Novels by Daniel Junior

Natasha came slowly awake with a dull headache. She felt like her brain was rolling inside her skull. She squinted at the blurred figure of a man before her, against the light. Then, the man moved away, and the light fell directly into her eyes. She shut her eyes again and drifted to the steady throb inside her head.She heard a voice say, “She’s awake, boss.” The voice seemed to come from far away, but she guessed it was the man who had stood before her.The light burned through her eyelids, and she tried to shift away from it. When she found she couldn’t move, she raised her head and looked. The sudden movement exploded something behind her eyes, and she had to stay still again. Then, after a while, the throb went away, and she tried again.She found she was sitting in a wooden chair, her hands tied to the arms of the chair, her legs tied to its legs. A desk and another chair faced her. The wall of the room; which faced her, was a wide; ceili

Alessa had seen Natasha come out of the condominium, hail down a taxi, and got in. And as the taxi had driven away, she had gotten a glimpse of its number. She could still remember the number. She dialed a number on her phone.A man’s voice came through.“Hello?”“Nick, help me trace a taxi, numbered; 285.”…Alec Barley had lived alone now for over five years, and from time to time, he got himself a woman, ‘to take care of his blood pressure,’ as he usually quoted it to himself.Tonight, he was all alone. He picked up the boiling kettle and made himself tea.He carried the tea into the living room and sat down limply in the big armchair. The springs creaked under his weight, but tonight, he didn’t care about the gradual wearing out of his furniture. With Natasha’s ten thousand dollars, and with the twenty thousand Gorevoy had promised him, he knew he could give his apartment a fresh look

A Toyota Prado drove into the warehouse and pulled up behind the cab. Out of it spilled two black powerfully built men dressed in black suits. The driver held a small black briefcase. He came over to Gorevoy and handed him the briefcase.The other man went over to the rear door and opened it. Natasha’s shrill scream filled the warehouse.He raised his gun to her.“Hold it,” he said in a voice that was loaded with menace. And just like a cheap magic trick, a dead silence fell on the warehouse. “Get out.”Natasha did as she was told. He nudged her forward, and toward the Prado, and as she moved forward. With speed, akin to that of a Black Mamba about to strike, he closed in on her and struck a needle into her arm. Almost immediately, she went limp. He picked her up and bundled her into the back seat of the Prado.The two men got into the car. Gorevoy watched them drive off, then he shrugged and got into the cab.Rico edged th

Rico stared at the phone, bewildered, and just as he was about to close the phone, a message from Rose dropped in. He viewed the message, and an obscene, crude, sexually brash picture filled his screen.It said a lot about him that his face remained expressionless. He felt an increased rate of blood flow to his extremities. The phone became too heavy for him to hold, but he held on to it.Natasha looked into his eyes. The light in them made her shift away from him.“What’s it, Jamie?” She asked carefully.He turned the screen of the phone to her.“What is this?” His voice roared.Natasha’s hand flew to her mouth as her breath came in quick gasps. The look on Rico’s face frightened her. She had never seen him look like this before. Immediately, she stood up and edge back into a corner of the room.“I can explain, Jamie. It not what you think.”Rico made after her, but stopped in his tracks.

Rose took the envelope, lifted the flap, and drew out six photographic prints. A single glance stopped her heartbeat for a split second, her heart raced, and she felt icy sweat break out on her face. She shuffled through the prints, then returned them to the envelope, and put the envelope down on the table. Tears welled up in her eyes. She couldn’t believe Pascal had betrayed her.Gorevoy regarded her. “Four days ago, I gave the originals to Rico; these are photocopies. The next day, I read in the papers that Pascal was dead. Rico knew I was the only one who had evidence; linking him to Pascal’s death, so he dropped two tails on me. That was when I knew my life wasn’t safe anymore, and I had to talk to you. This disguise was essential to shake off the tail. If Rico gets the idea that I’ve talked, I’m as good as dead. If anything happens to me, you know who’s responsible. You are a press woman. You know what to do with these photog

Gorevoy dropped the phone in his pocket. His mouth twisted into a crooked grin. So Rico was onto him. Well, even if he would not get any money out of this, he would get his revenge, and that was a promise he had made to himself.He stripped off his clothes. It was essential to his plan that he wouldn’t be followed to where he had to go to now. He opened the closet and took out the woman’s dress he had bought for an occasion like this. He slipped into it, wore a brown topcoat, and slid his feet into a Mary Jones shoe. Making himself up, he wore a black wig and dark shades, took a handbag, folded his clothes, and put in the bag. He picked up a brown envelope from the table, dropped it in the bag, and left the room.Outside the condo, he sneaked a surreptitious glance at Alessa. She paid him no attention. He hailed down a taxi and got in.The taxi pulled up in front of Rose’s apartment building. He got out, paid the cabman, and proceeded to the bu