Dark Secrets

by Doug Pountain

  “I can do better than that, I am meeting the Ambassador for lunch tomorrow, and he is as straight as they come, and if he thinks there is any threat to his country he will do whatever it takes. Anyway we must be going, thank you for a lovely meal Carol it was delicious. Leave everything else with me Graham, and I will speak with you after my lunch tomorrow”.

  The two men left and the group decided to carry on exactly as they had been doing and just keeping a very low profile. They finished their drinks and all retired to bed. Joyce said goodnight to David as he threw his duvet onto the camp bed and she got a glass of water from the kitchen before whispering to him.

  “There’s room for two in my bed, if you know what I mean”.

  He didn’t need telling twice as he quickly followed her to her room where they very quietly made love several times before eventually returning to the comfort of his camp bed, but this was no consolation for the feel of a beautiful warm naked woman.

  The following morning they carried on with exactly the same routine going into the bank and working as they had done previously, Cathy, who had been very edgy all morning and had spoken very little to anyone, now said she was going for some fresh air.

  “Do you mind if I join you”? Asked Joyce.

  “No thanks, I would sooner be alone this morning”. Cathy replied with a rather cool and standoffish tone in her voice.

  “Ok, not a problem”. Said Joyce trying not to look offended.

  Cathy returned to the office about 15 minutes later. “Look I am sorry I was so grumpy, so why don’t we go out at lunch for a sandwich”?

  “I would like that”. Replied Joyce.

  It was now 1pm as the two girls left the bank and Joyce asked where they should go.

  “I know a small shop that’s off the beaten track and not used by all these bloody tourists, it’s down this small back street not far away and they are very nice people as well”.

  The girls walked for about 5 minutes before they arrived at a small shop that was indeed filled with such a variety of sandwiches, Joyce was stuck for choice. As she surveyed the lunchtime goodies in the cabinet, two men suddenly walked into the shop behind her. One now very violently grabbed Joyce around the neck and then both men bundled her quickly through the shop and out of the back door and into a car and Cathy followed behind the men.

  “This shop is owned by a very good friend of mine and so no one saw anything you fucking bitch. Think about the money you stole from my family and then think about your own life before we let you speak to your so called Brother”. And the car drove away while Cathy returned to the bank to carry on as normal. About 20 minutes later David appeared from the computer room and spoke to Cathy.

  “Have you seen my Sister anywhere”?

  She turned and looked at him before handing him a note.

  “I want you to pay very special attention to the contents of this note if you ever want to see your bitch again”. And she turned away.

  The anger very quickly rose within David as he read the contents of the note and finally leaned forward and whispered in Cathy’s ear.

  “If anything happens to her, trust me you will never draw fucking breath again”.

  “I will tell my Father what you said, I am sure he will be very interested. Just do as you are told if you want her back in one piece”. She replied with very little concern in her voice for David’s comments.

  David turned and walked away very quickly and made his way to the carpark, and now at the van he told Carol to contact Graham immediately, and also they were pulling out of the bank. He drove as fast as the traffic would allow back to docklands and the apartment and now regrouped David showed them the note.

  “Release that money to the account in Lucerne or the girl will be very slowly washed in acid before we cut her up into very small body parts and send them to you one by one, call this number”. The contents of the note brought Carol to tears.

  “How did they know who we are”? Said Graham, get your things together and we will move to your gaff in Chiswick it’s not safe here anymore”.

  They quickly threw a few things into a bag before they made their way out of the building and on to David’s Apartment.

  “Joyce will be terrified, she has no idea what they will do to her”. Said Carol as David and Graham looked at each other, now very concerned by this much unexpected development.

  “Look Carol, no matter what we do they are not going to let her go, and so the only chance we have of keeping her alive is by delaying the money as long as we can. Someone has shit on us big time and we need to find out who that is, that’s the key to getting her back”.

  Graham picked up his phone and called Sir Richard Baxter the head of British intelligence and explained exactly what was happening.

  “When you had lunch with the Ambassador, I assumed you mentioned certain things to him, did he say anything”?

  “I have known the Ambassador for many years and he is a very honourable man and a credit to his country, and he assures me he knows nothing about anyone being brought in to this country for the Embassy, and so he realises that they also have an internal problem which he is going to deal with very quietly. He did say however that he does know of one possible contender for passing the appropriate paperwork for diplomatic immunity, but he promised not to act until I have found out a great deal more. Oh and one other thing you should know, the Civil Servant who came to see you has recently increased his bank account quite significantly. Look, this is your show Graham, so what do you need from me”?

  “Is it possible for you to follow Aslanov’s Daughter, I need to know where her bastard of a Father is, and also the whereabouts of the Italian, Adamo Fermi”.

  “Right, now there I can help you. We have already located him to an address in Chelsea, and so I will leave a permanent team on him and I will also find Aslanov”.

  “Thanks for that Richard, we may have to take them all out in one hit to save my team member, those bastards are not going to claim her as a prize”.

  “That’s not a problem, I already have S.O.19 on standby, just keep me up to date and good luck”.

  “Right I am going to make that call”. Said Graham.

  He opened his phone and called the number David had been given by Cathy, and it was answered a few seconds later by none other than the Civil Servant who had visited him in docklands.

  “We wondered how long it would be before you called”.

  “Well, well, I knew you were up to your neck in this, but don’t you realise you won’t get away with it”. Said Graham.

  “You have no idea who I am working for or the power they are soon going to have”.

  “You mean the Russian and American mafia”.

  “That’s your problem Graham, you like most people don’t think big enough, so listen carefully to what I am about to tell you if you want the girl back in a reasonable condition. Transfer the money to Lucerne by midnight or she goes for a bath, do you understand”?

  “I fully understand that I am going to kill you and your friends if anything happens to her, but regardless of that I am going to kill you anyway, so think on that. Am I joking, no I am not, and that includes your family, no matter where in the world you are I will find you, and so now I want you to understand that I am coming for you. Christmas is five weeks away, but you will never see it and that includes your complete family, you will be erased totally, so keep looking out of your window and over your shoulder, you now have the mark of a dead man, what do you say to that”?

  There was a slight delay as the man digested Graham’s remarks before the man finally replied. “Just do as you have been told”.

  Graham waited a few seconds before he replied. “Yes, I sense the fear in your voice, this is not as easy as you thought it would be is it? I will not transfer any money until I speak to the girl”.

  “That’s not going to happen”.

  “Well in that case you will not get the money, yes I know she will die and I really don’t
want that to happen, but is she really worth eight billion dollars to you”.

  A few seconds later Joyce was brought to the phone. “Make it quick”. Graham was told.

  “Are you alright”? He asked Joyce.

  “Sort of, it’s like being married again we are so close, but they have let me keep my glasses so at least I can see these bastards if you know what I mean”.

  And Graham replied. “I understand you completely”. Said Graham.

  “Keep strong”. Shouted David. And the phone was taken from her as the civil servant again said. “Midnight, don’t forget”.

  “You will have it by then, Graham replied. But he didn’t mean the money. Death was going to call on them with a vengeance like never before.

  “David, you were right, Joyce is very strong, she gave us a tip with the glasses and maybe she still has her earpiece, what range do they have carol”?

  “About a mile, possibly a bit more, but London is a very big place, if we were in the right area I could pinpoint it but that really is a longshot”.

  “I have an idea said David, speak to Sir Richard and get him to find out if that Civil Servant has any other properties apart from his own house”.

  Graham quickly contacted him with the request. “Give me a little time and I will get back to you”. Confirmed Sir Richard.

  “I hate waiting”. Said David as he paced the apartment with just one thing on his mind. There was no way that He or Graham were going to lose Joyce.

  “My anger is at bursting point. David get the key and open the cabinet”.

  David nodded his in agreement and went into the bedroom with Graham, and in the wardrobe at the back was a steel cabinet which he unlocked and took out 2 guns and ammunition.

  “I am sure about this, are you Graham”? Asked David.

  “I am more certain about this than anything before, I have already lost one man a few years ago and I am not prepared to lose another, this is now personal”.

  The two men returned to the lounge and Carol looked at them, she was now feeling a sense of guilt at not being in a position to protect her friend as she had promised that she would do. She now also took this personally and she was prepared to do whatever it takes, and as she looked at the two men she told them.

  “I understand what you must do, but I want you all to come back in one piece”.

  Both men could now only wait for Sir Richard to contact them, but it was nearly 7pm when the phone finally rang and Graham answered it and it was Sir Richard with more information.

  “Right our man is named Saunders, and he has recently bought two houses, one in Harrow and the other in Hampstead and I have people outside both looking for some kind of movement. But the Hampstead house looks to be completely deserted, and so my money is on Harrow, I will meet you at Harrow station with S.O.19”.

  “Right we are on our way”.

  “Good luck” shouted Carol,

  The two men quickly made their way outside and to David’s Jaguar, and even though this address was on the other side of London, traffic or speed cameras were not going to stand in their way. With David knowing many side roads and short cuts it made a big difference to the journey time, but it was still after 8pm when they finally pulled up outside of Harrow station.

  They got out of David’s car and into Sir Richards Range Rover that was parked just in front of the S. O. 19 vehicle.

  “The house is about 2 minutes away and we have an unmarked van parked just down the street, do you have under your jackets what I think you have”?

  “Yes we do”. Replied Graham.

  “Alright, but S.O.19 will go in first, so keep out of their way”.

  “We may be able to help with the layout, when they took our girl she was wearing an earpiece and camera glasses, she still had them a short time ago, but I don’t know if they have taken them off since then, and so let’s try that first”. Graham opened his laptop and tried to very quietly contact Joyce.

  “Here let me try”. Said David.

  “Joyce can you hear me? Put your glasses on if you can hear me”.

  David played about with the computer settings several times and then suddenly a slightly blurred image appeared on the screen.

  “If you can hear me, look very slowly around the room”.

  And suddenly it became very obvious that Joyce could indeed hear David as she slowly did as she was told and panned around the room.

  She now took off the glasses and wiped them as she held them up as if to check they were clean as a man slowly came into view who was sat at a table with two others, none of which were Aslanov or Fermi, these were just their foot soldiers, just hired killers.

  “Her mike’s obviously packed up, but at least we have vision. Listen Joyce we are right outside and so you must do exactly as I tell you, first are you injured in any way? Nod once for yes or twice for no, just do it very gently”. And Joyce slowly nodded twice,

  “Good, now are there any more men in the house”? And she indicated there were.

  “Right how many and where”?

  They watched as she held out her hand and showed three fingers and pointed down and then two fingers up.

  “That’s great, now don’t do anything else, just sit there and we will be with you very soon”.

  Sir Richard got out and spoke to the other officers who made ready, Sir Richard again reminded David and Graham to keep out of the way, but to tell Joyce to lay down flat when you tell her, David passed the information to her and she nodded her understanding. The officers were now ready and they very quickly and quietly made their way down the street were they split into two groups, one for the front of the property and one for the rear. The S.O.19 commander said to David.

  “I have control, tell the girl now. Strike, Strike, Strike”.

  At that second flash bang grenades were thrown through the windows as a distraction and a split second later the doors at the front and rear were broken down as the officers went in. From outside David and Graham saw the flash and heard the unmistakeable sound of gun shots.

  The boys could wait no longer and ran into the house to find all five men dead and Joyce in the back room lying on the floor covered with blood.

  “Don’t worry, said the commander, it’s not hers”.

  “Thank God for that”. Said David.

  Joyce stood up and stepped on one of the bodies as she rushed to throw her arms around David’s neck, she watched as the officers put another bullet in each of the men’s heads, but she showed no fear or emotion, this truly was not the girl from Leicester any more. David took her outside where they shared a loving kiss, Graham checked the dead and confirmed that none of these were the ones they were looking for.

  “That means they are in Chelsea at Adamo Fermi’s apartment, so let’s go and get them, bear in mind they won’t know about what’s just happened yet”.

  Sir Richard arranged for another team to meet them at the address and he led the way through the city with lights flashing and with David and Graham following close behind. But it was all to no avail, when they arrived they found the apartment was empty. Everyone was badly disappointed to find the apartment without its occupants. Sir Richard quickly contacted the American Ambassador to keep him up to date, who in turn arranged for the Diplomat who had issued the immigration paperwork at the Embassy to be arrested and returned to the States. But Joyce was safe and that was all that mattered at this moment in time. But it was now time to find the Civil Servant who had now been identified as Peter Saunders, and his time as far as Graham was concerned had come.

  “I can give you until midnight to do whatever you need to, but then I want him”. Said Sir Richard.

  “You can have what’s left”. Replied David, and Sir Richard gave them Saunders address in Pimlico.

  “Joyce we will take you home first and then”. But the sentence was never finished.

  “Stop right there”. She said. “I want that bastard so badly that it hurts, and I am going to rip his balls off, a
nd so I am coming with you, but first I want his bank account emptied so that he has nowhere to run”.

  Graham smiled slightly as he reopened his computer, and in seconds the money in his account was gone.

  “Well that’s two years wages for you Joyce”. The statement brought a slight smile from Joyce but very little else.

  Even though everything at the moment was fine and she was safe, Joyce had that look in her eyes that David recognised so well, the look of revenge, the extreme look of hate, the look of a killer, the look of an assassin poised before the final blow.

  The address the team had for Saunders in Pimlico was only a short drive from Chelsea, and within minutes they were parked just a few yards from Saunders house.

  “Do we have a plan, because we can’t afford to be seen”? Said David.

  “Yes, I have one”. Said Joyce as she got out of the car and walked the few yards before banging on the door of the house and the two men quickly followed her.

  “Yes that was definitely a good plan”. Said David as he too banged on the door. There was no reply and the house was in darkness and so David and Graham quickly forced the door open. Once inside it became immediately apparent that the occupants had left in a great hurry, even the food on the cooker was still warm. But an empty house wasn’t what this group were looking for, death was coming to call for Saunders.

  Graham telephoned Sir Richard who immediately contacted the ports and put a stop on everyone’s passport, but he knew that with people such as these that wouldn’t make any real difference, if you have money you can always get in or out of any country and with Britain being an island this made it far easier to get away if you so desired, there were so many small airfields and harbours throughout the country.

  “Make your way to my office in Millbank and let’s see if we can find out anything more from the Americans”.

  David quickly drove to meet Sir Richard at MI5 operations where he had a call from the American Ambassador who now confirmed that their implicated man had also disappeared.

  “Well if that’s the case, then someone has tipped them off, there is no way they could have known we were coming for them, we have a mole somewhere, or at least the Americans have. Is there any way we can check that Lucerne account to see if that money is still in there”? Said David.