One Last Time

by James Hampson

  James was saved by a text from Lawrence asking if they had finished eating, James replied saying that they had and told him where they were.

  Ten minutes later Lawrence and Ally stepped out of a taxi and walked over to James and Delinda and took a seat at the table. Lawrence motioned James over to the bar and they got up from the table to go and order some more drinks.

  'In the morning, after we have dropped the ladies off at the station, we shall go get ourselves some new suits suitable for tomorrow' Lawrence said to James as the barman put four bottles of beer on the bar, which Lawrence paid for.

  'If that is what you want to do, why suits?'

  'It is a nice hotel full of people on business and in suits so we need to blend in.'

  'OK, that is fine, I will get a new shirt as well.'

  The two of them walked back to the table to re-join Delinda and Ally. The four chatted over more beers for another two hours.

  James received a text from his brother John saying that his tour was finishing in a night-club called Bilindo, which was about five hundred yards along the road that they were on. They finished up their beers and left to go meet with John and the tour that he was on at club Belindo.

  TWENTY-EIGHT

  The sun had set long ago, but the air remained hot as James Shaw, Delinda Saint Germain, Lawrence Sharif and Ally Simmons queued up outside the Bilindo night-club. Bilindo is a favoured night spot in the city, it backs on to the Maria Luisa park and has an outdoor dancefloor and bar, the perfect venue for a hot night. Eventually they got in to the club and walked over to where John stood chatting to a man and two women at the bar, they introduced themselves to each other, one of the women and the man excused themselves, leaving John with a woman of about twenty who said she was from Australia.

  After dancing and drinking for the best part of three hours, James Shaw and Delinda Saint Germain decided to go back to the apartment, Lawrence Sharif and Ally Simmons followed and the four of them left the night-club to go and get a taxi. John Shaw said that he was going to stay out with the Australian girl whose name James could not remember.

  They arrived back at the apartment after a short taxi ride. James and Delinda said good night to Lawrence and Ally and retired to Delinda's bedroom, where they both undressed and got into bed kissing each other passionately. They made love and fell asleep in each other's arms with the air conditioning on full power.

  TWENTY-NINE

  The Guardia Civil had received a call from a farmer who owned an olive grove, just off the motorway between Jerez and Seville at 0600hrs. The caller had said in a panic that he had found a man dead on his Olive plantation with lots of blood around him that had dried up, suggesting that maybe he had been there since yesterday, as the farmer did not do any work on Sundays. The farmer also said that there was a car on the side road from the motorway, he said it was damaged, like it had been in a crash with another car.

  Two Guardia Civil officers arrived at the farm on the same road that Squadron Leader Will Ramsey had used a day earlier. They parked their marked Nissan X-Trail behind the battered Volvo that Ramsey had been driving. They got out of the car and looked around the Volvo, they noticed blue paint chippings that were embedded into the front wing.

  'Looks like a bad crash' one of the officers said.

  Before the other officer could reply, the farmer came out to meet them. They introduced themselves and the farmer took them through the Olive trees to where Squadron Leader Ramsey's body was resting. One of the officers called for an ambulance, he could see straight away that Ramsey had been shot in the abdomen and most likely had bled to death out in the sun as his face was burnt. As they waited for the ambulance to arrive the first officer looked through Ramsey’s pockets and told the second officer to put his gloves on and check the Volvo. The first officer found Will’s wallet in his back pocket, the wallet contained bank cards, a couple of hundred euros cash and his Royal Air Force Identification card which had his picture, date of birth, height and rank alongside his name. The officer swore out loud and the farmer asked what was the matter but the officer said nothing and called his garrison, as the British consulate in Malaga would need to be informed, who would in turn inform the next of Kin.

  The second officer came back from the car with a passport in his hand and handed it over to the first officer who was in charge. The name on the passport matched that of the Royal Air Force ID card.

  'What else is in the car?'

  'Just a bag with clothes.' The second officer answered.

  'OK, we will wait by the car for the ambulance.’

  They thanked the farmer for his help and said he could go back to his work.

  As the two officers stood by their car waiting for the ambulance to arrive the officer in charge’s phone in his pocket. It was the Colonel of the garrison, he spoke at length, and the officer listened, he then ended the call. The British consulate was sending somebody up to the hospital from Malaga and they would inform the next of kin, the British had been promised a full investigation and all progress will be reported to them.

  'Why do you think he was killed?' The second officer asked.

  'That is what we need to find out.’

  As he finished his sentence, he could hear the sirens of the ambulance as it turned onto the road. After a few minutes struggling through the olive trees the crew had bagged Will up and put him in to the ambulance and took his body to the nearest hospital with a morgue.

  After seeing all the documentation and the body, the British delegate from Malaga called Squadron Leader Ramseys commanding officer in Gibraltar to inform him of the news. Wing Commander Gibson was upset about the news as he and Ramsey were good friends as were both of their wives. Gibson wiped tears from his eyes and grabbed his hat from his desk, he would personally go and tell Ramsey's partner Nadine the worst possible news at 0830hrs on a Monday morning.

  THIRTY

  At 0830hrs in Seville, Wing Commander James Shaw sat up in bed with Delinda Saint Germain resting her head on his chest, they spoke about the next couple of days and their impending trip to America, once they had rendezvoused in Malaga. In the other bedroom down the hall Lawrence Sharif awoke to a series of missed calls and a text message from his boss saying Call me now Sharif.

  'This cannot be good' he said out loud, he called the number that had text him, it was answered after one ring, the voice at the other end said to Lawrence Sharif.

  'What is going on down there?'

  'Sir, what is the problem?’

  'Had you enlisted the help of an RAF intelligence officer, Squadron Leader Ramsey?'

  'Yes Sir, Wing Commander Shaw brought him onboard why?'

  'Well he is dead, the Guardia Civil received a call at 0600 local time this morning, they found him on a farm, gunshot wound, he bled out.’

  'Shit' Lawrence gasped.

  'Yes, his next of kin will be informed and the official line is that he was on his way back to Gibraltar after visiting friends in Seville. Make sure nothing like this happens again, once tomorrow is done get out of there take some leave and come back in a few weeks well rested, do you understand?’

  'Yes Sir, thank you for informing me, I will let Wing Commander Shaw know, and no more mistakes, thank you Sir.’

  'Good, inform me tomorrow when you have completed your task, then don’t come back here for four weeks.’

  'Yes Sir' and at that Lawrence Sharif's boss ended the call.

  Ally Simmons lay in bed still asleep so Lawrence decided to go wake Shaw up and tell him the bad news about Squadron Leader William Ramsey. He banged on Delinda's bedroom door.

  ‘UP’ He shouted.

  James Shaw got out of bed to see what the problem was, he answered the door in his underwear.

  Lawrence said to him 'Out here' and pointed to the lounge area.

  James asked 'What is going on?'

  'Sit Down' Lawrence said.

  James took a seat and Lawrence sat opposite him.

  'I have just gotten
off the phone with my boss, he told me that Will was shot and found on a farm this morning, he bled out, I am sorry.’

  James said nothing.

  About a minute later he spoke.

  'Who?' He asked.

  'We don’t know.'

  'Shit, what about Nadine and the baby, he should have told me, I would never have asked him to get involved if I had known.’

  Lawrence stood up and put his hand on James's shoulder.

  'It's not your fault, he wanted to help, I doubt he would have left if you had told him to.’

  'Your right, he was one of my best friends, lets focus on the here and now, the time to mourn will be once we have finished here.’

  James stood up and went back to Delinda's bedroom to get dressed, he felt bad for not fully mourning his friend's death but he would in due course, he was even more determined to get this job finished successfully so that he could avenge Ramsey’s death.

  'Are you OK?' Delinda asked

  'Will was found dead a few hours ago.'

  'Oh my god, how awful, What about his baby? Are you ok?'

  'I will be, are you all set to go, we will have to get a taxi the car is at the station, are you sure you don’t want us to drive you to Malaga it is not a problem.'

  'No baby, it is fine we will get the train, I feel so bad about Will, I love you James.'

  Delinda kissed and held him tight.

  'I love you too’ James replied.

  At this moment he felt happy and safe in Delinda’s arms, he wished that she would be staying in Seville for tonight as he did not want to be alone.

  Thirty minutes later James Shaw left the apartment and got in to the taxi that he had ordered on his phone. He asked the driver to take him to Santa Justa.

  Shaw got out of the taxi and walked over to the car park to get in to the Range Rover he had hired a few days earlier. After a short but slow drive, he arrived back at the apartment, Ally buzzed him inside. He helped load the car with all the luggage, Delinda and Ally's went in last as it would be first out. All four of them got in to the car and James put the selector in to drive and set off for Santa Justa station. James looked up in the rear-view mirror to look at Delinda.

  'Are you sure you don’t want me to take you to Malaga?' He asked.

  'No, it's ok thank you for offering, we don’t want to be any trouble’ Ally replied.

  'We have already paid for our tickets it seems a waste not to use them' Delinda added.

  'OK then' He said with a smile and turning his attention back to the road.

  Ten minutes later they arrived at Santa Justa station, James parked the car in the short stay car park at the front and paid two euros for thirty minutes at the barrier.

  James Shaw got out first and opened Delinda's door on his way to the boot, Lawrence did the same for Ally. James lifted their luggage out of the boot but as he did so he felt a searing pain in his abdomen from when he had been slashed with the knife by the would-be Argentine assassin. They walked out of the heat in to the cool station and James winced in pain once again, Lawrence noticed this but said nothing. On the station concourse the arrivals board showed that the train to Malaga had just arrived at platform eleven. The departure board showed that it would leave in ten minutes time. The four of them walked under the boards and through the doors to the access ramps to the platforms. Delinda put her arms around James and kissed him.

  'All being well, I shall see you Wednesday, if not Thursday' James said.

  'I sure hope it's Wednesday.'

  'Me too.’

  Lawrence and Ally had also finished saying their goodbyes. Two Renfe employees were checking tickets at the top of the moving ramp so there would be no romantic waving off at the platform this time either. As Delinda and Ally waited to get their tickets checked, James walked over to her.

  'Send me a text when you arrive in Malaga.'

  ‘I sure will baby’ She said and kissed James again before showing their tickets to the inspector.

  Shaw and Sharif waited at the top as Delinda and Ally descended down the moving ramp, when they reached the train they turned looked up and waved at them before boarding, Shaw and Sharif waved back and turned on their heel and headed back towards the car.

  James Shaw looked at his watch, it said the time was 1128.

  'What now Chief, we cannot check in the hotel until 1400?' James said over the roof of the car.

  'Maybe you should go see a Doctor.'

  'Oh, don’t worry about me, a few pills and a nice hot bath and I will be fine.’

  Well if you are sure, let us go and get something to wear for tomorrow.’

  'OK, I will park at the hotel.’ Shaw said. 'Do you think that Ramos's men killed Will?'

  'I hate to speculate but yes, there is no other scenario I can think of, what are the chances of a random shooting at the side of a motorway in Spain. Please though James do not try to get revenge, we need to see this through.'

  'Don't worry about me, I know what needs to be done, have I ever let you down before?'

  Yes' Lawrence said laughing.

  James pulled up at the Alfonso xiii Hotel car park and his phone rang in his pocket, it was his brother John Shaw, he asked Lawrence to answer it and put it on speaker phone.

  'Morning' John said.

  James laughed and said 'Is it, what time do you call this, what time did you get back last night?'

  'I have just got back now; I couldn’t remember the name of the hotel so I had to get a taxi to the station then I saw the hotel opposite.’

  James and Lawrence snorted with laughter.

  'Hang on where have you been then, if you are only just getting back now?' Lawrence asked.

  'Some backpackers hostel with that Australian girl I met in that outside nightclub.’

  James took the key out of the slot and stepped out of the car; Lawrence stepped out of the other side with James’s phone in his hand and walked around to where James stood.

  ‘Do you want to meet us in the old town, we are going to buy some clothes for tomorrow?’

  ‘Yes OK, can we get something to eat? I am starving.’

  ‘Yes, we will meet you at Plaza Del Duque in around half an hour’ James said.

  ‘OK, see you there.’

  Lawrence ended the call and handed the phone back to James.

  THIRTY-ONE

  At the pool area of Hotel Ayre, Lyndon Powell, Mike Williams and Chris Hampshire crowded around Jack's sun lounger. Jack showed them the final version of their presentation for their meeting with Javier Ramos tomorrow on his iPad.

  'Leave it as it is now. If we keep going over and over it, we will miss something, check again in the morning, now let us enjoy the sun, I am going for a swim’ Lyndon said.

  And with that he went and jumped in to the pool.

  'Is he not being a bit to confident?' Jack asked Mike.

  'No, like he said you can over analyse, by the way it is good, we will find out tomorrow wont we, enjoy yourself, get some sun you need it.’

  John Shaw clocked the four of them by the pool as he looked out of his hotel room window. He watched them for a few minutes and left to meet James and Lawrence. John headed for the lift to take him down to the lobby, where he would get a taxi into the old town to meet his brother. His phone indicated a message as he stepped out of the lift.

  We are sat outside a bar opposite Plaza del Duque. By a Burger King. James text him.

  John hustled through the lobby doors and climbed in to a taxi that had just dropped a couple off at the hotel. John told the taxi driver to take him to Plaza Del Duque.

  THIRTY-TWO

  John Shaw got out of the taxi on the opposite side of the street to where James and Lawrence where sitting. He paid the driver and crossed over the road to join them.

  ‘Beer?’ James asked.

  ‘God no, just a fresh orange please.’

  James motioned the waiter over and ordered an orange juice for his brother.

  'What are you two up t
o then?' John asked.

  'Getting some new clothes to wear for this meeting tomorrow' Lawrence answered.

  'And your girlfriends?'

  'On the train to Malaga, and she is not my girlfriend, I can't speak for him though' Lawrence answered as he tilted his head towards James.

  James reached in to his pocket and pulled out a packet of cigarettes and said help yourselves John and Lawrence took one each and said thanks.

  'Will is dead. Found this morning, shot on a farm off the motorway to Gibraltar.’ James said.

  'Shit, who was it do we know?'

  'Not for sure but we can guess that it is Ramos's men' Lawrence replied.

  John raised his glass of orange juice and said 'To Will, Rest in peace.'

  The others followed.

  'Obviously we have to focus on the job in hand' Lawrence said.

  'I need to reach out to Nadine, see if she needs any help with anything. I cannot imagine what she is going through now, a child on the way, this was meant to be a good time for them, I have known Will since we first walked through those gates at Cranwell all those years ago, I could understand if he was killed in Syria or Afghanistan, but this, why did he agree to help me knowing he had a baby on the way?’

  Lawrence cut him off 'Do not beat yourself up, it is not your fault, he wanted to help you as a friend, call Nadine when we get to the hotel.’

  James nodded in agreement with what Lawrence had said.

  'What are you doing after here John?' James asked.

  'Not sure yet, I better call the Colonel before he blows his top, I just left and he wanted to know what was going on.’

  'Just call him and I will speak to him' Lawrence said.

  John reached for his phone and dialled the Colonels number from memory, the phone was answered after three rings.

  'Good morning Sir, Major Shaw.'

  James and Lawrence could hear the Colonel.

  'Don’t you good morning me Major, where the devil are you, I want answers or you will be back to a Captain before you know what day it is, do you hear' He said.