Shelly flinched, then watched as he placed the guard to look like he’d fallen down the stairs and caved his head in on the corner of the staircase.
Stepping back, he looked at the body, studied the angle of the fall from all directions then, nodding his satisfaction, he then turned to Shelly. ‘OK, it's your call. You either get out of here as if you’ve never been, or you carry on with what you came to do. Make your mind up while I wash this.’
Taking the candlestick into the small toilet and washroom off the library, he ran the tap until the water was scalding hot, then washed the tiny fragments of bone, flesh and spots of blood off the candlestick, making sure that it was spotless as he dried it.
Returning it to its place, he said to Shelly, ‘Well?’
Shelly lifted her head, and with a look of pure determination said, ‘I came here to do something, and I’m not going until it’s finished, one way or another. I won’t be happy until I see this hell hole burnt to the ground, and those bastards with it.’
He nodded. ‘OK, just let me finish up here.’
Walking over to the body, he lifted the head up and with both hands squeezed the flesh on each side of the wound, draining as much blood out as he could.
‘What the...?’
‘Last thing we want is anyone to think that he was dead before he hit his head.’
Shelly swallowed hard. ‘I suppose so.’
He smiled. ‘Right. I suggest I take you into his room, see if he wants you.’
Shelly shivered, remembering the last time she’d been in the Leader's bedroom.
‘You sure about this?’ Mitch asked her.
‘Yes… No… Yes.’ Holding her head high, the last 'yes' was spoken with great determination.
He shrugged. ‘But only if you’re certain, girl. Me, I would get the hell outta here now if I was you.’
She shook her head adamantly. ‘No.’
‘OK, but you know there isn’t a lot I can do except wait outside the door to help you if you succeed.’
‘If I succeed, what will the plan be then?’
‘Then we let these poor bastards go. Might have to kill some of the hired guns first, but I think I’ll be able to talk them round. What would be the point of staying, unless one of those jerks wanted to set themselves up as the kingpin? Doubt it, though. The best thing is to get outta here and hope they’re never traced again.’
‘What if they want to kill those in the drug sheds, so that they will never be recognised?’
‘We’ll cross that when we come to it… For now?’ He raised one eyebrow in a question.
‘I’m ready,’ she replied, the determination flooding back into her eyes. ‘Take me in.’
CHAPTER FORTY-ONE
Kirill Tarasov watched from the veranda of his apartment as family members started leaving for their places of origin. Five helicopters waited in the hotel heliport. Two had already left. One of those had been transporting his daughter and son home.
Which is just as well, he thought, his hands squeezing the cushion from the chair at his side. He was staying on for another few days. He had a meeting scheduled with a very important woman tomorrow.
And now as he watched two other helicopters take to the sky, his thoughts were once again focused on the only woman he had ever in his whole life loved.
Why, he asked himself, what had been so different about her that she stood out from countless other women around the world?
How has she managed to stay hidden this long?
True, I gave up the search years ago.
But still rather amazing that with all my resources, I still couldn’t find her.
He turned away from the view and went inside. A small brandy was needed before he paid a visit to his illegal son. A visit he had been putting off for the last couple of hours, because he truly didn’t know what to do, and this was a situation he hated. He liked to be in charge, was used to being in charge. He drank the brandy down in one quick angry gulp.
Making his way upstairs, he opened the door to the locked room. Stepping inside, he blinked twice as his brain caught up with his eyes. The bed was empty, and the handcuffs were lying in the middle of the white sheet.
‘Where the hell...?’ he muttered, going over to the bed in disbelief.
Ten minutes later he was stamping back and forth in front of seven agents, waving his arms in the air, and demanding over and over how Mike Yorke had managed to escape from a locked room while handcuffed to a bed.
‘You.’ He swung round and addressed Josh Millar. ‘Where the fuck have you been all day, you must have seen something?’
Keeping his head down, Josh said, ‘No, sir. We’ve been busy getting people onto the helicopters.’
‘You, then.’ He pointed to a short, balding man standing next to Stone. ‘I thought you were in charge of the security cameras.’
‘Yes, sir, but nothing unusual was noted.’
‘Go through them again. And again, until you find something. It must be there on tape.’
‘Yes, sir.’ He turned and headed upstairs, followed by the agent who had been standing at the other end.
‘Fucking useless, the lot of you. What the fuck are we paying you for, when a man chained to a bed actually escapes, and no one sees him go? Impossible. It has to be an inside job.’
‘Sir, we searched the grounds,’ Agent Millar said, ‘as soon as we found out and…nothing.’
'It’s an inside job. He’s had help. Got to have had. Do your fucking job and find out who. Bring his…or her...head to me, or else I’ll have all of yours, every fucking one of you.’
The agents scattered to begin the search again, knowing that Tarasov was quite capable of carrying out his threat.
CHAPTER FORTY-TWO
Shelly followed Mitch as he left the lift and strode down the corridor to the Leader's room. Inside, she was as determined as ever to see it through, though outwardly she appeared nervous. She knew this because her hands were shaking, but knowing the way that things were run around here, she reasoned that a show of nerves wasn’t a bad thing. To appear too cocky in any way would only anger the bastard.
Outside the door, Mitch whispered, ‘Last chance to back out. I can still get you away from here, without anyone ever knowing you were here. Don’t worry about that jerk who brought you in, he’ll have forgotten about you already.’ He put his hand on her shoulder. ‘Really, Shelly, you don’t have to do this.’
Shelly took a deep breath, pursed her lips and took a step forward.
Taking that as her answer, Mitch knocked on the door.
‘Come,’ they both heard, a second later.
Mitch turned the handle and they both went inside. The Leader was lying stretched out on a queen-size bed, white silk sheets and red velvet hangings tied back with golden ropes. He was naked and lying on his stomach. Two slave girls, one at each side of him, were massaging his back. The look on his face was that of a man who had spent forever frowning at people.
‘Ah, a newbie.’ He grinned and Shelly felt sick inside.
‘Come here, girl, stand in front of me.’
Shelly moved forward, her hands in her pockets. With her thumb and finger she started to twist the top of the pen.
‘So, girl, you have a name?’
‘S…Susan,’ Shelly said, knowing she’d nearly made a big mistake, by saying her real name. So far the blonde hair is throwing him off, but if I’d said my real name, he might have looked harder.
Be careful. Think things through beforehand.
What the fuck’s the matter with this? She thought, as the lid on the insulin pen was proving to be stubborn.
Beginning to panic, she gripped the lid tighter and twisted. Another wash of panic swept over her as the lid refused to move. Fucking hell. Her heart began to race.
He sat up. ‘Go now.’ He looked at the slave girls, then at Mitch. ‘You as well, out now.’
‘Yes, my Leader,’ they said in unison as they backed out of the room.
‘No!’ Shelly said, her eyes wide in horror as she stared at the Leader.
Thinking this was all part of her plan, Mitch left the room.
Feeling trapped the moment she heard the door close behind them, Shelly backed away, her eyes widening as the Leader got off the bed and stepped towards her.
What the fuck am I gonna do now?
‘Take your coat off, Susan… In fact, take everything off.’
She froze, then shook her head.
‘You shake your head? What do you think you’re here for? Ah, yes. Lured by the offer of free drugs.’ He laughed, and it sent a chill through Shelly’s bones. ‘There’s plenty of them. But first, a small thing like payment.’
He was beside her now.
Why the hell did I think I could get away with this?
It was bound to go wrong.
Frantically she twisted the lid on her pen as he drew closer.
CHAPTER FORTY-THREE
‘So what we gonna do now?’ Danny demanded. ‘How we gonna get her outta that hell hole?’ He looked around at them all. Some met his eyes, some couldn’t. All of them looked worried.
‘Oh, for fuck's sake,’ he went on. ‘You're using her as a scapegoat, aren’t you!’ He laughed a harsh, heartbreaking laugh as he looked at them. ‘And here’s me thinking you’re the good guys, huh? Wrong again. There’s a surprise.’
‘No, Danny.’ Aunt May rose. ‘Nothing of the bloody kind at all. It’s the last bloody thing we would do. Shelly has done this entirely off her own back. Do you honestly think we would be so cruel as to send someone in, when there is no hope of ever getting out of the bloody stinking hell hole?’
Seeing his face drop at Aunt May’s words, Ella jumped quickly in. ‘Mitch is in there, Danny. He’ll do his best to talk her out of it, and get her out of there.’
‘You just don’t have any idea of what really goes on in there, do you? No idea at all.’ Danny spoke from his heart, remembering his time in the monastery, remembering all the dead faces of the young people in there, soulless eyes with no hope at all.
‘Oh, yes we do,’ Coral said, nodding knowingly at him. ‘Most of us have been there. Trust me.’
Danny stared at them. ‘Really? I…I didn’t know…' He looked at the floor for a moment then, lifting his head, he said, ‘So what chance do you think she has of getting out of there alive?’
Ah, Danny, Mike was thinking, trust you to ask the impossible question. Because really she has no chance.
Sadly he went into the kitchen for a drink of water. As the glass was filling, his thoughts jumped back to Aunt May. He was still reeling from the fact that she was more or less in charge of all this.
How has she managed to keep it a secret all this time?
And Tony, where the hell does he fit into this jigsaw?
He felt a presence at his side, and looked down to see Aunt May looking up at him.
‘Tony is with us, Mike.’
Mike stepped back just as the water flowed over the glass and soaked his hand.
How does she do that? he wondered. Seems like she’s always reading my friggin' mind, ever since we were kids. It seemed like she knew what we were up to before we did.
Turning the tap off, he put the glass down and reached for a piece of kitchen roll. All the time his eyes never left Aunt May’s.
‘Why did you leave me out?’
‘It wasn’t a question of bloody well leaving you out, Mike… It just wasn’t the time to include you.’
‘Ah, but it was time to include Tony.’
‘His place of work made him a necessity.’
‘So you’re saying I’m a liability.’
‘Far from it, Mike. You’re a good man. A very good man, with a heart of gold… And you were always going to be a part of it. But you are also a bloody loose cannon, you always have been. A bit like Shelly, really. We couldn’t afford to bring you in until the time was right.’
‘And that’s now?’
She nodded. Opening her arms, she added, ‘I’m worried sick for Shelly. I could do with a bloody big hug, Mike.’
Without hesitation, Mike put his arms around the only mother he had ever known.
‘Any idea where the new monastery is?’ he asked.
‘Yes, we’ve had our eye on it for a few weeks now. And Mitch is a good man.’
‘OK, give me directions, and keep the others off my back.’
‘Mike!’
‘Gotta help her, Aunt May, you know this.’
‘But--’
‘No buts, love. Can’t leave her to the wolves without at least giving it a try.’
Aunt May gave the directions to Mike, and the door had just closed behind him when Smiler entered the kitchen. His first words on seeing her alone were, ‘Where’s Mike?’
‘He’s just popped to the shop. Actually going to buy himself a packet of bloody cigarettes, would you believe it?’ Spinning him round, she ushered him towards the sitting room.
‘But--’
‘No buts, love.’ She repeated what Mike had just said to her with a smile.
CHAPTER FORTY-FOUR
Tony left the pet shop in Soho long after the three men had gone. He’d also let Muriel get off early, more than an hour ago. Ever since then, he’d sat deliberating all that had been said between them.
Like the families, these three, although good men, had their heads in the clouds. Unlike Aunt May, who knew without being told that a seamless transition would take years, the mopping up even longer.
He walked along to the end of the street and looked across at the Palace Theatre. Tony really loved old buildings, and this was one of his favourites.
If only I had time, he thought. Sighing, he turned and headed for the car park.
Reaching his car, a blue Mercedes, he failed to notice the hooded youth until he stepped out in front of him.
‘This here your car?’ the youth, white, with a face full of spots, demanded with a surly voice.
‘What’s it to you?’
Tony weighed the youth up. Dressed in the usual get-up of blue hoodie, jeans and white trainers, he was skinny, almost emaciated. Therefore he must have a weapon, or a back-up somewhere close, ‘cos this toe rag couldn’t skim the skin from a rice pudding.
‘Just asking.’
‘OK. On your way.’
The sound of Tony’s mobile, loud in the enclosed space, startled them both. Always on the ready. Tony made a show of going for his mobile, but instead drew his gun.
The youth, pale to begin with, turned practically chalk white when he saw the gun. Gulping hard he turned and fled, his trainers making a flapping noise. Obviously one of the soles was loose. Reaching the stairs, he never even turned to look back, just headed on down as fast as he could.
‘Hmm,’ Tony muttered. ‘Must have been genuinely interested. Still, can’t be too careful in this business.' He got quickly into his car and drove out of the car park, taking care to note everything around him in case the kid came back with a gang.
It wasn’t until he was on the motorway that he pulled over in to a rest stop and took his mobile out. He smiled when caller ID said Susan Cleverly.
‘Hello lovely, what you got?’
‘Hello back… Cox is going to be just fine.’
‘Well, thank God for that. We’re certainly going to need him in the coming times.’
‘Thought you would be pleased. Might be a month or so before he’s back on his feet. But I’ve got plenty armed protection around him, all our own men.’
‘Good. I’ll be back up your way in a day or two. See you then, and once again…good work.’
‘Cheers.’
He closed the phone with a smile, a picture of Susan Cleverly in his mind. Starting the car he headed to Norwich where, no doubt, Mike would be waiting, and wanting answers to questions.
CHAPTER FORTY-FIVE
Shelly stared in horror at the Leader, her heartbeat steadily mounting as her fingers worked frantically on the lid.
/> Open, please open.
For fuck’s sake.
Don’t let it all be in vain.
Please, if there is anybody up there...
But her silent pleas went unanswered.
Outside, Mitch paced the corridor. He didn’t know what to do. His instinct told him to go in and help the girl, his training told him not to, but to see things through, whatever the outcome.
Torn in half, he turned and punched the wall.
What if, by some miracle, she succeeds? Then it’s a whole big problem sorted. If I interfere, and it goes wrong, because he could summon help in a moment, one press of the many emergency buttons around his bedroom, then everything we’ve worked for all these years could be blown.
Is the risk worth it?
A hell of a lot of people have died for the cause, and it could take years to get someone back in here.
What the hell to do?
The Leader stroked Shelly’s arm with his right hand, cupping her chin with his left.
‘Don’t be frightened, little bird,’ he murmured softly, a smirk on his face. ‘Let me feel your heart.’ Knowing her heart would be beating twice its normal rate, he moved his hand from her chin, ran it over her breast… Suddenly, he froze.
Her jaw dropped a second later when she realised that he had finally recognised her. Shelly panicked.
Pulling the pen out of her pocket, she used her other hand to yank the lid off just as the Leader's hands went round her throat. Immediately he began to squeeze.
‘You had me fooled, peasant. But how long did you think it would last?’ He shook her, hard. ‘Bitch, you know without a doubt what’s going to happen now, don’t you? Answer me!’
She managed with great difficulty to give a very brief nod, but he could tell in her eyes she knew full well what was going to happen to her now. For a brief moment, dozens of faces flashed across his mind, all of them dead.
‘So much sweeter.’ He almost whispered his delight. ‘Such a pretty, pretty girl.’
Holy Island Trilogy 03 - The Final Countdown Page 14