Crash Course

by Derek Fee

  Safardi fired a volley of shots in Kane’s direction and immediately dived for cover again.

  Ignacio and Gonzalo took cover behind two large pines. Ignacio signalled to his comrade to carry out a circling movement. Slowly they began to creep through the thick grass towards their target.

  Kane turned back to where the inert figure of Morweena lay in the centre of the clearing. He slipped quickly from beneath the cork oak and squirmed through the flat grass on his belly towards his fallen lover.

  Morweena lay perfectly still on the ground in the centre of the clearing. The firing had stopped momentarily but she decided not to raise her head. Suddenly the firing broke out again and she pressed herself into the soft grass. She heard the screams of men and tears began to mingle with the sweat running down her cheeks. It was unreal. She tried to close her ears to the screams but then wondered whether one of the men who had been hurt was Mark. She thought she heard him call her name but a fresh burst of firing caused her to push her face further into the earth. Her body began to shake with fear and then she felt a hand on her side.

  “Morweena, darling.” Kane stroked her, feeling her warm flesh beneath his hand. “Are you hurt?”

  Slowly Morweena lifted her face up from the grass. She reached her hands around his neck and began to cry softly. “Mark, thank God it’s over,” she said holding him close.

  “Listen, Morweena.” He pressed his face close to her ear and whispered. “It’s not over yet. Pedro and some of the other men are dead but Safardi, Hackett and at least four of his men are still around. Stay here and remain perfectly still.” He kissed her on the cheek and slid away towards the lagoon.

  Safardi was about to stand up when he felt Hackett’s hand pulling him down. “We need to pull back and get out of here.” He whipped the walkie-talkie from the pocket of his jacket.

  “Carlos,” he shouted breathlessly.

  “Si, patron,” Carlos’ voice came over the speaker.

  “Traer el coche aqui.” He slithered on his belly in the direction of the hut, closely followed by Hackett.

  When Carlos turned the ignition key, the capacitor began climbing towards its full charge. He had pulled the car away from its hiding place when a spark from the capacitor ignited the gas at the top of the can of lighter fuel and a blue flame snaked through the boot. Carlos heard the light thud in the rear of the car as he drove towards their base beside the hut. He saw his patron squatting directly in front of the hut and drove directly for him.

  Safardi watched the approach of the BMW. Kane was but a flea on the backside of the world. He nodded to Hackett. “Time to go.”

  “I’m going nowhere. I came for Kane and when I get him, I’ll go.”

  “We’ve got the drugs. You’ll get another shot at Kane.”

  “You do what you want. I’m not leaving here with Kane alive.” Hackett squirmed around the side of the hut.

  There was an inferno inside the boot of the car as the fire sucked up all the available oxygen creating a partial vacuum which began siphoning petroleum gas through the hole which Kane had cut in the tank.

  “Let’s go.” Safardi jumped into the passenger seat as soon as Carlos brought the BMW to a stop. “Let’s get the hell out of here.”

  Carlos nodded and moved the car forward when a ball of intense heat shot from the rear and the fuel tank exploded. By the time the explosion came, Safardi and Carlos were already enshrouded in sheets of flame. The air was filled with overpowering heat. Safardi tried to breathe but the conflagration had sucked all the oxygen in the car and he inhaled pure fire burning his lungs to a crisp. He turned and saw Carlos slumped in the driver’s seat, the hair on the top of his head burning like a Christmas candle. There was a whoosh of flame and Safardi screamed noiselessly as his body was incinerated.

  Kane heard the explosion and knew that his surprise package had worked. He wondered whether any of Safardi’s men had been caught by the blaze. It was better to assume that they hadn’t. So as far as he was concerned, there were still four men to be taken care of before Morweena and he were safe. He worked his way towards the lagoon and quietly slipped into the warm waters.

  Ignacio was working his way along the edge of the lagoon circling the position where they had last seen the shooter. He heard the explosion in the distance and wondered what could have caused it. The explosion was followed by shouting and screaming. Perhaps their enemy was already dead. The thought made Ignacio unhappy. He had already decided that he would be the one to kill the shooter and obtain his boss’s grateful thanks. The man should by rights be already dead had Pedro not gone into the clearing against him. The Colombian had been a fearsome character among Safardi’s guards who were themselves no angels. If the man had managed to kill Pedro, anything was possible. Ignacio continued his circling manoeuvre sticking as close as possible to the edge of the lagoon. The tall grass would hide him from the view of anyone near the clearing. As he ended his circle and began to move towards the centre of the glade, the water behind him erupted and he whirled in time for a sea monster to plant a knife up to the hilt between the sixth and seventh ribs and then up into his heart. The stricken man tried to scream but his assailant’s left hand was clamped firmly around his mouth. His feet thrashed at the water as the light began to fade from his eyes and his dark red life’s blood oozed from his heart and into the blue waters of the lagoon.

  “Que pasa, Ignacio?” the voice of Gonzalo was soft and sibilant.

  Kane let Ignacio’s inert body slide downwards and slip into the still water of the lagoon. He stepped out of the water and slipped in behind a thick copse of cork oak which shot out horizontally two feet above the ground.

  Gonzalo padded softly towards the area where he had heard the noise in the water. He brushed aside the bushes which barred his path letting them slide back gently. Loud shouts came from the area of the birdwatcher’s hut and Gonzalo wondered if the fight was over. As he turned to listen, a strong hand clamped his mouth and he could feel the cold steel of a knife against his throat.

  “Drop the Uzi,” Kane ordered, increasing the pressure on the blade against the man’s throat.

  Gonzalo did not understand the words but he understood the increase in pressure of the knife. The hunt was over and the prey had won. He let his Uzi fall to the ground where it quickly lost itself in the thick foliage.

  Kane removed a Glock 17 from a holster at Gonzalo’s side. He crashed the gun into the back of his head before removing the knife from his throat. Gonzalo slipped from his grasp.

  Morweena still lay stretched on the ground in the glade.

  “You can get up now,” Kane said softly.

  Morweena stood. Kane was dripping wet, his clothes sticking to his muscular torso. “Is it over?” she asked.

  “There might still be some of them about,” he said, putting his arm around her shoulder.

  “What was the explosion?”

  “I left a present for Safardi in the trunk of the car. Somehow, I had the feeling that we wouldn’t get out of this so easily. I prepared for that eventuality.”

  “How very professional of you.” She shivered involuntarily in his arms.

  The faint sound of sirens could be heard in the distance.

  Kane looked at his watch. The second hand wasn’t moving; a consequence of the dip in the lagoon. “What time is it?”

  “I don’t know, why?”

  “If you listen very carefully, you can hear the cavalry in the shape of Superintendent Davenport of the Metropolitan Police, thank God.” He heard a sound behind him,

  whirled around and brought up his Glock at the same time. He found himself looking into the muzzle of a Beretta. Veeral Hackett had a smile on his face.

  “We been here before, mon. But this time you different. I see in your eyes that you don’t want to die no more. I like that. Now when I kill you, it won’t be suicide.”

  The two men fired together.

  Chapter Fifty-Five

  Kane was concentrating wi
th all his might while Morweena gave the black and red coloured Kernow full throttle as it raced neck and neck with Nippon and Finnspeed down the last lap of the Spanish leg of the European Offshore Championship. It had been a gruelling race and every bone in his body ached. There were six miles to go and it was anybody’s race. He looked across the cockpit. Their boat was being buffeted about like a shuttlecock. It was difficult to tell who was in the lead but he felt that they had the advantage. The three race-leaders were bunched together as they neared the mile marker. Kane tried to respond when he saw Hakonen pull ahead but he hit a wave that threw the boat off-balance. Morweena re-established the trim but they had lost vital metres. Hakonen crossed the line metres ahead of Kernow with Tedeka third.

  “Shit!” Morweena fell back in her chair and looked at Kane.

  He extended his hand and pulled Morweena towards him. “It was that close. Nobody could deny us a kiss.” He pulled her into his arms and they kissed.

  “Well done, great race” David’s voice came over the intercom from the circling helicopter overhead. “Stop that bloody cuddling and get that damn boat back to the marina so we can get on with the celebrations.”

  They looked upwards as the helicopter bearing David and Tom whirled towards the coast of Catalonia.

  “No commitments, remember.” Morweena opened the throttle and they began to move gently forward. “I still sometimes shudder when I think how close we came to death in the Doñana.”

  “We may have to review that policy,” Kane said, steering the boat for the old marina in the Port of Barcelona. He knew that he had located a rare jewel in Morweena Penhalion. They were alive and in love and victorious without a single cloud on the horizon. He couldn’t remember a similar set of circumstances in his whole life. He had already consigned Hackett, Safardi, and his henchmen to the garbage dump of history and he had begun the process of exorcising the rest of the ghosts who had been his constant companions.

  They travelled slowly towards the marina. There were hordes of well-wishers waving enthusiastically from the hundreds of boats circling the port. A simple finish in the last race of the series at Bournemouth would put them in the top three. They would then have to begin preparing for the ultimate challenge – Key West.

  “Bloody incredible!” David pumped Kane’s hand and hugged Morweena as the boat was tied up in its berth. “Who would have believed that people who’ve been through what you have this week could go out and race in that fashion. Bloody magnificent.” David’s suntanned jowls lifted in a huge smile.

  “Well done, Mark.” Tom Bell extended his hand. “I was afraid that the saying by Confucius might turn out to be true. I’m sorry.”

  “I’m not.”

  “Will you ever be able to forgive me?” Bell said.

  “What for?”

  “I never meant to put either you or Morweena in mortal danger.”

  “I’ve never been happier in my life and I owe it all to you,”

  Doc walked along the marina and Kane went to meet him. They hugged.

  “They let you out,” Kane said. “How’s the head?”

  “The bastard might have killed me. I suppose I’m lucky it’s only a fractured skull.”

  “You’ll be off work for a while.”

  “Three months.”

  “I shouldn’t have been so rash.”

  “It’s who you are.”

  “I’ll change.”

  “It didn’t look like it out there.” Doc held out his hand. “I have somewhere to be.”

  Kane shook. “We’ll get together soon.”

  “Sure we will.”

  Morweena joined them. “Barrett will go down for the murder of Tom’s daughter,” Morweena said.

  Doc nodded. “The Spanish police picked him up yesterday.”

  “I could kill you two. But I understand it was your job.”

  Bell approached them and Morweena hugged him. “I’m glad you’ve got some closure,” she said.

  “Thank you, that’s very gracious after what I put you through.” Tom blushed through his sunburn.

  Doc tried to slip away and Kane caught his arm. Doc shook his head and Kane released him. He felt sad as he watched his former partner walk back along the marina.

  Morweena noticed Doc’s departure and the look on Kane’s face. She turned to Tom. “I suppose you’ll go back to running your business now.”

  “Aye,” he replied. “It’s what I’ve always done best. But David and I will announce a little merger after the prize giving. David’s agreed to sell me forty-nine per cent of Penhalion Marine. That’ll see off the sharks. The only problem is that I’ll need somebody to look after my shareholding. I don’t suppose you’d be interested, Mark?”

  “Why not. I don’t to have a job to go back to. It looks like Doc has already packed his bags.”

  “What do you mean?” Tom pointed to a group at the end of the wharf.

  Davenport was standing in the middle of them.

  “I’ve already told him that I’m through” Kane said. “He’s not happy but he’s certainly had his pound of flesh from me.” Kane looked at Morweena. “Can you continue putting up with me?”

  “Just about.”

  “Okay, Tom, It’s a deal. No strings attached.”

  “No strings attached.”

  “You’ve told them?” David asked.

  Tom nodded.

  “Well, let’s go, partner.” David began ushering the three of them forward. “We’re delaying the nice man on the podium from presenting the new Penhalion team with a big pot of money.”

  Author’s plea

  I hope that you enjoyed this book. As an indie author, I very much depend on your feedback to see where my writing is going. I would be very grateful if you would take the time to pen a short review. This will not only help me but will also indicate to others your feelings, positive or negative, on the work. Writing is a lonely profession, and this is especially true for indie authors who don’t have the backup of traditional publishers.

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  You can contact me at derekfee.com.

  About the Author

  Derek Fee is a former oil company executive and EU Ambassador. He is the author of seven non-fiction books and sixteen novels. Derek can be contacted at http://derekfee.com.