"It is, sir. She was just lucky. For a while. Some Mexie here helped her escape. I'm taking care of her now."
Quantril looked up in alarm. "You're not—"
"I'm not hitting their faces."
Quantril's mouth formed a slow smile. "But you'd like to, wouldn't you, Deke?"
Bauer grinned. The boss was okay. Quantril was a little slick, maybe, but underneath they were two of a kind. "Maybe a little," he confessed, and the two men laughed.
Quantril put his arm around Bauer's shoulders. "Oh, Deke," he whispered, "I'd like to look over the stock, if you know what I mean."
"I think I know," Bauer said.
"After all, I can't give away gifts without seeing the merchandise first, can I?"
"No, sir."
Quantril's gaze swept over the roof. "How about a little dress parade, Deke? Here on the roof."
"Right away, sir."
"Without dress." He winked. "Got me?"
"Gotcha, sir." The major raced down the stone steps toward the prison.
They appeared in single file, like a vision in a dream: 180 beautiful young women, stark naked, their bodies ripe and inviting as they were marched past the rows of armed guards.
Quantril looked them over carefully as he passed down the line, brushing his hands against their soft breasts and bellies.
"A little soiled, but acceptable," he said approvingly.
"They've had the best of care, sir," Bauer assured him.
Quantril stopped in front of Consuela Madera. "This one is especially nice." He fondled the mass of black curls on her head. "Yes, especially. I may keep her for myself."
Consuela stiffened. "What have you done with Karen?" she demanded.
"Who?"
Deke Bauer answered. "Karen Lockwood. The blonde that got out. This is the Mexie bitch that helped her."
Quantril's eyebrows rose. "And she went unpunished?"
"Body blows, sir." Bauer chuckled.
Quantril saw the bruises on Consuela's abdomen and traced them with his finger. "Ah, yes. Good work, Bauer." He felt himself being aroused. "I'm glad you didn't touch her face. I so despise ugly women."
"What did you do with her?" Consuela shrilled.
Quantril yanked her hair, snapping her head backward. "You speak when you're spoken to like a good girl, understand? Or should I teach you some manners?" He jerked her head back farther. Her defiant eyes welled with tears of pain. The sight made Quantril's erection throb. He moved close to the woman. "Your friend is dead," he whispered. "And you're mine."
Consuela spat in his face.
With a howl of disgust, Quantril pulled back his arm and cannoned it across the woman's mouth. She fell backward, her back scraping against the broken tile of the roof.
"Slimy foreign bitch." He pulled out his chrome-plated revolver, then yanked her by her hair to her feet. "Let's see what your face looks like after this." He cocked the weapon and held it dead center against her eye.
She trembled with fear. The smell of her excited him. "On second thought," he said, "I think another way may be even more interesting. Bauer!"
"Sir?"
"Escort the lady to the wall."
Bauer led Consuela to the notched wall that surrounded the roof. With the butt of his Uzi, he forced the naked woman to step into the space between the battlements.
Below was a sheer drop of 1,500 feet into the valley. The wind whistled forbiddingly through Consuela's hair. She shivered as Quantril approached her from behind. "You're going to jump, muchacha," he teased. "By the time we're through with you, you're going to want to jump."
He turned back to Bauer. "Have your men bring up some stones."
"Stones, sir?"
"About the size of baseballs, maybe smaller. Nice round throwing stones."
Bauer's face broke into an expectant grin. "Yes, sir." The major sent off a half-dozen men, including Corporal Kains, the women's guard. While the other men scurried to the stairwell, Kains stood rigid, his eyes on the floor.
"You waiting for a personal invitation, Corporal?" Bauer boomed.
Kains blinked rapidly. "It's not right, sir," he said quietly. "He wants to stone her."
Bauer bristled. "He is Mr. Quantril, and whatever Mr. Quantril wants, Mr. Quantril gets, understand?"
"Not from me, sir," Kains said, his beast's eyes looking frightened but stubborn.
Quantril came over.
"I'll straighten him out, sir," Bauer began.
Quantril waved him away. "It's all right. Your man just has principles. Isn't that right, soldier?"
Kains was sweating profusely. "I don't know, sir. I only know I'm not going to help torture Consuela."
"So it's Consuela, is it? Maybe she's something special to you?"
Kains flushed.
"Well, well. I think we've got a real loverboy here, Bauer. What do you think?"
"He's been trouble from the beginning, sir. It was Kains who let the Lockwood girl escape."
"Well, well," Quantril repeated. He walked over to the parapet where Consuela was standing and looked over. "It's a long way down there," he said. "Maybe Corporal Kains would like to show his lady love what the trip's going to be like."
Kains's face turned white.
"Let's have an escort for the corporal, Bauer," Quantril said.
Bauer barked an order. Four men with the expressionless faces of born thugs stepped forward to grasp Kains's arms. The soldier's feet skidded as he tried to stop the momentum of the men leading him to the wall. When they reached the parapet, Kains looked up at the horrified woman standing on the brink, and his eyes filled with sudden tears.
"Don't be afraid, Consuela," he shouted hoarsely, scrabbling at the wall with bleeding fingers. Then the soldiers forced him through and he fell, his arms windmilling, his hair blowing wildly in the wind.
He never screamed.
Consuela turned away, sobbing. There was a scramble of footsteps on the stairs. Five soldiers appeared, holding helmets filled with stones.
"That was just the opening act," Quantril said with a ringmaster's flourish. He picked up one of the stones and hefted it. "And now, ladies and gentlemen, the feature attraction."
He took aim and threw the rock. It struck Consuela on the back of one knee, causing her legs to buckle. The other women hushed as she teetered on the edge of the parapet trying to regain her balance. As soon as she did, Quantril threw another rock that hit her square in the middle of her back.
"Be my guest, fellows," he invited. The four soldiers and Bauer helped themselves to stones from their helmets. Bauer yelped in triumph as one of his stones rapped the girl on the back of her head, producing a spurt of blood.
Consuela bent over pitifully, her limbs shaking as the blows dug into her flesh.
None of the other women dared speak. The only sounds were the raucous shouts of the six men hurling rocks as if at some inanimate target, and the dull thumps as they hit the woman's battered body.
"Aren't you ever going to jump, bitch?" Bauer shouted gleefully. "Maybe we should've washed her up first. Them Mexies are so dirty, their feet stick to anything."
The men howled with laughter. Bauer drew back, taking aim again, when he saw a sentry rushing over to him.
"You want some action, too?" the major said, his eyes feverish with excitement. "Here, see what you can do."
"Sentry report, sir," the young soldier said. "There are three men approaching the mission. Civilians, sir."
Bauer felt something tighten inside him. "What'd they look like?" he asked warily.
The soldier thought. "One of 'em's white, tall, skinny. One's an Indian or something. Long black hair. The third one's an old gook, maybe a hundred years old. Looks like he'd keel over if you breathed on him too hard."
Quantril dropped the stone he was holding. "Weren't they the men you blew up the mountain for?"
Bauer's face twisted. "It can't be them, sir. They've got to be dead." He looked into the valley. "They've got to be."