Castle being used to house girl of approx 12-yrs-old. Possible it is one of twins. No positive ID but highly likely. Forward this to Geordie without delay. This is urgent.
A 12-year-old girl? Josh shook his head, not sure what Hannah was on about, but unable to forward the message because it looked like the weather had buggered up the local phone signal. He wiped the screen to make sure that the red cross still showed on the signal bar. The squall had also messed up his binoculars, not that there was much to see as curtains of rain blew across between his station and the castle. At least in the sunshine earlier he’d been able to spot Hannah as the taxi dropped her off. His magnified view of her as she walked under the castle walls made him smile. She had a very nice figure, and watching it from a distance made him feel a little guilty. He’d never been into voyeurism, but getting the chance to stare at her without being spotted came as a bonus in what was otherwise turning into a crap day.
Josh shivered as a tiny finger of cold water found a gap at the neck of his rain jacket and ran down between his shoulder blades. No-one ever talked about the downside of spy-work. Hours of boredom, cold, hungry and with a bladder fit to burst. Back in his training days he’d spent two weeks living at a landfill site, or to be precise, living off the landfill. Two guys from the Special Air Service took great delight in rooting out rotting food, the liquid dregs in drinks bottles and teaching the recruits on how to kill rats as big as cats. Right now, those days seemed inviting in comparison to this place. At least on the site there were mattresses to sleep on and discarded blankets and old clothes to use to keep warm. Not like here, where he had damp grass, heather and granite outcrops for company.
Lights flickered at the periphery of his vision, and he turned his head in time to see the headlights of two cars following the main road into the forest. They looked to be travelling at a fast pace for the conditions. Josh’s thought of ‘idiots’ cut off as the first pair of lights swung hard off the road towards him. They halted, twin beams pushing out between the trees and mixing with the rain to form rainbow haloes. The second car matched the first, parking alongside it. For a moment silence fell across the loch. The headlights went out.
Shit.
The first rule of picking a location as a watch station was to have an exit route or two, and if possible three. In Josh’s case, number three would mean heading into the cold, dark water of the loch. His first choice lay right on the line of the two cars, which left option two to tick all the boxes. Josh slid back, keeping low to the rough grass that grew in dirty, knee-height clumps between banks of heather. Keeping his eyes on the now dark spot where the cars sat, he felt his legs tip over the bank. He let gravity and momentum pull him down into the lee of the headland. Josh came to all-fours, and monkey crawled towards the forest. He could hear sounds now, multiple voices overlapping each other that made it hard to count the number of people coming for him.
And they must be coming for him. Why else would two cars drive at speed and stop right on top of him? He put any thought of trying to figure out how they’d got onto him out of his head. Evade and escape. Sliding down to the water’s edge, he followed the loch bank in a tight curve. A clump of bushes kept him shielded from the men now emerging out of the forest. He reached the point where he needed to head up the slope. Here the pine trees clustered closer to the shoreline and with a whispered prayer for good luck he scrambled up the wet ground and plunged into the woodland.
Not fast enough. The shouts Josh heard could only mean someone had spotted him. Now he ran, the dense canopy of branches above and the grey rain clouds beyond them meant he moved through a stygian gloom. Water laden pine slapped him in the face as he stumbled on. The ground rose at a steep angle, and his feet slipped on the needles that carpeted the soil. At least they deadened the sound of his feet as he struggled on.
More voices, this time ahead and to the left. Josh changed direction, trying to work out where the road would be. It couldn’t be far now. He’d driven another mile away from the castle and parked up on an old logging track. He needed to get there before his pursuers found him.
Blam-blam-blam.
Josh threw himself to the forest floor. Bullets hissed above him, hitting the thick bole of a tree and ripping pale splinters of wood out of the bark. Sweet Jesus. He lay, panting, almost frozen by terror. Another burst. This time a couple of dozen yards behind his position. They’re firing blind. That didn’t give him much reassurance, because they were still firing. He reached into his jacket and pulled out his Glock 17 automatic. He checked the load and flicked the safety off. Took a deep breath that filled his lungs with the scent of pine and came to his feet. Head height branches meant he stayed in a scuttling walk, knees and back bent. Awkward, and it slowed him down as well.
The forest ahead seemed to lighten. Josh paused. The break in the trees caused by the road allowed more light to penetrate. Josh edged back into the darkness and began to move parallel to the road as it climbed away from the castle. The hunters were still out there, but they were staying down by the loch. And that gave him hope.
Hope died a second later as a figure emerged from the shade. Diamond bright flashes sprayed bullets and Josh’s instinctive duck kept him alive. His shoulder hit a tree, jarring him. The gunman ran forward, and Josh aimed and fired without thought. His double shot made the target dive for cover. Josh moved, downhill now, slipping and sliding on the pine needles until he tripped on a root and crashed to the ground.
Fuck it.
Josh pulled out his tablet, an ordinary over-the-counter purchase with some high-end apps created by the geeks at GCHQ in Cheltenham. His fingers found the volume and power switch. He held them down with a thumb on the settings button at the same time. Two seconds later the screen flashed red and went dark. Josh put the tablet on the ground; he dug into the needles that carpeted the ground and slipped the tablet into the depression he created, sweeping needles over the screen to hide it. Job done, he rose again, favouring his right ankle after the fall.
They came for him. Some from down by the loch, others from the road. His eyes, adapted to the shadows, saw them as ghostly apparitions stepping with precise movements between the silent sentinels of the pine trees. Each man had an assault rifle braced to his shoulder. Josh’s hands were shaking as he slipped from tree to tree, trying to watch up and down, trying to keep ahead of the game. He had no idea where his car was now. All he knew is that it might as well have been on the moon.
Josh stopped. He wiped sweat or rain or maybe tears from his face. The grey bark of a tree bole provided little comfort as he rested against it. His heart rate slowed. His breathing eased a little. Time to move on. Josh stepped out from the tree and stared into the barrel of a pistol. A woman held it. Her face narrow, eyes hard. She stepped closer, the muzzle of her gun digging into Josh’s forehead.
“Game over,” she said, in a flat, Scottish accent.
Chapter Fourteen
Daisy heard Geordie mutter a swear word as he stared at his phone. She watched his profile as he frowned, swiped, and frowned some more. “What’s up?” she asked, craning her neck to see.
“Josh has triggered his mayday alarm.” Geordie didn’t look up as he continued to fiddle with the screen. “I’m trying to get a response back to him ‘cause it’s most likely an accident.”
“Must be,” Daisy said. “They only travelled up yesterday. Today is Hannah’s first day at the castle.”
“Yeah,” Geordie sighed and put the phone on his desk. “I’ll get one of the techies to look at it later.”
“I still can’t get any closer to finding out who is staffing the castle.” Daisy got up from her chair and walked across to Geordie. “The MOD has everything related to it behind all kinds of firewalls. It might be easier to ask around. You must know enough people from the army to get a question out.”
“I do, but the problem with that, Flower, is if the question gets to be heard by the wrong person. Yours truly will get a midnight visit from men in dark sui
ts.”
“I could come around and guard you,” Daisy said, with a nudge of her hip on his shoulder.
“Nah, you wouldn’t want to do that, I haven’t cleaned my place in a month. It reeks.”
“I thought you army types were into housekeeping? Don’t you have to keep everything clean and tidy, all your kit ironed and boots polished?”
“We do,” Geordie admitted, “but that’s in barracks. When we’re on an op we can’t be buggering about with all that stuff. And I’m on an operation, and have been for the best part of a year.”
“So how often do you wash?” Daisy asked, taking a step back.
“Whenever it rains.” He grinned up at her. “Fancy scrubbing my back?”
“Only with a bargepole.” Daisy reached over and picked up Geordie’s phone. She found the mayday app and studied the display. “It’s an odd place to be,” she said.
“What is?” Geordie tore his eyes from Daisy and tried to make out he’d been paying attention to what she’d said.
“Here.” She showed him the Google maps display with the alarm location highlighted. “You’d think Josh would be in a position to overlook the castle. Not stuck in all those trees.”
Geordie studied the satellite image that Daisy had opened rather than the map he’d viewed. The icon for Josh sat slap bang in a forest. “Does seem odd,” he said.
“Perhaps he fell and needs help,” Daisy suggested.
“I’d have set up on this headland.” Geordie pointed at the screen.
“Perhaps he got spotted and pursued and needs our help,” Daisy suggested.
“He wouldn’t walk there though. He’d want somewhere to stash his car.”
“Maybe his car was stolen, and he needs our help,” Daisy suggested.
Geordie took the phone from her. “Are you trying to get me to go all the way to bloody Scotland with you just because some wet behind the ears spook might, only might have you, need some help.”
“Yes.” Daisy smiled at him.
Geordie shook his head. He wouldn’t want Daisy to know, but she had a cracking smile. He’d noticed a few other things about her as well these last few days. All of them good. And Robert, the Alert Team commander at Sheddlestone Hall, still talked in admiration about how Daisy held off a replicating demon single-handed before his team could get there. All in all, he figured Daisy to be the kind of girl who could be a lot of fun to be around. “What do we go as?” he asked “Tourists?”
“Sounds good. We can be on a walking holiday.”
“Okay,” Geordie agreed.
“As newly-weds,” Daisy added.
Geordie tried not to laugh. “Don’t push your luck.”
***
Josh caught a glimpse of blonde hair as he stumbled into the dungeon. The woman, Lois he’d heard the men call her, followed close behind as Josh fell down the steps into the lowest section of the room. He looked up to confirm the figure chained to one wall as Hannah. She looked beaten up. Blood dried on her face, and new scratches overlaid the existing scars. Damp and dirt-matted her hair. Mud and grass stained her clothing. She stared at him with empty eyes that filled with tears as she recognised him. Josh tried to give her a reassuring smile, but before he could even move he heard a young, female voice say,
“Is this her friend?”
The girl walked towards Josh. She took slow and deliberate steps and, despite her youth, Josh edged back from her. It must have been her eyes, or maybe her cold smile. Something about her made his skin crawl. He bumped into the steps and couldn’t go any further as Lois put a foot on his back and pressed him down onto the damp flagstones.
“He tried to run but didn’t get far,” Lois said.
“And his phone?” Miro sat in one corner of the dungeon, playing with a hunting knife.
“Retrieved. No calls made or messages sent. We’ve unblocked it and turned it off. The battery is out as well now.”
“Good,” Miro said.
Lois relented a little and allowed Josh to sit up. He glanced at Hannah again and saw her slumped now, head down in despair. He wished she would look up. Josh wanted to make eye contact and send her some reassurance. Yes, they were prisoners, but he’d got the alarm call out, and the cavalry would be coming soon. Lizzie grew bored of staring at him and wandered back to the table she’d stood at when he arrived. He watched her pick up some horrible looking piece of metal.
“What’s this one for?”
“It’s called a shredder,” Miro said. “The ends were heated up in a furnace and then used to shred pieces of flesh from a woman’s breasts.”
“Only a woman?” Lizzie turned the object, studying the hinged metal spikes.
“Yeah, mostly used for the ones who committed adultery.”
She put it down and picked up another item. A wooden handle about the length of Josh’s forearm ended in a fist sized lump of iron. Lizzie swung it down onto the table, and the impact made Josh flinch. He heard Lois snigger and say,
“That scared him.”
“And so it should,” Miro said, still messing about with the knife.
The sound made Hannah look up. Her eyes met Josh’s. He saw her mouth a single word. Sorry.
Josh frowned. Sorry? Why? Hannah looked away.
Lizzie turned, looking at Josh. “Where shall we start?”
“Something small,” Miro said. When Lois laughed, he added. “Not that. Not yet. I was thinking of a finger.”
Lizzie sniffed. “Can I do it?”
“Of course you can, Princess,” Lois said. She reached down and grabbed Josh before he could move.
Josh resisted long enough for Lois to lock one of his arms up behind his back. He yelped as fire blitzed through his shoulder. She shoved him across to the table and slapped his face down hard onto the dirty surface. Josh saw stars. Miro joined them and wrenched Josh’s arm out straight. Realisation hit Josh. They meant it. They were serious. He began to struggle. Lois reached down and punched his balls. Pain flooded Josh’s body, emptying his lungs and filling his mouth with vomit.
“Nice one,” Miro said.
Josh couldn’t move. The initial pain ran away replaced a dull ache that encompassed his abdomen. He groaned as Miro used leather straps to tie his legs to the table supports. They left him there for a few minutes as his breathing returned to normal and the ache in his balls retreated.
“Ready?” Miro asked.
“Yes,” Lizzie said, and banged the hammer down on the table.
Josh twisted his head to stare at her. She’s twelve-years-old. Oh, my God.
“I’ll be kind this time,” Miro said to Josh. “You can pick which finger and which hand.”
“No,” Josh said, his voice half-muffled by the way his face pressed against the rough surface of the table.
“Wrong answer.” Miro picked something up and held it up for Josh to see. “The shredder,” he said. “You don’t choose a finger, then girlie over there gets a breast shredded.”
“And after that,” Lois said, leaning close to Josh. “We can start asking questions.”
Josh didn’t move. Lois nudged him. He moved one arm and said, “Left hand. Little finger.”
“See? It’s easy when you want to,” Miro said.
Josh closed his eyes. He waited. And waited. Lizzie must have known because when he couldn’t stand the torment of expectation any longer, he opened his eyes to look at her. She smiled, and brought the hammer down.
Bang.
***
“It’s like looking for a needle in a haystack,” Daisy said, as she and Geordie tramped back up the forested hillside. Her idea of a few days in Scotland to cement the growing friendship with Geordie now felt like a bad idea. She fully expected Josh to be at the bed and breakfast when they arrived and giving them a sheepish grin about triggering his alarm by accident. By the time they got here, that idea had gone down the toilet. The technicians at Sheddlestone Hall reported the alarm still pinging and Josh’s phone off the network. And Hannah seemed
to no longer exist either. Her GPS tracker showed her last location as the castle. Since then, nothing. Not even the faded glimmer of a signal.
Daisy no longer had a holiday to look forward to. This was now, as Geordie informed her with a sombre face, a search and rescue mission in enemy territory. That’s why she and Geordie skulked around the forest in camouflaged gear with their faces plastered with jungle green paint and both carrying HK MP5 sub-machine guns. For the fifth or sixth time that morning they traversed the slope from loch to road, trying to pin down the exact location of the alarm. Daisy, lagging behind now as the dense smell of pine filled her lungs, watched Geordie recheck his phone.
He turned, facing in different directions, and said, “According to this we’re right on top of it.”
“Can I use the torch?” Daisy asked.
“Yeah, but aim it down.” Geordie wandered a few yards away as Daisy took a torch from her utility belt and shone it down on the forest floor. Dried pine needles covered everything, the older ones brown, newer ones still green. Other than that, nothing. Not a sign of the tablet that Josh would have used.
“Maybe it’s up there.” Daisy aimed the beam up into the thick swathe of branches.
Geordie continued to roam about, ignoring her comment. Daisy sighed. Geordie had clicked into professional soldier mode, and nothing would take him out of it if they didn’t find Josh or Hannah. She eased the pack on her back into a more comfortable position as the straps began to dig into her shoulders. Geordie seemed to think nothing of the kilos of kit he’d loaded onto her. Maybe she needed to explain that he may well have passed the entrance test for the Parachute Regiment and ended up serving with the Special Forces Support Group, but she hadn’t.
And now he’d done a disappearing act on her. “Geordie?” she called out, not too loudly because who knew who else might be skulking around this forest. “Geordie?”
The Tomb (Scarrett & Kramer Book 3) Page 26
