“Bennie, or whatever the hell your name is, look me in the eyes and tell me which side of this war you’re on.” Payne raised his gun and put it under Blount’s chin. “I ain’t shittin’ you. Tell me right now, or you’ll die like the rest of the Posse.”
Jones laughed to himself. “You best tell him, Master Bennie. He ain’t bluffin’ none.”
Blount responded in perfect English. “I’m with you guys, I swear! I’m not part of the Posse. I’ve just been biding my time and gathering information. I swear to God!”
“Information for what?” Payne demanded, pressing the gun deeper into Blount’s throat.
“Tells him, Bennie! Master Payne gots himself a nasty temper and an itchy trigga finga. And that ain’t no good combination.”
Blount shuddered as Jones’s words sank in. “I’ve been gathering information for the authorities. I’m trying to get this place shut down, but I can’t do it in both continents without the proof to back it up. No one will listen to me until then.”
“What do you mean, both continents?”
“The Plantation isn’t just a torture site. It’s a lot more complicated than that.” Blount tried to swallow, but the gun pressed against his throat made it difficult. “This is business, big business! The Posse has ties all over the world, and if I want to shut everything down, I have to learn the names of the other people. That’s the only way to do it properly. Get everybody at once.”
Payne looked into Blount’s eyes, and he appeared to be sincere. But in this case, appeared was the operative word. For the longest time, Blount had appeared to be an uneducated country boy, and Payne had trusted him completely. Now Blount appeared to be telling the truth a second time, and he was asking Payne to believe him again. But how could he? Blount was such an incredible actor there was no way Payne could separate his bullshit from reality.
“I’m still not sold. You’re going to have to tell me something to convince me.”
“Like what?” he whimpered. “I’ll tell you anything, just don’t kill me!”
Jones stepped forward. “What kind of business is the Posse in?”
“You guys should know. You’re holding some of their products in your hands.”
“Guns?” Payne remarked. “But that doesn’t make sense. Why bring all of these innocent people to this island if you’re going to smuggle guns? There has to be more than that.”
“There is,” he grunted. “But you’re going to like that even less.”
Payne’s eyes flared with anger, causing the pressure on his gun to increase. “Why’s that, Bennie? Why am I not going to like it?”
“Because you’re white.”
“Okay, you racist bastard, what does that have to do with anything?”
“Hey, I’m not racist, but the Posse is.”
Payne smirked. “No shit! I kind of figured that out. What does racism have to do with the Posse’s business? Racism can’t be sold, you know.”
Blount stared Payne directly in the eyes. He wanted to make sure that Payne recognized the truth of his words. “That’s true, but slaves can be sold. White slaves.”
The concept made Payne shiver. If Blount was telling the truth, it meant that these people weren’t just being tortured. They were being broken—housebroken—for their new masters. “And how do you know this?”
“I just know! I’ve been walking around this place for several weeks and have heard stuff. Everybody treated me like an idiot, so they tried to talk over me. Nobody knew that I could put all of the pieces of the puzzle together. But I could. I’ve just been waiting for the right moment.” Blount took a breath. “And that moment is here. It’s finally here!”
“Why’s that?” Jones wondered.
“Because of you two. You’ve killed most of the Plantation guards, you have the masters running for their lives, and as far as I can tell, you got rid of the cargo ship. This is the time to finish them off! We can end the Posse right here, right now.”
“And why should we trust you?” Payne demanded. “You already dicked us once.”
“But I couldn’t help that! I couldn’t risk blowing my cover to help you out. I couldn’t! I tried to make it up to you, though. You know that! If it wasn’t for me, you would’ve died in the box.”
Payne shook his head. “You’re going to have to do better. I wouldn’t have been in that damn box if it wasn’t for you.”
“I know you don’t trust me, but without my help you won’t be able to save your girlfriend from a life