Kept Safe

by Lucy Wild

  I kept running, heading out into the car park, relieved to see my car wasn’t blocked in. I was inside it before she got out of the building and the last view of me she had was my car tearing past as I raced out onto the street.

  I kept my foot down as far as I dared, racing through the streets back to the house. If she’d got in the cellar it meant she’d broken into the house, it meant she’d broken into the cellar. It meant in all likelihood that Bella was gone, taken into police custody. I had no idea where I was driving to, I just had to stay one step ahead of the police while I worked out what the hell to do.

  My phone rang as I drove, I dug it out of my pocket and looked down, a number I didn’t recognise. If that was Mr Sanders I was double fucked.

  “Hello Jack,” a voice said when I answered. It wasn’t a voice I knew.

  “Who is this?”

  “I want to meet your employer. Where is he?”

  “Who is this?”

  “You keep asking that and Bella’s going to start screaming. Where’s Mr Sanders?”

  “I don’t know.”

  “Oh dear. I better go then. I’ll mail you the bits of her that I cut off, shall I?”

  I gripped the phone as I swerved round another car. “If you hurt her, I’ll kill you.”

  “It’s touching how you care so much about her.”

  “I’m coming for her. I’ll find her, and if there’s so much as a scratch on her-”

  “I hate to interrupt but I think you might like to hear this.” Silence and then a long piercing scream, a scream that I knew at once was Bella. “Sorry, what were you saying, Jack?”

  “What have you done to her?”

  “Nothing permanent, yet.”

  “What do you want from me?”

  “I’ve told you, I want Mr Sanders. I have a few things I’d like to discuss with him.”

  “And if I give him to you, you’ll let her go?”

  “I give you my word.”

  “What the fuck is that? Your word? You expect me to trust you?”

  “You don’t have a lot of choice, do you? Now, you bring Mr Sanders to the warehouse at the back of Johnson Street. You know the one don’t you, Jack?”

  I bristled. How did he know? “Yes, I know it.”

  “You better get him here by three or I start removing her fingers. Understand?”

  I hung up. I knew that voice. Where did I know that voice from? It was someone who knew about the warehouse, even though that was years ago. Was it someone I’d worked with? I yanked the steering wheel left, heading that way. Whoever it was, I’d soon know. And then they’d know what it meant to cross someone like me.

  TWENTY-THREE

  BELLA

  It had been hours since I’d been tied up but I still couldn’t believe it was really happening. I’d been in the van for just a couple of minutes when it stopped and the back door opened. Two men climbed in, both of them in police uniform. “You got her then?” the one nearest to me asked, ignoring me.

  The driver twisted his neck round. “Piece of piss. Wasn’t even a reinforced door.”

  “Can’t believe we didn’t think of it before.”

  “Yeah, well, it’s sorted now, isn’t it?”

  “What?” I asked. “What are you talking about?”

  “That’s enough out of you,” the second man said, wrapping a piece of cloth round my head, gagging me before I could say anything else. I reached up to pull it from my mouth but him and his companion were already on me, grabbing my hands and tying them together. I looked wildly at them as they climbed through to the front seats of the van.

  I twisted my arm towards my seatbelt, trying to reach it to undo it. I was just about to press down when one of the men in the front looked back and noticed me. “I wouldn’t if I were you,” he said, holding up a gun. “I’d hate to have to shoot you.”

  My arms slumped down again, my eyes fixed on the gun barrel. I’d never seen a gun before. The sight of it disgusted and terrified me in equal measure. How could I have been so naive? I saw a man in a police uniform and didn’t think for one second to question it. I just believed him. Jack wasn’t a liar. There were people after me. And now, they’d got me. He said he’d keep me safe if I stayed with him. What had I done instead? Fallen for the first person who turned up like they were a knight in shining armour.

  A detective in police uniform. Randomly breaking into the house out of nowhere. I was an idiot. I’d gone from kidnapped to kidnapped with barely a chance to catch my breath in between. I couldn’t believe it was happening.

  I was still in disbelief even when I was unloaded inside some kind of warehouse. A chair was in the middle of the floor like some kind of surreal art installation. I was dumped on the chair, my feet tied to it, all the time the gun was trained on me as if the man holding it was daring me to try and escape.

  “That should stop you,” the van driver said, standing up and leering down at me, his hand going to my shoulder. “You aren’t going anywhere now?” He grinned, his face reptilian, devoid of warmth. His hand went to the strap of my dress, sliding it slowly downwards as I tried to twist away from him.

  “Perks of the job,” he said to his companions before sliding the other strap down, exposing my breasts to his view. The other two men laughed behind him, all of them staring at me.

  “Might as well make friends while we’re waiting,” he said, his hand sliding down to squeeze my breast. He tugged at it, tweaking the nipple until I screamed into the gag, trying to turn my body away from him, hating the touch of him on my body. “Wonder what’s lower down,” he asked, sliding his hand down my stomach as I shrieked into the gag.

  I blinked in fear and then he wasn’t next to me anymore. There was a thudding sound and then he was on the ground. I looked up, trying to work out what had happened. Someone new had appeared, standing over him with his fist clenched. “What did I tell you?” he said, looking down at the prostrated man who was rubbing his jaw. “Well, what did I tell you?”

  “God damn,” the man on the floor said. “You might have knocked my teeth out.”

  “You don’t fucking touch her.” The man next to me turned to the other two. “The three of you go watch for him. I want to know the minute he arrives. Go.”

  The three men walked away and I was left alone with him. He reached down to my dress, pulling it back up to my shoulders. “I apologise on behalf of my employees,” he said. “You have nothing else to fear. This will all be over soon and then you can go home. Oh, would you mind doing me a favour?” He reached into his jacket pocket, pulling out a phone and pressing buttons on it. “Would you mind screaming for me?”

  I frowned at him as he loosened the gag. “Please, let me go,” I said but he just shook his head.

  “Not quite yet. Would you mind screaming for me?”

  “What?”

  “Scream, into the mic there. It would be a big help.”

  “I don’t understand.”

  “Oh, fine.” Out of nowhere a knife appeared, running down the length of my arm, drawing blood as it dug into my skin. I screamed in pain. “That’ll do perfectly,” he said, pressing a button on his phone, the sound of my scream echoing back to me from the speaker.

  I felt tears on my cheek, the pain of the cut on my arm enough to make me faint. “Why did you do that?” I asked, my chest heaving.

  “Need it for a phone call I’m going to make soon. You’d be surprised how difficult it is to get someone to scream on cue. Oh don’t cry. It’ll be over soon. Once I’ve had a chat with the man who gave me this.”

  He lifted his shirt to reveal a hideously scarred chest, the skin pockmarked and ridged, reddened and sore looking. I winced at the sight.

  “Would you believe I received this in this very warehouse?” he asked, leaning towards me. “Look at it! Look at what your father did to me.”

  “I’m sorry,” I muttered. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

  “Of course you don’t. You were just
a child when it happened. But I’m sure he can explain when he gets here.”

  “What do you mean? My father’s dead.”

  “Yes, I thought that too. But my employer has informed me otherwise. Now if you’ll excuse me, I have some calls to make. Don’t go anywhere will you?”

  TWENTY-FOUR

  JACK

  I knew the warehouse like the back of my hand. I’d never forgotten what happened there. I just hoped it hadn’t changed much in the intervening years. If the person inside was who I thought it might be then he’d picked the warehouse for a reason. Had he been here since? Was I walking into a trap?

  There was only going to be one way to find out. I parked up a couple of streets away and approached on foot. There was an alleyway that led to the side and I took it, clambering over the chain link fence that blocked my way. Once I was on the other side, I picked up speed, moving along the edge of the building next to me, calculating my odds.

  Whoever it was, they were unlikely to be working alone. Hell, they might not even be there. It might be an attempt to lure me and Mr Sanders into the place before blowing it up. Anything was possible. We’d both made a lot of enemies in our time. I stopped when the warehouse loomed above me. From my hiding place, pressed against the metal shutters of a long closed factory, I could see the side door and the fire escape. It was rusty as hell but it was still there. Scanning the ground in front of it, I looked for any sign of life. Nothing. This was it, all or nothing.

  I ran for the fire escape, taking it two steps at a time, moving as quietly as I could. I got to the roof without being shot which was a good start. There was a flat walkway along the edge of the roof, the scene of where it all ended last time. I ran along it, seeking out the skylight that looked down on the main space inside. I got to it seconds later, crouching down and peering through.

  There she was, and it looked like she was alone. I watched for a while, waiting to see if anyone else appeared. She was tied to a chair, a gag in her mouth, her arm red. They’d cut her.

  I clenched my fists. Whoever did that was going to pay for what they’d done. I was about to move when something cold and metal pressed to my forehead. “Get up slowly, Jack,” a voice said.

  I flicked my eyes to the left. One pair of feet. Easy enough. Leaning in, I then pushed myself back, flicking my leg towards the feet before they could react. The gun didn’t fire but it swung towards me as I caught the ankles, sending the person they belonged to flying backwards. Then it fired, the noise making my ears ring. The bullet missed me by inches but it was the only chance they got.

  I leapt forwards, landing on the man who I realised was wearing a police uniform. He was no cop. I landed a punch on his chin before he could react, then a second. He fell back and I kneed him in the chest, crushing him under me as he fell. From somewhere off to my left, I heard another bang as a gun fired. I looked up. Two men were running towards me from the fire escape.

  I picked up the man under me, holding him up like a shield as they fired. His body bucked as they fired again, the bullets striking him as I threw myself to the floor. I rolled to the left, leaving his body behind. I got behind a metal vent, more bullets whizzing past me. Reaching into the vent, I yanked out the metal grill covering it. “Here goes nothing,” I muttered, dropping my feet into the hole and then pushing myself down. As long as nothing had changed, I should land in two, one, clang. I was down, inside the vent. I could hear the two men above, debating whether to follow me.

  I didn’t have much time. I crawled along the vent, kicking off the next grill and dropping down into an empty storeroom. There was a metal cabinet to my right and I crouched behind it, waiting. A few seconds later, there was a thud as one, then the other dropped down into the room. “Where is he?” the first asked, taking a step in my direction.

  “Here,” I replied, reaching out and yanking the gun from his hand. The second man raised his weapon as I twisted away and he caught his colleague in the chest, a bloom of red appearing as he slumped lifeless to the ground. Killing his companion had shocked him just long enough for me to close the gap between us and I got my hand under his chin, shoving it upwards, sending him slamming into the wall behind him. His head smacked into the concrete and he fell forwards, his eyes glazed.

  I dropped the gun in disgust, running from the storeroom out into the main body of the warehouse. She looked up, her eyes wild as she saw it was me. She screamed into the gag. At first I thought it was because she’d seen me but too late I realised she was trying to warn me. I reached her side, leaning down to untie her.

  A fist hit me square in the cheek from behind. Only one man was that quiet. I was still reeling from the blow when I saw him but I already knew who was going to be looking back at me. “Good to see you again, Drake,” I said, rubbing my cheek. “How’ve you been?”

  “You knew he was alive,” he spat back at me. “You didn’t think I deserved to know?”

  “I don’t owe you anything,” I replied. “How much are they paying you?”

  “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

  “Bullshit. You couldn’t arrange all this. So what did they offer you? Money? Her?” I motioned at Bella behind me. “Me?”

  “All three,” he replied, leaping forwards.

  I was ready for him this time. His punch had hurt but it would take more than that to slow me down. I grabbed him as he came at me, twisting round until we both fell. He landed on top of me but by rocking my arms I was able to reverse our positions after a couple of punches had landed on my chest. Once I was on top, I pinned his arms under my knees, landing a swift blow to his chin. He snarled with rage, wriggling out from under me like a snake, crawling away.

  I went after him just as he lashed out with his foot. It caught my ankles and I tripped, my face smacking into the ground and slowing me for long enough for him to dive onto my back. He wrapped his hands round my throat and began to choke me, his last mistake.

  With a flick of my hands, I got under his fingers, turning his wrist until I felt a snap. He yelped with pain, falling away from me. Climbing to my feet, I got a kick into his chest, then another in his stomach. “Who hired you?” I screamed at him, grabbing him and dragging him to his feet. “Who hired you?”

  “Fuck you,” he spat.

  I threw him backwards, watching him hit the wall behind him. He slumped down and I put my foot to his ankle, pressing down hard. “I swear you’ll never walk again unless you tell me.” He roared with pain as I hovered just short of snapping the bone. “Tell me.”

  “She didn’t tell me her name,” he said, the agony evident in his voice. “I swear.”

  “You’re lying.”

  “He’s not,” said a voice behind me.

  I spun round and found myself looking at Detective Rikers. Bella was nowhere to be seen, her chair and her gone.

  “You,” I said, pointing at her. “What are you doing here?”

  “I came to see you.”

  “Where’s Bella?”

  “Safe, for now. It’s over, Jack. You lost.”

  “Who are you?”

  “I thought you’d have guessed by now. Here, see if this helps.”

  She reached up and pulled at her hair. It came away in her hands, revealing a short blonde cut underneath. Yanking at her forehead, I realised that was coming away too. It was a mask, a mask so realistic I would never have guessed. As she peeled it away, I realised who it was at last.

  “Zoe,” I said. “But you’re dead.”

  “As dead as George,” she replied. “Where is he, Jack?”

  “I don’t know.”

  She waved her hand. “It doesn’t matter. “Drake, keep your gun on him, would you?”

  I glanced behind me. Drake was on his feet, limping across to her, a pistol pointed at me the entire time.

  “I could kill you,” Zoe continued. “But I think it’ll be more fun to leave you here. That way you can think about Bella while I take her with me so she can watch me kill her father
. Goodbye, Jack.”

  “Zoe,” I said as she began to walk away. She turned her head to glance at me. “This isn’t over.”

  “Course not,” she laughed. “Still with the threats, even after all this time.”

  Then she was gone, Drake too, leaving me standing alone in the warehouse. I ran out but they were already driving off. I ran to the street, looking left then right. A car was driving towards me and I stuck out my hand, forcing it to stop by running in front of it.

  “What the hell?” the man inside said as I yanked open his door. “I nearly hit you, man.”

  “Follow that car,” I said, pointing down the road.

  “A chase,” he grinned. “All my life, I’ve wanted to be in a chase. What is this? FBI? CIA? KGB?”

  “Just get moving,” I said, jumping over the bonnet and slipping into the passenger seat. “Don’t let them see you.”

  “I can be cool,” he said, slipping on a pair of sunglasses, then quickly taking them off again. “Can’t see,” he said with a sheepish grin, setting off after Zoe’s car. “I’ve played Grand Theft Auto.”

  “That’s great,” I said, staring out of the front of the car. “Easy, don’t get too close.”

  “So who are you?” he asked. “MI5?”

  “Yeah, sure,” I replied. “If you like.”

  “Double cool.”

  We followed them for nearly an hour, my heart racing the entire time. “Any idea where this road goes?” I asked as we headed out of the city.

  “Sure I do,” he replied. “There’s a private airfield down here. I come down at weekends to watch the planes.”

  “You’re certain?”

  “Course I am. Last week there was a Cessna I’d not seen before. I can’t tell you how exciting that was.”

  An airfield. So that was her plan. She was going to fly her out of the country. I couldn’t let that happen. “When we get there, you wait in the car for me, all right?”

  “You got it mate.”

  “Good. How far is it from here?”