Fear of the Fathers: The Reiki Man Trilogy

by Dominic C. James

  “All clear sir,” a voice crackled back.

  “I’m sorry about this,” said Stone. “But I really have no choice.”

  “Wait!” said Kamal. “There is no need for this. The girl and her family will not talk. Look at them, they are scared to death. All they want is to go home and lead their lives. They are of no danger to you. I cannot talk either – who would listen to an assassin?”

  “I can’t take the risk,” said Stone. “It’s much neater like this. And anyway, she got to see them before the end. I’ll make it as painless as possible.” He pointed his pistol at Kamal’s head. A solitary bird twittered in the hedgerow.

  Kamal stared at him unblinking. “May the universe have mercy on you,” he said.

  Chapter 43

  Stella turned off the vacuum cleaner and put it back in the cupboard. Her flat, if not perfect, certainly looked a lot better than it had done an hour before. The coffee table was just a metal frame, and the stereo was dead, but everything else was working and whole. She was particularly thankful that the television had remained robust in the face of her mighty hurricane of frustration. Tags had been a great help, and any doubts she had about him were put to the back of her mind.

  “That should keep out the weather,” said Tags as he finished boarding up the small pane of glass that had been smashed. He stood up, lit a cigarette, and looked out onto the street below. “Looks like you’ve got a bit of a stalker.”

  “What do you mean?” said Stella, who was in the kitchen making more tea.

  “I mean the guy over the road in the silver Vectra. He’s been there all morning.”

  “It’s not a crime is it?” she said innocently. “He’s only parked up in the road. He could be waiting for someone. You’re very suspicious.”

  “That man is watching your flat, and you know it. So let’s sit down, have some tea, and you can tell me all about it.”

  Stella came out carrying two mugs. She was about to make another denial when she caught the severity of Tags look, and decided that being straight was the best option.

  Tags took his tea, thanked her, and sat down. Stella joined him.

  “You can trust me you know,” said Tags. “I’m on your side. I’m not doing all this for the good of my health.”

  “No, I know you’re not. But until you tell me the real reason you’re here, I’m not saying anything.”

  Tags held up his hands. “Alright,” he said. “You’ve got me. The reason I’m here is because Oggi asked me to watch over you. It was one of Stratton’s final requests to him, and he feels that he should honour it. He can’t do it himself, so he’s trusted me and the boys with it. Does that satisfy you?”

  “I suppose so,” shrugged Stella. “It makes sense. But at the moment I’m not sure about anything to be honest.”

  “So just tell me what’s happened,” said Tags. “And we’ll figure it out from there.”

  Stella hesitated for a moment. Tags, for all his kindness, was ultimately a stranger. Even if he was doing things on behalf of Oggi, could she fully trust him? What she really needed was Jennings. He was the only one. But in his absence, she had to make a choice. She looked Tags in the eye and decided to take the chance. “Okay,” she said. “It’s like this…”

  Tags listened intently as she told him about Stonehenge; the clippings she’d found in Cronin’s drawer; and about Alonso’s tailing of her and his subsequent story.

  When she had finished he sat back in his chair and lit up a Marlboro. “Well, that’s a tale and a half,” he said. “I knew Cronin was up to something, but I didn’t realize it was this big. Secret brotherhoods; rogue priests – it all sounds a bit fantastical to me. And as for Stratton being alive – I don’t think I’ve ever heard anything so absurd. But if you say so.”

  “It’s not what I say, it’s what Alonso told me. I’m finding it hard to believe myself. But why would anyone make up such a story? What’s he got to gain by telling me that Stratton’s alive?”

  “I’ve no idea. But whatever’s going on, they’re both taking a lot of trouble to get you on side.”

  “They certainly are,” Stella agreed. “The thing is, what do I do now? Which one of them do I trust?”

  “Personally, I’d say neither. But Cronin’s certainly a bit more slippery than the other guy. If I was you I’d definitely keep out of his way. As for Alonso, well, at least you’ve got someone watching your flat. If he wanted to harm you he would have done so by now I guess.”

  “So I don’t need to worry about him?”

  “Of course you do,” said Tags. “Like I said, don’t trust either of them. I’ll get Dino to keep an eye on him. In the meantime I’m going to go and see Oggi, and find out if he knows anything about these guys.”

  “How the hell would Oggi know?” said Stella.

  “Because he and Stratton were thick as thieves. Stratton might have mentioned something to him. Oggi was always interested in all that spiritual stuff.”

  “I guess so,” said Stella, remaining unconvinced. “Make sure you say ‘hi’ from me.”

  “I will do,” said Tags, smiling. “I’ll be back as soon as I can. Either tonight or tomorrow morning.” He got up and placed his hand firmly on her shoulder. “Until then, just sit tight…and keep away from Cronin.”

  Stella thanked him once again for his help, saw him out, then sat down on the sofa and sighed, more confused than ever.

  Chapter 44

  Stone’s radio crackled to life. “Sir, we’ve got company,” said the voice.

  Stone lowered his gun and radioed back. “Who is it?” he said sharply.

  “A couple of ramblers heading this way.”

  “Well, just get rid of them! And hurry, we need to finish up and get out of here.”

  Kamal continued to stare Stone down, causing him to avert his uncomfortable eyes.

  “You must be very proud of yourself,” said Kamal. “Betraying your country and your leader. It is no wonder that you want us out of the way.”

  Stone laughed. “You’re the one who took the shot, not me. And anyway, you’re a fine one to talk. I know your history. I know how many people you’ve killed in your time ‘Cobra’. You don’t believe in anything but money.”

  Kamal didn’t answer.

  Annie watched in silence. A voice in her head was screaming at her to make a run for it, but the sickness in her stomach had paralysed her legs. Her throat was jammed, and the world was a distant dream.

  Once more the radio crackled. “Ok sir, we’re clear.”

  Stone raised his gun again, his arm steady and pointing firmly at Kamal’s forehead.

  Kamal’s eyes lit up and the sides of his mouth curled into a tiny smile.

  For a split second Stone hesitated, and then he was lost. Before he knew what was happening Kamal’s boot flew up and kicked the gun from his hand. In the same move he back-kicked the man guarding Annie. “Run!” he shouted at her.

  Annie staggered, briefly disoriented, and then it dawned on her what was happening. Her legs began to move, first in a laboured walk, and then a trot, until finally she was in full flight. Behind her she heard the report of a pistol.

  Kamal, having disarmed the first two, made a beeline for Davis, who, in the heat of the moment, was struggling to withdraw his gun. No sooner had he got it out of the holster than it was flying through the air. A punch to the head followed quickly, and Davis was down, holding his nose in agony. “Motherfucker!” he shouted.

  Annie stopped at the Lexus. Oblivious to the fight going on around her she opened the door and pulled out the hostages. She ripped off their leg bindings and led them away to the trees. David was struggling so she picked him up and threw him over her shoulder. As they ran down the muddy path, the sound of gunfire rattled the air behind them. Annie prayed that Kamal was alright.

  After fifty yards the going became treacherous. The incessant rain of the previous week had swollen the earth to saturation point. Annie began to slip and slide, unable to move a
t more than a gluey walk. She glanced back to see her mother lying face down in a watery brown soup. With her arms tied behind her back she was finding it impossible to rise to her feet. Annie set David down and went to help.

  The guns had stopped, and all that Annie could hear were raised and frantic voices. She bent down and, with a strength she didn’t have, pulled her mother to her feet. The voices grew louder, and through the trees she saw Stone and another man running towards them. “Come on, Mum,” she said. “We’ve got to go.”

  Her mother nodded and grunted through her gag.

  Annie picked David back up and carried on running. Once she was out of the trees a steep eight-foot rise blocked her way. In normal conditions it would have been easily negotiated, but in the prevailing mud she may as well have been trying to conquer Everest. She looked back again, her heart sinking as she did so. Her mother had been caught and Stone was bearing down like a runaway train, only ten yards away. She summoned all her remaining courage and leapt up the unctuous climb. With every agonizing step the ground beneath her fell away, holding her stride like a treadmill.

  With Stone almost upon her she threw David up onto the grass above and turned to face her attacker.

  “Give it up Tracy,” he gasped, his face splattered with trickles of mud. “We’ve got your mum, and we’ll get the boy as well. If you come quietly we can make a deal. Kamal’s the one we wanted, and he’s dead.”

  Annie felt herself welling up. “Fuck you!” she screamed. “Fuck you, you fucking bastard!” and flew at him with wailing fists.

  Taken aback by the ferocity of Annie’s assault, Stone staggered and slipped to the ground. Annie kicked him hard with vicious frequency, her face contorted with hate, until eventually she faltered and hung her head. Then, remembering her peril, she made one last attempt to scale the small hill.

  David sat at the top crying. She looked up and made a determined run, her legs coursing with a renewed vigour. Stumbling and clawing like a windmill, she thrust herself to just below the apex, where momentum propelled her forwards onto the flat. Landing on her front she let out a winded gush. She felt David’s hand pawing at her.

  Wearily she got to her knees and tried to stand up, but her head was dizzy and her legs too weak. She turned to David and smiled dreamily, eyes glazed, her sight beginning to fade. Then, without warning, she felt herself tumbling backwards, the world a wheel of earth and sky. But it didn’t matter anymore, nothing did. She closed her eyes and let herself go.

  Chapter 45

  Stella hung up the phone in frustration once again. She had left two more messages and Jennings still wasn’t returning her calls. Logic told her that he was busy looking after the Prime Minister, but after nearly thirty hours without any appreciable sleep, paranoia had set in, and she was starting to wonder if she’d pushed his friendship too far. She shivered as the loneliness engulfed her.

  Picking up a broken frame of Stratton she stared at it lazily. The idea of his being alive was continually circulating her subconscious, occasionally manifesting itself as an absurdity in her waking thoughts. Ever since his body had been taken, she had been racking her brains to think of a reason for it. That someone would try and bring him back to life had never occurred to her. But the more the notion broke through, the greater seemed its feasibility. Alonso’s story, however far-fetched, might just be based in fact. She had ruled out the impossible, and was now looking at an improbable truth.

  Laying down the photograph she stumbled to the kitchen. The fridge was almost empty, but there were still a couple of eggs and a few rashers of bacon looking lonely on the middle shelf. In the hope that eating might help her sleep she cooked up the meagre offerings and ate them with a couple of slices of toast. But although the food lay heavily, she was still wide awake and sick with fatigue.

  Her irritation was once again reaching boiling point when the buzzer sounded. She dragged herself to the intercom. “Hello,” she whispered.

  “It is Daniel,” said the voice. “Daniel Alonso.”

  “What do you want?”

  “I am worried about you.”

  “Listen Daniel, just go back to your car and get the hell out of here. All I need at the moment is sleep.”

  The buzzer sounded again, but she ignored it.

  As a last resort she went to the bathroom cabinet. Behind a wall of plasters and cough remedies she found an old packet of Valium from years before when she’d slipped a disc. They were six months past their usage date but she no longer cared. She popped a couple out and washed them down with water from the tap. Ten minutes later she was curled up in her bed, slowly drifting away into a land of disturbing and complex dreams.

  Chapter 46

  The squawking of a crow brought Annie back round. Immediately she felt an acute pain in her right temple. Moving her hand up to soothe it, she opened her eyes and looked to the skies. There was no rain as yet, but great, billowing thunderclouds stared down at her with ominous intent. With difficulty she raised herself to a sitting position and shook her head to clear the haze.

  She was in a pool of sticky mud. To her right was a stone wall, and to her left a small hill. She looked up and figured that after bridging the rise and reaching David she must have toppled over the side. But what had happened since? For how long had she been out?

  The pain in her head shot through her nervous system like a thousand needles, causing her to cry out. “Fuck!” She winced as her eyes started to water.

  She struggled to her feet and looked around. The stone wall was just above waist height and on the other side, slightly obscured by hedgerow, was a road. The slope she had tumbled down was grassy and at a forgiving forty degree angle. With no real idea or sense of purpose she climbed back up the ten yards or so to the top.

  From her vantage point she had a good view of the surrounding landscape, apart from the road which was still mostly hidden by branches and leaves. A couple of cars whizzed by, oblivious to her plight. There was no sign of either David or her mother. She sighed.

  Still directionless she decided to return to the car park, in the hope that Kamal’s car might still be there. She slid down the muddy rise on her backside, and squelched along the path to the trees. Her hopes raised as she caught sight of the Subaru’s bonnet poking through the light foliage. She picked up her pace.

  The Subaru was unlocked but the keys were nowhere to be found. Annie leant against the side of the car wondering what to do next. She was lost and alone. Without access to a mobile phone her only option was to walk to the main road, flag down a car and go to the police. She pulled herself together and made ready to move.

  As she was about to set off something caught her eye. On the gravel, about eight feet from the car, she saw a pool of blood. Walking over to it slowly, she bent down and took a closer look. Leading away from it, almost invisible from a distance, were small red drips. Stooping to keep close to the trail she followed them over the gravel, up a bank, and into the trees. But after another twenty feet, in a small clearing, the blood suddenly stopped. She scanned the area carefully for signs of disturbance.

  With nothing visible she turned back. As she did she caught a low moan coming from a dense patch of ferns. She walked over to investigate, and pushing back the large leaves she found the source of the noise. It was Kamal. Blood trickled from his mouth. He smiled at her.

  Annie thrust aside the ferns and knelt down beside him. “What happened?” she said. “Are you okay?”

  “I’ve been better,” whispered Kamal, choking on his words. “What about you?”

  “I’ll survive,” she said. “But we need to get you to a hospital.”

  “No,” spluttered Kamal. “No hospital.”

  Annie stroked his brow. “Can you move?” she asked.

  “I think so. I have not tried. I have been asleep.” With Annie’s help he lifted himself to a sitting position. “Thank you,” he said.

  “So tell me,” she said, “what happened to you? They said you were dead.”
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  “I nearly was,” said Kamal. “And I still might be yet. I have been shot.”

  “Where?” said Annie. “I can’t see anything.”

  “Back,” he rasped.

  Annie looked round and gasped. The back of Kamal’s shirt was drenched with blood. Two dark bullet holes stuck out just below his left shoulder blade. “Listen to me Kamal,” she said. “You’ve got to let me take you to a hospital. You’re not going to survive otherwise. I can’t patch you up. And there’s no way you can do yourself.”

  “I know someone,” he said. “You must take me to him.”

  “Who? Where?” she said urgently.

  Kamal reached gingerly into his trouser pocket and pulled out his mobile phone. “The number is in here,” he said, pressing buttons. “You must speak to him and tell him that ‘Cobra’ needs urgent attention. I must lie down.”

  Annie took the phone and held it to her ear. After three rings a voice answered. She repeated what Kamal had said. The man on the other end said he would be ready for their arrival. She hung up and looked down at her fallen friend. His eyes were closed.

  “Kamal,” she said. “Kamal?”

  He opened his eyes.

  “He said he’ll be ready for us. We have to get to the car.” Putting her arms underneath him she strained to pull his body upright. Then she stood up and helped him to his feet.

  They hobbled slowly towards the car, Kamal’s large muscular frame making Annie’s task heavy going. After laying him on the back seat, she took the keys and started the engine.

  She took a few breaths to steady herself. “Right then,” she said. “Where are we going?”

  Chapter 47

  Annie put her foot down and careered along the Oxford Road possessed. From his rasping voice, she could tell that Kamal’s condition was deteriorating rapidly. Having no idea where she was going, she prayed that he would stay conscious to direct her. Approaching some traffic lights she screeched to a halt as they turned red.