The Qadesh Club

by David Lashmar

  His heart raced as he went through the contents quickly scanning over the financial details along with the names and addresses until he came to the discs. He held up the first disc and looked at it.

  “I don't think I need to look at these just now,” he said chivalrously guessing what would be on them.

  “No,” the suddenness and determination of her tone surprised him, “there’s something on one of these discs that I think you should see. Need to see,” she corrected herself.

  She put the disc into her laptop and passed it to Ernie and crossed the room to stare unseeingly through the patio doors at the activity on the river as a tugboat went past pulling a barge. Ernie watched it for about three minutes before turning it off, “I think I've seen enough!” he was not squeamish and in his years on the force had seen a lot worse but there was a lady in the room and the gentleman in him told him the right thing to do was to watch the disc at a more appropriate time.

  Francesca realised that he had not watched enough, “No, there's more you need to see!” Ernie was painfully aware that she was not comfortable listening to the sounds coming from the machine on his lap and at every scream and skin-tearing slash of the whip he would quickly look up at her to see her flinch and squeeze her eyes shut as though she was living every moment along with the child. The face of the pedophile appeared on the screen and momentarily the child was of secondary importance.

  From his sudden reaction she knew that he had reached the point in question, “Do you recognise him?”

  “Well,” he was obviously stunned, “well, I can't say for sure,” he spoke slowly. He knew that illegal video recordings were not admissible as evidence in court and besides, the person in the disc could just bear an uncanny resemblance to one of the country's more public politicians.

  “It's him,” she almost shouted at him. Not because she was particularly angry at him but because of his reluctance to accept a blind fact. “For god’s sake! Anyone can see it's him!”

  Ernie sat there not sure how to react, “I agree,” he said eventually, “but we have a problem. This disc is not proof.”

  Chapter 19

  Robert Montgomery answered his mobile phone in his usual friendly manner. “Mr. Montgomery, this is the secretary from the Gentleman’s Club, sir. When would you like to take delivery of your package?” The secretary was brisk and business like and sounded very efficient.

  Montgomery gripped the steering wheel of his Jaguar even tighter causing his knuckles to whiten, “Tomorrow. Tomorrow will do fine.” It had to be tomorrow the rest of the week he had meetings to attend and the weekend he was visiting an old school friend at his villa in the south of France.

  “We will let you know the delivery time and address. Goodbye, sir.”

  ******

  Justino Mendoza sat at his kitchen table in his small flat above his shop staring blindly at the wall opposite cradling his throbbing hand. The hospital had been unable to re-attach the severed fingertip. He did not even realise that his wife was there until she gently placed her hands on his shoulders. Since the attack he had been unable to look her in the eye after all, what kind of man was he to let this happen to his wife twice!

  His smoldering hatred of Thanos after yesterday had now evolved into a dangerous contempt for the man's life. Revenge was all he could think about but what was he, a lowly immigrant shopkeeper, able to do against such a powerful animal.

  Rosa Mendoza folded her arms around his neck and squeezing him tightly lightly kissed her husband on the cheek. She needed him now more than ever but she had no words for him after all, what could she say that would change how he felt. She did not blame him for what happened. Curiously the attack had brought them closer together their love for each other now stronger than at any point in their relationship. Outwardly she did not cry because physically she had no tears left but inside she was screaming. Screaming for revenge against the men who had did this to her!

  Morton felt his already large chest swell with pride as he scanned the seated diners while they waited for the maitre`d to show them to their table. He was not looking at the females dressed in their best finery trying to look elegant and interesting, instead he focused on their respective spouses and dates and their reaction to the stunning beautiful woman by his side.

  Some of them openly turned their heads to get a better look whilst others only move their eyes slyly. As they headed towards the reserved table every man, irrespective of age, got a good look at her.

  He could not blame them for tonight she looked absolutely beautiful. He guessed correctly, though he did not know it, that she had gone out and bought herself a new dress especially for tonight.

  It was in complete contrast to the clothes she would normally have worn for work. The figure-hugging, black knee-length evening dress would have looked good on any woman with a half decent figure but it looked as though it had been made for her with the low cut back being the only revealing part of the dress. The first thing that he had noticed, though, was that she was wearing her hair up. Not only did it have the effect of making her look taller and more elegant but it immediately attracted you to look at her big blue eyes which seemed unusually alive and bright tonight. He liked the fact that she was wearing less make-up as it made her look less like a working girl. Tonight he was dating a beautiful woman and not a paid whore. It was an unusual feeling for him but one that felt right.

  To the casual observer in the dining room they were an odd couple. He was a big man and old enough to be her father except that from the way she was holding on to his arm and the way they touched as they talked to each other she was obviously not his daughter.

  ******

  The two ex-soldiers finished off their steak meals in the café. The older of them belched loudly and looked at his watch, “Give it half hour and we'll start with the office then go on to the apartment. Alright?”

  As sophisticated as Thanos thought his alarm system was breaking in was easy for these two and very soon they were carrying out a detailed search of the plush office including checking to see if there were any loose floorboards.

  “Thinks he’s running a multi-national company, doesn't he? Fucking arsehole!”

  The office, considering it was above a back street shop was well decorated with oak paneled walls with matching bookcases, an extremely large leather topped oak desk, leather sofas and fixed to the wall opposite his desk a seventy-two inch plasma screen television.

  “This is a fucking waste of time! This geezer’s to smart to leave anything in his office,” complained the driver.

  “Yep, I agree but an orders an order so it's no use complaining,” grinned his younger accomplice. He was used to the moaning by now and knew that even though his partner complained about almost everything he would do a more thorough job than he would.

  Grimshawe had driven off with a rising sense of panic. He was not worried about the accident. He knew the van could not be traced to anyone but she had recognised him. He drove back to the lock-up and covered over the front of the damaged van with an old, oily tarpaulin. Somehow he was going to have to explain this to the boss but not tonight.

  In a desperate bid to impress Thanos he decided to go to the solicitor’s office and look for the files. Breaking into the locked office was easy and locating the hidden safe which had been concealed within a false filing cabinet easier still. In his haste to find the file he searched quickly but haphazardly and finding nothing concluded that it had to be at her home address.

  It was already dark when he arrived at her home, which was a small, detached two bedroomed bungalow in one of the many villages surrounding London. He slowed down as he approached and caught a glimpse of her in her living room. Parking in a badly lit side road he waited until all her lights were out before making his way back and entering the bungalow from the rear garden. He was surprised at how easy it had been to get into the house considering she was a woman living alone but the garden door offered very little resistance to a burglar such a
s himself.

  The garden door lead straight into the small kitchen and from there all the other rooms lead off a short passageway that led to the front door. He knew the room to his right was the living room so he guessed that the rooms on the left had to be the bedrooms. He crept slowly and quietly to the first room and entered pulling the door almost shut after him. It was a small bedroom containing a double bed and matching furniture. Searching the room was relatively easy as most of the drawers and wardrobes were empty. The search of the living room proved to be equally fruitless which left only one room.

  He stood at her open bedroom door and looked at her in the dim moonlight. Even though it was not a particularly warm night she had kicked off her duvet. Her short, cotton nightdress had ridden up around her waist leaving her slender legs exposed. He walked forwards slowly and took a minute to look at her his eyes glued to her crotch.

  His search took longer partly because there was more to search through and partly because he needed to do everything slower so as to minimise any possible noise but mainly because he spent as much time looking at her as he was searching.

  Exasperated and desperate to have something for Thanos he stood alongside the bed looking at her, his slow brain trying to think of where she could have hidden it, when she turned over flinging her arm across the bed catching him on the thigh with the back of her hand.

  Christine Tyler was suddenly aware that she was no longer alone in her bedroom. Even in the depths of sleep she felt the presence of someone as she turned over. Her eyes snapped open but her reactions were too slow.

  Grimshawe reacted the only way he knew. He could not have her reporting to the police about a burglary especially as nothing had been taken and so he saw his chance to do what he liked doing most of all. Grabbing her around the throat with his left hand to pin her to the bed and stifle any scream he reached into his pocket with the other and produced his trusty flick-knife. The sight of the knife quietened Caroline Tyler and she immediately stopped struggling and offered no resistance as the intruder easily cut through the neck of her nightdress and then ripped it in half with his hands leaving her exposed to him.

  Knowing that her best chance of getting through this without being physically harmed she shut her eyes and lay there allowing him to get on with violating her. She felt the fabric burn her legs as he ripped her small panties from her and then came the moment that she dreaded as he brutally rammed himself into her. She tried not to show any emotion, as she knew that this is what drove animals like him to rape women but she could not hold back the tears as they came.

  He drove home satisfied with his nights work. He could be reasonably sure that she did not have the files and for once in his sick mind, he could justify the rape as a way of disguising the true reason for the burglary.

  Chapter 20

  Tonight he felt strangely relaxed as he drove them back to his place. Perhaps it was something to do with the fact that it was an unusual event for him to take days off. In twenty years he could count on one hand how many holidays he had taken and on the other how many days off. Perhaps tonight’s relaxed mood was due in part to his company. With her he did not have to be Morton the hard man he could relax and be himself. There was a gentler side to him that no one but her ever saw.

  It was the young ex-soldier who realised first that he had returned home early as he heard the key enter the lock. Of all the nights for him not to follow his usual pattern and not come home to the early hours it had to be tonight. As the door opened he heard a soft female giggle and then saw her silhouetted against the outside light that partially lit up the hallway.

  He turned straightening himself up to his full height and faced the door. It was pointless running as there was nowhere for him to go. As soon as the door closed she turned to kiss her date stretching up putting her arms gently around his neck.

  No sooner had she pressed herself against him Morton literally lifted her bodily off the ground and threw her into the corner by the door. She hit the wall hard with a thud too shocked to realise that there was someone else in the room with them.

  Morton had sensed rather than saw the intruder as she put her arms around him. A deep rooted primeval macho instinct told him to protect the girl which was strange for him as any other time she would have been his second thought – if she was lucky.

  His left hand automatically hit the light switch on the wall next to the door but his senses had already located the intruder and he was already looking in his direction as the lights came on. “What the fuck do you think you’re doing!” Morton's tone was a mixture of astonishment and anger. Everybody in the area knew and feared him so he could not believe that anyone would have the audacity to break into his apartment. ”Come here, you little shit,” he growled moving menacingly towards the young soldier who seemed totally untroubled and stood his ground as Morton approached him a reaction, or lack of, that triggered alarm bells in Morton's well organised brain. Violence was something that he understood very well and if a smaller opponent did not back away and at least try to take some form of defensive pose then there was a reason and it was because he was either very sure of himself or there was someone else.

  A scream from Kim distracted him momentarily and he looked past the intruder’s right shoulder into the glass patio doors that led out onto his small balcony just in time to see the reflection of the second intruder rushing in silently behind him.

  He slowed down enough until he could almost smell the second assailant then nimbly pushed off to the right from his left foot simultaneously bringing up his left elbow to roughly jaw height and with the full weight of his massive body behind it smashed mercilessly into the mans face crushing and breaking his nose. As blood sprayed everywhere Morton transferred his weight onto his right knee and swung a huge right-fisted uppercut from his hip catching the first intruder on the point of his chin knocking him back off balance.

  Before either of them had a chance to react Morton grabbed the second assailant by the hair on top of his head and placing his left hand behind his neck propelled him as hard as he could towards the young soldier sending them both crashing into a wall unit. Morton's best crystal glasses, his only crystal glasses, crashed to the floor breaking as Kim's scream pierced through the air again.

  Once again he checked to make sure she was okay. She was a distraction he did not need right now but something inside him told him he had to protect her at all cost.

  Satisfied that she was safe his natural instincts for violence and survival kicked in as he turned back towards the older intruder who was falling head first out of control into his accomplice with his legs splayed apart. Taking a small step Morton kicked out hard aiming at the man’s groin causing him to groan in pain as he collapsed in a heap on the floor.

  The younger one, already fighting to maintain his balance, braced himself for the impact and was already twisting his body ready to shove his accomplice off to one side when a swinging left fist from Morton caught him high on the temple sending him crashing to the floor.

  Momentarily stunned by the impact his military training took over as he breathed in huge lungfuls of air trying quickly to clear his head. Still dazed he used the wall to give him additional leverage and pushed off hard in Morton's direction swinging wildly with his right fist in the hope of making contact but Morton saw him coming and side stepping easily caught the flaying fist twisting his arm behind his back and bringing the young man’s forward rush to a shuddering halt as he brought his knee up with perfect timing into the lower ribs breaking them.

  His opponent, though, was tougher than he looked both physically and mentally and turned his body so that he fell onto his right knee protecting his damaged ribs. Ignoring the pain he threw himself to his right rolling twice across the floor to gain as much room and time as possible between himself and his opponent. He regained his balance in a flash and crouched like a cat waiting to pounce still breathing deeply.

  They squared up silently face-to-face. So far none of the me
n had uttered a single word! Morton took off his jacket and threw it in the direction of the sofa not for any other reason than it would hinder him. They charged at each other Morton covering the small amount of ground between them the quickest and jabbed hard with his left fist onto his opponent’s nose causing a small trickle of blood to seep from it as he pulled his right arm back fist clenched.

  It was just what the young ex-soldier expected. Even though he had braced himself ready for the first punch he was not expecting it to be quite so hard as his head jarred backwards but he steadied himself ready for the big right handed punch that he anticipated. As the huge fist came towards him he pivoted and turned inside the punch pulling Morton’s arm over his shoulder throwing him judo-style onto the floor. There was loud thump and the floor bounced slightly as Morton's weight came crashing down onto it. Alarmed at being thrown like this - it had been some time since anyone put him on the floor - as soon as his feet touched down he twisted to his right ripping his wrist from his opponents grip and regained his feet with lightening speed and came at him again kicking out with his right leg which was blocked effortlessly by the young, well trained soldier who replied with a punch of his own.

  The young man needed to heed his own words. Earlier he had warned his partner that Morton was probably a hard man and right now he was about to learn just how tough he was. Morton had gained his reputation the hard way and deservedly so. He walked through the punch as though he had been hit by a child and grabbing him by the throat landed repeated hard punches with staccato like speed turning the man’s face into a bloody mess. The young soldier tried desperately to defend himself by hitting out blindly as blood seeped into his eyes but his ineffectual punches bounced off Morton's face without even seeming to bother him. He let him fall to the floor and, not content that the attacker was fully immobilised, he took a step back and viciously kicked him in the side of the head.