The men hauled her out and set her on the ground. With a pull and twist, the knot on her legs came undone. Thoughts of running vanished when she tried to stand and fell to the ground on numb legs that couldn’t even support her weight.
She looked upward at the men, squinting in the light. They were only silhouettes. Two standing above her, a third off to the side. A forth shadow just beyond.
The fourth man spoke English to them. “What happened to her? Where did the bruises come from?”
To her surprise, there was a familiar tone to the voice.
“She fought with the American,” one of the Peruvians replied.
“Pick her up.”
They grabbed her arms, lifted her and allowed her to lean against the bumper of the truck. The man who sounded familiar came into view. It was Lieutenant Wu, General Zhang’s aide.
“Black Jade,” he said quietly. “The General is astounded to hear that you have been . . . subdued so easily.”
Embarrassment flooded through her, the sense of failure peaking so strongly that she could not look at him.
“Untie her,” Wu ordered.
Why these men were taking orders from the lieutenant, she couldn’t guess. But with a nod from the third member of their group, they did as he asked.
The sudden release of her hands brought both great relief and a new wave of pain as she brought her arms in front of her for the first time in hours.
Her hands were caked with dried blood, her wrists rubbed raw from the effort. The cord that had held her captive was frayed within a few strands of breaking. The Peruvian men looked at it suspiciously.
Wu laughed. “You’re lucky I arrived,” he said to the Peruvians. “She would have killed you all.”
They scoffed at the statement, but that didn’t make it any less true.
“Can you walk?” Wu asked.
Daiyu tested her legs. They were tingling with pins and needles, but she would show no more weakness. She nodded and stood.
“Come with me,” Wu said, turning and strolling down the path.
She followed awkwardly, listening as the Peruvian men closed up the truck behind her. The door slid down with a rattle before slamming against the stops. Angry words were exchanged among them.
Daiyu focused on Lieutenant Wu. “Did General Zhang buy my freedom?”
“Yes and no.”
“I failed you,” she whispered. “I’m not worthy of being ransomed.”
Wu laughed lightly. “The General said you would react this way. He also said to tell you he can find diamonds and gold in the ground; that he can either buy or steal them, if he must. But a good operative, one such as yourself, is far harder to come by.”
She felt a wave of pride at the compliment. But it did not change what had happened.
“At any rate,” Wu added, “it’s not you alone that we’ve paid for but the Nighthawk’s cargo.”
Her eyes grew wide.
“There is much you don’t know,” he said, leading her around a bend.
A sleek helicopter sat in the road up ahead. It was guarded by two men with assault rifles. Men from home. Allies.
“How did you find me?”
“You recall the name Falconer?”