Yusuf smiled, leaned down to the weapon and flicked a switch.
Kate’s eyes widened at the sight of a digital timer, the red numbers flaring in the gloom.
‘No, don’t!’ said Finn. ‘You’ll kill innocent people!’
‘You are too late,’ said Yusuf, pressing another button. ‘You will die here.’
He turned, and Kate pulled herself back behind the doorframe, not daring to breath. Her heart thundered in her chest as the countdown began.
‘I shall have great pleasure in killing you,’ said Yusuf, and Kate’s blood chilled at the smoothness of the man’s voice. ‘It’s a shame that you won’t live to see what I have in mind for your woman.’
She heard him pacing back and forth once more, and risked a glance into the room. Yusuf stood with his back to her, preening in front of Finn.
Kate began to loosen her grip on the chain in her left hand, slowly lowering it until the metal hoop on the end began to swing in her grip.
Finn’s eyes flickered towards her and back to Yusuf in a split second.
Kate built up the momentum in the chain, testing the weight, fighting down the fear which rose in her chest. Adrenaline poured through her body, turning the fear into anger.
Finn began to speak. ‘Listen, Yusuf – I’m sure my people can help you. Make the authorities understand,’ he said, pretending to panic. ‘I mean, I’ve seen Kate – you’ve fed her, sheltered her – I’m sure they’ll take that into account.’
Yusuf threw back his head and laughed.
Kate nearly dropped the chain in fright at the evil underlying the man’s laugh, and was grateful that at that moment, Finn let out a loud groan to distract Yusuf from the noise.
Yusuf began to test the weight of the pipe in his hand. ‘I will not beg to the authorities,’ he said. ‘But you will beg by the time I have finished with you. You will beg for your death.’
Kate launched herself forwards, swung the chain and watched, fascinated as the iron hoop connected with the back of Yusuf’s skull with a sickening thud.
The man crumpled to the floor, the metal pipe clattering to his side.
Finn rolled over into a crouching position and eased himself up, hissing through his teeth.
Kate ran to him, and he pulled her into his arms.
‘That was quick thinking, well done,’ he said. He looked across the room to the armed bomb. ‘We’ve got ten minutes. We need to get out of here.’
He began to lead Kate from the room, pushed her through the open doorway, and then turned back.
‘Finn? What are you doing? We need to go – now.’
‘Hang on. I’ve got an idea.’
She watched while he strode over to where Yusuf lay on the floor, out cold, then grabbed the man under his arms and began to pull him across the floor towards the bomb.
‘Finn?’
‘No time to explain – grab his feet. Hurry.’
Kate lifted the man by his ankles, nearly dropping him when he groaned.
‘Quickly,’ said Finn. ‘He’s coming round.’
‘What are you going to do?’
‘Trying a little persuasion,’ he grinned. ‘Appeal to his better nature.’
‘Really?’ Kate frowned. ‘You think he’s got a better side?’
Finn shrugged. ‘No, but it’s worth a try. Here. This’ll do.’
They set the man’s body next to the bomb. Kate couldn’t help looking at the timer.
It had dropped to seven minutes.
‘Finn, whatever you’re planning to do, you need to hurry up.’
‘I know.’
Kate watched, her mouth open, as Finn pulled a set of handcuffs from his back pocket and slipped one end through the metal frame which held the bomb together. He then bent down, picked up Yusuf’s wrist and stretched the man’s arm until he could slip his hand through the other cuff.
Yusuf’s eyes flickered open at the sound of the cuffs as they ratcheted closed.
Finn crouched down and patted the man’s face. ‘Come on, Yusuf, we’re running out of time here.’
He struck the man harder across the face, until his eyes lost their dazed expression. Finn pointed to the timer, which had now dropped to six minutes.
‘Stop the clock.’
Yusuf’s eyes narrowed, and he shook his head. ‘Go to hell,’ he spat.
‘No thanks,’ said Finn, standing up. ‘But you can.’ He turned to Kate. ‘Let’s go.’
Finn held her hand and began to lead her from the room, away from Yusuf and his bomb.
The entrapped man began to struggle, thrashing his arms as he tried to break loose.
Kate reached the door, and then stopped at the sound of a faint metallic sound upon the concrete floor. ‘Wait.’
Finn frowned as she hurried back to Yusuf, the pepper spray pointed at him.
She knelt down, found what she was looking for and held it up to show Finn.
‘A necklace?’ he said, raising an eyebrow.
‘They stole it from me,’ she said. ‘It fell out of his pocket. I’m taking it back.’
As they hurried away, they could hear Yusuf frantically rattling the handcuffs, trying to loosen his wrist and get away from the weapon.
Kate heard the man whimper as they walked through the door, then felt Finn shove her in the shoulder so she couldn’t turn back.
‘I can’t believe you just did that,’ she hissed under her breath.
‘Neither can Yusuf,’ said Finn. ‘Come on. We’ve got to find Steve and get out of here before that thing blows.’
‘Do you think he’ll stop the timer?’
Finn shrugged, and began running up the steel staircase to the next level.
Kate shook her head, and then followed.
A gunshot reverberated through the building, and they stared at each other.
‘Steve!’ Finn grabbed her hand and pulled her up the staircase with him to the next floor.
Her stomach heaved when she saw Steve lying on the floor of the room on the first floor. His blood had stained the surface a deep red, and his face had turned pale and clammy.
‘Steve?’
Kate rushed over to join Finn and crouched down.
‘Bastard jumped me and shot me in the leg,’ Steve gasped.
‘Where’s Kaan?’
‘Escaped. Back staircase.’ He groaned.
‘Come on,’ said Finn. ‘Up you get. Guess I’m going to have to carry you out of here, huh?’
He manoeuvred Steve’s body into a fireman’s lift and turned to Kate.
‘Okay – go. Don’t turn back. Get down those stairs, out the front door and to the end of the street as fast as you can.’
‘What about you?’
‘Right behind you – go!’
30
Adrenaline and fear kept Kate going through the building, then down a short flight of concrete steps which led to a doorway. She pushed the door open, bent down and picked up a brick which lay amongst a small pile of cigarette ends. Once she was sure the door wouldn’t snap shut and slow Finn and Steve’s escape, she turned and fled.
She ignored the pain in her ankle as she ran down the middle of the street. She strained her ears but couldn’t hear Finn behind her since they’d left the confines of the building.
At the end of the street, she stopped and turned, leaning forward until she could rest her hands on her knees. She panted hard, her lungs desperate for oxygen, her mind light-headed, while her eyes sought out Finn.
She saw him a few hundred metres away, lurching from side to side with Steve’s weight while he doggedly ran towards Kate and away from the bomb.
As she watched Finn approach, she imagined the timer’s final countdown. Were they far enough away? Her gaze wandered to the garage at the end of the street, then fell back to Finn as he reached her.
She helped him lower Steve carefully to the ground, and then they stood and peered around the edge of the building.
‘How much?’ asked Finn.
/> ‘What?’
‘How much are you willing to bet Yusuf will stop the timer?’
‘Do you think he will?’
Finn folded his arms across his chest and nodded.
Kate frowned. ‘This is a stupid game.’
‘Five bucks?’
‘Deal.’
His touch was electric to her skin, and she noticed how he kept hold of her hand longer than necessary. Then he blinked and checked his watch.
‘Five seconds.’
Kate turned and looked at the building which had been her prison for the past five days as she counted the seconds under her breath, her words echoing Finn’s.
‘…three, two, one, zero!’
Silence.
Then Finn started to chuckle.
Kate exhaled, all the strain in her shoulders easing as she turned to Finn and smiled.
‘He stopped the clock.’
‘Sure did. I guess once his boss ran out on him, he didn’t like the idea of being a martyr after all.’
He placed a hand on her arm and gently pushed her aside before crouching down next to Steve.
The older man’s eyes fluttered open, and then focussed on Finn.
‘Did you stop the bomb?’
Finn nodded. ‘I had some help.’
Kate joined them, and noticed the dark pool of blood blossoming across Steve’s thigh.
Finn frowned and carefully lifted the torn fabric away from the wound, his jaw set as Steve groaned in pain.
‘Sorry – need to take a look at this.’
He touched the fabric and turned to Kate.
Her brow wrinkled as his eyes travelled the length of her body, before returning to meet her gaze. He blinked and shook his head.
‘What?’
‘We need something to apply pressure on this wound until the medics get here,’ he said. ‘Your top won’t do.’ He sat back on his heels and peeled his t-shirt over his head.
Kate bit her lip. The moment was totally inappropriate, but she couldn’t help watching as his tanned skin moved over muscles.
She frowned when she saw his tattoo, wondering what it meant, then shook herself, realising that he was talking to her as he folded the fabric into a thick square and held it to Steve’s leg.
‘Hold this right here,’ he said and shifted so that Kate could take his place.
He turned at the sound of running feet and stood.
Emrah’s second-in-command, flanked by four of his men, joined them at the intersection.
The men shook hands.
‘It’s good to see you, Ali.’
The Turk nodded towards the garage. ‘Who do we have?’
‘Yusuf, alive, chained to a homemade bomb,’ said Finn. ‘You might want to tread carefully – it could still go off. Two dead. Kaan escaped just before you got here. Where’s Emrah?’
‘He went after Kaan – apparently one of our men saw him leave the building.’ Ali put his radio to his lips. ‘We’ll put out an alert on the airport and docks. I’ll get military roadblocks on all the roads out of the city.’
Finn nodded. ‘Good – hopefully that will flush him out.’
They turned at the sound of shouting.
One of Emrah’s men slid to a halt next to them, his face pale in the evening light. ‘Sir – we just found our comms specialist’s body behind an industrial bin in the alley next to the garage. He’s been stabbed sir.’
Ali frowned. ‘Clothes?’
‘Gone sir – stripped.’
Finn turned away and cursed. ‘Kaan.’
Ali nodded. ‘It would certainly seem so.’ He brought the radio to his lips once more, then looked at it and changed his mind, tossing it to the floor. ‘That makes our radio comms a problem.’ He pulled out a mobile phone and dialled a number. ‘I’ll let Emrah know,’ he said, and then turned away and began talking in rapid Turkish.
Kate turned her back on the conversation and carefully lifted the makeshift bandage from Steve’s thigh. Blood soaked through the layers, and she shuffled closer to the wounded man.
‘Steve?’
He opened his eyes and looked up at her, then lifted his hand off his leg.
Blood seeped between his fingers, and Kate noticed the wound bubbling with each heartbeat.
Steve reached out with his hand, and she took it in hers, and then she shifted on the ground so she could cradle his head in her lap. He squeezed her fingers.
‘How bad is it?’ she whispered.
‘Hurts like hell.’
‘Emrah’s men are here. There’s an ambulance on the way.’
He nodded. Loosening his grip on her, he reached into his jacket and drew out a piece of paper, before handing it to Kate.
She took it, and then frowned as she realised it was a photograph, creased around the corners, and depicting a good-looking couple in their thirties.
On the right of the picture, a lithe woman with long blonde hair tucked under a baseball cap grinned at the camera, her blue eyes sparkling against her tanned skin. On her left arm, the black outline of a tattoo traced across her skin, while a thin silver chain hung over her vest top.
Kate blinked, and looked again.
The tattoo.
Her eyes turned to the man in the picture. His face was turned towards the woman, his eyes only for her, the skin crinkled at the edges as he laughed with her.
Finn.
Kate swallowed hard.
His tattoo was the perfect mirror image of the woman’s.
Kate turned and looked over her shoulder to where Finn now stood with Emrah’s second-in-command, talking, pointing towards the building, and finalising the operation.
Her eyes travelled down to his bicep and the unfinished tattoo which poked out from under the sleeve of his t-shirt.
‘Not unfinished,’ she murmured. ‘Half of one.’
She turned at a groan from Steve and noticed the blood from his wound was increasing, the man’s face turning pale.
‘Steve?’
His eyes flickered open. ‘Hang onto the photograph. She meant a lot to us. Keep it safe, okay?’
‘I will.’ She grasped his hand tighter. ‘But I’ll give it back to you.’
A faint smile crossed his lips. ‘Go and find out where that bloody ambulance is.’
She stood and ran towards Finn, who turned and frowned at the sound of her voice.
‘I think Steve’s in trouble.’
Finn pushed past her and grabbed hold of Steve’s hand. ‘Steve – hang in there. There’s an ambulance on the way, you hear me?’
The other man groaned. ‘I’m getting too old for this.’
Finn smiled, and Kate noticed the tears welling up in his eyes. She put her hand on his shoulder and slipped the battered photograph into her pocket.
The sound of sirens pierced the night air as the emergency vehicles drew closer.
‘Go and meet them,’ said Finn, pushing Kate away. ‘Show them where to find us – hurry.’
Kate stood and ran across the intersection. Stepping out into the street, she closed her eyes and lifted her head towards the evening sky, taking a deep breath, her first real taste of freedom.
She exhaled, and then opened her eyes. The moon had risen fully and now bathed the buildings in a soft hue, softening the harsh lines of the stonework and leaving the surface cool to her touch.
Her head turned at the sound of the sirens reaching the end of the street, the lights from the emergency vehicles reflecting off the walls of the buildings as they drew closer. She waved her arms as they approached, drawing them to her. The vehicles slewed to a stop, two police cars followed by an ambulance, and the sirens fell silent.
Kate rushed to the police officer who stepped from the passenger seat of the first car, ignoring the man’s reaction as he fumbled for his gun, still holstered.
‘Help us!’ said Kate. ‘There’s an injured man over here.’ She tugged on the policeman’s arm, pulling him with her. ‘He needs a doctor – quickly!’
<
br /> The policeman looked over his shoulder at his colleagues and nodded, then beckoned the ambulance personnel towards the small crowd of armed men. ‘Wait here,’ he told them, and then followed Kate up the street, his partner close behind.
As soon as the policemen saw Steve on the ground and the damage to his leg, they called back to the waiting medics.
The policeman pushed Finn out of the way and began tearing open Steve’s jeans, exposing the wound. The medics pushed past and Kate turned away, unable to watch.
She tugged the photograph from her pocket, her thumb brushing against a spot of Steve’s blood and streaking it across the image. She glanced over her shoulder at Finn, who was standing with his arms crossed and glaring at the emergency team who were now lifting Steve onto a stretcher and carefully wheeling him along the street to the waiting vehicle.
The first policeman turned to Finn and Ali and exchanged words. Kate couldn’t hear what was said, but suspected it was the name of the hospital where they were taking the injured man. Finn nodded, and the policeman patted him once on the shoulder before turning and hurrying down the stairs after his colleagues.
Kate heard the sound of doors slamming, and then the sirens began to echo off the walls of the street as the ambulance drove away.
Finn was beside her before she had time to react. He snatched the photograph out of her fingers.
‘Where did you get this?’
‘Steve gave it to me. He asked me to look after it for him.’
Kate turned and began to walk towards the waiting car that Emrah’s men had organised. She paused and looked over her shoulder. ‘She’s very pretty. I hope you were happy together.’
One of the policemen opened the door for her, and she climbed in.
‘Please take me to my hotel now,’ she said. She bowed her head as the car moved away and tears began to fall onto her cheeks.
31
Kate rubbed the towel over her wet hair and hurried out of the bathroom.
After the police driver had dropped her off at the hotel, Kate had found fresh clothes laid out for her on her hotel bed. The driver had waited outside the door while she’d changed, and then took her old clothes to be passed onto the police forensics unit, after asking her to place them in a plastic bag.
Two FBI thrillers: Before Nightfall and Mistake Creek Page 18