The following day, a similar incident occurred during their Biology lesson. Again, two soldiers rushed into their class but this time, they were dressed in full biological warfare clothing. The soldiers pressed a button and their classroom was instantly sealed. Chemical warfare suits dropped from the ceiling and the soldiers instructed the students to put them on. The room was then unsealed and the students were ushered into an enormous underground chamber which sealed shut when all the students were accounted for. They were then allowed to remove their suits. By that point, a number of students were traumatised and the Headmaster’s confirmation that this was yet another drill did little to calm them down.
Many students reported sick the next day. Mr Sakamoto received hundreds of complaints from parents and he assured them that all future drills would be announced in advance. After fielding the last call of the day, Mr Sakamoto sought out Weadle who claimed that the second drill had been a clerical error. Mr Sakamoto smelt a rat and Weadle was one of the biggest and dirtiest rats he had the displeasure of coming across. He knew, without doubt, that Weadle had set up the second drill but could not prove it.
“Sir?”
“Yes… hmm…Tom,” hesitated the Accounts teacher who had to check the seating plan for Tom’s name.
“Is there another drill today?”
“Nope, definitely not. After last week’s fiasco, I imagine it’ll be at least a year before we have another one of those.”
“So what’s happening out there?”
The teacher looked out at the chaos for the first time.
“I don’t know, but I know who will.”
He picked up the phone and dialled a number and listened. He dropped the phone, “Oh my God.”
Chapter 41
“Team Colombia here. We have the targets in our sights and will have them in our control within the next five minutes,” reported Marco.
***
The twins were ill. They had never felt so ill in their lives. The stomach pains had started in the morning and neither could understand why, not that they had much time to discuss it. As one left the toilet, the other was waiting to go in. They were lucky that they were the only two in their barracks block. All the other barracks housed around ten men and had only two latrines. The twins did not know how the other men were coping as they had discovered that there were around thirty soldiers who were struck down by the same mysterious bug. The doctor assured them that it was a 24 - 36 hour bug and they would soon be fine. They just had to make sure they kept themselves hydrated.
***
“Team Idaho here. We have an eyeball on the targets and will pick them up in two minutes.”
***
“Sir, what’s wrong?” asked Tom again. The Accounts teacher was not responding. The main screen burst into life and a very concerned looking Mr Sakamoto accompanied by a uniformed officer was staring down at them.
“What’s going on Tom?” Lela asked.
“I’ve got no idea, but whatever it is, it’s bad, very bad.”
Heather started to hyperventilate. Suddenly, everything else was forgotten as the class hunted for a paper bag to normalise her breathing. Eventually one was found and she calmed down.
“Students, teachers and colleagues, it is with deep regret that I talk to you today,” Mr Sakamoto began.
***
“Team Zimbabwe here. We have a location on our targets and will have them in less than two.”
Reaper could not believe how well the operation was progressing. Everything so far had followed the exact plan, without deviation.
“Team Syria here. We have a problem. One of our targets is down and it appears out. The other target is OK and secured.”
***
Rachel and Saki watched on in terror as events unfolded. They could not believe what was happening but the TV cameras showed everything. Dead soldiers surrounded the buildings and it appeared a number of students had been killed.
Rachel tried Tom’s mobile, it rang and rang but no answer.
Saki was trying Lela’s. It rang and rang but no answer.
Chapter 42
“Mum, what is it? I’m in class,” said Tom.
“Are you OK?”
“Of course I am.”
Lela was having a similar conversation with Saki.
“Mum, the nearest school being hijacked is over 5,000 miles away, of course we’re fine.”
“What’s happening at the school?”
“Mr Sakamoto has just come on to tell us all what’s happened and that we shouldn’t be concerned. We’re in the safest place in the world although it sounds like the special forces on the island may have to go and help out. He said that four schools have been taken and over 200 armed terrorists are holding hostage a total of around four thousand students. So it’s likely that the skills on this base will be needed.”
“Yes, sounds like it. But you and Lela are OK?”
“Yes Mum, I’ll call you later and let you know what’s happening.” Tom ended the call.
***
Reaper watched the TV feeds. Paris, London, Washington and Moscow were in chaos. Their most illustrious schools, housing their most illustrious students were under his control. Everything had worked exactly as planned. The extremists had been enticed with money and specific targets. In London, Paris, Moscow and Washington the terrorists had sought sons and daughters of their arch enemies. The plan had worked well, perhaps a little too well as one of the terrorists had shot the son of a prominent British MP on sight.
Reaper did not care about any of the specific targets. All the schools were taken and across the world, the headlines read that four thousand children were in mortal danger. The fact that only top schools were involved was not an accident. The schools had been selected long before the targets. In fact, most of what the terrorists had been told about their targets had been untrue.
All of Reaper’s Team Leaders were now on their own. Communications were cut as soon as the first objectives were achieved. Reaper could not afford for any link to be made back to him. His lieutenants knew their orders. They were to control and maintain their positions for the following forty eight hours. By that time, Reaper’s second objective would have been achieved and the Lieutenants would be free to leave the terrorists to their own devices.
***
“What’s happening now?” Lela asked Tom who was still looking out of the window.
“It looks like the soldiers are moving out. They’re all running towards the helicopters and leaving,” he responded.
“What, all of them?”
“I don’t know, but a good portion of them.”
***
The twins were still suffering from their bug although the effects were beginning to wear off. However, it had been sufficiently severe to stop them from being shipped out with the rest of the team which had been sent to Paris to help the C.O.S. (Commandement des Opérations Spéciales), the French special forces. With reports of over fifty terrorists at each location and around four thousand students in danger, teams were being sent to all locations. Four teams were sent to Paris. Four teams were sent to assist the Russian Spetnatz, four teams were sent to help the British SAS and four teams went to assist the American FBI’s HRT (Hostage Rescue Team).
In total, 160 men were shipped off the island, leaving forty men to guard the base. Thirty of them had only stayed behind because of their gastric bug. The doctor had tracked down the source of the bug to a specific batch of canteens which contained contaminated water. He had cleared the rest of the camp for active duty as only those who had drunk the water would be affected.
The twins had now been out of contact with their targets for over twenty four hours. They agreed that one of them should go back on station to resume surveillance. They could not afford any further delay as it was imperative that their reports be filed as soon as possible.
***
Reaper realised, to his horror, that he had miscalculated one part of his plan. The water-born
e bug which had been given to his operatives had resulted in an information black-out from the Special Forces’ base at The Academy for eighteen hours. He had underestimated how debilitating the virus would be. The information began to flow again and Reaper’s second objective was achieved significantly earlier than he had expected. The Special Forces base was down to 20% of its manpower and Reaper controlled almost 75% of those. And of course, updates continued to come in from Ling.
The outcry around the world was unprecedented. The shocking scenes of dead children at two of the locations, including the death of a prominent MP’s son in London, had stunned the world. The TV stations were broadcasting developments from each location, around the clock. All other television programmes were cancelled. People could think of nothing else as they watched, helpless, the unfolding scenes of children being held by heavily armed gunmen. These gunmen had already killed and were clearly capable of killing again. They had neither identified themselves nor their cause. Reaper had decided that for the first forty eight hours, no contact would be made with the authorities. That would keep them guessing and increase their anxiety. The tactic had obviously worked as the specialist multi-national teams were already moving into action.
Chapter 43
Tom woke up the next morning to his television screen still showing scenes of the four schools. It appeared that nothing had happened overnight and no more was known about the terrorists. It all seemed rather odd to Tom. Why take all those hostages and then not communicate with anybody nor make any demands? Speculation was rife, with numerous terrorist organisations being blamed and different theories emerging.
Hundreds of students at The Academy were affected, directly and indirectly, with friends or family caught up in the crisis. The Headmaster announced that classes would be suspended until the following Monday. This would be reviewed as events unfolded but in the meantime, it was important that all students support each other and help those in distress.
Tom went next door to speak to Lela. She was glued to her TV screen.
“I can’t believe it, why are they doing this?” she asked.
“Who knows why these idiots do anything,” was all Tom could think to say.
“Did you see, they named the dead boy in London,” said Lela.
“Yes, I can’t believe it, we met him a couple of years ago…oh God! He was a good friend of Tristan’s. Do you know how he is?”
“I tried to call but his line was engaged. He must be onto his parents,” said Lela.
“Let’s go and see him,” said Tom.
They went downstairs and walked along to Tristan’s room. His door was open and a few other Brits had had the same idea. His room was like a meeting of the Junior Cabinet. They gave him their sympathies and told him they were there if he needed to talk. He said he was fine but they could see that he was really shaken by the tragedy. A number of his close friends were still being held hostage. He had known them since primary school.
Chen, Mingmei, Ahmad, Mia, Oleg and Zach came up the stairs to catch up with Tom and Lela.
“Hey guys, how are you doing?” asked Mia.
“OK, considering,” came a subdued response from Tom.
“What do you think it’s all about?” asked Chen.
“Who knows why these idiots do anything.” Tom had not yet thought of a better response.
“Unbelievable, especially to hit on kids,” added Chen.
“Do you want to come for a bite to eat?” asked Oleg.
“No thanks, I’m really not hungry,” said Lela.
“No, me neither,” said Tom.
“Well, we’re just going to get a bite, we’ll come back and see you later,” said Oleg.
“I’ll just wait here,” said Mia.
“Me too,” said Chen.
Tom was beginning to think that Chen had a bit of a crush on Mia. He loved being around her and seemed to take every opportunity to be near her. Lela, on the other hand, suspected that Mia had a bit of a thing for Tom, as she always seemed to want to be around him.
“So what will we do with these two boys, Mia?” asked Lela, winking at Tom with a wicked grin.
“What do you mean?” said Mia, blushing.
“Oh nothing, come on guys what shall we do?” said Lela.
“I really don’t want to spend the rest of the day watching those four quarters of the TV screen. They’re just too disturbing,” said Tom changing the subject.
***
It had been an hour since Ling had received the ‘Ready’ command. Things were moving more quickly than she had anticipated. The Ready command signified that at any point during the following twelve hours, she would receive the Go command for her objective to be undertaken immediately. As a result, she had to be as close to the targets as possible for the rest of the day.
***
Reaper changed into combat dress and was ready to go. The final pieces of the jigsaw were coming together. Only forty soldiers remained in situ at the Special Forces base. Twenty eight of them were under his control and ready to move when required. The bug was now well out of their system and they were once again combat ready. Reaper had issued a readiness alert to all of them and they too waited for the Go command. Pieter was in position 6000 miles away with his team and ready to complete his objective.
Reaper turned to Leo, his other Lieutenant.
“Where is the target?” he asked.
“He’s airborne and due home in twenty minutes.”
“Why so early?”
“It appears the terrorists have everybody freaked. Alarms are going off constantly in his office and disturbing his work,” said Leo with a smile.
“That’s terrible, I wonder why that keeps happening,” said Reaper sarcastically.
“I couldn’t say,” said Leo, tossing the pay-as-you go phone into the river. He had used it to make hoax bomb threats to Alba International during the previous two hours, itself an imprisonable offence, not that he cared.
“Are you certain he’s going home?” Reaper asked more seriously.
“Definitely. I’ve been listening into his calls all morning. He asked his secretary to organise the helicopter as he couldn’t concentrate with all the alarms going off and the constant evacuations.”
“Where are the men?”
“Standing by, ready to go. All they need to do is saddle up and we’re out of here.”
“Excellent and our comms guy?”
“Sitting outside, he comes with us.”
Reaper looked at his watch, it was 9.00 a.m. in Glasgow and noon at The Academy.
“OK, let’s ruin the Kennedys’ day. We are GO!”
***
The twins were both on surveillance duty, observing the targets. On filing their latest report, they were given new orders. Things were happening and they should maintain a high state of alert. Surveillance at this stage was paramount and all other duties were to be ignored, even if it meant disciplinary sanctions.
Chapter 44
“What was that noise?” asked Tom.
“What noise?” asked Mia.
“Like a buzzing sound, you know, like a phone on vibrate,” explained Tom.
“Didn’t hear a thing,” said Chen.
“Nor me,” said Mingmei.
Once the others had finished breakfast, they returned feeling slightly guilty that they had put their stomachs before their friends.
“I’m fed up with this,” announced Mia. “We’ve been watching nothing happen for hours, let’s go out, no?”
“Good idea,” said Lela.
Everybody agreed and they spent the next thirty minutes debating what to do. By a majority decision, they decided to go for a run in the golf carts.
Mia, Chen, Tom and Lela were in one cart while Ahmad, Zach, Mingmei and Oleg followed behind in another.
A new game was devised after they had become bored of racing each other at the death defying speed of 15mph. It was a derivation of hide and seek where one cart would turn around and face the ot
her way, while the other would have a two minute head-start. The object of the game was to stay out of sight for as long as possible. On being spotted, the clock would stop and the other cart would hide.
After playing two games, the best time was ten minutes.
In the third game, it was Mia and Chen’s turn to drive. Mia was confident that she could beat the record and insisted she drove. With nobody disagreeing, she climbed into the driver’s seat. Everybody was thoroughly enjoying the new game and excitement levels were high. Tom and Lela looked at each other as Mia and Chen started talking to each other rapidly in Chinese. Obviously, the thrill of the chase had brought out their mother tongue.
With over a minute of their hiding time elapsed, Tom nudged Chen as Mia was far too busy to disturb.
“Where are we going? They’ll be after us in less than forty seconds and I can still see them,” said Tom perplexed at Mia’s strategy. He was beginning to wonder if they had understood the rules. “Don’t worry, Mia is certain that the bend ahead will hide the cart. She calculated the distance in the previous game and reckons we’ll make it with five seconds to spare. The others won’t think for a second that we’ll make it as they’ll assume the bend is too far away.”
“But it is,” said Lela.
“No, we’ll just make it. It’s just less than half a mile.”
“OK but if you’re wrong, we’ll look really stupid,” said Tom.
“1 minute 58 seconds, 1 minute 59 seconds, 2 minutes, GO!!” Zach counted down on his watch and spun round as the two minutes elapsed.
“OK, so where do you think they went?” he asked.
“That was very, very close, well done!” said Tom congratulating Mia.
“So where now?”
“Just keep going straight and hit the beach next to the army base, it’ll be hours before they find us,” said Mia triumphantly.
“There was that noise again, did you here it this time?” asked Tom.
“No,” said Chen.
“Maybe. What exactly did it sound like?” asked Lela.
Kidnap (The Billionaire Series) Page 17