Kidnap b-1

by Murray Mcdonald

  “Where are you?” said Reaper.

  “I’m in the baggage terminal under repair, standing at Conveyer 3.”

  “OK, my men will be there in two minutes. Are you alone?”

  “No.”

  “Who is with you?”

  “Lela.”

  “Stop being smart,” said Reaper. The call ended.

  Tom looked across at Kisho who was hiding in the conveyor hole.

  “Two minutes,” he said.

  Kisho put his thumb up in acknowledgment.

  “Frightened?” Tom asked Lela.

  “Yes, you?”

  “Wetting myself. Where are they?”

  On receiving the go-ahead from Reaper, Pieter left two men to watch the chopper and took eight men into the terminal. He was not happy, they had no weapons. Before that day, he would have thought it was overkill but not now.

  Pieter and his men spotted Tom and Lela standing by the conveyor, they were both small. What the hell was the problem? Nobody else seemed to be around. Where were the five soldiers who’d been with them? He had least expected them to put up a fight.

  As they approached the conveyor belt, they heard a door slam behind them. They looked around and saw six brutish looking thugs, wielding baseball bats. Five of Pieter’s men broke off to deal with them. It was no contest, his guys were easily the best.

  Pieter and his remaining men turned back towards Tom and Lela who were now less than five metres away but found themselves looking at Kisho as well. Kisho stepped out in front of Lela and Tom and walked towards Pieter and the three men.

  “Pathetic,” said Pieter. “You’ve got six thugs and him to deal with us. Surely, you could have done better than that,” he said.

  “And me,” said Lela stepping forward.

  “Don’t, please, you’re killing me,” said Pieter laughing in Lela’s face.

  Lela stepped forward and hit him harder than he had ever been hit before. She had focussed all her energy and rage into her right fist which hit him just below the ribcage. He slumped in a heap, the smile vanishing from his face. Kisho watched his little cousin with pride, she was definitely Saki’s daughter. He had only ever seen one person hit someone harder and that had been Saki. But Lela was half his weight and size.

  Pieter’s men were initially stunned at what they had just seen but quickly regained their composure and made a move on Kisho.

  Tom watched in awe as Pieter’s three men were pummelled by Kisho. The first man made the mistake of taking a swing at Kisho. His arm snapped and his nose exploded as Kisho deflected the punch and drove his own punch home. As the punch landed, his right foot connected with the second guy’s chin which sent him flying twenty feet across the terminal floor. As the foot finished its work, the third man received Kisho’s second and third punch, one in the stomach and one on the side of the head. The three men were down and out before the other five had made contact with the bat wielding thugs.

  In the meantime, Pieter had attempted to get up. However, a very hard kick from Lela meant he would not be going anywhere for some time.

  Pieter’s five remaining men were caught in no man’s land and did not know what to do. Their boss had just been taken out by a young girl, which unnerved them completely. The guy who had taken out three of their colleagues, had done it so quickly that they didn’t know what he had done. On top of this, they were faced with six very large thugs with baseball bats. They looked at each other and weighed up the options. The guy and the girl or the six thugs with bats. They went for the thugs.

  What the thugs lacked in training and skills, they made up for in brute strength and many years’ experience. Although they received a few punches and bloody noses, it did not take long for them to deal with Pieter’s men, especially when Kisho came and dealt with two of them. He had offered to assist further but the thugs were having fun with the last three and declined the offer.

  When the last man was down, one of the thugs opened the door. A young boy entered the baggage hall. Tom ran over to greet him.

  “Rolf, I can’t thank you enough!”

  “No problem! Anytime. My father sends his regards. He would have been here but it’s a little too public. So what’s going on?”

  “I’m sorry, I can’t tell you. Not because I don’t want to but because it would endanger lives, including yours.”

  “I understand. When I received your call, I spoke with my father. He said that whatever you need, you can have.”

  “I really appreciate that. What I need is for these guys to be kept somewhere very secure and very private until I get in touch again. You can then release them to the authorities.”

  “It would be a pleasure. And I’m sure my dad’s men will enjoy having some playthings to keep them amused.”

  “We have one more in the helicopter.”

  “Make that three. Kano just called and there were two more in their helicopter but he has them.”

  “OK, good. My father will be eternally grateful for your help, as am I, Rolf.”

  “As I said, my father made it clear that whatever you need, you will get. He said that he would give up the shirt on his back for your father.”

  “Thank you Rolf, you and your father are always too kind.”

  “Not at all. Is there anything else we can do?”

  “Well actually, there is a helicopter full of soldiers in a park about one and a half miles from here, most of them will be fairly badly injured, you couldn’t grab them also?”

  “Already done. We have them all, you already asked.”

  “Of course, I’m sorry. There’s been so much going on. Great, thank-you.”

  “I can’t wait to hear the story. We have to go now as the officers we bribed will need to come back shortly.”

  “Thanks again Rolf, I’ll call you as soon as I can.”

  Lela ran over, she had been retrieving Pieter’s phone. She gave Rolf a huge hug and thanked him profusely.

  As Rolf and his men left with their excess baggage, Kisho turned to Tom and asked, “Who, exactly, was that?”

  “That was Rolf.”

  “And who is he?”

  “He is the son of the king of the South African underworld,” replied Tom.

  “How do you know him?”

  “My father has a lot of interests in South Africa and before they sorted out their problems, we were having a lot of problems with gangs and violence. Despite being an underworld boss, Rolf’s father is a very honourable man. He does not deal in drugs but concentrates on gambling and money laundering. He says he makes more than enough money on that. It was getting to the stage that my father was going to have to close down most of his businesses in South Africa. Rolf’s father heard rumours that my father was going to pull out and so contacted my father to ask why. My father explained that the companies’ losses were directly attributable to violence against his staff, armed robberies and corruption. It got to the stage where he couldn’t sleep at night for fear that his staff may be injured or even killed. Rolf’s father explained that the effect of Alba International moving out would be devastating to the economy and a large number of decent families would suffer. My father flew down to meet him and they agreed that Rolf’s father would organise security and secure our businesses if my father made a commitment to keep the companies in South Africa. They agreed and my father was delighted with the results. The companies flourished and as a gesture of thanks, my father gave him a 10 % stake in his South African businesses. It’s all done through offshore businesses but it’s his and it’s legitimate. My father reckons that Rolf’s father is one of the least corrupt and most honourable men he’s ever met and they’ve been friends ever since. Bizarre but true.”

  Chapter 56

  Reaper was feeling very uneasy. It had been over an hour since he had heard from either Pieter or Tom. For this mission to be successful, he had to have both Tom and Lela in his possession. Without them, he seriously doubted whether Donald would do what was required when the time came.
With his son and surrogate daughter in a room with a knife to their throats, he knew that he would do whatever they asked.

  His phone rang. It was not Pieter but Tom.

  “Oh my God, it’s a disaster, they’ve all gone,” said Tom almost crying on the phone.

  “What’s happened?” Reaper said.

  “The soldiers, they snuck behind us and they had a fight with your men.”

  “What happened, where are my men?”

  “I don’t know. There was a huge battle and Lela and I just got out of there in time. I didn’t know what else to do.”

  “OK, where are you now?” Reaper didn’t know what to do. If he didn’t get the kids, his plan and his life were over.

  “We’re in the main terminal. There are lots of people here and hopefully nobody will find us.”

  “Wait there. I’ll try to get hold of my man on the ground,” said Reaper.

  As he went to make his call, a breaking news story came on TV.

  “Violence in Johannesburg International Airport leaves fifteen dead. A gang war erupted this evening in a baggage hall at South Africa’s largest and busiest airport. The information we have is sketchy but it appears that the authorities are unsure about what caused the dispute or how the rival gang members managed to clash in a secure area of the airport. What is clear is that at least fifteen men are dead and at least one other seriously injured. The injured man is unconscious and the authorities do not expect him to regain consciousness for some time. They do not know who the injured man is but have released a description of him in the hope that if anybody knows him, they may be able to help the police with their enquiries. He is a large man, six foot four inches and weighs around 250lbs. He has blonde hair, a distinctive scar across his right eye and a tattoo on his right forearm of a lion roaring. Anybody recognising this man is asked to come forward and help police with their enquiries. Back to our main story. The hostage crisis…”

  The news broadcast had just described Pieter. He had ten men with him and Tom had told him there were five soldiers, that was fifteen men in total, fifteen were dead and Pieter was unconscious. What the hell had happened, these bloody kids were a death magnet and very bad news.

  Reaper went back to Tom, who was holding on the line.

  “I’ve just watched a breaking news story. It appears everybody is dead,” he said coldly. “Now that leaves me with a problem, I need you two back here. I have some other men who should have arrived just after you.”

  “Oh God, that must have been the helicopter that ran out of fuel a miles and a half from here. There was a helicopter crash not long ago. If they were in the same chopper as us, I’m not surprised, we landed on fumes.”

  “WHAT!” Reaper could not believe how such a simple thing, picking up two young kids, could cause such devastation. So far, over thirty men had died trying to capture Tom and Lela and at least twenty five of them were highly trained and skilled operatives.

  Tom had to pinch himself to stop laughing, the man was apoplectic with rage. Tom’s plan had worked perfectly. He would ring Paula later to thank her. Her parents owned the largest media group in South Africa and she had managed to release the fastest press report in history. The release was perfect. The fact that nobody had died in reality and that the mercenaries were enduring a rather unpleasant stay in South Africa, courtesy of Rolf’s father, was neither here nor there.

  Reaper calmed down. “I will make this simple. If you’re not at the gates of your house within the next twelve hours, your mother dies.”

  “Well you better just kill her now,” said Tom.

  “WHAT?” This kid was really getting to him. He was really going to enjoy killing him.

  “We’re about 6,000 miles away from you. Even if we boarded a plane now, which we can’t, we could not get there in 12 hours.”

  “So when can you be here?” Reaper said almost giving up.

  “We have no passports. That’s a major hurdle and we have missed the last flight tonight. The BA flight left at 9.20 p.m. and it’s now 9.30 p.m. local time…”

  “So when can you be here, just answer the question!” Reaper was fuming.

  “There is an Albair flight tomorrow afternoon at 5.00 p.m. that would get us into Glasgow at 2.30 a.m.”

  “What!! That is over 24 hours away. You must be able to do better than that. I’ll call you back.” Reaper hung up and turned to his communications man. “Find me the quickest route from Johannesburg to Glasgow from now.”

  Two minutes later, he phoned Tom back.

  “There is a flight in three hours via Nairobi. That will get you here tomorrow evening,” announced Reaper.

  “And what do you want us to do about not having passports. Tell them that, due to a hostage situation, we were unable to travel with our passports so please let us on or they’ll kill our parents?” Tom replied sarcastically.

  Reaper did not say anything. He walked into the lounge and nodded to Leo who slapped Rachel hard across the face. She screamed.

  Tom froze, realising what had just happened.

  Saki almost tore the arm off of his armchair as he restrained himself from protecting Rachel. Donald looked at Saki and pleaded with his eyes for him not to move.

  Walking back into the kitchen, Reaper continued.

  “Less attitude young man, remember the position your parents are in. Yes it’s not ideal for you to try to board a plane without a passport. How are you going to cover it?”

  “We can go to the High commission in Pretoria in the morning and get a letter which will get us on the plane and home without causing a fuss.”

  “OK, good thinking…if you land at 2.30 a.m., my men will be waiting to get you at the airport.”

  “OK but just so you know, we’re very well known at the airport and if someone strange picks us up, it will send alarm bells ringing.”

  “After you touch down, I’ll give you exactly one hour to get to the gates. If you have not arrived we’ll kill your mother. Do you understand Tom? Your parents are depending on you.”

  “I understand.”

  “Where are you going now?” asked Reaper.

  “We can go to the hotel next door. I’ve made reservations and we just need to pick up the key. We’ll make the short trip to Pretoria and be back here in plenty of time for the flight.”

  “Be careful and remember, I have eyes and ears everywhere.” Reaper ended the call.

  “Phew, it worked, he bought it, everything, even the passports…I just hope he doesn’t check with the High Commission, it’s not open on Sundays,” said Tom.

  “What next?” asked Kisho.

  “We wait for Benoit to do his magic.”

  “And if they can’t?” asked Lela.

  “We steal it!”

  Reaper’s phone rang. He had been dreading the call. He answered and held the phone away from his ear as a two minute tirade of abuse exploded through the earpiece.

  “It’s under control. They’re on their way back and will be here tomorrow night.”

  “What, under their own steam? I thought you were the best?! You underestimated two teenagers and they’re now playing you for a fool,” screamed the client.

  “I have nobody else on site. They’re all dead. Two teenagers didn’t kill twenty five men. We’ve had some bad luck but they’re scared and are scurrying back to save mummy and daddy.”

  “You had better hope so or your time on this planet is running out.”

  The call ended, no pleasantries.

  Chapter 57

  Tom’s phone rang, it was Benoit.

  “Ok, it’s done. Be there in three hours. Everything will be ready for you.”

  “Unbelievable, you’re a star,” Tom told Benoit.

  “Well goodbye, it was nice knowing you. The next time we speak, I’ll be dead and so will you be,” Benoit half joked.

  “Thanks Benoit.”

  Tom looked across the tarmac at the airplane and began to panic. It was going to happen, he was going to fly a
plane. Not just any plane. Across the tarmac, in a blaze of floodlights, sat the Airbus A380. It was one of only twelve Air France A380’s. Tom had noticed on his homepage, which of course was the Airbus website, that the A380 was used on the Paris to Johannesburg route

  Benoit was the son of the Chief Executive Officer of Air France and Tom did not know how Benoit had pulled it off. He was truly amazed.

  Lela, Kisho and Kano were dreading the call from Benoit. Lela more than anyone. She had watched Tom crash the very same plane many, many times. She knew he had mastered the simulator, but this was for real.

  The phone rang again, it was Benoit.

  “OK, here’s the story. The Aircraft has developed a fault and it needs to get back to Airbus at Toulouse. Our pilots on site are out of flying time and two replacements have been sent to pick up the aircraft, that’s your two guys. Two VIP’s are accompanying them as a gesture of goodwill, that’s you and Lela. The fault is minor but means that no passengers can fly. I’ve had to cance a flight with 382 passengers who are not going to be happy but we can sort that later! I’ve been on the phone and I think I’ve covered every angle. The head of security is Colonel Hibbert and he’s expecting you in the next two to three hours. All clearances for take off have been done and I think you’re good to go.”

  “What about the crew, are they covered? Will they not sound the alarm?”

  “Nope, covered, they’ve been given a week off and told to relax and enjoy themselves. They’re on a bus to Sun City as we speak.”

  “How long until it’s missing?”

  “I reckon you’ve got until Monday morning when the office opens and the plane is not at Toulouse being fixed. Then all hell will break loose.”