The call ended and Mairead let the phone slip from her fingers as she hung her head and wept. Eddie watched her, as he unlocked the cuff.
“Just remember what I said.” He gently eased the cuff from her wrist.
She stayed still and silent as he bandaged it.
“You know, Mairead,” he offered. “Until Zaleski is lying dead in front of me, nothing is certain.”
She stared out at nothing. “Why would you even care?”
“Because we’re not all like Asya.”
“But you’re still going to let her kill him, so what does that make you?”
Eddie glared at her. “A lot fucking smarter than you. Do you ever know when to quit?”
Mairead cringed at his harsh tone, which only frustrated him further.
“I’m not going to fucking hurt you. Get that into your thick head. I’m the one who is going to get you into that helicopter and out of here. Does that not count for anything?”
She nodded timidly. “Thank you.”
“But I will still be the coward, won’t I?”
Mairead shifted nervously. “I didn’t say that.”
“You didn’t need to,” he said quietly. “Some things don’t need to be said. Come on, get up and get dressed.”
Mairead slowly stood up, but was soon sitting down again as her head swam with giddiness. She tried again, but nearly fell over.
“I’m sorry. I feel sick.”
“Then you’ll have to let me help you, unless that doesn’t agree with you.”
“Help would be good,” she smiled.
She was very weak, needing to lean on him as he dressed her. Eddie felt a pang of paternal concern for her. “I’ll get you something light to eat before you go and I’ll pack some food to take with you.”
“Thank you,” Mairead said.
He looked up at her as he tied her shoes. “I won’t let them hurt you. I know you don’t believe me, but I would have stopped them or at least tried to.”
“Why would you want to help me? Yesterday you were hitting me.”
“I’m sorry about that,” he said quietly. “I had to make it look real, so they wouldn’t suspect that I didn’t share their hatred of you.”
“Why?”
“Because at my age, I don’t need your death on my conscience, or that of your child.”
She stared at him. “You know, if Dylan spared your life that time, then it was because he saw something good in you. I think it might have been a lot worse for me if you hadn’t been here, so I might have to agree with him.”
“Then you’d both be wrong.” Eddie stood up. “Are you ready?”
“Yes.”
* * * * *
Semyon put his phone down on the table and looked at the man across from him. “They will have him within the hour. I will fly out to meet up with them soon.”
Miller nodded, sipped his coffee and put his cup down. “And Mairead?”
“Zaleski is flying her out in his own chopper. He will hold my uncle until she is gone.”
“This uncle of yours? How is it that he survived when your father and his brothers were killed?”
“I only know what my mother told me. There were two brothers absent from the meeting, that night, Eddie and my Uncle Sergei, who was already in Zaleski’s hands, being tortured. It was his forearm that Zaleski sent as a calling card.”
“Quite the brute, this Zaleski,” Miller commented.
“They were all in the Gulag together. The Omon, were brought into the prison to quell riots that my uncle had initiated. Zaleski, Eddie and Igor were taken from their cells by these brutes. They never spoke of what happened, other than Zaleski got free and took the whole lot of them out. Igor apparently loved Zaleski and could not do enough for him, which only made his betrayal all the more evil.”
“And somehow, they both ended up in New Zealand. You don’t think that’s odd?”
“They arrived over ten years apart. I don’t see a connection. Eddie spent the last twelve in one of your prisons.”
Miller nodded. “Prior to 9/11, security in this country was laughable. I’m surprised we haven’t had a greater criminal element established here. After that, we had Mary Whittaker, who we now know was in league with Zaleski, and all the more reason we can’t leave him with your cousin too long. How do we know Asya won’t just kill him?”
“Because, she’s a sick bitch who likes to dish out pain. She’ll want her fun first. Yuri will keep an eye on proceedings. He just wants to get out of this and back to his cows. He will do as I tell him.”
“As long as nothing else goes wrong.” Miller shook his head, angrily. “I still don’t like that we don’t know where Adele is. She could prove to be a major problem.”
“Dead, most likely, if Zaleski got hold of her.”
“Let’s hope so. And the other girl, Greta, what has happened there?”
Semyon smiled. “Now that is an interesting development, one that you will be most interested in.”
“I’m listening.”
“Apparently her mother was looking for her as well,” Semyon explained. “She’s been posting her picture up around the city, with her phone number on it. One of Leo’s men came by one of these posters and Leo was able to hack into her phone. Only last night, Greta was stupid enough to make contact and give Leo her whereabouts.”
“So Leo has Greta back?” Miller smiled. “I’m pleased to hear it.”
“Unfortunately no. Somehow Greta was gone before his men arrived at the location, but another girl was there, a blonde girl who is familiar to you.”
“Who?”
“Esther Manning.”
Miller gasped softly. “They were hiding out together?”
“Yes, strangely enough.” Semyon grinned. “I don’t believe in coincidences. There’s something more to this, but you’re the one who needs to find out. In the meantime, we have Esther.”
“Where do you have her?”
“She’s with Leo’s boys at The Emerald. They been told not to harm her. I know she’s valuable to you.”
“The moment this is over, you are to bring her to me.”
“Of course,” Semyon nodded. “
“Once you have Zaleski, we get him out and we start cleaning up. Mairead Vaughn, her husband and anyone associated with them. No loose ends.” Miller stared at Semyon cautiously. “And you do understand what else that means, don’t you?”
Semyon nodded and got up, walking over to sideboard. “I rid myself of the name of Ivanchenko years ago. My uncles, my father, all criminals that deserved to die. They had no love of our nation, only of their own power. Of course, I’ve always liked Yuri and I will be sorry to see him die, but he gave up the Russian Federation years ago. As for Asya, she’s just a fucking bitch.”
Miller chuckled. “But a useful one.”
Semyon picked up a bottle of vodka and poured two glasses. He brought them back to his desk and placed one in front of Miller.
He lifted his own glass. “To Russia, and the glorious restoration of the Soviet.”
Miller smiled, lifted his glass and chinked it against the other. He nodded and replied in Russian. “To the Kremlin and our beloved President.”
CHAPTER SIXTY-TWO
The wind was blowing furiously, causing the rain to be blown about at an angle. Even with the thick jacket Eddie had given her, Mairead was still trembling, but more from fear than the cold. The front door was wide open and they were gathered in the hallway, looking at the bleakness outside.
Eddie smirked. “He knew what he was doing. Your sniper won’t have a chance in that.”
“You almost sound pleased, Uncle,” Aysa commented dryly.
“I’m a practical man,” he replied. “I know better than to adjust Zaleski’s plans to deceive him.”
“It was worth a try,” Yuri said. “More for your safety than anything.”
“I’ll take my chances with Zaleski, if we’re not first blown away by that wind.” He looked at Ma
iread. “You’ve got a rough ride ahead of you.”
She didn’t answer, but continued to stare at the gloom outside. A radio crackled and a static voice said something in Russian. Yuri brought it up and replied, as the others looked at him.
“It’s landing.”
Eddie looked at Mairead again. “Are you ready?”
Asya stepped forward to them, glaring at Mairead. “Just remember, if it all goes to shit you will die, and then I will go after your family and friends. I will teach Vanessa what pain really feels like.”
Mairead glared at her, but then looked up at Eddie. “Can we go?”
“Sure.”
“Good luck.” Yuri patted his shoulder. “We will see you soon.”
The cold, blustery wind assaulted them as they stepped outside and started the walk towards the heliport, some hundred metres from the house. Even being out in the wind and rain, Mairead felt the tremendous relief of walking away from them, along with the guilt-ridden hope that she was going to survive. She strained to see their destination, but the helicopter was beyond the trees and visibility was limited, with the rain pelting into their faces.
Eddie maintained a firm grip on her arm. She was almost thankful for it as they went among the trees, hammered by the wind. Looking about she could see the murky shapes of men on either side among them, but as they cleared the lawn and trees, she was drawn to the sound of the rotating blades of a helicopter.
Out in the open, the wind renewed its force upon them, making her keep her face down and turned away, until Eddie was shouting for her to look up. Mairead’s heart hammered as she saw the man coming towards them through the gloom.
Dylan closed the gap between them in a jog. Eddie stopped, pulling her into his body, until Dylan was holding up his gloved hands. Mairead wanted to fall into him, tell him to take their chances and run. Tears were running down her face as she looked into his.
He winced to see her beaten face and glared furiously at Eddie. “You want to tell me who did that to her?”
“The one she sunk her teeth into.”
Dylan smirked and smiled at Mairead. “Are you alright, Mairead?”
She nodded sombrely, her lip trembling. “Please, don’t do this.”
“It’s done, and I’m at peace with it, knowing it’s over for you.”
“But not for you,” she sobbed. “I’ve done this to you. They’ll kill you…”
“Enough,” Eddie demanded. “Are we going to do this or not?”
“A deal’s a deal,” Dylan nodded. “My life for hers. Release her.”
.Eddie backed away and drew out a gun. “First you kneel down. This will be trained on her until that chopper takes off. She gets the first bullet if anything goes wrong. Is that understood?”
“Yes.” Dylan knelt and looked up at Mairead. “You heard him. Go straight to the chopper and the pilot will look after you.”
“I can’t,” she shook her head, crying bitterly. “I can’t leave you.”
“Mairead.” Dylan shouted at her above the wind. “You fucking do as I tell you. Get on that chopper and get out of here. That is all you can do for me now, or it’s all been for nothing. Please, Mairead, do this for me.”
Her heart was shattering, but she nodded and took her first shaky step, before looking at Eddie. “Everyone should get a second chance.”
He looked away from her and Mairead turned to the misty shape of the helicopter, slowly walking towards it as her cries were lost in the wind.
CHAPTER SIXTY-THREE
Paris, May 2005
By eleven o’clock, the hotel bar was nearly empty and Mary was nodding off at the table. With a mixture of alcohol and emotional trauma, she felt exhausted enough to return to her room and sleep the next several hours away. Tomorrow, she would head back to London, before returning to New Zealand and her career.
It was absurd to mourn something of such little substance. It wasn’t as if a stable relationship had ended. What she had shared with Dylan Tyler was more of a dysfunctional interdependence, based on carnal desires and ambition. She didn’t need that anymore, or him for that matter.
Only two nights before, she had stood before the heads of Intelligence from four other nations and delivered a speech on the absolute necessity of mass data collection, to counteract terrorist threats. Her peers had competed for her attention. They had been awed by her knowledge of satellite and communication technology. How dare he discard her as if she was no-one.
She just didn’t understand why all other men seemed to pale in comparison to him. What was it about Dylan that stripped her of all her strengths and bared her soul? And why on earth did Tammy bother her so much?
It was impossible to hate her, knowing what she had been through. It was doing her head in. Tammy needed to be shown that she could overcome her past and live a normal, healthy life. That’s what made women strong, being the conquerors instead of the victims. That was never going to happen by staying with Dylan.
Why would any self-respecting woman want to be treated like a child? Tammy needed to wake up to herself, act her age and face her responsibilities, like everyone else in the world. So what, if she had never felt love in her childhood. That was the reality for millions of women around the world, many who then went on to spend their whole lives with abusive men, though it didn’t have to be like that. Why should Tammy be any different? With the right counselling, she could lead a normal life, and the people who had mistreated her could face their crimes.
“We all have to face up to our crimes, sooner or later.” She sat up, realising that she had spoken out loud. Looking around, there was no-one to hear her, but the receptionist from the front desk was approaching her.
“Miss Whittaker, I just got a call from a man who wouldn’t give his name. He said that if you wanted to talk, he will be at the Pont Neuf in the next half hour. That’s a bridge…”
“I know what the Pont Neuf is,” Mary interrupted, already getting up. “That’s wonderful. Thank you.”
“Would you like me to get you a taxi?”
“No, it’s not that far. I’ll walk, but thank you.”
Mary hurried out into the night, feeling overwhelmed and unprepared for what she was about to do. Summer had begun early and the air was still warm, refreshing her from the effects of the alcohol. Even in this foreign city, it reminded her of that night, seeing Master for the first time. She had never felt more alive.
As was her habit, Mary began to voice her thoughts aloud, imagining Dylan walking beside her. “I’m doing this for your own good. We all have to face up to our crimes, and I was right to do what I did, because that’s what needed to done, just as this needs to be done. Everything has to be made right.”
She stopped and her face grew angry. “You didn’t even let me talk. If you had, you might have wanted to know we’ve got a Russian sleeper agent trying to infiltrate our government and he used Tammy to do that. Well, I know someone who wants to know, and tonight my debt will finally be paid.”
Laughter pulled her from her thoughts. She looked about to see a group of young girls passing by her, looking at her and giggling. They were all young and pretty, dressed to the nines for the nightlife. They were talking in French, but she knew what they were saying. She walked on, and her thoughts continued silently. I had to make it right, and yes, Tammy will suffer but why should she always be with you? Why couldn’t it have been me?
“Mary.”
She was startled hearing her name called from the bridge and she hurried on, not realising she had come this far. Wiping at some tears, she smiled at the man approaching and glaring at her.
“I’m so glad you decided to come after all. I know you said you didn’t want to talk to me, but you’ll want to hear what I have to say. I know now how I can make it right.”
CHAPTER SIXTY-FOUR
Wellington, May 2015
“Press conference? What fucking press conference?” Miller glared down at Kutcher behind his desk, before turning his ang
er to Collins. “Everything was to be reported to me. Everything. You’ve had Adele Easton in your custody all this time and this is the first I’m hearing of it?”
“Calm down, Bevan,” Kutcher told him firmly. “We’ve got Adele back alive and unharmed. That’s the important issue here….”
“And she should be in my custody…”
“On what grounds are you claiming this, Bevan?”
Bevan turned to look at the Minister of Justice, William Simmons, a tall, stick figure of a man, with glasses on a long, thin nose. “On the grounds we have a terrorist threat…”
“No, that’s not what I’m hearing. I’ve spoken to Miss Easton myself and there’s some odd goings on, and I’m particularly concerned we may be holding an innocent man in custody…”
“Brendan North is dead,” Miller roared at him. “So James Vaughn will be charged with his murder, on evidence and his confession…”
“Now, hang on there, Bevan. This is conflicting with what Miss Easton is telling me and the other lass…” He looked at Collins.
“Senior Detective Cooper,” Collins told him.
“Cooper,” Simmons nodded. “She believes Vaughn signed a confession purely to help his wife…”
“While Mairead was evading custody.”
“Yes, yes,” Simmons nodded. “But speaking to Sean Kavanagh, his daughter is pregnant and has been undergoing therapy for PTSD. Cooper also tells me that Mairead was held past the expiry of the warrant and treated in a hostile manner.”
Miller gritted his teeth. “There’s nothing wrong with her. She attacked me whilst in custody.”
“I actually gave Mairead’s doctor a call, myself,” Simmons commented, glancing to the others. “I understand sufferers of PTSD often believe themselves in life threatening situations, and can respond in what they truly believe to be self-defence. And there’s a question of how she was treated whilst in custody.”
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