Charlie Had His Chance
Page 29
He managed to do all this extremely speedily, without arousing the ire of his guest. Indeed, the safari suit even drew a grunt, although Charlie wasn’t quite sure what the grunt signified.
Charlie looked questioningly at his captor. “Are we to leave now?” he asked. A gesture with the gun gave him to understand that he was to open the cabin door and proceed, he assumed, in the general direction of the deck. He wondered idly if the girls would have female thugs chaperoning them, but concluded that the question would have to wait.
Rather to his surprise he was, as far as he could see, the first to arrive. Two or three more ruffians were standing around, all armed to the teeth with rifles, daggers and even the odd grenade dangling from their belts.
“Good day to you,” Charlie greeted them.
“Please get in the boat,” one of them told him in good English with a faintly American inflection.
“Not entirely with you, my friend,” Charlie told him. “We’re in the boat already.”
“I am not your friend,” he was told, whilst a sharp gesture indicated a long low vessel that had been moored to the stern of the yacht.
“Ah, understood guv’nor.” Charlie made his way in the direction indicated.
He heard a low laugh. “Nor am I a governor. If only I was.”
“Right you are.” Charlie meekly took a seat in the boat where someone promptly tied his hands tightly together behind him.
One by one the remaining members of the party joined him until only Eve was missing. Her arrival was heralded by something of an altercation.
Eve’s unmistakable voice was heard crying ‘Don’t poke me!’ This was followed by a meaty crunch and a thud. Eve then came onto the deck, unaccompanied, to face four guns levelled aggressively at her.
“Do any of you voyeurs speak English or are you going to hand me another silly note saying I’ve been a naughty girl?” She demanded this of no one in particular.
“A number of us speak English,” she was informed, by the same man who’d issued instructions to Charlie.
“Good,” Eve told him belligerently. “Then tell your staff to keep their guns to themselves, especially at three in the morning,”
“Ah, Lady Boston’s sister,” the spokesman breathed silkily. “I would rather not shoot you but if you do not get in with your fellow hostages right now I will put a bullet through one of your fat buttocks.”
Eve was somewhat taken aback at being identified so readily and therefore obeyed rather more rapidly than she might otherwise have done. Nonetheless, as she stalked past the spokesman, she hissed at him. “They may be big but they are not fat.”
“As you wish,” he responded with a small bow which might even have indicated a degree of amused respect.
No sooner was Eve positioned and secured with the rest of her colleagues, than the outboard motor fired up, three extra guards jumped in and the vessel started to move away from the yacht. Another identical boat edged in against the diving platform and the remaining kidnappers started to jump into that. The prone body of Eve’s victim was also dumped on board, without a great deal of ceremony. Virginia glanced back to see the spokesman shaking hands with one of the yacht’s crew before starting to tie him up.
Virginia turned around to Barbara, who was next to her. “One of the crew is in on it,” she whispered.
“Not yer little chum I ‘ope,” Barbara whispered back.
“No,” Virginia murmured. “Not that it would make any difference really. It’s not his character or morals that I’m interested in after all.”
“Yeah, right,” Barbara grunted. “Anyway, yer not gonna see much of ‘im fer a bit.”
“No matter,” Virginia went on. “I’m rather taken with the tall fellow who was doing the talking. Do you think he’s the leader?”
“Prob’ly,” Barbara conceded.
“Rather striking in a rugged sort of way, don’t you think?”
Barbara glared at Virginia. “Doncher even fink abaht shaggin’ the bleedin’ enemy,” she admonished.
“No, of course,” Virginia reassured her, rather wistfully. “I bet he’d look very dashing on a horse, though.”
“Or a camel,” Barbara replied scornfully. “Like Lawrence of bleedin’ Arabia.”
“Don’t know,” Virginia mused. “Not so sure about a camel. I think a horse would suit him best - more dashing in a way. Camels are rather floppy and untidy aren’t they, somehow?”
Whilst they had been discussing the virtues or otherwise of the kidnapper’s leader (for Virginia had guessed correctly) the second boat had closed up behind theirs. Once together the engine notes deepened and the small convoy sped away along the coast.
Charlie was up near the bow with Rowena sitting opposite him. She had loosely fastened back most of her blonde hair and Charlie was able to admire the exquisite profile as she stared forward into the darkness, her head tilted slightly backwards and a look of defiance in the set of her chin.
“Nice view from the front,” he said softly, keeping a weather eye on the guard who was sitting close to them on the small patch of deck right up in the prow. “And no exhaust fumes. You ok?” The guard sat, immobile, gazing down the length of the boat, gun cradled in the crook of his elbow, seeming to have no interest in whether they spoke to each other or not.
He caught a glimpse of white teeth as she turned and gave him a worried little smile.
“I’m fine,” she told him. “Bit scared, I suppose like everyone, but luxury hasn’t gone to my head yet. I’m worried about my father, too.”
“He’ll be ok,” Charlie reassured her. “The carers are in place and those fancy new drugs have helped haven’t they?”
“Yes they have. He’s definitely calmer and they seem to have slowed the damn process. But Charlie, what if we’re stuck out here for months? He’ll probably forget who I am.”
“He’s not that bad that he’ll forget his own daughter,” Charlie told her. “Save your pity for me, Rowena – I’m not used to roughing it. I may complain about my Trustees, but they don’t wake me up at three in the morning, sling me in a boat and truss me up, even when I go overdrawn.”
He was rewarded by a wider smile. “Poor old Charlie! And you weren’t even able to bring any marmalade!”
Charlie rolled his eyes. “That may be a blessing in disguise,” he continued. “If you know what I mean. Still, this lot just seem to want money, so if we pay up we’ll be on our way in no time. I don’t see why it should be months”
“But Charlie,” she leant towards him, indicating the guard with a flick of her eyes. Charlie leaned forward too so that their heads were nearly touching. “They know who Eve’s sister is,” she whispered. “I’m sure Roderick mentioned his father, Lord Bigwad, on the boat – what if they want more than everyone’s able to pay?”
“Well isn’t that a cheery thought,” Charlie breathed. “Don’t suppose it helped that Evie belted one of them, either. Still, better than falling into the hands of terrorists. We can haggle. And you’ll be ok whatever happens. With your blonde curls and other accoutrements, they’ll sell you for a fortune and you’ll end up in the lap of luxury in some harem somewhere.”
“Now there’s a pleasant thought,” she muttered, with a grimace. “Plus ca change, except I won’t get paid.”
“Sorry,” Charlie replied. “Not in the best of taste. Look, I’m always moaning about how poor I am but I know my Trusts are quite a size and they are supposed to look after my welfare. We’ll scam them if there’s any shortfall for you. We can do a sort of reverse supermarket offer with these ruffians. Sell two and we’ll pay for three.”
“Oh Charlie,” she smiled. “I’m surprised you know what a supermarket is but it won’t come to that. Think of all those members who love your playing and singing at the club. They’ll pass a hat round and save you for posterity.”
“Pianists are two a penny,” he muttered. “Still, I brought that keyboard along. Perhaps they’ll let me go if I yowl badly enough and
promise to go and play in any other den of thieves except theirs.”
Rowena responded with another smile. “They might want to keep you as their pet musician as long as you don’t sing. I think you’d look smart in flowing robes, Charlie, although your lovely suit would probably last about twenty years before you needed to think about new clothes.”
“What’s wrong with my suit?” Charlie suspected that he might be being gently mocked.
“Nothing – I’m not sure light blue is your colour though.”
“That’s what my tailor said, but beige or khaki is so dull. I thought this was pretty restrained. Even Lance didn’t act up the way he did when I was considering the pin-stripe.”
Rowena’s smile faded. “Not the most important consideration right now, anyway,” she said.
“It’ll be alright,” Charlie assured her. “I promised Mary I’d keep an eye on you and here I am, doing just that.”
She gazed at him for a moment. There was no doubt he meant what he was saying and he seemed far calmer and steadier than she’d expected. In fact Roddy and Geoff struck her as more apprehensive than Charlie. They were staring at their feet, seeming rather cowed and defeated. Mary’s words from that letter came back to her and, for some strange, unaccountable reason, Rowena felt better. She couldn’t see why, given the circumstances. Perhaps it was just the thought that someone was thinking about her welfare.
“Thank you, Charlie,” she murmured, but couldn’t resist adding, with a hint of mischief. “So worry not, Rowena.”
“It’s the power of positive thinking,” he replied, his smile, to her eyes, quite genuine and oddly heart-warming. “And I can say this safe in the knowledge that you can’t slap me; I need to protect my investment, don’t I.”
Over the months since her decision to join the Academy, Charlie had, of course, seen Rowena regularly. After her initial burst of confidences in him she was always rather reserved. He supposed that she was at the club to do something she seriously disliked and he could hardly expect anything else. She’d shown no hostility towards him, however, and was civil enough. They had the occasional conversation and he did have the impression that she felt she could confide in him now and again, especially as to how soiled she sometimes felt. It was that all too familiar feeling – he was gradually becoming a sort of friend, albeit not a particularly close one.
Given how he’d felt after she’d originally sent him packing that was about the best Charlie thought he could hope for. He did like her – she could be very funny if she was in the mood – but he always sensed that tough, guarded core. And it was obvious enough too - her feeling that no matter how much she was getting paid, and how much she welcomed the money, she was still being taken advantage of by men. And he was a man. And it had been his idea…
Conversation started to become trickier as the boats moved away from the coast and put on even more speed. Whilst relatively calm, the sea was still choppy enough to make the boats bounce up and down as they scudded across the swell in the moonlight. The captives struggled to cling on, especially challenging with their wrists tied behind their backs.
Charlie was able to get his hands onto the edge of the plank behind him and, being fairly light with strong fingers, didn’t suffer too much. However, he noticed that some of the girls, like Babs, Rowena and Virginia were being shaken all over the place because, being shorter, they weren’t able to brace their legs very well or keep hold.
Charlie seized his moment when their headlong progress slowed and he was able to make himself heard to the guard in the prow.
“Hello,” he began hopefully as a splashing and the stink of fuel indicated that they were refuelling.
The guard gazed at him blankly.
“Speak English?” Charlie continued politely, with what he hoped was an appropriate smile.
The guard grunted something incomprehensible and sneered. Perhaps he thought that by smiling Charlie was making fun of him. He took a fairly aggressive swing at Charlie’s head with the barrel of his gun. Charlie saw it coming and managed to ride most of the blow. Even so there was a nasty thud and he was giddy for a few seconds. “Everyone take it easy,” he cried. He saw Rowena’s eyes ablaze with anger and Babs was starting to stand up, muttering ‘fuck’ a lot.
Charlie’s cry drew the attention of the man in charge. As soon as he guessed what had happened he issued what was clearly a short but major earful to the man who’d taken his gun to Charlie’s skull. He yelled a few more orders and the two boats were hauled together. Charlie’s assailant was substituted with another guard and the boss examined the side of Charlie’s head.
“I apologise,” he said. “I think, however, Mr Early Bird, that there is no lasting damage done. The skin is not broken.”
“Early bird?” Charlie asked, as the pain began to ebb. “Not sure I…”
“You were first out,” the leader explained. “That is one of your English colloquialisms is it not, the early bird catches the worm?”
“Very true,” Charlie agreed “But why don’t you call me Charlie. Better than Mr. Bird. My last name isn’t Parker.”
“By all means Mister Charlie. I am Yusuf.” He put his hand to his chest and made a slight bow.
“I would normally shake hands on being introduced,” Charlie told Yusuf. “But that is a bit tricky at present. That’s what I wanted to have a word about.”
Yusuf threw back his head and his teeth glinted as he laughed in seemingly genuine amusement. “Very cunning Mister Charlie, or has the blow made you light-headed so you think I am a fool? My answer is no.”
Charlie smiled. “Sorry, Mr. Yusuf, I’m not used to this kidnapping business. I hadn’t made myself clear. I do understand you can’t untie us all but some of the ladies are getting chucked around so much they might get thrown over the side. You could tie their hands in front of them and they could hold on better and still be no danger to you and your colleagues they’re so small and weedy. And they’d be worth more alive than at the bottom of the sea, wouldn’t they?”
Yusuf pondered this for a few seconds. “Not the big one,” he said after due thought. “Or the other tall one with the red hair.”
“Oh no, not Evie,” Charlie agreed quickly. “I quite understand.” He winked at Yusuf. “Bit impetuous,” he murmured.
Yusuf bared his teeth. “But a woman of spirit,” he whispered, before straightening up and shouting out an order. Virginia and Babs were duly re-secured and Yusuf saw to Rowena himself.
“Thank you,” Charlie said to Yusuf. “You’re a gent.”
Yusuf merely shrugged. “It’s just business,” he muttered and cast off the rope.
Rowena looked over at Charlie anxiously but smiled in warm gratitude when he winked at her too. “Already looking after the investments, Charlie?”
He could see it was a joke. “If they won’t look after themselves,” he told her cheerfully. “Tough work but someone has to do it. Lucky I’ve got a thick head.”
He half-wished he could be kidnapped and clouted more often if he was on the receiving end of smiles like that.
As their journey resumed, it became clearer why Yusuf had been willing to accede so readily to Charlie’s request. After half an hour or so, the boats traversed an extremely choppy patch of water and Babs would probably have been thrown overboard had she not been able to grab hold of Roddy’s arm on her way over the side, and had Virginia not been able to grab her leg. For some reason, this near miss seemed to amuse some of their captors enormously and there was a lot of laughing and shouting of what appeared to be jokes. Needless to say, the air around Babs turned a deep, deep blue.
“Nutters,” Geoff cried nervously from Charlie’s right. “The speed we’re going they’d have been way past her before they could do anything.”
“And they’d have pissed off the sharks making them listen to that language.” Charlie replied. “Still, they might have thrown her back. Bit chewy too and all that.”
“Fuck off yer cheeky sod.”
Shortly after this near disaster the sea became calmer and they moved closer to the shore where the boats pushed along as fast as possible until dawn started to break. It then became clear that they were getting close to their destination as the speed dropped and there was some shouted consultation and pointing. The boats rounded a little headland to the sound of distant cheers and yells. A reception party was drawn up on the sand, consisting of an elderly lorry, a couple of battered pick-up trucks and three more armed ruffians.
The boats pulled onto the beach and the travellers disembarked. Charlie caused great mirth amongst their captors by falling flat on his face on the beach.
“We have food,” called Yusuf. “You have no need to dig for crabs with your nose.”
“Now you tell me,” Charlie replied through a mouthful of sand. His efforts to clear his face and mouth of sand with his hands tied behind his back generated further mirth. Rowena, as she couldn’t lift her hands much above her waist, suggested he bend forward so she could wipe off the worst of it As he did this he almost overbalanced again. One man laughed so much he almost fell over himself.
“Like children aren’t they,” Rowena whispered.
“Yeth,” Charlie responded. “Juth theein’ how they are when I play the fool. They all laughin’?”
“I didn’t see any who weren’t,” she muttered. “Even the pig who hit you was joining in.”
As their captors’ mirth subsided, the prisoners were herded together and Yusuf addressed them briefly. “We have a long journey,” he explained “You may need the WC as I think you say in your country.” He turned to the girls and pointed a short distance beyond them. “There is a dip there. I will have you untied so you can use it. It is futile to run.” He waved at the vehicles to emphasise his point.
“Now you,” he glared at Eve. “I want your word that you will not attack any of my men if I untie you.”
“I promise,” Eve told him. “I’m bursting. Guides honour!”
Yusuf stared at her in puzzlement.
“It’s ok,” Charlie called. “She is giving her word.”