by M A Comley
“Wow! Really. Shit! You think they’re going to get her on a plane and transfer her out of the country?”
“Well, I hadn’t really thought that far ahead, but now you’ve mentioned it, yes, that’s a succinct possibility.”
“What about the hostages? Did Carol pick up anything about them? Will they be harmed in any way? Furthermore, what about Charlie?”
“Honestly, I don’t know. All Carol picked up was that Lorne, although she’s in danger, Pete is protecting her. We need you to help us find this runway or airfield, Katy. I doubt that we’re looking at one of the major airports in or around London.”
“How do you know that, Tony?”
“I don’t really, I’m speculating more than anything. Too much security, for a start. They’ll want to keep her out of the public eye. I would, if I were in their shoes, knowing her reputation.”
“You’re right. So AJ and I will look for a smaller airfield that takes private planes. How’s that?”
“Perfect. Can you perhaps look at a thirty-mile radius of the centre of London? It needs to be fairly accessible for the kidnappers, I would have thought.”
“Let me see what we can find and get back to you.”
“We’ll search for some kind of transport in the interim.” Tony watched Joe walk away and approach two men. He pulled out a wad of notes and returned wearing a broad smile and carrying two motorcycle helmets. “Money talks, eh?”
Joe nodded. “What better form of transport than those beauties.” He nodded at the pristine Kawasaki motorcycles.
“Jesus, I haven’t ridden one of those since I was a spook! Not sure how the leg will hold up.”
“Nonsense. You’ll be fine. I told the guys we were MI6 agents in a covert operation and promised to take care of them.”
“Stretching the truth a little there, mate,” Tony said as they crossed the road to collect the vehicles.
The men seemed anxious but handed over the keys anyway. Tony and Joe climbed on their respective bikes, revved the engines then set off.
CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE
The taxi arrived at the airfield. “Drop you at the entrance, shall I, love?”
“I presume so. I’m meeting someone.” She paid the driver and watched from the pavement as he sped off. She wasn’t alone for long, though. Another car pulled up alongside her, and the passenger door was flung open. She bent down, and her heart almost stopped when she saw the man who’d been issued with the task of following her behind the steering wheel, glaring at her. “Get in.”
Lorne straightened and quickly searched around her in the hope that someone might come to her rescue before she got in the car. However, the road was empty. Reluctantly, she dropped into the passenger seat. “Where are you taking me?”
“You’ll find out soon enough.”
The car drove into the next road and entered the airfield through some kind of tradesman’s entrance. Lorne eyed the driver with concern as he went past a hangar; a private jet loomed ahead of them. Shit! They’re going to take me out of the country. Pete, if you’re around, please help me before it’s too late. Lorne shuddered when a slight breeze brushed her neck; she swiftly turned in her seat to find it empty. Upon closer inspection, she found a used Kit Kat wrapper poking out from a crease in the back of the seat. She turned to face the plane again and found that her anxiety level had dropped a little.
The car stopped at the bottom of the plane’s steps. The driver left the car and opened the passenger door. “Get out.”
“I see you’re a man of many words,” Lorne mumbled, grinning at him.
His eyes narrowed. He grabbed her elbow and pulled her up the steps and into the cabin of the plane. Lorne’s heart raced when she entered the cabin and saw a smartly dressed man smoking a huge Havana cigar, awaiting her arrival.
“Well, well, well, I finally get to meet the intrepid Lorne Simpkins.”
She noted the man spoke with an Eastern European accent. He exhaled a vast plume of smoke, which drifted swiftly through the cabin and into her face.
She wafted the smoke away with her hand. “That’ll be Lorne Warner. Do I know you?”
“We’ve never met. However, I know all I need to know about you, Detective Inspector. The question is what I do with you now that I have you in my possession.”
The way he emphasised the word possession made her skin prickle in fear. She was determined to remain blasé about her situation and not to let the man know how scared she was of being in his company. She would do her utmost to live up to the reputation he’d already attributed to her.
The driver left the plane, and she heard the car pull away. “What are your intentions? And how am I connected to the hostages you have abducted in the past few days? Apart from being the investigating officer, that is.”
“Questions, questions. All will be revealed soon enough. Take a seat.” He pointed to a plush leather swivel chair close to him.
“No. I’d rather stand.”
“Come now, Inspector. After the traumatic day you’ve had, I would’ve thought your weary legs would be screaming for a rest by now.” His laughter rebounded off the cabin walls.
“I’ll sit once you’ve told me what you want?”
He shrugged and inhaled another drag of his cigar. Once he’d exhaled another large swell of smoke, he replied, “It’s simple really—I want you.”
“Well, you can’t have me. I’m married. Did I mention my husband is an MI6 agent?” She tried to bluff her way out of the intense situation.
He laughed again then fixed her with a glare. “Don’t mess with me, Simpkins. He’s an ex-MI6 agent with a dodgy leg. Don’t expect him to come to your rescue, either. My men have already dealt with him and his agent buddy who were tailing you, not as covertly as it happens. They’ve been more like a couple of keystone cops than highly trained agents during today’s exercise. The little adventure conducted during the course of the day has been a test, for all of you. I needed to know each of your limits and capabilities. I’ve well and truly accomplished that now.”
“And what have you deduced?” Lorne challenged him.
“That, my dear lady, is for me to know. Let’s just say with regard to you, I was not surprised by my findings.”
“So what happens now?” Lorne asked.
“You owe me, Simpkins, and I’m about to get my compensation and some.”
***
Katy tapped her foot impatiently. “Answer the damn phone, Tony.”
Finally, her call was answered. “Katy, hi. Sorry, we were in transit.”
“Where to? I’ve been calling you for ages.”
“It doesn’t matter. Do you have an inkling about which airfield we should be heading for?”
“After careful consideration, AJ and I both think you should try Fairoaks. It seems the most plausible to us.”
“I think I know it. I’ll pull up the directions on the phone. Look, Joe and I have acquired a pair of Kawasaki motorbikes, so we should reach there quicker than we normally would. What if we’re wrong?”
“Don’t worry. I’m sending teams out to the other airfields in the area just in case. If I hear back from any of them with a sighting, I’ll let you know.”
“Fair enough.”
“Tony, bring her home. We need her.”
“Roger that, Katy.”
Katy ended the call and fell into the chair next to her. AJ threw an arm around her shoulder and kissed her forehead lightly. “Stick with it, Katy. You’re doing a fabulous job.”
“I’m exhausted, AJ. Lord knows how Lorne must be feeling.”
“She’ll push herself through the exhaustion. She’s resilient; you know that.”
“Then, if she can do it, so can I. Have we heard from Sean lately?”
She picked up the phone and dialled AJ’s mobile when her partner shook his head. “Sean? What’s going on?”
“I was just about to ring you. We were in a dip; bad communication area. Things are certainly heating up, Katy.
The four-by-four is now in use, and they transferred one of the hostages into it.”
“Did you see who it was, Sean?”
“No. However, an educated guess is telling me it might have been Charlie. Then the vehicles split off in different directions. I decided it would be best to keep the lorry in our sight. It was a tough decision to make, Katy.”
“Damn! Okay, we need to try and put a halt to this, boss. I’m inclined to go with a roadblock now. What do you think?”
“Yep, I agree. Action it ASAP. The lorry is approaching junction 26 on the M25. Maybe they’ll be heading for the channel tunnel. It’s a guess, but we should stop it before it goes much farther.”
“I’m on it. Be in touch soon.”
Katy actioned the Armed Response Team to ambush the lorry. The commanding officer said that they were prepared and would instigate the plan immediately.
Katy hung up and blew out a relieved breath. She winced as Charlie’s face drifted into her mind. She crossed her fingers and closed her eyes to say a silent prayer for the girl’s safety.
CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO
The helicopter kept the lorry within sight. Sean surveyed the surrounding area, on the lookout for the ARTs. At least this part of the motorway appeared to be light of traffic, further inspection over his shoulder showed a queue of traffic being held up by a police roadblock, which was a blessing. Sean angled the binoculars ahead. He saw two large parked vehicles, one on either side of the motorway, and around ten cars in front of the lorry. As the final car passed, something was dispatched across the surface of the motorway by a man. Glinting in the sun’s rays as it landed, the object caught Sean’s eye. He realised the teams had placed a Stinger across the three lanes. As the driver applied the brakes, smoke clouds erupted from its tyres. The vehicle swerved violently and ended up sidelong across the motorway as it tried to avoid the Stinger, but it was too late.
Sean punched the air, and the pilot winked at him and issued a satisfied smile. Once the lorry ground to a halt, two armed men left the cabin and aimed their rifles at the ART vehicles. Sean noticed another chopper had joined them and pointed it out to the pilot. “Doesn’t take long for Sky News to get in on the action, eh?”
The pilot shrugged and exhaled an annoyed breath. “They better keep out of my way. Do you want me to land? We’ll probably be safer down there than up here, by the looks of things.”
“Yes, take her down. The news crew might get the hint and withdraw from the area.”
Sean watched as a shootout began between the ART and the kidnappers. One of the kidnappers hit the tarmac, screaming in agony and holding his right thigh. The other kidnapper had seen enough; he threw aside his weapon and held up his hands in surrender. Sean punched the air for a second time and rang the station as the helicopter landed.
“Katy, we’ve got them. I repeat—the hostages are safe.”
“That’s fantastic news. I’ll ring Tony, let him know.”
“You do that. I’m just going to sort things out here, and then I’ll get up in the air, see if we can track down the four-by-four.”
“Okay, Tony and Joe are on their way to Fairoaks Airfield. We think that’s where Lorne is located.”
“Interesting. That’s a fair distance from here. What if the four-by-four is on its way there to meet up with Lorne?”
“Maybe. How long has it been since you last laid eyes on it?”
“Around twenty minutes, tops. Let me check the hostages, and make sure it was Charlie they unloaded from the lorry. I’ll call you back.”
Sean raced across the motorway, showed his ID, and went to the back of the lorry, which had been opened by a couple of ART members. He scanned the terrified faces looking his way and shook his head. “Did they separate Charlie?”
“Yes.” A woman cradling her infant nodded. “I hope they don’t harm her.”
“So do I,” Sean replied, turning and racing back to the chopper.
He contacted the station again to tell Katy that his assumption was spot on, then he instructed the pilot to head for the airfield Katy had suggested the kidnappers might be using to hold Lorne.
***
Lorne stared at the unknown man, trying to match the glare he was aiming at her. Every now and again, when he closed his eyes to take another satisfying drag on his cigar, Lorne’s eyes flitted around the cabin, looking for something she could use as a weapon, or to plan her escape. She saw only two doors in the cabin: one she presumed led to the cockpit and the one where she’d entered the plane. The second was still open, ensuring a steady flow of fresh air circulated the cabin.
She inhaled a large breath and smiled. “Are you going to tell me how you know of me?”
“A mutual acquaintance, shall we say.” His laughter was filled with provocation.
“You need to give me more than that if we’re going to go forward and work with each other.”
“Who said anything about working with each other?” His eyes narrowed to tiny slits.
Lorne pinched her temple with her finger and thumb as the beginning of a headache emerged. “Then what are you expecting from me?”
“I expect you to pay me back. It’s taken me almost seven years to be in a position to track you down.”
“You’re still not making any sense. I’m hearing what you’re saying, but I’m struggling to formulate an idea as to what you are getting at.”
His gaze left hers while he stubbed out the cigar in a large glass ashtray. Lorne seized her opportunity and lunged for the open door. He was on her in a flash—he grabbed her wrist, and before she could take a step out of the plane, he yanked her back inside the cabin.
“Let go of me, you brute.” Her legs and arms lashed out as much as they could, but with him sitting upright on her chest, her efforts proved to be hopeless.
All of a sudden, his face turned serious. He leaned forward and grasped both of her wrists, pinning them on either side of her head. Lorne squeezed her eyes tightly shut, fearing that his mouth was about to cover hers. Another person spoke in the cabin, forcing her eyes open again. She recognised the voice of the man standing at the cockpit door as Warrior. The man sitting on top of her growled at him, “Get back in there and leave this bitch to me. I have such illicit plans for her before...”
Before what, shithead? My demise? “Get off me!” Lorne shouted. She lifted her legs, trying to knee the man in the back to dislodge him. Her attempt was shafted, not by the brute thwarting her efforts, but by a female voice.
“Mum! Mum, is that you?”
Her eyes widened. “Charlie! Oh my God, what are you doing here, darling? Have they hurt you? Do as they say.” For now, she added in her mind.
“I’m all right, Mum,” Charlie cried out.
The man slapped Lorne hard around the face, instantly sapping the breath from her body. He turned to shout at Warrior, “Get back in there. Take the girl with you while I deal with her mother. Silence her any way you see fit.” He laughed, raising his head backwards and imitating a wolf calling for its mate in the wild. “They’ll have to get used to what we have in store for them. It’s how they’ll be working off the debt they owe me from now on.”
Lorne shook her head. “I owe you nothing. I don’t even know you, for fuck’s sake.”
He slapped her again, twice, with the back and the palm of his hand, then stood up, dragging her to her feet by her hair as the cockpit door slammed shut. She couldn’t help straining her ear in the direction of the cockpit, more concerned with her daughter’s safety than her own. However, she was greeted with silence. She prayed that Charlie would behave herself in there with Warrior and not prompt him into punishing her.
As the man yanked her to her feet again, Lorne caught a glimpse of daylight through the door. She hoped to see some form of backup gathering to rescue her, but found nothing of the kind. The man threw her into the chair again. Something smashed against her leg, and she shifted her position, trying not to give away what had happened under the man’s intensi
ve gaze. Suddenly, the object in her pocket gave her strength to tackle him, if only verbally for the time being.
“At least give me your name.”
“It’s Alexei Popovski.”
“I don’t recognise the name. What harm would it do to fill me in on who you are? I promise, I won’t try to run again.”
“And your word has always been your bond. Hasn’t it, Simpkins?”
She ground her teeth at the way he twisted her old name around his evil tongue. She shrugged. “Again, I have no idea what you’re implying. Why don’t you lay all of your cards on the table? Go on—at least have the guts to do that.”
He reached into the engraved wooden box next to him and removed another cigar. He took his time preparing to light it, adding to her frustration. She forced herself to remain patient; he was clearly revelling in his ability to have some kind of hold over her. Lorne wriggled in her seat, freeing the object in her pocket, making it accessible to her if she made another attempt to escape. The only problem with that was she had Charlie’s safety to consider as well as her own. Dilemma, dilemma. This day has been filled with bloody dilemmas, none as large as this, though.
They heard Charlie shout. Her daughter’s raised voice seemed to amuse Popovski.
Lorne glared at him and ordered, “Let her go. Do what you want to me, but please let her go. She doesn’t belong here.”
“Oh, you’re so wrong about that, Inspector. She actually belongs to me, has done for a very long time.”
Lorne’s brain began to function properly again and recounted the scenario she had come up with at the start of the kidnapping case. “Are you telling me that you are linked to the Unicorn?”
He placed his cigar in his mouth and clapped slowly. “Bravo, Inspector. I knew you would succeed in finding the answers if I left you to work it out long enough. Along with that success should come the realisation to your assumption. I own both you and your daughter. Especially your daughter. She was on my payroll at one point. Am I wrong?”
