“I’ll go first. Just do what I do, and hold on.”
“I don’t like heights.”
“Neither do I, but we don’t have a choice.”
Ellie climbed up onto the toilet and put her leg through the window. Then she bent forward and pushed her body through. If she lost her balance now, she would fall to the ground. Her neck was dripping with sweat and a wave of nausea settled in the pit of her stomach. She waited a moment for her heart rate to slow before she held out her hand to help Clara.
“Shit, Ellie, I’m going to fall.”
“You won’t fall. Just take it nice and slow.”
They stood for a while with their backs against the wall. The wind was much stronger up here and Ellie began to wonder whether it had been the smartest thing to do. Then she started shuffling slowly away from the window, pressing her body against the wall.
“Slowly,” she urged Clara.
“If I fall, tell Enzio I love him and tell Uncle and Auntie Mavis thank you for everything. They were very good to me.”
Ellie heard the fear in the girl’s voice.
“I don’t do messages, so you’ll have to get yourself down safely.”
When they reached the end of the ledge, Ellie studied the distance to the roof below. It was further than it had seemed from the other side.
Fortunately the roof was flat and made of concrete. Ellie perched on the edge.
“I’ll go first, but you have to promise me you won’t lose your nerve. You have to jump.”
Clara nodded. Ellie jumped. She bent her knees and tried to roll as she landed. She hadn’t done anything like this for a long time and pain stabbed through her ribs. This time she had probably really cracked them.
She got to her feet and looked up. She found herself almost praying aloud that Clara wouldn’t back out now.
Before she could say anything, Clara jumped. She tried to do what Ellie had done and groaned. “Ow! My ribs!”
“Come,” Ellie said, and made her way to the front of the building as quickly as possible.
They were still some distance from the place where they could access the roof of the next building when a shot rang out very close to them. Ellie automatically dropped down, but Clara froze.
“Get down!” Ellie shouted.
The girl didn’t seem to hear. Ellie was forced to jump up and pull her down. She looked around for cover but their only chance was to get onto the next roof as soon as possible. There was a low wall they could hide behind.
Another shot rang out nearby.
“Clara, look at me.” Ellie turned the girl’s head so that she could look into her eyes. “When I count to three, we’re going to jump up and run for that wall over there. When we get there, you’re going to jump.”
“I can’t …”
“We’re nearly there, don’t give up now. Please.”
Ellie took her hand and began to count. When she said “Three!” she jumped up and pulled Clara along with her. Her back felt exposed.
Some distance from the wall she launched herself and jumped. Clara was a step behind her and they tumbled in a heap behind the wall. Both groaned loudly.
A third bullet flew over their heads and hit the wall. Ellie tasted cement.
“We have to get off this roof as quickly as possible. Some of them are probably already on their way to the front of the building.”
While she was talking, she heard more shots. It was beginning to sound like a war.
The part of the roof they were on was in shadow, so they crawled along on their bellies. Their clothes were soaked and clung to their bodies.
When they reached the front of the building, Ellie peered over the edge. She’d been right. They were only one floor above the ground. Below them was a portico, probably covering the entrance. They lowered themselves onto it and jumped to the ground.
At the sound of tyres screeching, Ellie pulled Clara across the street and into a narrow side street, and they started running. Ellie’s ribs protested with every step. Still the vehicle kept coming closer. Then she heard another car, and moments later more tyres screeching.
She pulled Clara into an alley where they sank down against the wall, struggling to get their breath.
“Stay here. I want to see if we can get over the fence at the back.”
“Don’t leave me,” Clara panted.
“I’ll come back, don’t worry.”
She ran cautiously along the side of the building. They were in an industrial area. To her relief, the back fence was low enough for them to get over and gave access to a different street.
She went back for Clara and waited a moment to listen. The cars had stopped and she heard voices, but the wind blew away most of the sound. Two more shots were fired and she heard two vehicles drive away.
Ellie gave Clara a worried look. It was hard enough to try to get away from one group, but to escape from two would be a challenge. There was also the danger of landing in the crossfire. She had to get to a phone. If only she knew where they were.
“Clara, do you know where we are?” she whispered as they ducked across the next street and came to a stop between the buildings.
“No.”
Ellie looked around her. The streetlights were far apart, on tall lampposts. She didn’t see any houses.
Somewhere behind them a dog began to bark and they swung around, alarmed. It had to be somewhere in the factory yard.
Ellie heard a car slowly approaching. They couldn’t go any further back. She took Clara’s hand and ran along the front of the building. She swerved into another side street and tried to circle to get behind the car. Maybe it wasn’t their pursuers and they were missing a chance to get help. If only she knew what kind of vehicles the men were driving.
Hope flared up when she saw a short row of semidetached houses among the industrial premises up ahead. She pulled Clara by the hand and they ducked across the street.
The houses were all surrounded by tall barbed-wire fences. Three of them had dogs jumping up against the fence. Ellie looked for a bell at the gates. How did visitors announce themselves?
A light came on at the last house in the row, and the curtains moved. Ellie ran closer and gestured that she wanted to use a phone. She didn’t know whether the person behind the curtain could see her in the dim light, but she kept gesturing. Then the curtains were drawn and the light was switched off. Ellie’s heart sank. Few people would open their doors to a stranger wanting to use the telephone at this time of night.
Two more shots rang out and Ellie pulled Clara down into a crouch. She hoped the residents of the houses would call the police, but experience had taught her that many more shots than these were fired in this city at night, and the police were seldom called.
“Ellie, I don’t know how much longer I can run. I’m dead tired. I don’t feel well.”
Ellie put her arm around Clara’s shoulders. “We’ll rest for a while.”
“It won’t do any good. I’m so cold I can’t feel my legs any more.”
Ellie herself was soaked to the skin and ice cold. She wished she could take a few moments to gather her thoughts. They had to get away, but she didn’t know how. Lights came around the corner, just as she heard another car pull away somewhere behind them. The men knew they couldn’t be far.
Staying in the shadows with Clara, she crept around the corner. She heard the vehicle accelerate, then stop. The doors flew open. She heard the slapping sound of feet running on the wet surface.
Ellie grabbed Clara and began to run. Maybe they wouldn’t shoot if there was a chance they might hit the wrong person, she told herself. The next moment a bullet smashed into the wall beside them. When Clara’s hand slipped out of hers, Ellie grabbed hold of her jersey and dragged her along.
As they came around the corner, Ellie saw a man at a gate that gave access to one of the buildings. He was locking the gate with a chain. Next to him was a bicycle. A security guard, it flashed through her mind. She had no idea what the
time was. Dragging Clara behind her, she ran as fast as she could. The man turned when he heard their footsteps.
“Please help us,” Ellie whispered breathlessly. She pointed at the corner where their pursuers’ footsteps were growing louder.
The man looked from Ellie to Clara, looked past them and dropped the chain. “Come.” He closed the gate behind them and pulled them into the shadow of a veranda.
Ellie pushed Clara down beside her behind a low wall. The footsteps had stopped. The voices were muted. From their hiding place Ellie saw the chain dangling from the gate. What if the men saw it? Would they come in to take a look? She didn’t want to put their Samaritan’s life in danger.
The three figures stood motionless.
Then one of the men approached the gate and Ellie heard him pick up the chain. Beside her, Clara’s breathing was rasping and uneven. She covered the girl’s mouth with her hand.
Before Ellie realised what was happening, the man who had helped them stood up, took his bicycle and headed for the gate. She held her breath.
“Hey, what are you doing?” His voice was loud in the silence.
“We’re looking for two people who stole from us.”
“There’s nobody here.”
“We’ll take a look.”
“No, this is private property.”
“Hey, old man …” Two more men had joined them, and one of them raised his firearm.
“The gate was locked. Could they have climbed the fence?”
Three pairs of eyes were raised. “When did you unlock it?”
“Just now. I unlocked it and went back to fetch my bike. No one has come in.”
The three looked at each other as the guard locked the gate, got on his bike and slowly started pedalling down the street.
Ellie sighed almost audibly. She’d hoped he’d have a cellphone.
“I told you they turned in somewhere,” she heard one of the men say. “They couldn’t have run so fast.”
Slowly Ellie removed her hand from Clara’s mouth. For the first time she looked at her watch. She had to move into the light of the streetlamp. It was five o’clock. Another three hours before the factory would open.
She felt the girl next to her start to shiver. She drew a few cardboard boxes near and sat Clara down on them. She was no longer speaking. Ellie couldn’t see if her eyes were open.
Another vehicle drove past, turned and drove slowly past again. Ellie thought of breaking a window in the hope that an alarm would be triggered and help would arrive, but the last thing she wanted to do was draw attention to this building.
She tried to get a look at the premises. Maybe there was a guards’ booth somewhere with a phone. But she couldn’t risk leaving the shadows while she could still hear vehicles, further away and then closer again. Twice she heard a burst of gunfire, and immediately afterwards tyres screeching on the tarmac.
She was still trying to think of a way out when she heard the clanging of the chain. She lifted her head cautiously and peered over the wall. A figure had unlocked the gate and was locking it behind him again.
Relief made her almost light-headed when she recognised the security guard. He sank down beside them in the shadows.
“Who are you?” he whispered. “What have you done?”
“We were kidnapped, but we escaped. Now our kidnappers are looking for us.”
“They’re shooting. It’s dangerous. Do you want me to call the boss?”
“No. Do you have a cellphone? I can call people to come and get us.”
He pushed a cellphone into Ellie’s hand. She dialled Clive’s number. It kept ringing. She cancelled the call and had to think hard to remember Nick’s number. He answered at the second ring.
“Nick, it’s McKenna. I’ve found Clara but we need help.” She looked at the guard. “What’s the address?”
He gave it to her. They were in Ndabeni. No wonder nothing looked familiar.
“Don’t come alone. There are two separate groups looking for us and they’re all armed.”
“Whose phone is it?”
“A security guard.”
“Ask him if you can keep the phone until we get there. I’ve got the number now. We must be able to contact you.”
Ellie asked the guard, who nodded. “I’ll stay.”
“Okay. He’s waiting with us. Clara doesn’t look good. We have to get her to a hospital.”
“We suspect Clara’s mother is involved.”
Ellie put the phone on silent mode, then lay back and began to rub Clara’s arms. That’s what had bothered her up there. That thinner man. The unnecessary heavy-handedness – it was personal.
Clara groaned softly. “Nick is on his way to fetch us,” said Ellie.
The security guard kept peering over the wall.
“Where’s your bicycle?”
“In the next street.”
“Thank you for coming back.”
“I saw you were in deep shit.”
Ellie nodded. “That’s no lie.”
A vehicle came around the corner and slowed down. Ellie wondered whether they’d ever give up. For a few million rand you were probably willing to try really hard. And Reggie? Reggie probably thought that if he rescued Clara she would stay with him out of gratitude. His feelings for her had always been dangerous. The kind that often led to tragedy.
The phone vibrated in Ellie’s hand. She was glad she had remembered to put it on silent.
“Are you okay?” asked Nick.
“Yes. Where are you?”
“About three streets away.”
“Be careful not to land in the crossfire,” she said.
“Wait until we’re there before you come out.”
Ellie looked over the wall. It had been one of the longest nights of her life. The night her dad died had also been a long one, but it had been spring and day had broken earlier. Not that daylight could make anything better. But it had reminded her that the earth kept turning. For part of that night she had been convinced the earth had stopped. How could it keep turning when he was no longer there?
When she was a child the night was always her time. Sometimes, when she was doing homework or studying for an exam, her dad would bring her coffee and the two of them would chat. As soon as her mom had gone to sleep she had seemed to relax, a feeling she’d wanted to cling to. But at the moment she needed light. She had to try to figure out Sally Veldman’s role. Why would a mother have her own daughter kidnapped? Why would a mother have her daughter assaulted? Aren’t you supposed to be genetically programmed to be unable to wilfully hurt your child?
She began to rub the girl’s arms again.
“Clara. Nick is almost here.”
Ellie heard a sound behind them and she swung around in time to see two figures climbing over the back fence. She couldn’t believe they had scaled it.
“We have to run,” the security guard whispered.
“She can’t run.”
“I’ll unlock the gate and come back to help you.”
Before Ellie could stop him, the guard jumped up and ran. She heard a shot, then the sound of the chain, and the man came running back in a crouch. He took hold of Clara on one side. Ellie took the other side and between them they supported her slight frame.
“I told you it’s the only place they could be!” she heard someone cry out behind them.
Just as they reached the pavement, a vehicle came around the corner and stopped in front of them. All four doors opened at the same time.
Sally Veldman reached them first and punched Ellie in the face. Her head struck the bonnet of the car as she fell.
“Clara …”
Clara raised her head and stumbled forward. “Ma … help me.”
Another car turned the corner and screeched to a stop. The doors flew open. Four armed figures sheltered behind the car.
“Sally, if you want to get out of this alive, you’d better let Clara go right now!” The voice belonged to Reggie.
Be
fore anyone could respond, three more cars came around the corner and skidded to a halt.
Ellie saw Nick jump out of the first car, pistol in hand.
“McKenna!”
“Here!” she called back.
One of the men from Sally’s group grabbed Ellie from behind. Another one picked Clara up from the ground.
“I don’t know who you are but you have no business here! Get lost!” Sally shouted.
“Let them go and we’ll leave.”
“This is family business.”
Another car came around the corner and stopped a short distance from Nick. Two people got out. To her surprise, Ellie saw it was Nazeem Williams and Calvin Veldman.
“Christ, Ma, what’s going on here?” Calvin said, heading towards Sally, but his uncle held him back.
“Ah, the king has arrived. Always where he’s not wanted.”
“Sally, let Clara and Miss McKenna go and we’ll forget about all this.”
“Forget? What would you like to forget? That my children and I have worked our fingers to the bone so that you can live in luxury while we’re sucking the hind tit?”
“Ma … Uncle has always looked after us.” Calvin sounded young and afraid.
“Don’t make me laugh. We all know who’s supposed to take over from him. This dog, Reggie. You know how many times you’ve told me you can’t deal with Reggie. I told you to make a plan, but no! You’re a coward, like your father. Believed Uncle would be fair. Fair, my arse.” She swung the pistol from side to side. “What about this seems fair to you?”
“Why did you have Clara kidnapped?” Calvin asked.
“Because everybody takes from me. First it was that man whose arse you’re licking, then the Italian. She’s my child, no one else’s. Did anyone ever give me a cent for her? No, she was spoiled rotten while I was suffering.”
“She’s not your possession.”
“Nazeem, tell this lot to fuck off. I’m tired and I’ve had enough of your shit. The Italian is going to give me the money, and then I’m going to run my own operation. And if I ever see any of you near our turf, you’d better hope your funeral policies are paid up.”
“Sally, one call to the police and your arse will be thrown in jail.”
The woman laughed. “Try it and hear how I’ll sing. I’ll be the best witness there’s ever been. I may do time, but I’ll take the whole bloody lot of you with me.”
Endgame Page 35