to know. The only question is whether you decide it’s worth allowing yourself to become paralyzed, or worse, in the process.”

She gave him a moment to think about what she was offering. “It’s up to you, Radek. Why don’t you just tell me what I want to know?”

“Go to hell,” he spat again.

Rhodes signaled for Ericsson to tip him over again and she did, hard. The board bounced against the floor, his head bounced against the board, and he cried out again in agony.

She asked him once more what had happened to the contents of the bunker and when he refused to answer, she dug her thumb back into his pulverized collarbone and watched his body tense and then begin writhing as white-hot bolts of pain shot up and down his spine.

Several times, she offered him a chance to make it all stop, but he told her what she could do with her offers. Radek Heger was one tough SOB.

Looking up, Rhodes caught John Vlcek’s eye. Feigning boredom, he looked at his watch and then pretended to yawn.

She smiled at him in response. Heger would break. It was only a matter of time.

She had Ericsson tip him back up and then she allowed him a moment to catch his breath. His clothes were dripping with sweat.

Then, without warning, without giving him a chance to answer her question, Rhodes signaled for Ericsson to tip the board back over.

As it began to tip back, Heger yelled, “No! Stop.”

Rhodes signaled for Ericsson to keep going as she said, “I’m sorry, Radek. We can’t stop.”

The board slammed onto the floor. “Oh, my God. Stop,” he yelled. “Please stop. I will tell you.”

“Tell me what?” asked Rhodes, bending down close to him again.

“Anything,” he stammered. “Everything.”

Megan pressed gently against his broken collarbone with her thumb.

“We never met the purchaser! We only met his attorney. His name is Branko. Branko Kojic. I sold everything in the bunker to him.”