‘I’d call that perfect timing, wouldn't you say, James?’ came Andy’s smug, but seriously welcome, voice. I laughed, then winced as the pain of my broken ribs reminded me just how lucky I was. I rolled my head to look over at the open door, where he was holstering his gun.
‘Perfect timing would have been before he broke my nose, again, dislocated my shoulder, broke my hand, leg, and ribs, and bruised me all over, but where you excel with everything else, you were always rubbish at being on time.’ I looked back over to my right when I heard footsteps coming from the back of the cottage. I smiled when I saw three men enter that I recognised, one of them being Roberts, from my old squadron. They all lowered their weapons when they saw Andy.
‘All clear,’ Roberts nodded. ‘One dead male in the rear bedroom.’
‘James, where are Mrs. Davenport and Oliver?’ Andy demanded.
‘Oliver’s hidden outside, but I had to leave Mrs. Davenport behind.’
‘Shit,’ Andy muttered, running a hand through his hair. ‘This guy may not have finished you off, but Mr. Davenport might when I allow him in and break the news. Roberts, get James patched up before he bleeds to death, that leg looks nasty. We can hunker down here and plan our next move based on his intel. James, where did you hide Oliver?’
‘Wood store at the side of the house. What sort of rubbish team did you scrape together if they missed him hiding in there?’ I chuckled.
‘Even when you look like you’ve had a pulverising, always with the jokes,’ Andy replied, shaking his head.
‘Pulverised? Please, I totally had a move planned to get out of that jam, you interrupted me before I could execute it.’
‘Right,’ nodded Andy with a smile. ‘Watkins, Hammersmith, I want that body moved right now. We have a four year old coming in. Drag the rug over the blood, I don’t want him seeing anything worse than the state James is in,’ he ordered, before activating his ear piece. ‘This is team leader, you have the all clear, bring them in.’
‘Thanks, Andy.’ I saluted him and he nodded before heading out of the door. I blew out a painful sigh of relief and closed my eyes for a moment, knowing I’d just been saved by the skin of my teeth. I opened them to find Roberts squatting at my side, undoing a medic’s bag. ‘Not so fast,’ I ordered, starting to crawl across the floor again, panting through the agony of every small movement I made.
‘Smithy, you have a serious leg break,’ he warned. ‘I need to treat it and splint it immediately.’
‘There’s something I have to do first,’ I replied, making my way across the floor to the fridge as Charlie’s body was moved.
Dan
I lay in the grass next to Dean and a couple of the older guys on the team, within shouting distance of the house up ahead. I bit my nails as we waited. Oliver’s signal had put him here only an hour ago when we landed. The thought that I’d get to see him and Ellie any moment had my palms sweating and my heart beating erratically. I watched some of the team open one of the rear windows and disappear silently into the cottage as Andy and the rest went around the front. I flinched when I heard a gunshot, Dean did too. He buried his face in his hands as he took a few deep, calming breaths. We lay there for ages and I wondered what was taking so long. Why weren’t they signalling for us to come in? Just as I thought it, the man called Jones announced we had the all clear to move in. He cursed as I leapt up and took off like Usain Bolt out of his starting blocks. I ran like I’d never run before. Every second I saved meant I’d see my family a second sooner. I’d missed far too many with them as it was. I skidded around the corner of the cottage, raced up the decking, and threw myself through the open door, panting.
‘Fucking hell,’ I gasped as I took in the state of James, who for some reason was lying with the upper part of his body inside a cream retro fridge.
‘Sir,’ he called, giving me a nod.
‘Jesus, James! Are you going to be ok?’ I asked, scanning his battered body and wincing as I saw the state of his face and leg.
‘He will be if the stubborn old goat stops looking for bloody sausages and lets me sort out his dislocated shoulder and broken bones,’ one of our team snapped.
‘I promised them to Oliver,’ James retorted with a glare. ‘I don’t want to let him down.’
‘Ollie’s really here? Where is he? Where’s Ellie,’ I demanded, my eyes darting around the room for signs of them, my spirits suddenly rising for the first time in days.
‘Daddy!’ I spun around as I heard his cry and choked back a sob as I saw Andy standing in the doorway with him in his arms. He was filthy and dwarfed by a huge black jumper, but he held out his arms to me and started to cry.
‘Ollie.’ I made short work of the distance separating us, my heart breaking to see the state of him, then soaring to be within touching distance of one of my most treasured possessions. I grabbed him off Andy and crushed him to my chest, planting kisses on every inch of him that was within reach, not even caring how grubby and smelly he was.
‘Daddy,’ he sobbed. ‘I missed you.’
‘I missed you, too, more than you’ll ever know. I love you so much, son,’ I whispered. I didn’t even feel ashamed that some tears were falling from my eyes and I was surrounded by some of the toughest men in the world. I had my boy again, that was all that mattered. ‘Where’s Ellie?’ I asked Andy, desperate to have her in my arms as well. He ran a hand through his hair as he swallowed hard.
‘I’m sorry, Sir, she’s not here. She chose not to leave given her leg injury, worried she’d slow James down.’
‘She what?’ I bit, whipping my head around to look at James as the short-lived happiness I’d just experienced was suddenly ripped from me. ‘Tell me you didn’t leave her, James.’
‘I’m sorry, Sir. I’d never have made it out with Master Oliver if I hadn’t.’
‘Is she … is she …’ I closed my eyes, trying to find the strength to vocalise my fear.
‘She was alive when I left her, Sir. In pain from a bullet to the thigh, but as stubborn and brave as ever. As their last remaining hostage, I don’t think they’ll risk harming her. I’m assuming that you haven’t been able to pay the ransom in full given they hadn’t already killed us all?’
I shook my head and kissed Oliver again, stroking his back. I needed to sit down. The thought that Ellie was hurt and alone, maybe even being tortured, didn’t just make me feel sick, it made me want to die. I looked up as Dean came in and nodded with a relieved smile as he saw me clutching Oliver.
‘Mrs. Davenport?’ he enquired hopefully. I shook my head and he grimaced. ‘Christ, James, are you ok?’
‘I’ve had better weeks,’ James replied. ‘I need to apologise to you, Dean. I’m so s…’
‘Mrs. Davenport’s still in danger, she takes priority over everything else right now,’ interrupted Andy. ‘Roberts, for Christ’s sake, get James some pain relief and get him patched up before he passes out. I need every last scrap of intel from him if we stand a chance of finding her out here.’ He beckoned the majority of the team inside, leaving some to watch the perimeter.
‘My fault, but I’m ready now,’ called James, brandishing something in the air with a triumphant look on his face. ‘Oliver, I’ve got what I promised.’
‘Sausages?’ Oliver asked, lifting his head from my chest, a small smile spreading across his dirty face.
‘Sausages,’ James grinned back. ‘But I’m not sure I’m in a fit state to cook them for you. How about you ask your dad?’
‘Let's get you cleaned up first, young man, then I’ll do you a sausage sandwich, ok?’ I suggested, in desperate need of something to distract me from the thought of Ellie right now.
‘Yes, please. I’m thirsty, too.’
‘I’m sure we can get you some water,’ I nodded, heading over to the kitchen. I stopped and looked down at James, clutching the pack of twelve Irish Richmond Sausages, looking like he’d just won the lottery. The poor guy was a complete wreck, but all he was thinking about wa
s making my son happy. In an instant, I let go of my anger at him for leaving Ellie behind. This mess wasn’t his fault, he’d put his life on the line to protect my son. He’d never have left her unless he had no other choice. ‘Make sure you fix him, I want him back as good as new,’ I ordered the guy who was setting aside an assortment of creams and bandages from his medical kit. ‘He’s important to me, he’s a hero because he just saved my son’s life. Thank you, James. I’m not in the right frame of mind right now to form the words that will express just how grateful I am to you. Is there anything I can do to help right now?’
‘Other than letting my wife know I’m alive, if not well, you can get cooking. Oliver and I haven’t eaten for nearly twenty-four hours and I’ve had quite the work out for an old man.’
I smiled as I took the pack off him and got Oliver some water, which he guzzled down. I was shown to the bathroom and stripped Oliver, then put him in the empty bath. I used the shower head attached to the taps to wash his hair and get all of the grime off his skin. I checked him over, making sure he wasn’t bruised or injured in any way, but he told me that he wasn’t hurt, just hungry. He started crying again when he told me that Ellie was hurt and that he missed her and wanted me to make her better. I wrapped him in a towel and hugged him again. It was so good to finally have my arms around him, but I wouldn’t be truly happy until I had my arms around Ellie, too. Andy had acted fast when he’d received the call to say that Oliver’s tracker had come online. He’d managed to pack a bag with some of Oliver’s and Ellie’s clothes, so I dressed him in his black jeans and a warm, cream cable jumper. He looked like Oliver Davenport again, instead of a homeless street urchin. I took him back to the kitchen to make his sandwich and listen to what Andy and the team had planned for us to get Ellie back.
I reminded them that the deadline for my final payment was at ten a.m., which was approaching fast. Every single man in this small cottage agreed with Andy when he told me that I wasn’t to pay a penny. Their logic was that if Ellie was still alive, the minute they had the rest of the money, she’d be of no further use to them anyway. By not paying, if they were greedy enough to want more than the amount I’d already paid, they’d likely carry out their threat to inflict pain on her until I paid up. The thought of her suffering like that was agonising, but I knew in my heart that they were right. Whatever decision I made, I was playing Russian roulette with her life. Even if her captors tortured her, and offered another deadline, it could buy us enough time to get to her and save her. The question was whether she’d ever forgive me for letting it happen and not allowing her to die a quick death, like poor Jenny had. Right now, I couldn’t think of Ellie. I could be making decisions based on what she’d want, when she wasn’t even alive anyway. If I lost her, I’d have to live with that for the rest of my life. I had to be selfish and think about how that would affect me, and in turn our children, because I wasn’t ever going to get over her and they’d have to live with my grief just as much as I would. I had to know that I’d done everything I could to give her the best chance of survival as I tried to save her. It didn’t stop me throwing up as the deadline came and went and I sat back and did nothing.
Now it was time to make a decision. James had told us that we had a good day’s hike ahead of us to get to Ellie’s location. Based on his observations that there had been five men for the initial abduction, one who had remained in the back of the van, then only four who had tended to them in the bunker, a best case was that only two men stood between us and Ellie, a worst case … we had absolutely no idea. There was a clearing around the cottage, large enough for a skilled pilot to set down, but we couldn’t risk alerting them to our presence. My dilemma was that James needed urgent hospital care if he wasn’t going to lose his leg. Roberts had done his best, breaking one of the wooden dining chairs to use the legs as makeshift splints, but James would need it operated on as a matter of urgency. They’d made a stretcher out of a metal framed single bed and the wooden slats, and some of the team were ready to take him back to the two waiting helicopters.
James had confirmed that Charlie, the man he’d fought and Andy had killed, was the one who’d shot Jenny. So Andy told Dean that he had no more reason to be here and needed to take James, Oliver, and I back to London immediately. Dean argued, saying regardless of Charlie pulling the trigger, this Alfa was the one in charge and he was equally culpable. He wanted to see him captured, or killed, and to see where Jenny had died. I was completely torn. Half of me didn’t want to let Oliver out of my sight again, half of me needed to be there when we found Ellie, dead or alive. Bringing Oliver along on a rescue mission wasn’t an option. He’d be better back home, with his brother and sister and people he loved. He’d feel safer. Andy, Dean, and I started shouting over each other, unable to agree what to do.
‘Shut the hell up,’ bellowed James uncharacteristically. ‘You’re like bickering teenagers. You’re grown men, act like it. I made a promise to Mrs. Davenport that I’d go back for her and I can’t fulfil that, which makes me angrier than you could ever imagine. I had two women under my care and I’ve failed both of them. I need you all to man up and work together. She needs you. Every second you argue, you’re putting her in more danger, me too. If I die from a broken leg because you couldn’t agree on a plan and get me to the hospital fast enough, I’ll come back from the afterlife to kick your arses every bloody day until you join me there.’
‘Well said, Smithy,’ Roberts nodded. ‘We need to move him now.’
‘I’m making a decision for you all,’ James said forcefully. ‘Mr. Davenport is going to move forward on foot with most of the team to find his wife. You have two guys protecting the helicopters where you landed, right Andy?’
‘Yes,’ Andy confirmed.
‘Ok, then Dean can carry Oliver, while Davison and Richards carry me on the stretcher you made. Davison can fly Oliver and I back to London in the smaller helicopter. Dean, as the most skilled pilot, can wait with your two guys for a signal to extract you all from that small clearing when you have Mrs. Davenport. I will not accept any deviation from this plan. So grab your gear and get moving.’
‘You heard the man,’ Andy agreed. ‘We’re going around in circles, let’s move out.’
‘Thank God,’ I uttered, relieved that we were finally ready to go. I reached out and grabbed James’s good hand, shaking it with a nod of gratitude, then went to pick up Oliver, who was watching television, dwarfed by the leather armchair he was curled up in. ‘Daddy’s going to find Mummy for you, Ollie. Dean’s going to take you back to a helicopter and Davison here will fly you and Uncle James home, ok?’
‘I want to come with you, Daddy,’ he moaned. ‘I want to see Mummy.’
‘I know you do,’ I sighed, my heart breaking to leave him. ‘But Jonas and Eva are waiting for you at home. I’ll be there soon, ok?’
‘Is Jenny there? I miss her, too,’ he sighed. I scrunched up my face and looked over at Dean. Painful as it was, Dean was an adult, he could understand what had happened. What was I supposed to say to Oliver? I couldn’t lie and say she was, as he’d be upset and keep asking when she was coming back.
‘Oliver,’ Dean said softly, dipping his head to look Oliver in the eye. ‘Jenny couldn’t stay, she had somewhere she had to be, but I know that she’s already missing you and if she had a choice, she’d be waiting for you at home right now.’
‘When’s she coming back?’ Oliver asked, his face falling. I had to look up at the ceiling for a moment. I had no idea how Dean was holding it together right now.
‘I can’t answer that, but you know that even if she can’t come home, you can see her anytime that you want. All you have to do is close your eyes and picture her and she’ll be there. She loves you very much and you know who else loves you and is waiting at home for you right now?’
‘Who?’
‘All three of your Aunties, Brooke, Molly, and Summer, as well as Uncle Lucas, Jonas and Eva, and little Logan too,’ Dean nodded, then loo
ked up at me.
‘I bet even Grandma, Grandpa, and Magda will be waiting for you too, Ollie,’ I added. ‘Don’t you want to see them all?’
‘So badly,’ he moaned.
‘Then go with Dean and James for me. I’ll be home before you know it.’
‘Promise?’
‘I promise.’ I squeezed him tightly and kissed him. He flung his arms around my neck and hugged me just as hard. ‘Thank you,’ I whispered, looking at Dean. He nodded and held his arms out, so I handed Oliver over.
‘Do me a favour?’ Dean asked.
‘Anything,’ I confirmed.
‘Make sure he suffers, because I have a feeling Andy’s not going to let me do it when I get there.’
I nodded and quickly headed out to join Andy, as a scout moved ahead and the rest of the team fanned out. He went to say something, but I cut him off with my finger as my phone rang an alert and I saw I had an email from Ian.
‘For Christ’s sake, turn it off. You may as well stampede the bunk house on a herd of elephants with a megaphone to announce our arrival,’ Andy bit, rolling his eyes at me. I was about to turn it off when I noticed Ian had marked it as urgent, and the subject was “Damien Daniels identified.” I opened it to find that they’d managed to retrieve some of the photos Jess had taken of him, that he’d had someone go to great lengths to delete from her phone and iCloud account. I opened the attachment and waited for the photo to download.
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