by Hatchett
She cracked open the capsule and poured roughly half of the powder into each of the two full bottles. She then put her thumbs over the tops of the bottles and gave them both a little swirl to help dissolve the contents without causing them to froth up. When she had finished and was sure there were no tell-tale signs, she stood back up with a further three unopened bottles in her right hand and the opened bottles in her left and returned to the table.
She put the three unopened bottles onto the table first, to join the other unopened bottles already there. She knew that Mamba didn’t need any more bottles at the moment and that the latest order was just a ploy to wind her up and give him time to mess around with the other two women. She passed Ahmed and Mamba the doctored bottles and wondered how long it would be before the ‘Mickey Finn’ took effect.
Mamba had been telling the two women something as he accepted the beer and drank half in one go. As he pulled the bottle away, he held it up to the light with a slight frown, then shrugged and finished it off, before picking up another. Ahmed was taking a more measured approach, but he didn’t seem to notice anything wrong either.
Ayla smiled to herself. No fucking for Mamba tonight.
35
Day 17 – 17:00
Travelodge, Enfield
The party in the bar was in full swing. Pretty much everyone except Issy, Gina and Ayla were a bit pissed or a lot pissed, and conversation was loud and raucous. The music had been changed and now Def Leppard’s ‘Animal’ blasted from the speakers.
Ayla could see that Mamba was feeling woozy and struggling to keep his eyes open. Ahmed was staring into space and the two women were avidly people watching.
Gina caught Ayla staring at her and stared back. Out of the blue Ayla winked at her and Gina was confused. Then Ayla looked away towards Mamba.
“Mamba?” she shouted loud enough to be heard over the music.
Mamba’s eyes rolled a little as he struggled to focus on her. “Wha?” he mumbled.
“Fancy going to bed now? I’m ready for action.”
A lazy smile crossed Mamba’s face as Issy’s head snapped around and stared with hostility at Ayla. Gina also looked at Ayla, but with confusion. Even Ahmed seemed to come out of his daze as he tried to focus on her.
“Come on, let’s go,” Ayla suggested, looking at Gina and giving her an imperceptible nod. Issy saw this and turned to look at Gina with a questioning frown. Gina shrugged then gave her own nod and Issy seemed even more confused but was prepared to go with the flow for now.
Both Mamba and Ahmed tried to stand, using the arms of the chairs to lever themselves up. Ayla quickly helped Ahmed stay up and Gina helped Mamba. Issy then took Mamba’s other side.
When they were all standing and relatively stable, Ayla turned Ahmed and began walking towards the bar’s exit and the stairs to the rooms. Issy and Gina helped Mamba along behind them, Mamba grinning inanely and trying his best to grab their breasts. No one seemed to notice them leaving; they were all too busy enjoying themselves.
It was easy enough supporting Mamba and Ahmed to the stairs. Getting them up them wasn’t, especially for Issy and Gina as they still had their hands tied together and had a length of cord trailing from the restraints. Both men were struggling to keep their balance and on more than one occasion they toppled forward and tried to crawl up the rest of the way.
After much huffing and puffing they finally got to the top and Ayla was thankful that the rooms Mamba and Ahmed had chosen were the ones nearest to them. Ayla lent Ahmed against the wall then helped Issy and Gina to get Mamba onto the bed, where he promptly fell asleep. Ayla opened a wardrobe and retrieved a plastic bag which she secured under her jacket then touched a finger to her mouth and indicated that the women should follow.
The three of them took Ahmed to his room and left him on the bed before returning to the corridor and closing his door behind them.
“What’s going on?” Issy whispered.
“I’m letting you go,” Ayla said. “Come on.” She turned and walked down the corridor away from the stairs and turned right at the end. Issy and Gina followed a few steps behind, still a little suspicious of Ayla. Was she really letting them go or was she going to kill them? Ayla didn’t like them, that was clear to see, but was she really like Mamba?
“Why are you doing this?” Issy asked, but Ayla ignored her and carried on to the end of the corridor. When she got there, she pushed the bar on the fire escape door, swung it open and stood back.
“Off you go,” Ayla ordered.
Both Issy and Gina looked confused.
“Why are you doing this?” Issy repeated.
“I have my reasons. I wouldn’t waste any time if I was you,” she added.
Issy and Gina looked at each other.
“We can’t just walk out of here like this,” Gina pointed out. “We’ll be nailed in seconds.”
Ayla opened her jacket and pulled out the plastic bag which clinked and rattled with the objects inside. “That’s why I brought you this,” Ayla explained, “but you’ve got to go now. Sort yourself out later.”
Issy accepted the bag, muttered ‘thanks’ and walked through the doorway into the enclosed fire escape shaft. Gina smiled at Ayla and followed. The door was slammed shut behind them, plunging them into darkness.
Ayla walked back to Mamba’s room and lay down on the bed next to him and stared at the ceiling and listened to his loud snoring. There would be hell to pay when Mamba awoke and found that Issy and Gina were gone. Ayla went through her story one more time.
36
Day 17 – 17:30
Travelodge, Enfield
Issy and Gina waited for a couple of minutes to allow their eyes to adjust to the weak light coming from grimy windows on each floor. Then they carefully took the stairs down to the ground floor and looked through the reinforced glass of the external fire door. The pavement was directly in front of them and they could see the BMW dealership on the other side of the road. Their view was broken intermittently as zombies walked past the door, but they were so close to freedom they could almost taste it.
“Why do you think she let us go?” Gina asked.
“She didn’t want the competition,” Issy replied, still looking through the window.
“Mamba will kill her when he finds out.”
“Depends on how good her story is,” Issy replied. “Anyway, that’s not our problem. We need to get as far away from here as possible, as quickly as possible.”
Issy turned away from the fire door and crouched down to open the plastic bag Ayla had given them. She looked inside then carefully put her hands in the bag and pulled out a knife. She put it on the floor and moved it around until it was facing the right way and picked it up again.
“Give me your hands,” she instructed, then slowly cut the plasticuffs on Gina’s wrists.
Gina rubbed her sore wrists then accepted the knife from Issy and did the same for her. Issy then knelt down and pulled another knife out of the bag and placed it on the floor. She delved back in and brought out two plastic containers with what looked like blood inside and a couple of bars of chocolate.
Issy gave one of the bars to Gina and put the other one in her pocket. She then picked up the first jar of blood and stood up.
“Ready?”
“Go for it,” Gina replied, then closed her eyes and mouth tightly.
Issy poured some of the contents over Gina’s head, the smell of the contents making both women gag a little until they got used to it. Then Issy poured some onto Gina’s shoulders and started rubbing it all over her front and back. Once she was done, Gina picked up the second container and did the same for Issy. Then they covered their own bare legs as if they were applying sun cream on holiday.
They picked up their knives and looked at each other. “Where are we heading?” Gina asked.
“I don’t know yet,” Issy replied. “Not the way we came in case there are others on the way, but we need to get far enough away and hide up for
the time being.”
Gina nodded. “Ready?”
“Yeah, let’s go.”
Gina checked the pavement was clear and once she was satisfied, she pushed the bar on the door and allowed it to swing slowly open. She squeezed through the gap and held the door open for Issy to follow.
Issy picked up the plastic bag and put it in her pocket before she followed Gina. She was about to close the door when she had another thought.
Issy indicated that Gina should hold the door open and walked off a few metres, scanning the ground as she went. She then retraced her steps and walked a few metres in the opposite direction until she finally squatted down and picked something up.
Issy returned to Gina and placed the angular stone she had found at the bottom of the doorframe on the same side of the hinges. She then released the door, allowing it to swing back until it was blocked by the stone, leaving the door half open. She stood back and smiled then she and Gina walked across the road towards the BMW garage.
“We need to contact Heathrow,” Gina voiced what they were both thinking.
“Not yet,” Issy said as she reached the pavement then hopped over a low wall into the dealership forecourt.
Gina watched Issy, wondering what she was up to, then reluctantly followed.
Issy walked across the forecourt, dodging between parked cars with prices displayed in their windscreens then came to the main building which was four stories high. The huge sliding door was wide open and there were gaps in the showroom where the Turks had obviously removed the two X5’s now parked across the road.
There were a dozen zombies wandering around like wraiths as Issy entered the showroom and looked around. She spotted what she was looking for and headed across the tiled floor, her knife sitting comfortably in her right hand.
She pushed open a door and entered, and took the stairs up, Gina trotting to keep up with her. On the second floor she went through another door which took them out onto the roof of the building. It had been turned into an extension of the forecourt with BMW’s and Mini’s parked at all angles. Other than the cars, the roof was deserted.
“How did you know about this?” Gina asked.
“I didn’t. I saw the cars on the first floor so there had to be a lift and stairs. I didn’t think the lift would go all the way to the roof. Let’s go take a look.
Issy led the way to the front of the garage which overlooked the Travelodge they had just left. It was about two to three road widths away, and they would be able to watch what was going on.
“Why are we here?” Gina asked, although she had a fair idea why.
“So, we can watch what they do,” Issy replied. “They’re planning something, and it involves those six vehicles they’ve got parked outside. That means they’ve got a fair distance to go, otherwise they wouldn’t take the risk. Mamba knows we have satellites.”
“Yes, but wouldn’t it be better to get far away and try and contact Heathrow?”
“Possibly, but do you know this area? I don’t.”
“No,” Gina acknowledged, “but we know the way we came. If we went back towards the Dalston Estate, we may find some of our people. They’re bound to be out searching for us.”
“We better get some cover,” Issy suggested. She tried the handle of a 3 Series facing the Travelodge and was elated when the door clicked open. She wasn’t quite so happy when the interior light flicked on. She quickly jumped into the car and closed the door quietly and the light went off. She then switched the interior lights to ‘off’ and motioned for Gina to get in. It was growing dark rapidly, and the light from the car had temporarily damaged her night vision, so she closed her eyes to try and speed up their recovery.
“Let’s hope no one over there saw the light,” Issy remarked. “Bad mistake to make, I should’ve known better.”
“Can’t get everything right,” Gina pointed out.
They sat in silence for a few minutes.
“How far do you reckon we’ve come since we left the Dalston Estate?” Issy asked.
Gina thought about it, trying to remember the signposts they had passed as they walked along. She remembered Mamba pointing out the ‘3 mile’ to Enfield sign, which they agreed at the time was around four and a half to five kilometres, but where was that? It was sometime after they had left Volkan’s estate, but she couldn’t remember how far after. Then, of course, you had to take into account the three or four kilometres from Dalston to Volkan’s place. “I don’t know, but I would guesstimate around eight or nine kilometres,” Gina said.
“That would take hours,” Issy noted, “and we would have to skirt around Volkan’s estate as he is up to his neck in whatever they’ve got planned. So, you could probably add another kilometre just to be on the safe side.”
“Yes, but don’t forget, if we set off now, we will have hours because I can’t see those lot over there waking up early,” Gina noted as she pointed towards the Travelodge.
“Agreed. OK, what’s more important?” Issy asked, “try to get back to Dalston or try and see what Mamba is up to first.”
“We do have another option,” Gina pointed out. “We could try and get to the Police College in Hendon where Jack’s sons are. We can then contact Heathrow from there.”
“Do you know where it is?” Issy asked.
“No idea,” Gina replied.
“I think it’s North-East London somewhere. We need an A to Z book,” Issy suggested.
“Newsagent.”
“Yes, but we’d need to find one first, then hope they’ve got the book. We might be lucky and find one straightaway or we could be wandering around for hours.”
“Tell you what,” Gina said. “You stay here and watch the hotel while I go and find an A to Z. When I get back, we can work out the distances. We will know how much time we have until dawn so we will be able to make a rational decision based on all the information.”
“Sounds great, but I don’t like the idea of us splitting up,” Issy said.
“Then come with me. I can’t see anything happening across the road for hours.”
“OK,” Issy agreed. “I think we need a better view in any case because we can’t see the entrance or their cars from here.”
“That’s settled then,” Gina confirmed as she opened her door to get out of the car.
37
Day 17 – 18:15
BMW Dealership, Enfield
Issy and Gina stood on the garage forecourt, wondering which way to go.
“There was nothing the way we came in, unless we want to walk all the way back to that newsagent we stopped off at,” Issy said.
“Yeah, too far,” Gina replied. “We might as well head for Dalston if we go that way.”
“I don’t think we should head East,” Issy said, looking down Lincoln Road to their left. “I think that all looks industrial.
Gina followed her gaze and nodded her agreement.
“That leaves North or West,” Issy said.
They looked at each direction in turn, but nothing suggested there would be a newsagent along either route. North was the continuation of the A10, and they would eventually come across some shops at some point, and West didn’t look any more promising.
“Heads or tails?” Issy asked.
“North,” Gina replied. “Stick to the A10.”
They set off but within four hundred metres they’d passed another trading estate with numerous well known nationwide stores, none of which sold books. They could see similar shops as far as the eye could see and the only one which made them pause for a second was a massive supermarket. Whilst some supermarkets sold some books, CDs and the like, neither could ever remember ever seeing maps on sale.
“Petrol station!” Gina almost shouted, having a Eureka moment.
They looked around and couldn’t see one. Neither could they remember passing one either.
“I think I’d give anything for a smart phone,” Issy remarked.
“Tell me about it,” Gina agreed.
“Even consider shagging Mamba.”
“Now I know you’re kidding…Cobra!” Gina replied, and both women laughed.
“Well, Princess, I think we should have tried West and the smaller road,” Issy said. “Possibly more chance of finding some local shops.”
“Let’s go,” Gina agreed, starting to retrace her steps.
They took far more care as they approached the intersection with Lincoln Road, slowing down and splitting up before re-joining when they were out of sight. They only had to walk about two hundred metres before they reached a parade of local shops, all of which had been hidden from the intersection they had just come from.
Their hopes increased as they saw a newsagent and a Londis mini-supermarket, feeling sure that they would find what they were after.
They approached the newsagent first and carefully opened the door and listened for movement and sounds inside.
Issy motioned that there was something in there, so they both made sure their knives were ready for use.
Issy entered the shop slowly, leaning against the door to allow Gina to pass her, then letting the door go and edging forwards. It was dark but they could just about see two rows of shelving heading towards the rear of the store.
“This isn’t very good,” Issy whispered. “I can’t see shit. I could do with my night vision goggles.”
“Hold on,” Gina whispered back, and felt her way to the counter and went behind it. She rummaged around blindly for a minute then Issy heard a scraping before a flame erupted from a gas lighter. “Shit!” Issy heard as Gina quickly turned the lighter down and the smell of singed hair pervaded the air. After she had turned the lighter down, Gina quickly checked to make sure her hair or clothes weren’t on fire then grabbed a second lighter and passed it to Issy. Issy checked the flame setting and made sure it wasn’t on high before she flicked the wheel.
