I ducked a wild swing at my head only to find that it had been a set up for his other fist, which struck me hard on the cheek bone. I fell off to the side onto my knees, as stars flashed in my head briefly.
I saw his leg coming out at my head in a sideways knockout kick. My rigorous training took over in place of my sluggish brain. I caught the foot and twisted the leg sharply. The man cried out at the sudden pain and with the momentum of his kick at me and my twisting of his leg he turned over and fell onto his front. I leaped onto him, driving my knees into his back and knocking him back to the floor as he tried to rise.
I quickly pinned his one arm with a knee, as I pulled his other arm up behind him until I felt his shoulder about to pop. Raferty dove onto his legs helping to further hold the man down with his weight. Rafferty apparently had dealt with the other guy at some point in this scuffle.
I reached for the hand cuffs behind my back with one hand. "You're going to face a lot of tough questions pal! Not to mention a murder rap!" I said, breathing heavy.
He reared his head back and I was about to tweak his arm harder to further pacify him, when I heard him chomp down on his jaw hard. His body began to jerk and spasm beneath us and then he was still.
I felt for a pulse, but there was none. I glanced at his face, turned out to the side, and saw the foaminess of his mouth.
He had chomped down on a poison capsule under a false tooth! Who did that anymore? That kind of stuff went out with the Cold War decades ago, hadn't it? Who would kill themselves in order to avoid capture?
I heard a groan from the bed and I remembered the tortured man. I jumped up and went to the bed noticing that the other man in the room was lying on the floor dead, with a hand near a fallen gun.
I looked down at Philippe's bloody body not knowing where to start and grimly knew that there wasn't anything that could be done anyway. He had but moments to live.
"Call an ambulance." I said to Rafferty anyway.
Philippe seemed to be coming in and out of consciousness and I quickly took his gag off. His eyes focused on me.
"Philippe this is very important. Can you tell me what you've gotten mixed up in? Who sent these men to do this?"