by Tony Jenkins
With a full group, two platforms were soon built. One policeman then climbed the stack and smashed the window, whilst his colleague threw in a stun grenade. Kirill was standing behind Gary, who was seated at a computer and taking as long as possible to enter the codes as he waited for the police to save him. Suddenly, one of the windows was smashed and as he cowered beside the computer table, he heard a loud bang. He found himself totally disoriented. One Russian was standing near the window and he quickly turned and aimed his gun at the helmeted figure looking down at him from outside. Before he could fire, he was shot through the head. Kirill had fallen to the floor, but although dazed he was still holding his gun and shot Gary in the back. The policeman watching at the window then shot Kirill.
Another pair of policemen smashed their way into the reception area and entered with guns at the ready. Hearing the noise, the Russians guarding Rosanne rushed from the room and with guns in their hands were shot as they ran through the door into reception. The Russians were all armed and with their reputation for violence, the guns in their hands brought their instant deaths.
After checking the building and finding that all four Russians were dead, an ambulance was summoned and Gary and Rosanne were taken away. The bullet had struck him in the shoulder and although it was a nasty wound, he should soon recover. He had told Jack in the morning that if he survived the day, he would end his connection with criminals, since his family was more important to him than the money. He had twice risked his life to protect Don Taylor’s offshore account and hoped he had earned his release from the gang. During the evening, Gary was visited in his hospital bed by Don Taylor, who thanked him for protecting the offshore bank deposits. When Gary told him that he wanted to end his connection with the gang, he was told that it was a lifetime position for as long as he and his family were alive. The comment left Gary depressed and ashamed that his family was also bound to this man.
When Jack was given details of the successful rescue, he was finally able to relax after worrying that his idea might lead to the deaths of the young girl and her father. Superintendent James was very pleased with the outcome and rang to thank him for his help. The big surprise came the next day when an enormous bunch of flowers was delivered to Jack’s home, addressed to Mrs Judy Randil. The accompanying card simply said, “Thanks, Don Taylor.” Jack was not anxious to mix with a local gang, but they had never interfered in his business and an ally is better than an enemy. Discussing the change in policy with Greg when the Russians stopped their attacks on Randil Security, he thought they had been lucky.
“If that big Russian had not got drunk in the city centre bar, our men would certainly have suffered. The Russians were upset when one of their own was beaten to death and that got them mad enough to take on the Young Guns.”
He agreed with Greg Ridd that their security men should continue to work in pairs, until they were sure that there was no likelihood of more attacks. The helmets and sprays would now be permanent equipment to make their men the best protected in the city. With the threat to his security operation removed and the problems at the Hungarian mine settled, Jack thought he could relax and continue building his Liverpool business and enjoying life with his growing family. He could not know that one man’s stupidity and another man’s frustration would soon result in further deaths and destruction.
Chapter 18
Consummation
After Theresa and her mother Mary were rescued from the squalor of the run-down trailer park in Canada by her uncle, Jack Randil, she began a new life with the family in Liverpool and took every advantage of the opportunities available to her. She had always dreamed that one day she would fall in love and lead a happy, normal life, even when she was surrounded by rusting trailers and discarded rubbish heaps. When Demeter flew to Liverpool and she met him for the first time, it was love at first sight. He was tall, dark and handsome, as well as sensitive and charming and she knew he was the one she wanted to marry. She pursued him, but knew that he was attracted to her and when they finally became engaged, she felt that her dreams had come true.
Since she had only her carry-on luggage, she was one of the first passengers from the flight to head for the exit and easily recognised the tall figure of her fiancée standing near the barrier. She ran up to him, threw her arms around him and kissed him full on the lips. The elegantly dressed man tried to hide his embarrassment, but nevertheless held her tightly and responded to her kiss. The twelve-year age gap and difference in their cultures made him less open with his feelings than Theresa, but his eyes and embrace showed his strong feelings for the vivacious young woman. Her only luggage was a small carry-on bag and he took it from her as they walked to the car park.
On the way to the hotel, Theresa wanted to know all about progress at the mine and if the problems which had worried her fiancée had now been resolved. Demeter gave her uncle, Jack Randil, full credit for persuading Radics to finally compromise in his handling of the Roma community. Theresa laughed when she heard this and told him that Jack could be very persuasive and always seemed able to find a simple solution to a problem. Her mother had told her about the gang war in Liverpool and that some of Jack’s security team had been attacked. Demeter was surprised to hear about the on-going violence in Liverpool, since Jack had told him nothing during his recent visit for the Hun-Al board meeting.
“If he knew that you had problems, he wouldn’t want to burden you with hearing about his as well, but he always seems to come out on top. I know of lots of people who have tried to cause trouble for him and found themselves far worse off. Now tell me what you have planned for us in this beautiful city, which you claim is the most attractive in Europe.”
“First you must see the hotel, which I have chosen specially to impress you because it is also elegant and beautiful, just like you.”
She squeezed his hand and laughed and then she caught her first sight of the Corinthia Hotel, which was a five-story stone building with an elegant entrance which dominated the surrounding buildings in the city centre. After Demeter had parked his car, they walked into the beautifully tiled reception area, which Theresa immediately thought had Moorish antecedents. The attractive receptionist carried on a long and very friendly conversation with Demeter, and Theresa decided that either they knew each other well, or the receptionist was hoping she would. Since she spoke no Hungarian, she had no idea as to what was being said. Demeter had booked adjoining rooms and she found that she could look out on the city from her window. She saw that there was a door between her own and Demeter’s room.
Since it was late afternoon, as soon as Theresa was settled in, Demeter suggested that they take a walk across the chain bridge, which linked Buda with Pest. The sun was shining, but there was already a bite in the air as autumn had ended and they were both well wrapped up against the chill. From the bridge they had a clear view of the Danube and the striking outline of the buildings along the shoreline on each bank. The walk and the fresh air gave them appetites and Demeter explained that the Hungarian hotel had a superb restaurant to give Theresa her first taste of the delicious local cuisine.
Knowing that they would have at least one formal occasion, she had packed a figure-hugging black dress bought by her mother as a combined Xmas, birthday and engagement present. It was the most expensive dress she had ever owned, but after her mother urged her to try it on in spite of the high price, she could not refuse. There was an iron in a cupboard of her room and she used it to smooth out the creases after taking it from her small bag. When Demeter tapped on her door to take her down to the restaurant, he could not prevent his eyes from straying to her superb figure, which was emphasised by the dress. With her lustrous black, shoulder length hair and green eyes, he knew that she would attract most of the men in the restaurant.
He had reserved a corner table and since he always stayed at the hotel during his regular visits to the city, the maître d’hôtel knew him and greeted the couple before personally showing them to their table. Demeter expl
ained in English that it was Theresa’s first visit and experience of Hungarian cuisine. The man bowed and welcomed her to the hotel and assured her that they would do their very best to provide her with superb food. The menu was extensive and written in Hungarian, so Demeter called out the selections with the English translation and laughed at the bewildered expression on his fiancé’s face as she told him.
“You order darling and I will have whatever you choose. I am so hungry and it all sounds so delicious that I know I will like it.”
“Very well, let’s begin with halászlé, fisherman’s soup with red fish, spiced with paprika. To follow I think stefánia szelet, a meatloaf with hard boiled eggs in the middle and to finish, gundel palacsinta, which is a crepe stuffed with walnuts, flambéed in a chocolate sauce.”
“Sounds wonderful, if I can get through it all.”
“Once you taste, you will not be able to stop I am sure. Now, what wine would you like?”
They settled on a white dessert wine, Tokaji and their waiter lit the glass-framed candle in the centre of their table, just as a string quartet began to play in the restaurant. As Theresa looked across the table into the dark eyes of her man, she knew that her long-time dream had come true. The food and the atmosphere made her feel that she had been transported to wonderland. After the meal they decided to take coffee in the lounge and relax, since they were both feeling drowsy after their busy day and the wine they drank during dinner.
After drinking their coffee, they sat and talked in the elegant lounge and then walked arm in arm to their rooms. At her bedroom door, Demeter took her in his arms and their bodies pressed hard against each other in a goodnight embrace. Theresa could feel Demeter’s enlarged passion and was yearning to open her door and make love, but knew that it was too soon. She pulled away and pressed her fingers against Demeter’s lips and said goodnight before going into her bedroom alone.
After breakfast, they took a taxi and walked around Margaret Island, which had once been a royal hunting ground and was covered with 10,000 trees amongst beautiful gardens and a unique musical fountain. Afterwards they visited St Stephens Basilica and the Zoo, which opened in 1866 and watched the enclosed area designed to allow children to watch the cubs of many of the zoo animals. Demeter had booked seats for the evening performance of the Budapest Municipal Circus in City Park, the first public park in the world. The circus was housed in a large stone building with space for an audience of up to 1850 persons. After another exquisite meal in the hotel restaurant they went to their rooms and agreed to make an early start for the drive to the Pusztai mansion at Dunakeszi.
When Demeter moved in to the family home, he had employed a middle-aged couple to live in and look after his needs. Aranka was his housekeeper and cook and her husband, Janos, was a handyman who helped Demeter in his restoration work on the building. He had saved money when he was employed as a senior engineer working for Renault in France and he now had a reasonable salary from his position in Hun-Al so that he could afford to employ tradesmen to do the more complicated repairs, beginning with the roof. The building was now sound and many of the rooms were furnished, but the decorating would take many months to complete. Anticipating Theresa’s visit, he had raced to make his home presentable, if not anywhere near its original elegance.
When Theresa saw the house for the first time, she immediately felt that it matched her dreams. It was a two-story stone building with a red-tiled roof and an extended entrance porch set in the middle, to shelter visitors using the front door. Theresa imagined carriages stopping under the porch and guests stepping down to walk inside the house. Demeter parked his car on the gravelled drive and as they entered the house, they were met by Aranka. The large woman gave Theresa a big hug and welcomed her speaking in Hungarian, which Demeter translated. After settling in to her room, she and Demeter walked around the house and looked at the ruins of the stable block, which had been burned down to draw Demeter to the house so that Roma assassins could kill him, but fortunately Jack had been on hand to stop them. Janos had gone into town for supplies.
As they looked at the blackened ruins, Demeter described how the building had once been used to stable up to twelve horses, most of them plough horses used on the land, but some for his grandmother and grandfather to ride. He told her how, after giving birth to his father Istvan and while out riding her favourite horse, his grandmother had been thrown and killed after a Roma woman flared her red skirts to deliberately frighten the horse. She too had the same lustrous black hair as Theresa and had been just as athletic and determined.
“How terrible for your father. When I was at school, I was given riding lessons and afterwards, worked at the local stable and mucked out the stalls to be allowed free rides.”
“Wonderful. I have ridden since I was a small boy and will borrow some horses so that we can explore the Pusztai lands together tomorrow. A lot of the horse tack and saddles were saved from the fire and perhaps, I can also find you some riding boots. One day, we may build new stables and have our own horses to ride the land together.”
That evening they ate in the large dining room and enjoyed the meal prepared by Aranka, which was served by husband Janos. He was nervous when first introduced to Theresa and bowed and forgot to release her hand, then hovered near her and attended to her every request, translated by Demeter. The house had a veranda at the rear and they sat on a wooden bench and drank the sweet local coffee as they looked across the fields and low hills surrounding the house.
“I think you have captivated Janos too, so now you have two men willing to meet your every wish my darling.”
“Janos is a lovely man, but too old for me, I shall have to work my wicked ways with you instead, so watch out.”
Demeter held her hand as they walked up the wide stairway and turned to leave as they reached her bedroom door. She reached out to take his hand and then drew him inside her room. This would be their home and this was the time to make him her lover. At breakfast next morning, Theresa saw Aranka’s knowing smile and knew that she had guessed that one bedroom would be all that was needed in future.
After breakfast, the horses were saddled and the two lovers rode off together under a blue sky, but with a cool wind sweeping across the land. Demeter was a natural rider and she knew she would have difficulty keeping up with him. She suggested a short ride to avoid saddle burn. They were cantering down a shallow slope with Demeter slightly in front when suddenly there was the sound of a shot. Theresa’s horse jerked its head up and stumbled before collapsing and throwing her from the saddle.
Demeter immediately jumped from his horse and raced back to find Theresa lying flat on her back in the long grass. As he cradled her shoulders in his arms, he was relieved to see her open her eyed and smile at him.
“Don’t worry darling, I’m alright, but I think I have done something to my arm, would you please see how the horse is. I think he was shot.”
Glancing at the horse lying motionless nearby, he could see the blood covering its eye and open mouth and knew it had been shot through the head. There was no movement in its chest and he was sure it was dead. Checking her arm, he thought it was probably broken and he took off his jacket and used it to strap her arm against her breast, since he could see that any movement caused her pain. Her face was also bruised and scratched, but he was relieved that she had survived without critical injuries. Telling her to lie down in a small fold in the ground, he looked for the shooter and saw a horseman riding hard to leave the scene. He helped her up onto his horse and they began the two-mile walk back to the house. He was furious with himself for risking her life by thinking that the problems with the local Roma had been settled.
It was late afternoon by the time they reached the mansion, and Aranka and Janos were shocked that anyone would try to shoot the young woman. They decided that rather than call out the local doctor, he would drive Theresa to the small hospital in the town to have her injuries attended to. The staff were very helpful, but the police were calle
d and Demeter had to explain the shooting. He was more worried about Theresa than trying to locate, or identify the shooter who had left after firing one shot. With hindsight, he began to appreciate that they could both have been killed if the gunman had carried on firing. In future he would always carry a gun wherever he went.
After her arm was splinted up and bandaged at the hospital, they returned to the mansion and Demeter insisted that first thing next morning, he would drive her to the airport for the flight home. They had scarcely made this decision when Demeter received a frantic telephone call from Larjos to tell him that Radics had arrested Boldo and it had resulted in an all-out battle with the Roma. Hearing this, Demeter booked Theresa on a first-class flight to Manchester, where he knew her family would be able to meet her. He charged the amount to the Hun-Al account, since it was Radic’s actions which had led to the problems with local Roma and her wounding. The extra space and comfort would certainly make her flight more bearable after her brief visit. He could not understand how the commissar had again allowed his prejudice to put the entire mining project in jeopardy by arresting the Roma leader. Demeter knew Boldo well and had always found him a mild mannered, harmless and friendly man.
During the evening, Theresa’s eye began to turn black as the bruise to her forehead spread and she teased Demeter by telling him she could always accuse him of beating her. Seeing the horror on his face, she immediately reassured him that she was only joking. He telephoned Jack Randil and told him about the shooting and the cause. His friend asked for full details and when told that they were riding downhill, he guessed the shooter was not experienced and had not adequately allowed for their forward movement, or descent. Since Theresa’s following horse was shot in the head, he believed that Demeter had been the target and it had been a bad miss. Thankfully, his niece was not seriously injured, but now instead of damaging property, the Roma were targeting people. He had some clearing up to do in Liverpool after recent problems, but would fly to Budapest in two days’ time.