Moment of Truth

by Emrys Apollo

  Desmond drove off in silence. They had a few hours before they planned on their siege of the hotel, and that gave them a chance to come up with a concrete plan.

  - - -

  They didn’t use the front entrance, not wanting to alert the kidnappers that they were there until the last possible moment. In all honesty, Desmond was hoping that Antony and Stuart were in some hotel room together and that they could sneak them out without the kidnappers even knowing they’d been in there. He hadn’t told Jody that, because the man was still blind convinced that this was some kind of trap and he would have probably told Desmond that was a stupid and very unrealistic plan.

  They dropped through one of the broken windows that led them into what once was a bar of some sorts, opting not to use the front door in fear of showing they were there. Desmond stuck to the wall, keeping to the shadows as he surveyed the room. Dust and cobwebs littered every surface. Odd light danced over every surface as the moonlight broke in through the busted windows, creating eerie patterns distorted by the old dust sheets that had long failed in their purposed. Desmond moved towards the bar, his aim on his gun dropping slightly. He could feel Jody close to his back as he dragged a black leather glove-covered finger leave a line in the dust. He shared a look with Jody; if anyone was in this building, they certainly hadn’t been in here.

  Moving swiftly, Jody led Desmond into the lobby, his gun resting on his arm, outstretched in front of him and ready for anyone to jump out f one of the dark crevices of the new room. Desmond was looking around for any sign of struggle. Even if Stuart or Antony had not have been conscious when they were brought in here, there would be a sign of them being moved through the room.

  As Desmond continued to survey the room, Jody moved behind the receptionist desk looking to see if there was anything of value there. He found a security camera monitor, showing four disabled security camera feeds.

  “Is that broken or are they broken?” Desmond asked in a voice barely over a whisper, appearing at Jody’s shoulder. Jody didn’t say anything as he began tinkering with the machine in front of him.

  Leaving Jody to try and work on the security footage, Desmond moved over towards the grand stairs that disappeared up to the first floor. Each step was covered in a thick film of dust, alluding to the fact that no one had set foot on them for years. If Stuart or Antony had been dragged or forced up the stairs the dust would have been moved and out of place. Desmond bit his lip; his certainty that Stuart and Antony were here starting to waver.

  A creak from ahead of him caused Desmond to abandon the staircase, gun poise at the lift across the lobby from him. The old metal gate that would have kept the lift user inside creaked again, as if it was being forced to work after years of being motionless. Desmond frowned, his gun at the ready, as the gate slowly but surely creaked open a fraction. His eyes raked the ceiling, looking to see if there was any other sign of distress or movement from the unstable building above him. Was it odd that the lift had suddenly decided to move, when Desmond was giving up on his hope that Antony and Stuart were being held here? Desmond didn’t know, but he knew one way he could find out.

  He had taken a step in the direction of the lift.

  “Desmond.” Jody called, trying to be as quiet as he could whilst still getting the other man’s attention. Desmond let his eyes linger on the lift for an extra moment before moving back to Jody’s side. He was about to ask what was going on, but found he didn’t have to.

  Jody had got the security monitor working, and had skipped back to six days ago –the day Desmond had nearly gotten Antony back. The time stamp marked it was 22:37 when Jody hit play. The footage showed the grainy outline of a man walking in the staff entrance to the kitchen. Behind him, four or five more guys walk in, looking to be wrestling something. On the third playback, Desmond can just about discern that two of the guys have bags over their heads. Before anything else can be seen, the first guy lifts a gun and shoots the security camera, destroying the feed.

  “I’ve managed to tap into the back up. The other three cameras haven’t been working for years. This is the last thing stored on the system.” Jody explained. Desmond skipped back on the footage, pausing at the moment the two guys can be seen with bags on their heads.

  “At least we know they’re here.” Desmond confirmed, pointing them out to Jody. Jody didn’t look convinced.

  “They were. Maybe.”

  “How much more proof do you need?”

  “It’s all feeling a little too-” Whatever Jody was about to say was never said. For at that moment, a light flickered on behind them. Both poised for attack, Jody and Desmond moved away from the reception desk and back to where Desmond had been; by the lifts.

  Above the lift that had creaked open, a light and flickered into life. It didn’t look strong enough to stay on long. Desmond took a step forwards.

  “What the hell are you doing!” Jody grabbed Desmond’s shoulder, pulling him back. “No way. That’s got set-up written all over it.”

  “Alright, I’ll just tell Antony and Stuart that we couldn’t go any further cause a light flickered on.” Desmond gritted, shrugging Jody off. Jody pinned him to the wall, stopping him from going any further.

  “If they are actually here – if! – then clearly we’ve been detected. It’s an old, hasn’t been moved for years lift, Desmond. You’re going to put one foot in it and drop. They’re egging you to.”

  “They can’t know we’re here. We’ve done nothing to alert them.”

  “You are not getting in that lift.”

  “I am.”

  “No.”

  “Jody!” Before Desmond had a chance to say anything else, Jody had taken a cartridge of ammunition off his belt and slid it at the lift. The small thing slipped through the gap in the lift gate, smacking against the back wall. There was barely a beat before something snapped, the lift disappearing downwards until the moment it smashed into the bottom of the lift shaft, the sound of the crash echoing all the way up the hotel.

  “See.” Jody breathed. But there was no chance to retaliate. The entire hotel seemed to still be shaking with the collapse of the lift, brick dust dropping from the ceiling tiles and the chandelier in the lobby tinkling as the glass droplets clinked against each other. The floorboards creaked as if a group were running across them. Desmond grabbed Jody, pulling him to his feet.

  “We need to move. Fast. We don’t have a lot of time.” Desmond said, pushing Jody up the stairs.

  “What do you mean?” Jody asked, his eyes still on the chandelier.

  “They know we’re here now.”

  As Desmond and Jody made it to the first floor, the chandelier gave. But not just the crystals hanging off it; the entire ceiling fixture screamed out as it cracked through the ceiling tiles, pulling down a section of the plaster as it careered into the ground. Gun fire suddenly cracked through the air as Desmond and Jody dove for cover. Without a moment to think, Desmond shot blinding in the direction of bullets, hoping to stop the attack so they could move forwards. Dust lingered in the air, obscuring everyone from each other as bullets whipped past so close that without the obstruction to view they would have definitely hit home.

  “You idiot!” Desmond hollered in Jody’s direction over the sounds of gun fire and the building crumbling around them. “You fucked this up! We had the advantage!”

  “Next time I’ll let you die it the lift then!” Jody shot back, moving from behind the table he was taking cover behind to Desmond’s side. “Like it or lump it, this was the outcome. They were ready for us.”

  “Antony and Stuart are still here somewhere.” Desmond gritted, managing to take out one of the attackers by mere chance. He ducked down to reload. “I’m not leaving without them.”

  “They might still be here.” Jody said. “But for fuck’s sake, Desmond, can’t you see this was a set up? This was a trap?”

  “Only Antony knows about this place.”

  “Clearly he blabbed!” Jody yelled.
/>   “He wouldn’t do that! Why would he do that!”

  “Scared, alone, confused, being fucking tortured!”

  “Shut up!” Desmond screamed, throwing himself at Jody. He didn’t care they were on the same side, he didn’t care that they were fighting from the same thing. Right now Jody was telling him everything he didn’t want to hear; he was telling him he failed. He had failed to protect Antony and now the man was in danger of being hurt, or worse, and it was all his fault.

  The first punch he threw made satisfying impact with Jody’s jaw, but the second the man was ready for. He found himself being pushed back, a heavy fist into his gut knocking the wind out of him and making him easy to send across the room. The room spun as his head made impact with the wall behind him, but it was only momentary. Desmond sent him knee up into Jody’s crotch, catching the man as he fell forwards and getting a right hook to his face. From the floor, Jody – blinded by pain – caught his foot behind Desmond’s knee, kicking hard to bring the other man to the floor on top of him.

  It was luck that had moved them from their initial spot and that the air was too think to see through, otherwise the grenade that had been thrown at them would have landed on target.

  The explosion knocked them both backwards, setting off a ringing in their ears. Debris was strewn everywhere, and now there was a giant hole in the floor. It appeared that the attacker had completely misjudged the distance, pretty much catching himself in the explosion, rather than Desmond or Jody. Although they had been hit with a shower of debris, both from the floor and the ceiling, they were both relatively unscathed.

  If anything, the explosion had reminded them why they were there. Without thinking, Desmond was on his feet, running at the hole in the ceiling and hauling himself up into it. When he felt someone at his feet, pushing up, he had no doubt that Jody was helping him. Although they were angry at each other they still had to complete their mission. The mission was more important than a petty feud.

  Desmond reached down behind him to help Jody up but the man shook his head.

  “You go ahead. This building is no longer secure. It could go down at any time. I’ll find another way.”

  “We’re not splitting up. I’m not losing anyone else.” Desmond sent back.

  “You’ll waste time you could be using finding them!”

  “You’re wasting time now! I need my back-up.” Desmond pleaded, reaching more insistently for Jody. Jody looked for a moment like he was going to argue, but decided against it and grabbed Desmond’s hand instead. They were barely on the same floor when the ground where Jody had just been standing crumbled into nothing. Desmond and Jody stared at it in shock for a moment. There had been no warning that the floor was about to go or how close Jody was to disappearing into a pile of rubble. Desmond just clapped Jody’s back, letting out a breath he hadn’t realized he was holding.

  The relief was short lived, as the sound of more crumbling building echoed around them. Not knowing which direction it was coming from, Jody and Desmond headed towards the staircase. If the building was going down from the bottom up then the only assumption was that the kidnappers were headed upwards with Stuart and Antony, There was no longer any way to go down.

  Their inkling was shown as correct as more gun fire showered their heads. They tried their best to take out as many of the attackers as possible, but their main goal was to keep moving forwards, keep moving upwards, and keep moving to where Antony and Stuart could be.

  “Desmond!” Jody hollered as Desmond just about got out of range of the machine gun fire that had started up. Desmond looked across to where Jody was pointing at, seeing one guy in the doorway talk into a walkie talkie and rush out of the room. Desmond nodded at Jody, following the man in pursuit. It was as much of a lead as they had, and even if the guy didn’t lead them to where Antony and Stuart were being held they could, at least, interrogate him for answers.

  The guy ran from corridor to corridor, obviously aware that Jody and Desmond were hot on his tail. They weren’t even trying to be discreet anymore; determination over a successful mission worth more than the execution of said mission. With their cover blown, hiding in the dark felt very futile. Desmond pushed himself harder than he ever had in his life as the guy threw open a hotel room door and vanished inside. This was it. This was the end of the line. This was where Antony was.

  And he was about to get him back.

  Desmond and Jody burst into the room, guns at the ready to take out anyone who was stood in their way. His heartbeat was in his ears, breath coming out ragged from his dry mouth as his eyes scanned the dark, cold room. Half the wall was missing, and the window was thrown wide open, the rags of curtains blowing pointlessly in the wind. Desmond’s eyes lingered on every shadow, every flicker of movement, but there was nothing. The room was empty bar a plastic chair sat in the centre of the room. As Desmond approached, he could see a splatter of blood on the seat. He didn’t want to know who’s it was. He didn’t understand this part of the game.

  Desmond picked up the chair, looking it over for any sign of anything over than the blood. Jody came over to him, pulling something off the chair that had been tapped to the back. Anger visibly washed over Jody as he took in what was in his hands.

  “I told you it was a fucking trap.” Jody spat, shoving the photo into Desmond’s chest. Desmond dropped the chair to grab it, which Jody proceeded to kick across the room, one of the legs snapping off as it bounced into the darkness. “Everything we’ve been through today and yesterday: breaking out of the hospital, stupidly long trip, dipping into our personal funds, barely having any sleep, nearly dying too many times, all of it, every single minute of the last forty-eight hours were completely in vein!”

  Desmond looked down at the photo Jody had shove into his hands. It was a photo he knew very well. It was a photo he himself had taken. A selfie of Antony and him, squashed into the little frame, in front of the Tower of London. Desmond’s eyes filled with tears as he shook his head in disbelief. He turned the picture over, seeing the scrawled message on the bottom corner.

  You know where to be. Tomorrow. 11pm. Come alone or he’ll be gone before you get there.

  “What a waste.”

  “I don’t understand.” Desmond sniffed, turning to Jody and holding out the photo. “How have they got this? This is my photo. I took this.”

  “Because your boyfriend blabbed.” Jody threw back. Desmond aimed his gun at him.

  “He wouldn’t do that!”

  “He’s a normal guy being tortured! Of course he would! If he thought it would get him back to you or out of pain!”

  “He wouldn’t tell them about this! Why would he tell them about me!”

  “You don’t know what they’ve done to him, Desmond! You don’t know what game it is they’re playing! Whatever it is they clearly need you, and that’s probably because they know you’ll go fucking rouge! You’re a liability and it’s nearly cost us our lives and probably already cost Stuart his!”

  “This isn’t my fault!”

  “Who else on the team do you know who has all that fucking kit to their disposal to just use whenever they want! I certainly don’t! I don’t have enough shit hidden in my house to arm not one but two people for a off-the-radar mission. And I bet you have more kit stowed away!”

  “Sometimes Henson won’t listen.”

  “Or maybe you have an ulterior motive.” Jody snaked, aiming his own gun at Desmond. Desmond’s eyes widened in shock, his grip on his own gun dropping slightly. “You were very desperate to get me in here tonight.”

  “What the fuck are you going on about, mate?”

  “You wanted to get in the lift, maybe you were going to put me in it. Maybe you are a mole!”

  “You’re out of your mind, Jody! I wanted Antony back. Fuck me, I’d do anything to get him back! You know that!”

  “And clearly so do they! Maybe they sent you a message on one of those many phones you have saying that you’ll only get him back if you
kill us all off! Maybe you deliberately got Stuart captured!”

  “Do you even hear yourself right now? You really think I’d do that?” Jody clicked the safety off his gun.

  “I know you’re that desperate.” Jody gritted. The man was so fixated on Desmond he hadn’t noticed how exposed they were. How an entire side of the room was missing. Or the red dot on his chest.

  Desmond clocked it.

  A holler of pain erupted from Desmond’s throat as Jody’s bullet tore through his shoulder. He had leapt at the man with the sole aim of knocking him away from the sniper target. But Jody had seen his advance as another attack and fired in shock. Collapsing onto the floor, Desmond grabbed at his shoulder, rolling off of Jody. It was at this moment the man saw the red dot. Saw it whizz up the wall and rest on the light hanging from the ceiling that was directly above Desmond and him. He tried to roll them out of the way, but it was too late. The light careered into the floor, crashing through it and sucking Desmond and Jody into the void below. To their luck, the floor below was still intact, but it wasn’t staying that way for long. Jody hooked Desmond’s bad arm over his shoulder and pushed forwards for any sign of an exit. He knew he wasn’t doing Desmond any good in the way he was transporting him, but he had to just get him out to safety, then he could worry about his wound. With some maneuvering, Jody managed to get them back into the lobby and out of the front door. He stumbled across the street, dropping Desmond on the pavement when he felt they were clear of any fallout.

  Desmond was powerless to watch as the building Antony had told him he wanted to renovate and open into a wonderful hotel crumbled into the ground. Jody used his own body to protect Desmond as the dust settled on what was left of the building. A lump rose in Desmond’s throat as he looked upon something else he had failed to get for Antony. Sure, this wasn’t his to give, but he had certainly had a hand in taking it away. The air rang with silence in the aftermath of the destruction. Faint sirens sounded in the background, as if they were coming from miles away, but the destruction of the hotel had silenced everything for miles around.