“Hard man to get hold of. I don’t know, we play a game and you don’t follow the rules. Rule number one; I call, you answer immediately. Even if you are taking a piss and it's running down your pants, you piss and talk at the same time. Do you hear me?”
“I’m sorry. Please forgive me. I lost my phone and when I-” Guz said as his throat dried up. His hands shook as he held the phone to his ear. The trees started blurring as his head lightened with the heat. He scratched the rising heat that was crawling up his neck. The sun had now crept over; he flinched at the light that reflected off his silver car. He cleared his throat. “It won’t happen again.”
“If it does happen again there will be a forfeit. Your little flat will turn into a big barbecue and you will be its prize meat. Do we understand each other? Pass the message on to your stupid brother. Not only will I barbecue you all, I will then feed you all to my dog.” He said before erupting into laughter.
“Your dog eat them for dinner. That's a good one,” he heard one of The Boss's henchmen repeat before joining in with the laughter. It sounded like Scrawny. For a moment he was transported back to the basement office. Claustrophobic, alone, trapped. All this land surrounding him and he felt trapped.
He took a deep breath and croaked. “We have something coming in today, something good. Six of them. Goods, passports, money and I am assured that there are women. Young women.”
“Make sure they are good enough to sell, the better quality, the higher the price. I have an order for the passports already. We'll collect them from the farm house,” he ordered. “I will collect the girls before sun up; they have to go as soon as possible."
“Yeah. We enjoy these visits,” the other voice shouted and jeered.
He heard someone humming down the line, a woman. “Anyway, my massage has arrived. Rule number two, get me the goods. If you win the game; you live, I get the goods and I even pay you well and then we play the game all over again. In this game, we are all winners.” He hung up. Guz allowed the phone to slip from his fingers onto the ground. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath. The sun was stalking him. He needed to get up, set the weapons.
“Next time, this is the last time. There won’t be a next time,” he whispered with a smile. Scooping the phone back up he placed it in his pocket, stood and opened the boot. He took out the gun, the knives, the full syringes, some tape and the rope. With his sharpest knife he cut the rope into several lengths, these would be used to bind the cargo. He took out a large sports bag and placed everything into it. He then topped it off with some rags to gag them with, a packet of boiled sweets for himself, two large bottles of cola and an old green blanket to sit on.
He closed the boot and headed over towards the picnic area. From the cool box he took some bread and cheese and a few bags of crisps. It was going to be a long evening. He felt his shoulder twinge; he placed the bag down for a moment and rubbed the affected area. Walking closer to the water's edge he felt the spray from the waterfall. He sat and dangled his feet in the water. His phone sang.
He grabbed the mobile from his pocket and juggled it, almost dropping it in the water. His heart throbbed as he took a deep breath and gripped the phone in his hand. He held it to his ear, it was Sadik.
“Why the hell haven’t you been answering? All sorts of shit has been happening here. I lost the phone,” he cried.
“We, I mean I have been busy. Out doing things,”
“Doing things, really?”
“Yeah really. I just thought I’d call to say we’re on our way. Celile is driving.”
“Yeah, yeah, whatever. I’ve done all the work as usual and you and Celile get to have a nice little day and a nice little drive. Had a nice day?"
“What the hell is in you? Remember it was you that got us all into this,” Sadik shouted as he cut the call.
“Well fuck you too,” Guz shouted as he threw the phone behind him, onto the ground, into a trail of ants. He watched as the ants crawled over it. They carried bits of leaf and followed a little trail that had just been interrupted by his phone. Ants crawling, his skin crawled. He scratched his arms hard until they were tender to touch.
For a while he would move over to the chairs and have a rest. He predicted that Celile and Sadik would be half an hour yet. Whilst they’d had an easy morning of lying about and screwing, he’d had another day from hell and he deserved a rest. He lifted his cold, wet legs from the water and staggered over to the nearest chair. He pulled his cap over his eyes and sat with his feet splayed out under the trees.
Chapter 15
Eve watched Selina twiddle the gold bracelet she had just bought from the gold store. They had been jumping about in the back of the jeep for several minutes and were now heading down a dirt track. Ryan had fallen asleep on the jeep floor and was bent over with his head in Stephen's lap. “I don’t know how he can sleep through this. I wish he’d move. He’s started to dribble on my leg.” Stephen said.
“Wait,” Rachel shouted. “Stop the jeep.”
Mehmet slammed on the brakes and the jeep carried on skidding down the dusty slide. It came to a stop next to a tortoise that ambled in front of them. “Are you alright?” He asked as he unbuckled his seat belt and walked around the jeep.
“I’m doing good.” Rachel shouted as she opened the back door and stepped out with a big smile on her face.
“I thought there was some emergency,” he said.
“There is. Have you seen how beautiful this waterfall is?” Her nose piercing glistened in the sun's ray that shone between the trees causing Mehmet to squint. “I really need some photos of this.” Out of the small case she pulled out her digital SLR and held it into position before beginning to focus and snap. Wandering off she was now almost out of view.
Eve stood and looked down as she stepped off the jeep. “I think I’m going to stretch my legs.”
“We have to get back for food. My father will be waiting,” he said as he checked his watch.
“Well I’m sure he can put it on hold for a few minutes,” Selina said as she held his hand.
“Well, just a few minutes.” He held her hand and began to walk off towards the water. “Ten minutes, then we have to go,” he shouted.
“I think I’ll stay here and chill. It’s too hot to move. Is it morning yet?” Ryan asked as he pulled up his cap revealing crumpled skin on the one side of his cheek.
“No, we’re still in the jeep,” Stephen replied. “Don’t worry, I’ll stay with him,” he signalled to Eve.
Kevin stepped off and walked over to Eve. “It’s beautiful. I’m glad we stopped.” He said as he stroked her hair. “Shall we walk down to see the waterfall?” Eve smiled and took his hand. They walked over the lumpy earth and through a thin dusty pathway that led to the fall. The water fell and crashed about fifty feet below. Eve’s legs buckled as she looked down, she held onto Kevin tighter.
White spray crashed onto the rocks that lined the fall and sprinkled them with cold water. Eve held out her hands and enjoyed the feeling of being closer to its coolness. Kevin joined her. A large splash landed on the side of his head, catching him in the eye. He removed his glasses and dried them on his tee-shirt then smiled as Eve wiped away the wetness. She looked into his eyes; the sun was positioned behind him like a halo. She touched his fresh shaven face and he moved towards her and kissed her. She responded back, feeling his soft face against hers. He had this way with her, every touch, every breath and every look provoked a response. Lust and more. She thought back to the night before and their love making and enjoyed the moment of closeness with him. “I can’t wait to get back," he whispered as he pushed his fingers up through the back of her damp hair knocking her hat off. She left the hat on the floor and enjoyed the feel of his hands and the little tickles that massaged her head.
“Smile,” Rachel shouted as she snapped away. Eve moved back from Kevin and picked up her hat. He placed his glasses back on.
“She knows how to ruin a moment,” Eve said.
<
br /> “She certainly does,” he replied.
“That one’s going on Facebook as soon as I get the opportunity,” Rachel shouted as she passed them and headed downwards.
“Are you feeling a bit better now after earlier?” Kevin asked as he straightened her hat up.
“I think so,” she replied as she thought about the watermelon seller’s face. Maybe there was a reasonable explanation as to why he seemed scared. “I worry. I mean he just worried me; I was probably being silly. Anyway, I must try to call Harry again,” she said as she leant forward and kissed Kevin before heading back up the dirt path. He followed closely, she held her hand behind her and they linked their fingers together. In her other hand, she held out her mobile phone in front of her. “I can’t seem to get a signal. I’m just going to have a quick walk around, see if I can find one.” She let go of Kevin’s hand and carried on ahead without him. She watched as Mehmet’s phone went off, he had a signal where he was. Selina had walked back to the jeep and was sitting in the passenger seat ready to go.
Eve hurried over to where Mehmet was standing next to a little stone recess. He shouted down the phone in Turkish and she heard someone shout back. He began to pace the floor and move his arms violently as he spoke. As she approached he looked at her and then turned his whole body one hundred and eighty degrees so that all she could see was his back. He scrunched his fist up as he replied. Tension caused the veins on his neck to protrude.
She had a signal. It was only one bar but it was all she had. She selected Harry's number and it rang. Answer phone. Infuriated, Eve tried again and again until eventually it rang. “Hello, it's early,” Ellen said. It was her, his wife.
“Can I speak to Harry?” Eve knew full well they would be up early and out as Justin had always been an early riser when they had been in a relationship.
“I’ll find out for you,” was the frosty reply. Eve waited; she could hear muttering in the background. Wishing they would hurry up, she looked up at Mehmet. He shouted one last time and hung up.
“We’ve got to go.” Mehmet shouted.
“Just a few more pictures,” Rachel called back.
“We haven’t got time.” He snapped.
“Hang on, we're paying you for your time,” Rachel yelled back as she neared Mehmet.
“I’m sorry. What I meant is your dinner is ready and it will be spoiled,” he replied.
Selina got out of the jeep and walked over. “You can be so self-centred sometimes Rachel. It’s not fair to keep the chef waiting,” she said as she stared at Rachel.
“Whatever. He can wait another minute or two,” she snapped back as she wandered over to a flowering bush and took another photo.
Eve began to pick her nail, worried she may not be granted permission to speak with her son. “Mummy,” Harry shouted. “I’ve just had pancakes for breakfast and now we're at the fair. I can go on the roundabout. I’m going to ride on the horse, it’s really big.” She smiled as a small tear fell from the corner of her eye. She wiped it away.
“That’s good Baby. Mummy misses you lots,” she replied as the signal dropped. There was a crackle on the line. She could no longer hear her son. “Harry. Harry,” she shouted. The signal came back.
“Mummy, Daddy said can you call me tonight about nine?” He said with his little voice. She imagined him smiling and happy to be going on the ride and only wished she was there to share his experience.
“Of course I will. I’ll call you later. Mummy loves you lots. Mummy loves you big mountains,” she said as another tear rolled down her face.
“We have to go,” Mehmet shouted. Eve held her hand up to dismiss his comment.
“I love you big mountains too Mummy. Bye,” he said as the call ended. She felt a warm touch on her arm. Kevin held her. He knew how it hurt her to be apart from Harry. He rubbed her arm as he held her tight.
“Please, we have to go,” Mehmet shouted.
“Alright, we’re coming” replied Eve as they both stepped over the undergrowth to take a short cut back to the jeep.
Chapter 16
Guz jumped away from his fold up chair as he slapped his arm. His heart pounded hard and his mouth was dry. He cowered into the shade, the sun had blinded him. After taking a few deep breaths, he pulled a crumpled tissue from his pocket and mopped his drizzling brow. He checked his watch. Sadik had been over an hour and the tourists were late. What was taking them all so long? He knew the answer to that question only too well. He pulled the phone from his pocket, no signal. As he walked back towards the car the signal came back. He rubbed the bite on his arm. A livid red hive had appeared. “Shitty forest.”
He called Sadik, no answer. They were half an hour away an hour ago. Had they stopped to have a sexual rendezvous or had something happened? Maybe a break down. He had told Sadik on several occasions to get his crappy little car serviced. He imagined it to have chugged to a standstill in the middle of nowhere. Him and Celile calling one of their friends and panicking that they couldn’t get hold of him. He looked at his phone, there were no missed calls, no texts; not his preferred choice of communication but he checked his e-mail. There were no e-mails from Sadik. Did he want a penis extension or some black market Viagra? “Not today,” he said as he closed his e-mails and tried to call Sadik again. It rang.
“We’re five minutes away. Are they there yet?”
“No. They are not here yet. And neither are you,” Guz shouted. He heard Celile whisper and the phone get muffled.
Sadik cleared his throat. “We stopped to get a drink, it’s really hot.”
“No shit.” Guz shouted, shaking as he clasped the phone to his ear. “Do you think I’m sat here under a fan drinking beer? I’ve been humping ‘happy day out’ crap for these bloody tourists through shit and bushes all day and you stop for a fucking drink. Just hurry the hell up. More than five minutes and The Boss will be the least of your problems.” He hung up and placed the phone back in his pocket.
Shaking with rage, his red face began to sweat even more. He took the tissue from his pocket and wiped his face again. The tissue fibres rolled up and stuck to his neck and became entwined in his coarse stubble. “Fuck this, fuck it all.” He would ‘do today,’ one last job and he would go. Tomorrow he would be Gerhard and he had decided Celile would come; he wouldn't give her a choice. Stuff blood, Sadik was no more than water. He would get rid of him. His betrayal was too much to take. Stuff family, stuff them all. Celile would be punished, she would come and she would learn to love him, she would have to love him. He yelled and his legs buckled. He sat on the dusty ground next to his car and stared at the trees as he contemplated the big night ahead, the biggest yet.
He had eight thousand Euros saved and an I.D. He had enough to go, to start a new life. He closed his eyes and visualised him and Celile in an apartment somewhere nice. She was making bread and cutting up tomatoes. His breathing deepened, he shuffled back and lay his head against his car in the shade and closed his eyes. He felt wet mucous drip down his nose; he left it there. He was far too relaxed to remove it.
In his thoughts, she was making coffee and chopping hard. How could she make coffee and chop at the same time. The chopping became more rhythmic and he realised he was in bed. She on top of him, thrusting her naked body hard into him. Then he flashed back to the kitchen, tomatoes. Then back, flesh. He allowed his hands to cup her breasts, his breathing quickened and as he was about to find a release: Slam. A hard slam. Beneath him, he saw Celile holding the knife and laughing. In her hand she held his penis, dripping with blood. Small and fleshy and bloody. He gasped and opened his eyes. Once again he had dozed off. What had it all meant? “What does it all mean Celile?” He whispered as he took a deep breath. And, what was happening to him? That was twice he had fallen asleep within the hour. It was almost as if reality was mixing with fantasy. He dry heaved. Trembling, he stood and took a warm bottle of cola off the passenger seat and drank for what seemed like ages. He couldn’t allow himself to become any more d
ehydrated than he already was. He shook his head and checked his watch. Several minutes had passed.
In the distance he heard an engine humming. It was too far a way to know if it was the jeep or Sadik and Celile. He threw the cola onto the back seat, locked the car and ran. If it was the jeep, they couldn’t see him. He held his breath, ran fast and threw himself down behind a tree and some dense foliage. The vehicle got closer. He exhaled, it was Sadik and Celile. Relieved, he panted as he staggered back towards the car.
“We’re here Brother. What do you want me to start with?” Sadik called. Guz stared at Celile. One sign, one give-away. Her hair was neatly pinned into a bun; her aviator glasses concealed any truths that her eyes would’ve revealed. Her denim shorts, zipped up to the top were all clean and tidy and her body looked freshly moisturised. No evidence of tampering. He held out his hand and took off her sunglasses.
She grabbed them back off him, “I can’t see without them,” she said as she placed them back on.
“The barbecue is set up. You need to wait here, greet them and feed them. Encourage them to relax, wander, and drink. When it gets darker, that is when I will have them.” Guz grabbed the sports bag from the floor, grabbed his sunglasses and cap and left them. “I will see you later when we are done. Make it good. Remember, there is a lot at stake here. I’m going to be here all the time, in the background, watching, waiting, watching,” he realised he was rambling on. He turned his back and began to walk. In the distance he heard the jeep hopping over the lumpy ground. They were coming. “A lot at stake,” he shouted as he hurried until he could no longer be seen where he sat in his spot. In his spot is where he would remain until he could take them out or bind them up. The last job and then he would a free man. He smiled.
Chapter 17
“Do you have any water?” Asked Selina.
Whispers Beneath the Pines Page 8