Chapter Twenty Six
Four of the younger lads, including Hedge, reacted immediately they saw the threat, but the boy standing nearest to Prem hadn’t moved fast enough. The stick swung through the air and caught him hard on the shoulder. Fortunately, it was only the wood that impacted, the sharp nail missing him by a fraction of an inch.
The boy howled and pulled away from the two seniors. He took a quick look at his shoulder area to survey the damage. His coat was a beige coloured, bomber style jacket, and there was a large brown smudge running across it from the shoulder to the collar.
He grimaced with disgust and ran off back towards the boarding house.
His four friends had bolted towards the woods, and it was in this direction that Prem and Johnson started to head off in. They were walking fast at first, and then started to jog.
‘We’re coming to get you little sods,’ Prem shouted, waving the stick in front of him.
He had quickly replenished the end of his wood after striking the first boy, so it was now once more fully loaded.
The boys had disappeared, apart from one - little Toby Morris. Prem could see him trying to hide around the side of a large elm tree. He skirted behind the tree to approach Toby from behind without being seen. When he was just a few feet away, Toby heard the rustle of leaves as Prem’s feet moved. He spun around and shrieked.
‘No, please, leave me alone.’
Prem had an expression of pure hatred on his face as he quickly narrowed the remainder of the gap between the two of them. He swung his weapon, laughing as he did, and brought it down with terrific force onto the middle of Toby’s back.
The young lad yelped with pain. The nail had forced its way through Toby’s cotton jacket, leaving a brown smear as it did so, and then buried itself in his flesh.
‘Ow. Ow. That really hurts.’ Toby screamed, as he fell on to the ground. He was racked with tears, and was desperately trying with one of his arms to reach round and pull the nail out from his back.
Prem was laughing hysterically. He pulled hard on the wooden stick and managed to free it. Then, even to Johnson’s horror, he raised it again and prepared for a second strike into the back of the crying boy.
Johnson grabbed the wood before it could be swung, making sure he didn’t hold it anywhere near the mucky end. ‘That’s enough, Prem. Even you can see that this has gone too far. Let’s go.’
Prem turned and glared at his fellow senior. Just for a moment Johnson thought he saw something very evil in those eyes as they stared directly back at him. Then the tension drained from Prem’s face.
‘Ok, let’s get out of here. My experiment is complete. Let’s see what happens over the next few days,’ he said.
The two senior boys ran off. As they went, Prem was still talking excitedly about what a great achievement it would be if young Morris did actually get a bad infection. Just like in the hundred year’s war.
Johnson ignored him. He just wanted to get back to his room without being seen by the housemaster.
Toby Morris struggled back to the boarding house, and was greeted sympathetically by his friends. Hedge and another boy offered to take him over to see the school nurse. She looked at the wound and demanded to know how he had come by this injury. Morris initially refused to say, but eventually he blurted it all out.
The following morning Morris was sent off to the local hospital. Immediately after waving him off, the school nurse went to meet with the boy’s housemaster.
Morris was kept in hospital for two days, while they monitored the infection he had been diagnosed with. He also had severe bruising on his back. He was sent home for two weeks to convalesce, before returning to school and catching up with his mates.
Arriving back at school, he was greeted enthusiastically by his friends. They were all the more impressed as he had turned up with fresh cakes baked by his mother. After lights out that evening, Morris and his friends gathered around one of the beds in the room and laid out a celebration feast.
They had only just finished scoffing the food, when a senior boy came into the dormitory and told Morris that he should immediately report to Tom Wilson’s room. Wilson was the Head Boy of the boarding house, so he was the most senior of the seniors.
‘What do you think he wants?’ Morris sounded quite concerned.
His friends explained that he was most likely going to be punished for ‘grassing’. This was the worst thing you could do at a place like Upperdale.
Morris was very anxious when he headed off to see Wilson.
‘Come in,’ barked Wilson, when the junior boy had knocked tentatively on his door.
Wilson had been joined by two other senior boys. All three of them looked quite stern.
‘Do you know what grassing is Morris,’ said Wilson.
‘Yes.’ Morris’s voice was very quiet.
‘Do you know what we do to people who grass?’
Morris shook his head. He was so anxious that he no longer trusted his voice. His legs felt wobbly, and he suddenly developed an acute urge to go to the toilet.
Wilson looked across at one of his colleagues. ‘Is it hot yet?’
The other senior boy took a small electric element out from the top of a large mug. The element was still plugged into the mains socket in the wall, just under the table. The boy holding the metal coil, held it at arm’s length, as it was clearly very hot. There were drops of water bubbling on its surface, and steam was rising from it.
‘Well pass it here then, for goodness sake. Young Morris deserves this,’ said Wilson.
Morris stood still, quivering with fear. He had heard about how other junior boys had been tortured with hot water heaters. Some had been left with severe burn scars on their bodies.
‘Please, no, don’t hurt me,’ he said.
‘Don’t worry,’ said Wilson, ‘You’ve earned this.’
About thirty minutes later young Morris returned to his dormitory. His mates had been worried, and they wanted to hear what had happened.
Morris seemed quite shocked, and it took him a while to collect his thoughts.
‘Well,’ he started to explain, ‘it seems Prem has been expelled from the school. They told me how they had been trying to get rid of that wanker for quite some time, and then they made me a lovely hot cup of coffee.
They even offered me a biscuit.’
Chapter Twenty Seven
Hedge woke with a start. His eyes flew open and flashed left and right briefly. He breathed in several gulps of air. He felt like he had been struggling for breath.
Cole was pulling on his arm. ‘Wake up. They’re bringing drinks round. You don’t want to miss this. I’ve ordered you a milk shake.’
Hedge looked over at his travelling companion. ‘As much as I feel sorry for your situation at the moment, you can be such an idiot sometimes Cole.’
As soon as they were out of the airport, they took a taxi to their hotel, which was close to the centre of Cape Town. It was a warm evening, the sun was still visible, but not for much longer - it was drifting down close to the horizon. The massive lump of rock that is Table Mountain stood starkly in the background as they drove through the city.
Some of the streets they travelled through were dirty and strewn with litter. In these parts, rusty corrugated iron shacks lined the sides of the road. Black faces were peering out of the windows and doors as they passed by.
Then, without warning, the layout of the streets would change. Large, gated houses, ringed with high, decorative fencing appeared. These properties would have manicured front lawns, and parking spaces for several cars. Black faces were still to be seen everywhere, but now they were mowing lawns, or weeding the decorative flower beds.
They checked in to their hotel, enjoyed an evening meal of steak and potatoes, and then headed to bed.
First thing next morning Cole was keen to get on with the task in hand.
‘We need to go and find a guy called “The Dentist”. I need to pick something up from hi
m.’
They took a taxi to a rough looking part of the city. The driver didn’t want to hang around, so they paid him off, and he drove away quickly.
After making a few enquiries, they were pointed in the direction of a small, metal hut, at the end of a road called Fisher Street. Two men stood near the entrance to the building. Both big, both black, and both armed. Cole told them he needed to see The Dentist. They were both searched, and shown in through the front door.
‘You need to go all the way through, then out the back door.’ One of the men said.
Cole walked in. Hedge followed. He was terrified. He was forcing himself to stay calm, but it wasn’t easy. This place made him feel very nervous. Seeing the armed, black men at the front door was unsettling. He felt very vulnerable.
They stepped out of the back door and into a small courtyard. Several vehicles were parked here, and more black faced men were standing about.
A large man with a heavily tattooed face stood in the middle of a group of men. He was shouting at a terrified looking youngster.
‘You don’t fuck with me. You don’t ever fuck with me,’ he was shouting. ‘Do you want to see what happens when you do, man. Do you have any idea how I got my name?’ He looked angry. Spit was coming out of his mouth as he spoke. His voice was deep and booming. He nodded at two of his henchmen. They grabbed the youngster from behind by the arms, at the same time forcing his head down hard. His knees buckled and he ended up with his face pressed against the concrete floor of the courtyard. His nose was squashed against the rough surface and his teeth were almost touching the concrete.
‘Don’t you ever mess with me again,’ the man known as The Dentist repeated.
He put his heavy boot on the top of the youngsters head, lifted it, and then stamped down hard. The impact broke the bone in the youngster’s nose, and forced his mouth down snapping four of his front teeth clean off at the gums.
The young man howled with pain. He was dragged off screaming by the two burly men holding him.
The Dentist looked round a split second later to where Cole and Hedge stood. He had a big smile on his face. He looked genuinely pleased to see them. The change in his temperament was instant and dramatic.
‘What can I do for you gentlemen?’
He held out his hand as he walked towards them.
Cole took a step forward and held out his hand also. Hedge remained where he was. He felt quite sick. What he had just witnessed made him feel ill. His stomach was churning. He wanted to run away, but he doubted if his legs were capable of moving. Cole was saying something. Hedge tried to focus.
‘You’ve been highly recommended to us by a colleague of mine.’
‘Who may that be?’ The Dentist asked.
Cole deliberately ignored the question. ‘I’m looking for something to protect myself with. We may be here for a few days, and I need something lethal.’
‘What about him? He looks deadly to me.’ He nodded his head towards Hedge, and then collapsed with laughter. The rest of the group gathered around them also started hooting with delight.
Hedge looked awkward. He put his hands in his pockets and stared down at the ground. He caught sight of the small pool of blood on the ground where the youngster had just been maimed. He felt the nausea rise up again from the pit of his stomach. What the hell was he doing here? He should never have agreed to accompany Cole on such a dangerous trip.
Cole had joined in the laughter and glanced across at his companion.
His expression suddenly changed, and he turned back towards The Dentist. ‘He may look harmless, but he can be bloody nasty when he wants to.’ He had stopped laughing and looked the African man straight in the eyes. ‘I was with him when he shot dead a young American girl with a Glock 17 pistol. All she did was spill a little hot water on his bed. He got pretty angry about that, I must say.’
Cole strode over towards Hedge and picked up his hand. He turned the palm upwards and held it out for all to see. Across the palm was a scar, about an inch long. The scar tissue was white, and it stood slightly proud from the hand.
‘Someone once tried to attack my friend here with a knife. He didn’t bother with any of that fancy self defence crap. He simply let the attacker run his blade through his hand, pulled the knife away from him, removed it calmly from his palm, and then rammed it up the other guy’s arse. He had to go to hospital to have it removed, and couldn’t shit properly for three months.’
Cole dropped Hedge’s hand. He looked around to see if any of those present were still laughing. They weren’t. Hedge had told him the story about how he had impressed his girlfriend with his accidental heroics. No harm in embellishing that event, he thought.
The Dentist had also stopped laughing. His face hardened. ‘What are you looking for?’
‘We need something to protect ourselves. I was told you could supply almost anything.’
‘You heard wrong. I can supply anything, not just almost anything. It’s just a matter of price, as with everything.’
The Dentist held up his right hand and waved one of his men over. The man had a large holdall with him. He opened the zipper, and the top of the bag came open. The Dentist leaned down and pulled a large handgun out. Hedge thought it looked very heavy, and no doubt very dangerous.
Cole grinned. ‘That’s very nice. If I’m not mistaken it’s a Smith and Wesson 500 Magnum.’
The Dentist nodded. ‘You know your guns, my friend. This one is untraceable. It’s yours for three thousand of those lovely American dollars.’
‘A nice offer, but expensive. Anyway, I need something a bit more subtle. If I get pulled over by your friendly police, I don’t need them to find me with something like that.’
The black man nodded thoughtfully. ‘I have something that you may like.’
He waved at one of his men. The man went inside the metal clad building, and came back out carrying what looked like a compact crossbow.
The Dentist took the weapon from him, and held it out for Cole to inspect.
‘This is a Barnett Ghost 410 crossbow. Quite legal, as many of our citizens use such things for hunting. It’s light, only weighing just over seven pounds. It fires carbon bolts, at a speed of over four hundred feet per second. I can let you have this one for just one thousand dollars.’
The crossbow looked quite effective, Cole thought, but only over a short distance. It was quite compact, made of a black carbon compound, so fairly strong. It wouldn’t be as effective as a handgun, but he didn’t want any trouble.
‘Let me show you,’ The Dentist said.
He held the weapon down near his foot and drew back the cocking mechanism. The man who had brought out the crossbow from the building handed him a long black bolt. It was around twenty inches long, Cole estimated. The Dentist pointed at one of his men and shouted out some instructions. A loud shrieking noise echoed around the yard. The man’s eyes flew open, and he threw his hands up in the air. He shrieked again and then ran off at a fast sprint away from the group.
The Dentist laughed loudly. Then he pulled the weapon up to his chin and was aiming down the scope. He concentrated on the running man for just a second, before pulling the trigger. There was a click, and a gentle ‘whooshing’ noise as the bolt flew towards its target.
The running man suddenly shrieked again. He must have been around twenty metres away from the group. He was now crying out in pain, and shouting wildly. He had stopped running, and was hobbling along, dragging his left leg behind him. Hedge and Cole could see why. The long bolt had struck him in the top of the leg and gone right through his thigh muscle. The point of the bolt was sticking out of the front of his leg.
The crowd of men gathered around The Dentist were all hooting with laughter. Hedge was watching the scene with a look of horror on his face. He felt quite shocked. He just wanted to get out of this place as quickly as possible, preferably without any injuries.
Cole was shaking his head, his face showing little emotion. ‘It’s a
toy really, but it’s better than nothing. I’ll give you five hundred for it, and a few of the bolts.’
Cole pulled a few banknotes out of his back pocket and handed them over to The Dentist. The big, black man smiled and gave him the weapon, and six of the carbon bolts.
‘Enjoy playing with your new toy,’ he said.
Cole just grunted, and then held out his hand to The Dentist.
They needed to get going
Hedge was just glad to be out of that place.
He desperately needed to go to the toilet.
Chapter Twenty Eight
Their next task was to see if they could locate the man known as Spiro. They looked up the address of the restaurant the Greek man owned. It was located on a road called Strand Street, quite close to the fashionable area known as the V&A Waterfront.
They left their rental car in a nearby multi storey car park, and walked the last few hundred yards to the restaurant. The place looked smart, and had a large sign above front window pronouncing ‘Spiro’s Greek Restaurant.’
Once inside, they were greeted by a young, coloured girl. Definitely not of Greek extraction, Hedge thought to himself. She smiled politely, giving them a flash of brilliant white teeth.
Cole got straight to the point. ‘Is the owner around? We would really like to have a chat with him. It’s a business matter.’
‘I’m afraid he is out of town at the moment,’ the girl replied politely. ‘He should be back tomorrow. Or maybe the day after.’
Cole swore under his breath.
‘Thanks for your help,’ said Hedge. ‘Do you have a number we can contact him on please?’
The girl gave him a business card. Hedge smiled at her, and then they left.
Cole was frustrated. He wanted to get on and find the man called Spiro. He was desperate to talk to him to see if he could tell them anything about Solomon. Who he was? Where he might be? Why had he taken his wife? What did he want? There were so many unanswered questions.
The Terminate Code: A gripping, page-turning, action adventure revenge thriller, with a fast pace, and a terrifying twist in its tail ! (Hedge & Cole Book 2) Page 11