by Mark Arundel
I continued to hold her down. I said, ‘What’s the problem?’
She screamed, ‘You, you bastard. You bloody queue jumper.’
I knew I had made a mistake. She wasn’t the Chinese assassin; just a tired, bad-tempered holidaymaker who didn’t like people pushing in. I moved off her and pulled her up. She pushed me, swore again loudly and stomped away. Everyone was staring. Murmuring started and I looked at the receptionist who was definitely not smiling. I realised I wasn’t going to be getting my room. I turned to find Geoffrey with the thought of leaving quickly and the shock was sudden and intense. Geoffrey wasn’t there. I scanned the lobby, along the desk, and the exits but he was missing. I felt immediate alarm. An overweight man in his thirties stood close to me. I moved forward and questioned him. ‘The man I was with; the man I pushed over; where did he go?’ He looked confused and shrugged. He was surprised I had spoken to him. He seemed nervous of me. I searched the lobby again and then a boy of about ten, probably the man’s son, said, ‘He left with two other men.’ The boy turned and pointed at the door.
I moved with the speed of Mercury. I grabbed Geoffrey’s bag from the floor where it had fallen and ran for the exit. The sudden brightness of being outside forced my eyes to squint. I rapidly searched. I was just in time to see a light blue saloon car driving away. There were two occupants in the back. I sprinted after it. The abrupt physical movements made my stitches tighten and I felt the pain jabbing across my ribs. The car was accelerating fast and I reached the turn in the road only to watch it pull away up the hill and disappear at the top. I slowed my running and a wave of sickness flooded my guts. It wasn’t a physical sickness, just the sickness of despair. I had gotten close enough to the car to see the two rear seat occupants. One of them was Geoffrey.
I forced myself to think rationally. I pushed aside the anger I felt with myself and focused. At that moment, Geoffrey was still alive. It was still possible I could save him. Despondently I realised that the most likely scenario was that whoever had snatched him would probably put a bullet through his head within the next ten minutes and then drop his body somewhere quiet. I shook that from my mind and steeled myself with the thought that they hadn’t killed him straight away despite the opportunity. This I hoped meant they needed to keep him alive for a while, and perhaps that time would be long enough for me to find him.
I threw Geoffrey’s bag over my shoulder and began running back to the car. As I ran, I called Charlotte on my Sony phone. I was already formulating an idea into a plan. I turned the corner and the marina came into view as Charlotte answered. She said, ‘What’s happened?’ She knew I probably wouldn’t call her unless there was a problem.
I said, ‘Geoffrey’s been snatched. Two men took him. They drove him away. That’s all I know.’ I had reached the car. It was where I had left it. I looked over at Dancing Brave. The boat swayed gently on the water. The low evening sunshine reflected from her tall white mast. She looked lonely and deserted. Alicia had already finished her preparations for the next day and left.
Charlotte didn’t waste any time. She said, ‘Did you get the car’s registration number?’
I said, ‘Yes,’ and then told it to her from memory. It was a local number plate; the car was possibly a rental. I said, ‘If it is a rental it’s unlikely they gave a genuine address.’
Charlotte said, ‘I’ll check it anyway.’ She then said, ‘Do you have any way of finding him?’
I was on my hands and knees looking under the car. I couldn’t see anything that shouldn’t be there. I peered through the driver’s window and studied the dashboard. It didn’t look as if anyone had tampered with it. I opened the door and got in, placing Geoffrey’s bag next to me on the passenger seat. I fired the engine and said, ‘Yes, I’ve got a plan.’ The little Seat car started on the first turn and didn’t explode.
Charlotte said, ‘Tell me your plan.’
I said, ‘We’ll use his phone to locate his position. He had it in his pocket when he was taken.’ Since losing Geoffrey, I had been thinking about how they knew where to find us. They could have tracked the call to Charlotte from Geoffrey’s phone. I was going to do the same thing.
Charlotte said, ‘I can only pinpoint the location when the phone is either making or receiving a call.’
I knew that meant that when I got Charlotte to call Geoffrey’s phone two things would have to be in my favour. The first was that Geoffrey would have to be able to answer the call and secondly I would have to be close enough to his location to get to him before they either killed him or moved him. The odds were not on my side.
I sped away from the marina uphill and away from the coastline towards the residential area. It grew into the cliff like a stepped vineyard on the slopes of Bordeaux. I told Charlotte my thoughts concerning the two problems with my plan and then said, ‘I think it’s likely he’s been taken to a rented villa. If they intend to interrogate him then they wouldn’t want to be in a hotel. They would have chosen a secluded villa nearby. The direction they drove makes me think the villa is somewhere on the cliff, and that’s where I’ll be when you make the call to Geoffrey’s phone.’
Charlotte said, ‘Where are you now?’
I said, ‘About two minutes away. When I’m in place and you’re ready, I’ll turn on my K106. I want to use it for pinpointing Geoffrey’s location, so I can get to him quickly. I know it could act as a beacon but I’ll have to take that chance. Using the K106 is the fastest way for me to get to him.’
Charlotte was silent and I didn’t like the sound of her silence. I could tell, even though she hadn’t said anything or given anything away in her voice, that she was disappointed in me. Losing Geoffrey the way I had was a bad mistake and Charlotte, although she didn’t know the details, I knew would be thinking I’d messed up. If luck was with me and I got half a chance I was going to put my mistake right. I was determined to prove to her that she had picked the right man.
I was in place. I positioned the car so I could get away fast in either direction and turned on the headlights. I checked the magazines in both Glocks and chose the full one. The other I pocketed. I might need them both. I said to Charlotte, ‘I’m ready.’ I prepared to switch on my K106.
Charlotte confirmed, ‘Ready,’ and then said, ‘I’m calling Geoffrey’s phone now.’
I switched on my K106 and it lit up. Charlotte said, ‘It’s ringing but there’s no answer yet.’ A long time seemed to pass before she said, ‘The call’s been answered but it’s silent; there’s no voice.’
I said, ‘As soon as you’ve got a location send the co-ordinates to my K106.’ There was silence while Charlotte worked. Then she said, ‘Got it. He’s very near the water about three hundred metres north of the marina. The satellite location and navigation should be on your K106 now.’ I looked at the screen and they were there. He was back the way I had just come. They must have doubled back after disappearing at the top of the hill. It was a private villa just as I had suspected and less than five minutes from where I was. I accelerated away and said to Charlotte, ‘I’ll call you when I have something.’
What she said to me was exactly right. In a strong, cold voice she said, ‘He’s relying on you; don’t let him down.’ She ended the call and her words stayed in my head. If he were still alive when I got to him, I’d save him. That was a promise.
From the navigation supplied by my K106, I realised the road to the villa was only accessible by driving above and around the marina, which is why they had gone the way they did. I turned onto the quiet, narrow residential road in under four minutes. It was still less than twelve minutes since I had lost him. My K106 told me which villa I wanted. From the road, a high wall hid the property and obscured any hope of visual contact. An arched security door and the garage door were both inbuilt. There weren’t any security cameras. I studied the wall top and made my decision.
The island sun had dropped nearer to the horizon and the light had turned dirty as if it was coming through a filter
like those placed over a camera lens. Last light wasn’t long away but I couldn’t wait. The simplest route in was over the wall. This type of operation was a favourite training exercise in my regiment: hostage rescue from a hostile building. Only in the regiment, we did it in teams. It’s not so easy alone. If it goes wrong, the hostages nearly always end up dead. I put that thought out of my mind and parked the Seat up against the wall. The road was empty. I got out and climbed onto the car’s roof. Slowly, I lifted my head and peered over the wall. The villa was a single storey building; long and deep with the main outside area on the far side looking out to sea. I listened but all I could hear was the shrill cry of a seabird carried on the breeze and the sound of the ocean lapping against the rocks.
I went over the wall and dropped softly onto the hard earth between two bushes of dry grasses. Listening again didn’t provide anything new. I pulled the Glock from my waistband. There was a door into the property to my left, so I went right. At the corner, I crept along the wall and down the side. The light here was worse and I realised dusk was falling fast. To my right, the ground opened out behind thick tropical plants to a swimming pool and a wooden deck that looked out to sea and the tall black cliffs.
Again, I stopped and listened. I looked up and checked the roof and the tall palm trees. I always look up as well as forward when approaching an enemy-held position. Not doing so had once almost cost me my life.
Ahead, sliding glass doors were open. The empty bedroom had a four-poster and gently humming air-conditioning. I moved beyond it to the corner. A stepped patio with a vine-draped pergola contained a table and chairs for outside dining. Beyond I saw more sliding glass doors. Again, they were open. I remained tight against the villa wall and moved cautiously. Before reaching the opening, I heard a man’s voice coming from inside. The voice was British, a voice I had heard before and I tried to remember where. I crept a few steps closer and looked in through the fixed glass panel alongside the opening. It was gloomy inside. I saw a man standing with his back to me. A second man was standing against the far wall partially obscured by a pillar. I couldn’t see his face clearly. The standing man with his back to me spoke again. He said, ‘We are here to help you. It’s important you answer my questions.’ It was then that I remembered where I’d heard the voice before. The man moved, stepping to one side and turning so I could see his face in the failing light. It was Mr. Stephen Bradshaw from meeting room number 6. My mind raced through the Whitehall meeting but nothing connected. Sitting in a chair in front of him was Geoffrey. He was unharmed but he looked uncomfortable as though he didn’t like what was happening. A third figure walked into view and exchanged a glance with Bradshaw. I recognised him immediately and then I realised who the other man was, too. They were Robert Treadwell and Andrew Baines. The two men from earlier in the day at the apartment were Geoffrey had been staying. I wondered how their heads were feeling.
I pulled back and leant against the wall. This was not good. I was hoping it would be the Russians or the Chinese. I wouldn’t have a problem killing them. Stephen Bradshaw, though, posed a big problem. I couldn’t be certain he was a bad guy and had I made a mistake earlier with Treadwell and Baines. Were they there to help Geoffrey, but if so, why grab him as they did at the hotel? I didn’t have the answers. I didn’t have any answers. The safest thing to do, I decided, was to shoot all three of them dead without any further delay. I readied the Glock and took another glance. I saw Geoffrey sitting in the chair. There were no restraints of any kind and he wasn’t being threatened or physically harmed. I swore softly to myself. Why didn’t the good guys wear white hats and the bad guys wear black hats anymore as they used to in old cowboy films. I put the Glock into the waistband at my back and stepped through the open glass doors with a big smile on my face. I said, ‘Hello, Mr. Bradshaw, what are you doing here? How’s Geoffrey? Alive and well I see.’ Four faces all moved in unison. For a moment, Geoffrey’s was the only friendly one and then Mr. Bradshaw smiled. He said, ‘What are you doing here?’ Wasn’t that my line? I continued to smile while I moved slowly to the corner in order to improve my line of sight. Just in case.
I said, ‘Looking for Geoffrey. You see Charlotte’s asked me to keep an eye on him.’ While speaking I watched all three of them carefully. Neither Treadwell nor Baines had moved. They both stared at me like an artist stares at a nude model when she first removes her gown. They wanted to grab me but they knew they mustn’t touch. I kept my hand near the hip of my waistband. Bradshaw held his friendly expression and said, ‘Hasn’t Charlotte told you? Oh dear, now listen to me, things have moved on. She should have recalled you by now. Your assignment has been cancelled.’
I said, ‘That’s odd because I spoke to Charlotte recently and she didn’t mention it. She actually said she wanted me to look after Geoffrey and make sure he didn’t come to any harm.’ I had quickly devised a plan in my head, which I was still fine-tuning.
Bradshaw said, ‘Oh, yes, that’s right, except I’ve superseded that directive by taking over the case personally with the help of Baines and Treadwell here. We’re going to take care of Geoffrey from now on. So, there’s really no need for you to stay.’
I glanced at Geoffrey and his Elmer Fudd expression told me he was scared. It also conveyed something I already knew and that was that I shouldn’t believe what Bradshaw was telling me. I said, ‘Why did you grab Geoffrey in the hotel in the way that you did?’
Treadwell lost his discipline and spoke. ‘You were rolling around on the floor with that Chinese girl...' Bradshaw quickly cut in.
Smiling he said, ‘I wasn’t there myself. It was just Treadwell and Baines. Neither of them has any manners I’m afraid. You must forgive them. They’ve seen too many spy films and can take it all a bit too far sometimes.’
I completed the plan in my head and made my decision. It was time for action. I kept my face friendly and spoke to Geoffrey as I walked slowly in his direction. I asked, ‘Is everything all right?’
Bradshaw was still the closest to him. Bradshaw said, ‘Of course, everything is all right.’ Geoffrey didn’t seem convinced and neither was I.
Stopping equidistant from Geoffrey and Bradshaw I turned to Bradshaw and said, ‘Well, if you’ve got it all under control I’ll leave you to it.’ I nodded at him with a smile and extended my hand. He was much too much of a gentleman not to take it. He bobbed his head and raised his hand to shake. I moved without warning. Bradshaw wasn’t expecting it and anyway my speed and technique were greater than his defence capability. I grabbed his wrist and turned him forcefully bringing his arm up behind his back in a half nelson just like an old British bobby. At the same time, by moving my feet and twisting Bradshaw’s body, I made sure he was my cover between Treadwell and Baines. With seamless agility, just like a street magician, the Glock appeared from my waistband and I pushed the hard-ended barrel into Bradshaw’s soft neck just below his jawbone. He tilted his head uncomfortably at the feeling and struggled. I twisted his arm higher and the pain made him freeze. Treadwell and Baines had both made advances towards me. They stopped when they saw the gun.
I said, ‘Everyone should just relax.’ My voice was calm and friendly. I didn’t want to scare them into any rash moves. I said pointedly speaking to Bradshaw, ‘There shouldn’t be any need for me to kill you.’
He seemed unsurprised by my actions and said, ‘I couldn’t agree more.’
‘Until I know what’s going on, Geoffrey is coming with me,’ I said and glanced at Geoffrey whose face had brightened considerably. There was no doubt he thought it was a good idea. I said to him, ‘Geoffrey, get up; we’re leaving.’ He stood up expectantly. I said to Bradshaw, ‘The way I see it is if you are a good guy then there’s no real harm done, but if you’re not then I’m saving Geoffrey. Now, if you are a good guy you’ll just let me do this, but if you’re not and you try and stop me and I have to kill you then I’ve killed a bad guy so no problem for me. Do you get it?’ I think I had successfully confused Mr. Bradsh
aw and definitely confused Treadwell and Baines.
Geoffrey said, ‘I get it. It’s very clever.’
I smiled and said, ‘Geoffrey gets it.’ I asked again, ‘Do you get it, Mr. Bradshaw?’ I pushed the barrel of the Glock harder into his soft neck.
He strained and said, ‘Yes, I get it. I won’t stop you from taking Geoffrey. There’s no need for the gun.’ I thought there was every need for the gun.
‘We’ll leave through the front door.’ I pushed Bradshaw and we started walking. ‘Tell Treadwell and Baines to keep their distance. If they try anything you’ll be the first one I shoot.’ Bradshaw told them and Treadwell moved away to let us through. He stood beside Baines and glared. I told Geoffrey to lead the way and he reached the front door and opened it. While keeping an eye on Treadwell and Baines I asked Bradshaw, ‘Is the outside door locked?’ He nodded. ‘Do you have the key?’ He nodded again and produced it. I took it from him. ‘Is your car in the garage?’
‘Yes,’ Bradshaw said.
‘Throw Geoffrey the car keys.’ Geoffrey caught them. ‘Geoffrey, fetch our car and bring it close to the door.’
He asked, ‘Did you pick up my satchel from the hotel lobby floor?’ Even at a time like this, Geoffrey was still only concerned about his bag or rather its contents.
‘Yes, it’s in the car.’ That encouraged him and he went off towards the Seat. I held Bradshaw tight and through the open door watched Treadwell and Baines closely. They were staring at me again, but this time, with true anger. I caught a smell of Bradshaw’s sweaty skin mingled with the scent of cologne and stale tobacco. My initial opinion of him hadn’t changed. Who was it that said something about first impressions?