The police chopper sped towards them, it was much larger and much faster.
The Alba chopper suddenly dropped height and plummeted towards the road taking a sharp right turn onto Jamaica Street. Tom could read the street signs at eye level. Cars swerved as the helicopter thundered towards them just skimming their roofs. The helicopter rose and fell sharply. They all held their breath as they narrowly missed crashing into the front of a double-decker bus. The police helicopter was directly above them.
The small helicopter took a sharp turn to the left. Screams came from the back. He looked up to see the side of a bridge right in front of them. The helicopter skids scraped the ground as they flew right under it. They took another sharp turn to the left and continued to skim across the tops of cars before taking a sharp right. The pilot then accelerated as they skirted along the side of the river.
The Police chopper had seen them fly extremely low, a manoeuvre too dangerous for their bulky chopper. Instead, they cut across the rooftops diagonally. However, they hadn’t figured on the left turn under the bridge. It was not until they had stationed themselves half way up Union Street, the continuation of Jamaica Street, that they realised something was amiss.
“Everybody OK?” asked the pilot who was having great fun. Nobody responded.
“Where to now?” he asked Tom.
Tom entered a new address into the sat nav. He didn’t speak, he thought he might be sick if he opened his mouth.
“That’s over the river. I don’t really want to let them see us, we’ll easily be seen if we try to get across from here. I have an idea though…”
Tom nodded. He just wanted the ride to stop.
The pilot kept them low and followed the roads. The police chopper was still hovering over the city centre trying to find them. As long as they remained low, they would not be spotted as they raced out of the city. Tom recognised the road they were on. It was the Clydeside Express, a dual carriageway which ran from Glasgow all the way to… Tom realised where they were heading.
He didn’t care if he was sick.
“You’re not?” he gasped.
“Only way, if you want to get there unseen,” responded the pilot smiling.
The helicopter took the next turning to the left, it was now flying at the same speed as the cars and effectively had a space in the traffic as it hurtled under a sign which said ‘Tunnel Traffic Only’.
“NO!!!” screamed Lela as she read the sign.
The pilot ignored the panic behind him. As the road sloped down, they continued to follow the traffic. The tunnel opening approached. There was no way they would fit. But as they drew closer, it began to look as thought they might just make it. All passengers instinctively shut their eyes as they disappeared into the mouth of the tunnel and began to sink deeper into the ground as the tunnel burrowed beneath the river Clyde. The road ahead was fairly clear as cars had raced to get out of their way and the pilot was taking full advantage, zipping through the tunnel at great speed.
“What the hell was that?” asked Lela as the tunnel flashed two blasts of light.
“I’d like to see their faces when they develop that one, it’s a speed camera. I’m doing 50 in a 30!” replied the pilot laughing.
The helicopter broke through the other side of the tunnel, lifting ten feet and accelerating up to its full speed.
“That was cool,” said Tom. “Very scary, but cool!” He was beginning to regain his composure.
The three in the back were speechless.
“We’ll be there in twenty minutes,” said the pilot.
“Tom, where are we going?” asked Lela.
“We’re going to see somebody.”
“Shouldn’t we be working out what we’re going to do about the police?” asked Kano. “I mean with Alba’s logo emblazoned all over this thing, they might have a fair idea who we are?”
“We just have to do this one thing before leaving.”
“What do you mean, ‘leaving’?” asked Lela.
“We’re going back to school. Nobody has seen us, they just saw the helicopter and I reported it stolen when we were in the flat,” replied Tom. That was the call he was making when the others were jumping into the helicopter from the balcony.
“It should put them off the scent for a little while anyway and give us enough time to get out of the country before they start linking us to Alan ,” he added.
“You really are a little genius!” said Kisho patting him on the back.
Tom phoned Papa and explained what he needed. There wouldn’t be time to go back to the Estate before they left.
Chapter 60
Blairquhan castle sat in the middle of a 2000 acre estate and had, until a few years previously, been an exclusive venue for corporate events, weddings and films. That was until Alba had purchased it and turned it into a training college during the week and exclusive retreat for its staff at the weekend. It was one of many throughout the world that any member of staff could be commended to as a reward for exceptional performance.
The estate lay 50 miles South of Glasgow and was regarded as the jewel in the crown of Alba’s ‘country style’ weekend retreats. Its secluded and peaceful location in the wilds of the Scottish countryside with an endless list of activities made it a firm favourite amongst the staff. Donald loved it too so there was the added bonus of potentially rubbing shoulders with the boss.
That was, however, until just over six months before Donald’s death when Blairquhan Castle disappeared from staff lists. No explanation was given, it was as though, overnight, the castle had never existed.
The helicopter had made good time on its way South from Glasgow.
“We’re nearly there,” said Tom recognising the scenery.
“Nearly where?” asked Kisho.
“Blairquhan Castle,” replied Tom.
Before he had a chance to ask why they were there, the helicopter took an almost 90 degree angle as they turned sharply. They all felt the G force as the helicopter changed direction. It then slid across the sky, dropped to the ground and landed without even a bump.
“Jesus, what was that?” asked Kano.
“Just a little manoeuvre I learned a few years ago,” replied the pilot.
“Cool landing!” said Tom high fiving the pilot before opening his door and jumping out.
“I’m afraid you guys will have to wait here,” said Tom turning and running towards the main door of the castle.
“Where are you going?” Tom heard Kisho’s shout but was already too far away to answer. A man was standing waiting for him as he approached the door, the noise of the helicopter having alerted him to visitors.
Kisho and Kano were uncomfortable. Papa had told them not to let Tom or Lela out of their sight. However, Lela had stopped them following Tom, she promised them that he would not be in danger and told them to just sit back and relax. They hoped she was right because if she wasn’t, it was they who would be facing Papa’s wrath, not her.
Tom approached the man.
“Dr Pearson?” he asked, extending his hand.
“Yes but I’m sorry, I don’t know you, do I?” he asked, shaking Tom’s hand.
“Tom Kennedy, pleased to meet you Sir.”
“Oh, pleased to meet you Tom. I’ve heard a lot about you. What can I do for you?”
“I need to speak to Jason.”
Jason, the former CFO of Alba, was the castle’s only guest now. When he had broken down, Donald had cleared the castle and employed the best physicians available to help his CFO and long time friend. Overnight, the castle and its estate had become the single most exclusive private clinic in the world. Donald spared no expense and continually provided whatever was needed to help his friend get over the devastating loss of his family. An accident which Jason believed was his fault and led him to repeat over and over again ‘I should have been there, I should have been driving.’
“Impossible,” replied the doctor.
“Sorry doctor, you misunderstand m
e, I’m not asking.”
Tom walked past the doctor and into the castle. As he entered the vast hallway, he shouted out.
“Jason? Jason?...” His voice echoed around the walls and reverberated down the corridors.
The doctor ran in behind Tom, accompanied by two security staff whom he had summoned.
Kisho and Kano had watched Tom run into the castle followed by the other man shouting into a hand held radio. It was too much, they jumped out of the helicopter and ran to Tom.
“Get him out of here!” ordered the doctor to the security staff.
Tom just looked at the doctor and the advancing guards and spoke loudly and very firmly.
“Gentlemen, I’m Tom Kennedy, owner of Alba International and I pay your wages. One more step and I won’t be paying them any more. Do you understand?”
The guards wavered and looked at the doctor for clarification, he nodded that it was true. Both guards stepped back.
“Where is he? Where’s Jason?” asked Tom to anyone who would answer.
Kisho and Kano burst into the hallway and ran to Tom’s side, ready to defend him from whoever moved. Tom gave a thumbs up, everything was fine, they relaxed.
“Tom is that you making all the noise?” asked a voice from the top of the staircase. It was Jason.
“Yes. I need to talk to you, it’s very urgent.”
Tom ran up the stairs and the two of them talked. Thirty minutes later, an almighty scream echoed through the castle and across the grounds.
“NOOOOO!!!!”
The doctor ran to Jason’s rooms and burst in. Jason was nowhere to be seen, Tom was sitting by the fireside.
“What happened, is Jason OK?”
“He’s fine. In fact, he’s well enough to leave,” replied Tom.
Jason joined them in the room as another helicopter landed in the grounds. It was the big one, the EH101. The doctor began to speak but could not be heard over the helicopter noise. He waited and as the noise settled asked, “Why, what’s happened?”
Jason had his case packed and was ready to go. He told the doctor exactly what Tom had just told him.
“But are you sure, you’re OK?”
“Doctor. My wife and children were murdered, murdered by the same people who have killed my best friends. It wasn’t an accident, it was planned. The same way they killed presidents and prime ministers. The bastard who helped them is now dead and was in my job for the last six months. It wasn’t my fault. I can’t feel guilty about something I couldn’t have prevented. If I had been driving, I’d be dead too. I wouldn’t have avoided the accident. Don’t you see? I can’t bring them back but I can bloody well help catch the people who did it!” The anger in Jason was intense.
Tom led the way back to the helicopter, the small one and its acrobatic pilot would stay there, it was going to be repainted. Kano, Kisho, Tom and Lela were going to the airport and the CFO of Alba International was going back to work.
Chapter 61
Tom One took off from Prestwick airport. Tom had asked Papa to arrange for the plane to meet them there. Tom thought better safe than sorry. If the Police were looking for them, it would be at Glasgow airport, not Prestwick. Just as Tom One touched down at Prestwick, they landed their helicopter. They were on the ground for less than ten minutes before Kisho and Tom swapped with the pilots and the party was airborne again. It soon appeared however they need not have bothered. The stolen helicopter had thrown the police and they announced in a press conference that they were looking for men in relation to a suspicious death. The same men had stolen a helicopter and had managed to evade police during a life endangering low level flight through the city. The police had had to withdraw in the interest of public safety. Bollocks thought Tom, they were out flown and they lost us.
As they settled into the flight, they were pleased to find that Papa and three islanders were on board. With everything going on, Papa felt safer being close. The other islander had stayed in Scotland with Jason. Jason had protested but Papa had been insistent.
“Tom, where are we?” asked Lela.
“Just over France, why?” replied Tom.
“I’ve just remembered about Tylanni.”
“Bloody hell I forgot, let’s take a little detour.”
Tom punched in the new settings and the plane flew to Marseille and onto Monaco. The Tylanni was nowhere to be seen neither in Monaco nor in Marseille where Donald said she should be. They agreed to call the police when they landed. It wasn’t everyday a $200 million dollar yacht and her crew just vanished.
The sun was just beginning to rise as they came into land at The Academy. They made their way to their rooms and went straight to bed. As it was Saturday, there was a sports class starting at 10.00 a.m.. Both agreed they would sleep through it and announce their arrival afterwards. They needed the sleep.
News travelled fast and five minutes after the sports class ended, their rooms were full of friends. The girls took up residence in Lela’s room and the boys in Tom’s. But before long, both groups drifted together in Lela’s room. Tom and Lela had agreed that the details of Donald’s papers would only be discussed within their special group, whose members they had texted ahead. The group would meet that evening at 6.00 p.m. in Conference Room One. However, Tom could not help recounting the sacking of the Execs. Everybody thought it was so cool. Conversation was then pretty much driven by their friends updating them on what they had missed at school. It wasn’t long before they noticed that Chen and Oleg were missing. Their friends explained that Yuri and his gang were back to their old ways. Oleg had been attacked the previous evening and Chen had run to his defence. He had tried his best but there were just too many of them and both were beaten quite badly. Lela listened intently to what had happened.
“What did Mr Sakamoto do?” she asked.
“He expelled them instantly, all of them,” replied Mia.
“Excellent,” replied Lela, although privately disappointed. She wanted revenge. Her anger about the Kennedys’ deaths needed venting and Yuri and his gang would have be perfect fodder.
“Yes but two hours later, they were reinstated. It appears that Mr Sakamoto was told to either take them back or leave. Mr Sakamoto decided he had no option, he didn’t want to leave.” Tom and Lela both knew Mr Sakamoto would never leave, not now while he could help them.
“Where are Chen and Oleg now?”
“In Oleg’s room. They’re quite badly bruised and didn’t want to upset you.”
“Rubbish,” replied Tom. “Lets go.”
The group moved to Oleg’s room. Oleg and Chen were delighted to see them. However, Lela took one look at their bruised and swollen faces and left. Tom tried to stop her but saw the look on her face and stepped back. He almost considered warning Yuri, almost.
Chapter 62
Tom looked at his watch, it was 5.45 p.m.. Lela had been gone for over two hours. He couldn’t wait any longer. He made his excuses, left Oleg’s room, went back to his room and picked up what he needed for the meeting. He double-checked to see if Lela was in her room. She wasn’t so he left a note reminding her where the meeting was and to make her way across to the conference centre as soon as possible.
“Hi guys,” said Tom as he entered the room. Zach and Tristan were already there waiting for him.
“Hi,” they replied. “Did you find Lela?” asked Tristan.
“No and it’s been more than two hours now,” replied Tom. He was now very worried, Lela was very angry. He could only imagine what she might do to Yuri.
Daniel and Sofie arrived, quickly followed by Jin, Thabo and Elena. Everybody was there except Lela. With two minutes to go before 6.00 p.m., Tom dialled in Rolf and his smiley face appeared on the large screen. They were ready. Just as Tom was about to call the meeting to order, the door opened and Lela strode in.
“Sorry I’m late, I got a little caught up in what I was doing,” she said smiling.
Tom just looked at her and feared the worst, Lela was very cheer
y, totally different from when she had left Oleg’s room. She took a seat next to Tom and sat ready for the meeting to start. Tom was paralysed with curiosity. He had to know she had done. He leaned over and whispered in her ear.
“What did you do to Yuri?”
“Jesus Tom, what do you think I did to him. He’s just a bully. Will you calm down!” Lela was taken aback at Tom’s reaction and quite hurt by it.
Tom realised his imagination had run wild. Lela was a highly trained and extremely disciplined individual. She was trained in an ancient art which forbade gratuitous violence. Only violence necessary for protection or self defence was allowed. Even then, the violence should be at a level necessary to eliminate danger, no more. Their skill was such that the islanders didn’t make errors or mistakes. If defensive moves were sufficient, no offensive moves would be made. If offensive moves were necessary, the strikes would be calculated to minimise the damage inflicted. Any injury would be precise, intentional and perfectly executed. If an islander decided that the middle bone of someone’s little finger needed to be broken to stop a situation, then that is exactly what would happen.
“Sorry, you’re right,” apologised Tom.
“No problem. Look, I’ll fill you in later. This is much more important than Yuri,” said Lela gesturing towards the group of people around them.
Tom took his big sister’s advice and turned to the group. He got up and started pacing. He could think more clearly when he paced, a trait inherited from his father.
“Guys, three weeks ago we met and discussed the fact that there may be a group or an individual responsible for the assassinations around the world. Since then, the story of my father being the mastermind behind the assassinations has broken and evidence has come to light, almost daily, to support that theory. Even I have doubted my father’s innocence over the last two weeks. What I need to know before we start is how many of you believe that my father was capable of the acts he stands accused of, not whether the evidence proves it.”
Assassin (The Billionaire Series) Page 18