BEYOND THE SPRING

by Mike S Martin

  “I accept you are finding it hard to comprehend Wyre but ask your friend Mr Richards here” said Bostock studying Wyre intently.

  “I have no friends here” replied Wyre.

  “It’s true Wyre Andy was rogue. I was slow to pick up on it but when I did I should have told you and for that I apologise. You and Oliver should not have witnessed that though. They would have killed Oliver right here right now Wyre if I had not have done that” said Alex still staring out of the window.

  “Bullshit I knew Andy from year’s back he would never have worked for you animals”

  Again Bostock nodded. “That’s your choice Wyre but I’m sure if you look deep enough you will see the clues. Don’t forget I paid him to take you out. He has killed many for me and been paid fairly. He owed me and it was either play the game my way or not play at all. Andy was going to give up his life for you Wyre……but he just couldn’t manage it. Anyway that’s irrelevant now and in a while it won’t matter” replied Bostock checking his watch. “Right let’s get this over with”

  Bostock placed a new magazine into his browning pistol while his men made sure they were fully loaded. Wyre was about to stand up and plead for his son, Oliver’s life but was pushed back down into the sofa by Richards. In seconds the sofa, with Wyre and Oliver still in it was flipped over and pushed up against the large window. Wyre instinctively threw himself over Oliver as all hell broke loose. The whistle and thudding of silenced weapons being fired, then the sight and sound of plaster falling off the walls had Wyre holding Oliver in the foetus position. Now the glass was taking shots and splintering and shattering all around them both. In a matter of seconds the shooting had stopped and Wyre listened for any clues as to what the hell just happened. The crunching of footsteps through the broken glass now on the floor had Wyre daring to look who was going to appear from around the upturned sofa. Still with weapon in hand, Alex Richards stood over them with two visible bullet wounds and blood in his jacket on his left shoulder. Wyre paused for a split second not knowing whether to trust the man who had just shot his friend. Richards held out his hand but Wyre refused and stood up on his own accord clutching Oliver in his arms. There on the floor were five of Bostock’s men dead, the bullet holes visible in their heads and chests, including Bostock’s right hand man Jim. On an upturned chair next the table was somebody who was still alive and was attempting to crawl away to sanctuary. Richards walked over to the attempting escapee and dragged him up off the floor, picked the chair up and threw Bostock into it. Wyre noticed he had been shot but it was in his shooting arm and wasn’t life threatening. Still defiant Bostock laughed as he surveyed the damage in the room.

  “You’ve made a big fucking mistake Alex. This thing is above me, it’s fucking huge and you’re now chest fucking deep in it” whispered Bostock checking how bad his arm was. “Look at my fucking suit. This cost a fucking fortune you bastard…….half my salary goes on new fucking suits Jesus” mumbled Bostock.

  Alex looked at Wyre and Oliver to check if they had sustained any injuries. There in front of him was Wyre holding one of the browning pistol’s that had fallen onto the floor in the mayhem. He was breathing heavily and pointing it first at Richards then at Bostock unsure of who he wanted to take out first. Richards never reacted but instead just grabbed a seat and sat in front of Bostock as though to interrogate him. Richards knew Wyre well enough now to know it was very unlikely he would shoot anybody but after what Wyre had just witnessed anything was possible.

  “You’ve done well Alex, come on my boy come back in” said Bostock trying to wipe the blood off his suit sleeve.

  Richards didn’t attempt to answer but just sat looking through Bostock’s phone.

  “You won’t find anything on there, you know how it works”

  Wyre stood listening to the both of them with his emotions boiling up. The more they both ignored him the more he became livid.

  “Daddy can we go home now” said a scared and trembling voice from near the sofa.

  Wyre turned around to check Oliver was as good as he could be under the circumstances and returned his attention to the two guys who were now trying to somehow out-whit each other. Richards had obvious questions but Bostock had some of his own.

  “So when did you come in and put that metal plate on the bottom of the sofa Alex, yesterday?” asked Bostock.

  “No! A week ago” replied Richards still trying to concentrate on the phone.

  This caught Wyre’s attention and he lowered the weapon to contemplate on Alex’s answer and look at the metal plate that had protected them during the shooting.

  “And who’s the sniper?” asked Bostock glancing at the apartments on the north side of the Thames.

  “Just a friend, no names you know how it works”

  Wyre turned around to view where Bostock was looking.

  “There was a sniper?” asked Wyre sounding shocked.

  “You have a good man looking out for you Wyre, the best” said Bostock staring at the weapon Wyre was still holding.

  “Fuck you Bostock! You’ve got away with all this for too long and now it’s time someone put a stop to this……you killed my wife, this boy’s mother you bastard”

  Bostock didn’t answer Wyre but just pulled a face and gave a slight nod of the head.

  “As much as I think you’re a good man Wyre you have no idea what you have been involved in. You won’t shoot me. You’re a life saver not a life taker. Why don’t you just put the gun down?

  Richards now stopped looking at the mobile phone and focused his attention on Wyre.

  “Wyre you need to leave here and get Oliver to Dr Montgomery, he’s preparing a blood transfusion”

  Richards noticed the safety was still on the browning semi-automatic weapon but no sooner had he seen this, Wyre flicked the safety off. Even Richards was now unsure on the state of mind of Wyre as he placed Bostock’s phone in his pocket and focused all of his concentration on Wyre pointing the gun at Bostock. At the end of the day Richards knew deep down it would take a lot of restraint from Wyre not to shoot the man who had murdered his wife, tortured his son and pumped him full of glycerine in the hope of using him as a mobile bomb. For then to watch a friend you knew for years and trusted, killed in cold blood for betraying Bostock, this was surely enough to tip anyone over the edge.

  “I don’t believe you about Andy. He was my friend, I knew him better than anyone”

  Bostock smiled at Wyre as he now pointed the weapon at Richards for he was the one who had pulled the trigger. Both Bostock and Richards studied Wyre as he seemed to be thinking through what he was about to do. For a few seconds a thought crossed Wyre’s mind that would surely put an end to all this. Here in front of him were the two perpetrators who had caused all the heartache and despair and the realisation dawned on Wyre that with the weapon he now held, he could kill them both and put all this behind him and take Oliver away. He could feel the slight tingling in his hands as a surge of adrenalin raced towards the weapon forcing his fingers and hand to tense up. To make sure he did it right he would kill Bostock first because for Wyre he was the priority. One bullet through the head, how hard could it be? Bang and it would be over, no more Bostock in anybody’s life let alone his and Oliver’s. Of course he would expect Alex to react but if Alex lived he was sure he wouldn’t kill Wyre. With this in mind Wyre now aimed the weapon at Bostock, the tendons in his finger flexing in preparation.

  “Wyre you don’t want to do this” whispered Richards now looking slightly more concerned.

  “You’re wrong I do need to do this. He’s destroyed my family, our lives, everything” replied Wyre now looking even more determined.

  “Believe me when I say killing him will destroy you. It will tear you apart inside. This is not you Wyre and killing him will gain nothing. All the good you have ever done will come apart if you pull that trigger”

  “How can I even trust you anymore? You murdered Andy so maybe you should be first. This bastard needs to p
ay after what he has done”

  Wyre now seemed unnervingly relaxed as he held the weapon closer to Bostock’s head. Cries of Daddy from His son Oliver now standing up next to the upturned sofa didn’t even distract Wyre from the job in hand. Richards knew it would destroy Wyre if he did kill Bostock but he also required information so needed Bostock alive for the time being. Richards now stood up and placed his hand on Wyre’s shoulder in the hope of diffusing the situation.

  “Wyre I had to kill Andy. It wasn’t for him” said Alex pointing to Bostock “It was because he was still working for him. He would have betrayed you and Oliver until the end. Andy was a good man who was given no choice. You have a choice and killing him is not the right one”

  Wyre’s breathing was fast as the emotion nearly got the better of him as he quickly glanced at Alex then returned his attention to Bostock. The feeling of his eyes filling with water from the mounting anger and frustration at what Alex was telling him had him once again glancing at Alex, questioning his theory. Wyre was sure Andy was not the person he was being described as but without warning his mind started to search for clues that might prove Alex was telling the truth.

  “Listen Wyre leave Bostock to me. I’ve been longing to re-acquaint myself so just give me a little more time and I guarantee I will dispose of him. Just trust me and put the gun down”

  “Not unless you give me proof that Andy was who you say he was. I knew him better than anyone so until you prove to me he was working for this piece of shit then I intend on killing him. I’ve trusted you Alex and yet here we are in the same situation we were in when Oliver first went missing”

  Richards stared at Bostock with a look that told him that if he didn’t tell Wyre the truth he would be subject to an unbearable and unimaginable amount of pain and not necessarily just the physical kind. Richards knew about Bostock more than most people and knew how to hurt him due to his thoroughness and research. Bostock’s smile turned into one of concern and knew Alex Richards well enough to know he was a worthwhile adversary. The mutual lack of distrust worked both ways and now it was Bostock’s turn to feel uneasy on this rare occasion. Bostock was the type of man who wouldn’t hesitate to dish out some form of punishment, usually torture, but the thought of receiving some of his own medicine had him preferring to look down a barrel of a weapon and attempt to talk his way out of it. Bostock glanced at Wyre then back at Richards.

  “As much as it’s hard for you to understand and take in Wyre, Andy was working for me”

  “Bullshit! What about back in Bristol? He killed four of your men”

  “Well again Wyre you see this is where you would struggle to maintain a position working for me. He did what he had to do. He should have blown you away but he took the decision not to, which of course pissed me off and had him immediately on my wanted list. He was hard to find though I’ll give him that”

  “What so the fact he killed four……”

  “They were tools of the trade Wyre…..expendable”

  “And the guys at the industrial estate where we found Oliver?”

  “Expendable!”

  “You knew about Andy?” said Wyre now looking at Richards.

  “I had an idea but to be fair he was good, hardly gave anything away. If you want to know when I first had my suspicions it was when he walked into the house after taking out his guys”

  “What and you did nothing?” said an exasperated Wyre.

  “I needed to be sure why all of a sudden he was on our side and now I know why. Because he needed to make sure Oliver would get to Downing Street in one piece”

  Wyre sighed with resignation as the pieces of the puzzle slowly went together even though it was still a struggle to comprehend it all.

  “And you let him kill Andy?” asked Wyre of Bostock.

  “Well we both wanted him dead and at the end of the day he had served his purpose. And Alex was right Wyre. If Alex here hadn’t of killed Andy Jim would have killed the boy”

  Wyre still pointed the weapon at Bostock but now placed his hand over his mouth not wanting to believe what he was being told. Little clues came to the forefront of his mind like when Andy was leaning over Oliver in the hospital as though to check him. The fact Andy kept trying to persuade Wyre not to trust Alex Richards almost like he was trying to play them against each other. For a split second Wyre lowered the weapon while he pondered on what was being said. He had no idea people like this existed apart from in Hollywood films. Again Wyre glanced back at Oliver who was rubbing his eyes and quietly sobbing to himself. This vision had Wyre lifting the weapon towards Bostock once again with an even more determined look on his face.

  “I’m sorry Alex but I can’t let him get away with what he has done to Oliver”

  “Wyre listen to me you will regret this. As much as it seems the right thing to do now it will creep up on you and tear you apart. Wyre, Oliver doesn’t want to see this, don’t you think he has seen enough”

  Richards knew what it was like to take someone’s life because he had grown comfortable with it but not Wyre. Richards had grown to like Wyre and was genuinely concerned for his mental state especially as Oliver’s health was not 100 per cent. Looking at Wyre now Alex Richards wasn’t confident he could persuade the man holding the gun to do the right thing.

  “Wyre……”

  Before Alex could say anymore a shot had been fired and Bostock was crying out in pain whilst falling backwards on the chair. For the first time in months Richards was caught unawares and looked at Wyre with an almost admiring look on his face. Without showing it in his facial expression Richards smiled inside. This of course turned to concern because as much as he wanted Bostock dead he didn’t want it to happen yet. The sound of Oliver now crying louder kind of shocked Wyre out of his concentration and he threw the weapon at Bostock in anger then went to Oliver to comfort him. The feeling of innocence and vulnerability coming from Oliver as Wyre held him in his arms had him then questioning what he had done.

  “My god what have I done I’m so sorry Oliver, Daddy is so sorry”

  Richards bent down to check on Bostock who was now lying motionless. Blood coloured his suit jacket red and Richards sniggered at where Wyre had shot him.

  “I’ve killed him haven’t I?” murmured Wyre holding Oliver closer to his chest.

  Richards pressed two fingers against Bostock’s pulse and shook his head. He knew it would take more than one shot to kill this man.

  “He’s not dead Wyre. You shot him through the arm but his head will certainly hurt after cracking the floor” Richards immediately continued to search through Bostock’s phone whilst he had the chance, giving Bostock a kick in the legs to make sure he murmured in pain. Alex had his suspicions regarding Bostock, the main one being he seemed under a lot more pressure than normal and of all the atrocities he had done and caused in the past, the fact he was going to assassinate the prime minister, a representative from the Syrian government and various officials from the Middle East in Downing Street seemed extreme even for Bostock. Deadlines kept being mentioned and Alex was determined to get to the bottom of it.

  Bostock could now be heard moaning, slowly at first then as he quickly came to it got more aggressive.

  “You fucker who do you think you are” grumbled Bostock standing up but not even bothering to check or tend to his wounds now in both arms. “You see what I mean Alex; these are the people we should be sorting out. I did respect you Wyre but not now?”

  Wyre shook his head at the pure arrogance of the man. He had been beaten, his plans had failed, Wyre could have killed him and yet he still acted like he was running the show. Wyre focused all of his attention on Oliver to try and ignore the voice of his tormentor. Richards didn’t react to Bostock either as he rambled on.

  “……and as for you Alex you should know better. Poking your nose into things that could get a lot of people killed” Bostock stopped and looked at Richards with a sick sort of smile then slowly started nodding his head. “You sti
ll haven’t figured it out have you? Why I took the boy and destroyed his family?”

  “To blow up Downing Street” replied Richards shrugging his shoulders.

  “You see Wyre everything we do here has a reason. We’re not just thugs with a taste for killing. I

  suppose you could say we’re killers trying to protect the people of this country and its beliefs”

  “Bullshit!” retorted Wyre still focusing his attention on Oliver.

  Bostock’s attempts to hold court and wander around the room were curtailed by Richards who pointed his weapon at him and ordered him to take his seat at the table. Alex was now transferring information between his and Bostock’s phone using Bluetooth which began to annoy Bostock that nobody in the room seemed interested in what he had to say. He was used to respect but here there was none.

  “Listen Alex you still have a chance to get yourself and those two out of here. You know nothing so why don’t you leave it that way and get the fuck out of here before you’re in too deep”

  “You piece of shit what do you mean in too deep? You’ve taken my family away, tortured my son how deep do you fucking want us?”

  Bostock laughed and searched his pockets for a cigar.

  “Wyre don’t let him wind you up” said Alex turning around to re-assure him and urging him not to take the bait. “When this is done we’re going so get Oliver ready to leave”

  Wyre stood up still holding Oliver in his arms and watched as Richards removed the SIM card from Bostock’s phone. Glancing at Wyre, Richards indicated to him it was ok to leave and he would follow. As Wyre approached the door to the apartment the sound of a weapon striking someone across the face and a cry of pain could be heard. Wyre’s stomach turned, partly through satisfaction and partly through hope that maybe the whole situation was coming to an end. At least if Richards killed Bostock one of the largest fears in Wyre’s life would be eliminated and the person calling the shots in this depraved organisation would be gone. Richards was right in that it was better if he killed Bostock. Wyre was still struggling with the fact that he had actually shot someone even if it was Bostock. A killer Wyre wasn’t. His priority now was to get Oliver to Dr Montgomery for a blood transfusion.