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Father Pritchard drove his car off the ferry, and once they were through customs, he took them on the first part of their journey. They were heading for Montluçon where they had decided to stop for the night. On the following day they would seek out the photographic shop whose name was on the back of the photograph and try to ascertain where the chateau was. Time was now pressing as they had lost one whole day in the realm of the demon lord. They would need to find the chateau`s location and free the two sisters all in the space of one day.
Their first port of call however was the car park of a large French supermarket chain in Cherbourg. Here they were met by an Englishman who had been waiting for them.
“Hallo, Gerry, how are you?” Rob asked of the tall Englishman who approached them with a smile and a large box.
“Fine thank you Rob. I was told you needed these few oddments for the mission that you`re currently on, need any help?” Gerry Handley asked hoping for a spot of excitement. He was stationed over in France to liaise with his French counterparts, and he was getting decidedly bored with the lack of action. He looked at Rob`s companions and wondered why these two obvious amateurs were assisting Rob on this mission.
“I`ll call you Gerry, if we need some muscle.” Rob said smiling at his friend who in truth he could do with on this mission, for Gerry was very courageous and quite able to take on any task put to him.
Rob put the box into the rear of their estate car and inspected the items. Inside of the large box, he found a number of smaller boxes. One had an automatic pistol plus a quantity of ammunition, which was for his use alone. Another box contained the smoke grenades, the tear gas grenades and the three gas masks that he had requested. There was also a packet of Euros, these were so they could pay by cash, rather than leave a credit card trail. This could be followed by the French authorities, should the mission get messy and very violent. That was all he had asked for and his office had been happy to supply it.
“See you Rob, be good.” Gerry said waving them goodbye.
John Ryman had taken over the wheel while Father Pritchard took a break, driving out of Cherbourg had tested his driving abilities as they were now driving on the other side of the road and he was very out of practice these days. It was as they were driving along the N814 and approaching a roundabout that Rob noticed a car drawing alongside them, and then he saw the two men pointing automatic pistols out of the rear passenger window.
“Everyone duck!” Is all he managed to cry out in warning as two automatic pistols barked out sending bullets screaming over his head to imbed themselves in the roof of their car. Had he not been ducking down he would have been dead. These bullets were accompanied by a flurry of shots that somehow managed to miss their bodies but put holes into the body of the car. Ryman swerved away from their attackers’ vehicle but a well-aimed shot hit the front passenger side tyre making their car swerve violently. Ryman couldn`t control the car as the vehicle careered off the tarmac, it went up on to the central raised section of the roundabout and hit one of the trees there, bringing their vehicle to a sudden and violent halt. Four airbags exploded into action, that and the fact that Ryman hadn`t been driving too fast as they had approached the roundabout, saved their lives. Rob heard the sound of a vehicle accelerating away as he pushed open his door and tumbled out of their car, with his automatic pistol in his hand, unfortunately their attackers were long gone.
Rob hurriedly tucked his pistol away, before it was noticed by the worried motorists who had stopped and rushed over to see if they required any help.
“Are you alright Monsieur, what on earth happened?” A worried looking Frenchman asked in French, luckily Rob was quite fluent in the language.
“Yes, thank you, one of our tyres burst and my friend couldn`t control the car. We will get the local garage to tow us in, and with luck they will be able to repair any damage done.” Rob replied to this and a few other questions. Luckily, no one else saw the real reason behind the accident because Rob didn`t want the police delaying them, or for them to find the box of items recently left by Gerry Handley.
After they had seen off the good Samaritans, Father Pritchard spoke about a subject that was on all of their minds.
“Look guys this really screws things up, luckily I was in the area not long ago, I flew over on that occasion, anyway, I know one of the locals in Caen who has a small office with a nice empty room above it, I will call him and see if we can use it for the night.” Father Pritchard immediately pulled out his mobile phone and ten minutes later a beat up old panel van pulled up beside them, and an aged old Frenchman climbed out of the vehicle.
“Father, you are well, and your friends also?” The aged old Frenchman asked.
“We are fine Francois, but we need your help, and the use of the room above your office.” Father Pritchard said.
“That is not a problem Father, come load your luggage into the van and I`ll take you to my office. Who would have thought Father, that I would be able to repay your help so soon?” Francois said laughing.
“We must wait for the tow truck and then follow on behind, we cannot afford to be separated Francois.” Father Pritchard said.
“The old enemy is close then Father?” Francois asked.
“Yes Francois, and he also has some human friends to help him in his cause, it was they who caused the accident.” Father Pritchard replied. The old Frenchman nodded and sat waiting with his friend for the arrival of the tow truck.
Rob had meanwhile called Gerry and told him of the attack, he then asked him to arrange for the car to be towed to the nearest garage.
It was only twenty minutes later that the tow truck arrived and took their car to a garage in the town of Caen, where Gerry met them. Father Pritchard had followed behind in the battered old panel van.
“My Rob, are you losing your touch?” These were Handley`s opening words on seeing them.
“Not yet Gerry, unfortunately the ungodly got on to us much sooner than I thought possible. We will be staying the night with an old friend, he is the gentleman outside in the van, but we will need our vehicle tomorrow.” Rob said.
“Look Rob if you need an extra hand then you only have to ask, I`m at a loose end at the moment. Handley asked smiling at his old friend.
“Sorry but we are on a need to know mission. I would fill you in but then I would have to shoot you.” Rob said laughing at the old and well-used joke. He inwardly sighed, for while he would welcome his friend`s help, if he did tell Gerry about this very different operation, and that they were going to sleep rough just in case the devil came to call, Gerry would report back to London and Rob would be recalled to England. Also Rob didn`t want to have to hurt Gerry, which is what he would have to do after he refused London`s order to return to England.
“Ok Rob whatever you say.” Handley said sadly, He secretly wondered just what sort of mission Rob was on that had such an odd sort of team, but he knew the mission was sanctioned by London and so said nothing.
The mechanic then came over to report on the damage to their vehicle.
“Your car has suffered much damage Monsieur; to put it right will take time and money. Whoever was driving has managed to destroy amongst other minor things; the alternator, the radiator and of course the wheel.” He stated mournfully.
“We don`t have time to wait my friend, we need the car early tomorrow morning at the latest, what can you do?” Rob asked knowing that they were about to be charged an awful lot of money for the overtime.
“I don`t know if that is possible Monsieur, my wife has expressed the wish to dine out tonight, it is her birthday.” The garage owner argued hoping to push the final bill up with his little lie, for his wife`s birthday was not until next month.
“Monsieur, surely your wife would welcome the chance to dine at the best restaurant in town. If only she would consent to doing so another night. I will pay extra so she is not too unhappy about the delay.” Rob pleaded with the garage owner.
“Ok Monsieur, but it will mean my having to work late into the night along with my assistant. One thousand euros should be enough to cover the work, the large amount of overtime, the replacement parts that luckily I have in stock, and of course to placate my wife.” He didn`t mention that the parts would be coming off another Megane, one that he had at the rear of his garage, as it had recently been totalled by its driver and was awaiting the local scrap metal dealer.
Rob agreed to the repair costs and asked Handley to settle the bill, as it would take almost all of the euros that Rob had, euros only recently supplied by Handley. With that agreed, Handley said goodbye and good luck, and watched as Rob and his odd friends departed in the old and very battered van.
In just two minutes they were parked in front of a small building set in an older part of town. Francois opened the front door and they followed him up a narrow staircase with their baggage and into a small room where Francois`s wife was standing.
“I have cleaned the room as best I could Father, hopefully this will stop the minions of Satan latching on to any dirt and keep them out of your holy circle.” She said wiping her hands on her old apron and then kissing him on each cheek.
Father Pritchard smiled at her, she was looking rather tired he thought, but then she must have worked extremely hard for the floorboards shone brightly. She had indeed worked hard, first with a hoover and then on her knees with a scrubbing brush. Colette had remembered the last time that Father Pritchard had been there, it was when her daughter`s family had attracted the attention of a local Satanic, group. He had demanded that everywhere within the room be cleaned as even a small speck of dirt could help the demons of hell to materialise.
“Thank you Colette, be sure to stay away from here until we have gone, it may not be safe, for both Satan and his human beasts are after us tonight.” The old Frenchwoman smiled sadly but nodded her head. Father Pritchard then turned to her husband.
“You too must stay away Francois until we have gone. I will call you when it is safe for you to return here.” The old Frenchman also smiled sadly, for he loved the priest and feared for him, but then he too nodded.
“Father, I have also left you some bread and cheese for your supper, it will save you from having to venture out to dine, it isn`t much but it will help you through the night.” The old Frenchwoman said and smiled at the three friends when they gave her their thanks for the thoughtful gesture. Then the old French couple left and Father Pritchard got busy drawing a pentagram that would protect them with luck from the demons of hell.
It was getting near to two o`clock the next morning when Rob, who had taken the first watch, heard sounds coming from outside of the building that they were staying the night in. He carefully looked out of their first floor room window and saw six rough looking men standing near to the front door of the building, and they were all armed with assault rifles. Rob saw that a member of this group was breaking into the building using a large jemmy. Rob woke his two friends just as he heard the splintering sound of wood drift up the staircase.
From downstairs came the sound of heavy footsteps as the men entered en masse and three of them immediately opened fire, aiming up through the thick wooden floorboards, as the other three men rushed up the stairs. Rob and his friends should have been killed by the first burst of bullets; thankfully, Rob had already been alerted by the noise that the men made when they first arrived outside of the building. Although much of the upper room is directly above the small downstairs office a good portion of it projected over the back garden to give shade to the previous owner when the summer sun beat down, for it had only recently been transformed into an office, formerly it had been a house. It was in this part of the room that offered them safety from the violent attack, but although Father Pritchard and John Ryman had quickly moved towards it, one of the multitude of bullets caught Father Pritchard a glancing blow on his forehead and he crashed to the floor.
It took Ryman less than a millisecond to reach his decision, and then he braved the hail of bullets from three automatic rifles to drag Father Pritchard across to the safety of the other side of the room. From here, he watched helplessly as more bullets punched holes through the wooden floorboards, and through the part of the floor recently occupied by his friend, but now they were only embedding themselves into the wooden ceiling of their bedroom.
Rob, after a swift glance at his injured friend, moved across to the door that closed off the staircase. He opened it and lobbed two tear gas grenades down the staircase; one aimed to travel all the way down to the ground floor room, while the other slowly rolled down the stairs as its contents exploded out of it, Rob then shut the door and threw himself away from the hail of bullets that exploded through the door. The tear gas grenade had the desired effect, for the three men on the stairs stopped firing their weapons and began to cough violently, and then they turned to rush back down the stairs. Unfortunately the man at the top was in such a rush that he pushed the next man hard in his haste to descend the narrow staircase, and all three men then tumbled down the stairs, there to join their compatriots who were also gasping for breath and trying to leave the building en masse. The scramble to exit the gas-filled office meant that it took far longer than an orderly exit would have done, and made their condition even more debilitating. Rob pulled on one of the gas masks, and then he went through the door to look down at the men as they scrambled to safety. After closing the door behind him to prevent any of the gas at the top of the stairs from entering their bedroom, he slipped down the stairs and collected the six assault rifles that the assassins had dropped in their haste to vacate the premises, and the gas that threatened them. With that done Rob closed the front door, and then he jammed a broken piece of it under it to make another attempt on them that much more difficult. Outside of the building, the six men hurriedly departed the scene in case the police arrived, or their targets came out and carried on with their attack. The police didn`t arrive for no one had called them, their neighbours were either heavy sleepers, or just didn`t want to get involved, or maybe thought that someone had the volume on their television turned up just a might too far. Of course the noise from the short burst of fire from the assault rifles hadn`t lasted too long, for Rob had lobbed the grenades almost as soon as it had begun. He called up to the others.
“John, put your mask on and then come down here, and will you please bring some water down with you so that we can cool off these two grenades before they set something alight.” Ryman appeared almost instantly as he had already donned his mask, and he had anticipated the request for water, which he carried down in a plastic bucket that he had found in a small washroom that was also located up on the first floor.
Rob, having seen their attackers flee the scene, then opened the front and back doors to allow the gas to clear, a strong wind had arisen just after midnight, and the gas soon disappeared into the night.
Ryman looked at all of the damage caused by their unwanted guests, and his feelings of guilt returned, for all that had happened over the last week or so was as a direct result of his cowardice.
“Rob, Francois and his wife will need a couple of hundred euros to cover the cost of the repairs to their office. I know that you have a large wad of euros but this one is on me, this is all my fault, if I hadn`t been such a coward before you wouldn`t be risking your life now for my two sisters.” Ryman said as he took in the damage done to the small office, Rob grinned at him.
“Don`t you worry about expenses John, my department can afford the small sums this operation is currently costing us, especially as you two come free of charge.” Rob then changed the subject.
“Come on John, we had better see how David is, one thing is certain I will certainly make Bourbon pay if David doesn`t make it.” Rob vowed grimly.
“I will be thankful to get away from this part of France, what with the constant worry about attacks from demons and from the criminal fraternity, now we also have to worry about the local police becoming involved and delaying us.”
Ryman complained to no one in particular, but Rob whole-heartedly agreed with him.
Upstairs they found that Father Pritchard had not been badly hurt, he had only been grazed by the bullet, and as Rob had some experience with such things he tended his wound. Father Pritchard though remained unconscious until the morning sun put in its appearance. When he finally did wake, he was worried that he would delay them.
“Rob please don`t worry about me, I can rest up during the drive to the chateau, I`ll feel a lot better by the time we get there. I could do with a couple of Paracetamol though, my head is really splitting.” Father Pritchard said groaning. Ryman dug out a packet from their stores, and then got his friend a glass of water to wash the tablets down.
The early morning had seen a thunder storm, and the rain come down in torrents, but now the sky to the east seemed to be brightening a little, and Rob was thankful, it might mean that they wouldn`t get too wet as they moved across the grounds of the estate that housed the chateau, once they had located it. Rob thoughts now turned to his troops, and he insisted that they all have a good breakfast, and that Father Pritchard rested up for the coming battle. He then went to collect their car from the garage, and after they had loading it up, and they had said good-bye to their French friends, they set off to do battle against whatever new demons Bourbon could throw at them.
Kidnapped and Bound for Hell Page 22