by Beth Abbott
He shouted something at them in Russian, and one by one they sat down, looking defeated, if still a little pissed.
Once they were no longer looking like they were about to cause trouble, Drago turned and walked towards the Guardians.
“Everything Ok?” He grinned at Kellen. “Ilya’s men give you any hassle?”
“They looked like they were about to.” Kellen nodded towards the trouble-makers. “And if we hadn’t confiscated some of their weapons earlier, it could have ended in a lot of bloodshed. But we did, and it didn’t, so we’re all good, I guess.”
Drago looked around the warehouse.
“Where are Niko and Roman?” He glanced at the truck. “Asleep?”
“I guess so.” Kellen nodded. “Hollywood is in there with them, keeping them from coming to any harm.”
“Hollywood? Why him?” Drago frowned. “He’s one of your biggest guys. He’d have been more of an asset out here, wouldn’t he?”
“He’s also one of the truck drivers, and he’s going to be back on the road at the crack of dawn, or whenever Ilya decides it’s time to set out.” Kellen pointed out reasonably. “You can’t expect him to stay up half the night and then drive all the next day, can you? At least the rest of us can try and catch some sleep while we’re on the road tomorrow.”
“I guess that makes sense.” Drago shrugged. “Well, if you’ve already confiscated the weapons, I suggest you keep hold of them.”
“Expecting trouble?” Yuri frowned.
“Always.” Drago chuckled. “But not especially tomorrow. We’ve just got a long journey ahead of us through the mountains, and where we’ll be stopping is even more remote than this place. It’s between two towns, miles from anywhere. Ilya likes it because it’s one of those places where you can see anything coming for miles around. It gives him a sense of security.”
“I’m guessing that will leave us with a bunch of bored Russian thugs to keep in line.” Kellen guessed.
“Yeah, but at least there’ll be no alcohol around.” Drago laughed. “Besides, I’ll be here tomorrow, so if anyone is going to start any trouble, the first person they’ll have to get through is me.”
“Good to know.” Kellen nodded.
“Listen, if half of you want to get some sleep, I’m more than happy to sit out here for a few hours.” Drago suggested. “I’m not tired, and I’m not driving in the morning either, so it’s no problem. I can probably outlast those assholes at staying awake too. Once they’re all asleep, they won’t cause you any further trouble tonight.”
Kellen nodded at Yuri and Kris.
“One of you two can get some sleep and tell Evan and Logan that one of them should do the same.” He nodded. “We can switch out in a few hours, so everyone gets some shut-eye.”
Drago watched them get organised as to who was going to bunk down first, and as soon as Yuri wandered over towards the truck, he lowered his big frame into the chair the big Russian had vacated.
“So, how do you normally pass the time?” Drago grinned. “Cards? Talking?”
Kellen smiled.
“Talking mostly. Shooting the breeze.” He admitted. “Or if Hollywood’s around, we usually refer to it as ‘talking shit’.”
Drago chuckled as he leaned back and put his boots up on Kellen’s makeshift stool.
“Well, as Hollywood is otherwise engaged, how about we trade war stories.” He suggested. “I’ll tell you mine and you can tell me yours.”
“I’m guessing we’re going to have had a good many experiences in common.” Kellen shrugged.
“Well, I guess we should start with the one place we’ll both have in common then…” Drago frowned. “Afghanistan?”
Kellen nodded. Those stories would probably keep both of them up until dawn.
Chapter 49 – Hollywood
Hollywood jerked upright, unsure of where he was, or what had woken him.
He glanced around and noticed the chink of dawn light coming through from the front of the cab and realised he must have slept right through the night. He pressed the side button on his watch to light it up and saw the time flash up as just after five o’clock.
“I’m sorry to have woken you, but we need the bathroom.” Niko’s soft murmur from behind him made Hollywood jump. “Roman especially.”
He turned to see both Niko and her son staring at him expectantly, and her words suddenly permeated his addled brain.
“Bathroom! Yeah, sure.” He rolled off the bed onto his knees and backed out through the curtain.
He heard the rustle of clothing and could see Niko flick her jeans out, so rather than stick around and be a voyeur, he leaned back and opened the door, so he could climb out.
The cool air was a shock to his overheated skin, but the freshness was welcome after the stuffiness of the cab.
Hollywood lifted his arms high and tried to stretch the kinks out of his back. As he did, he could smell the peach scent of Niko’s shampoo on his t-shirt.
He remembered how it felt to have that scent surround him as they kissed, and almost groaned at the need for a repeat performance this morning.
The sound of Roman’s voice had him turning around, and he reached up to help the little fella down from the cab.
Niko climbed down quickly, and hurried her son over to the bathroom, as Hollywood walked around the side of the truck.
“Well, good morning, Hollywood!” Kellen grinned. “Did you have a nice sleep?”
Hollywood smiled at Kellen’s sarcasm.
“As a matter of fact, I had a lovely sleep, thank you for asking.” He nodded. “A nice warm mattress, and a beautiful woman lying in my arms. What more could a guy want?”
Kellen narrowed his eyes.
“Do I want to ask what went on last night?” He frowned. “You were supposed to be keeping her safe, not trying to get into her pants.”
Hollywood chuckled.
“Well first of all, she wasn’t wearing any pants by the time I got in there.” He glanced around to make sure Niko wasn’t coming back yet. “But, even if she’d have been completely naked, I was on my best behaviour, so her honour would have been safe with me.”
Kellen snorted a laugh.
“I’ve never been sure what your definition of ‘best behaviour’ is.” He pointed out. “Are you saying you didn’t touch her at all? Or are you saying you touched her but didn’t get laid?”
“Yes.” Hollywood grinned. “One of those.”
Kellen rolled his eyes.
“Have you at least managed to find out whether she’s our informant?” Kellen wondered. “We know that she hates what her brother does for a living, so it wouldn’t be much of a leap for her to actually do something about it.”
“Realistically, it would be a huge leap.” Hollywood shook his head. “I really don’t believe Ilya would think twice about killing her if he thought she had double-crossed him, and Niko knows it. She’s no fool. It’s hard to believe Ilya would hurt the kid, but I don’t think he’d find it that difficult to put Roman on one of these lorries and sell him to the highest bidder.”
“I think you’re right.” Kellen nodded. “He really is one evil sonuvabitch.”
“I tried to talk to her about it last night” Hollywood explained. “I even suggested that we could do something to help the women, but she was reluctant to discuss it.”
“Did you mention the word ‘angel’ to see how she reacted?” Kellen asked.
“Yep, I dropped it into our conversation, just like Hannah suggested.” Hollywood nodded.
“And?” Kellen’s patience was obviously running a little on the thin side.
“And… nothing.” Hollywood shook his head. “She barely reacted at all, and if anything, hated the fact that I mentioned the word. There was certainly no sign that she recognised it at all.”
“So, that leaves us no further forward than we were before we got here.” Kellen scowled.
Hollywood glanced up to see Niko carrying Roman across the floor o
f the warehouse.
“Whether she’s the informant or not, she’s definitely not the evil bitch we thought she was before we got here.” Hollywood said quietly. “She’s just caught up in her brother’s shit, with no way out.”
Kellen nodded, but didn’t speak as the woman herself was almost within earshot.
“Hey, Kellen.” Niko nodded, looking around the warehouse. “Do you know what time we’re due to leave?”
“Not for a while.” Kellen smiled, as they watched Roman curl himself into her neck, obviously happy to go back to sleep. “Drago was here until about four o’clock, and by the time he left, the weather had changed, and a hell of a storm passed through. I’m surprised it didn’t wake you guys. Anyway, the rain was torrential, and forecast to stay that way until mid-morning. He reckoned that the next stage of the trip is through the mountains, so he didn’t want us heading out until the worst of the storm had passed by.”
“I’m surprised Drago stayed here all night.” Niko frowned. “Did he say why he came back?”
“I think your brother was otherwise occupied and didn’t need him.” Kellen smiled. “So, Drago thought he’d be more use keeping Ilya’s men in line.”
“Did it work?” Niko glanced around. “They didn’t try and get near the women?”
“They might have thought to try.” Kellen conceded. “But by the time they’d decided to give it a go, Drago was here warning them of the consequences of their actions if they were stupid enough to disobey Ilya’s orders. That stopped them in their tracks.”
Niko smiled.
“It’s funny how just the mention of my brother’s name has that sort of reaction.” She sighed. “It’s about the only thing he’s actually good for.”
“Anyway, once they’d all fallen asleep, there didn’t seem much point in us all staying awake, so Drago kept me company most of the night while the others got some shut-eye.”
“Blessed peace.” Niko murmured.
Hollywood nodded towards Roman.
“Someone looks like they need a few more hours.” He pointed out, noticing that Roman had fallen asleep in Niko’s arms.
“He’s not the only one who needs some sleep.” Niko nodded at Kellen who was mid-yawn.
“Do you want to trade places, and you go and crash for a few hours?” Hollywood offered.
Kellen stood and stretched, wincing at the effort.
“Yeah, that would be great.” He turned to Niko. “If you want to go back in with Roman, I’ll happily take the front seats.”
“Actually, I wanted to check on the women.” Niko looked conflicted. “Would you mind taking him back with you? He won’t be a bother.”
Kellen reached out and took Roman from her arms.
“The little guy is never a bother.” He grinned. “I just have to make sure I sleep with my back to him this time. I really didn’t enjoy that kick to the nuts wake-up call he gave me last time.”
Hollywood grinned as Kellen trudged wearily over to the truck, and easily swung up inside without jostling Roman at all.
“He’s good with kids.” Niko observed, as her son disappeared from view.
“He’s good with everyone.” Hollywood shrugged. “Never met a more decent guy.”
“And yet he’s here with you.” Niko frowned. “Doing the same job that you’re doing. Go figure.”
Hollywood bit back the reply that was on the tip of his tongue.
She was right. They were both supposed to be working voluntarily for a company that would traffic women. What sort of low-life scumbags did that make them?
“Can you keep watch while I go and check on the women?” She asked. “I want to make sure they’re all Ok, and nobody is getting sick. With all the stinking bathrooms and facilities, I’d be amazed if at least a handful didn’t go down with food-poisoning or worse.”
“No problem.” Hollywood nodded. “I’ll sit in Kellen’s seat, right outside. Just yell if you need me.”
He moved the chair, so she could squeeze through, and then took up his position as sentry.
Pulling out his phone, Hollywood called up Hannah’s contact details and started typing.
“Hey mom, just checking in. Everything fine here. Did like you suggested and tried using the magic word, but I’d probably have done better with Abracadabra! No response. Today’s departure is delayed due to poor weather, but we should be gone by lunchtime. Any news?”
He hit send and sat back to wait for Hannah’s reply. It was still the middle of the night, but in Hannah’s world that meant nothing. He knew from Danny that she regularly worked all night, and then caught up on her sleep with a power-nap after lunch.
His phone vibrated after less than thirty seconds.
“Can you call me?”
Hollywood frowned. This was probably the only chance he’d get, but Niko was so close he worried she would overhear him.
He stood up quietly and stepped away from the doorway, making sure he stayed between the building and Ilya’s men. As soon as he’d put a dozen paces between him and the building he hit dial.
Hannah answered straight away.
“Hey, mom.” He said quietly. “How’s things?”
“Good, H. Now just listen.” Hannah instructed. “I’ve spent most of the last forty-eight hours intercepting calls from the goons in your vicinity, and then running them through my new tracing programme. A couple of interesting things have popped out.”
“Go on.” Hollywood murmured.
“Firstly, there’s no way tonight’s location will be any good as an intercept point. It’s too open, and we could be seen coming for miles around.” Hannah explained. “But, I think I’ve managed to trace the site they’re planning on using tomorrow, in Budapest. There’s an address just outside the city where, according to my tracing programme, sixteen of the people within a hundred feet of you were co-located for around twenty-four hours back in February. It looks like they were there as a stop off point, so it seems highly likely that they’ll use the same address again.”
“Ok, that makes sense, I think.” Hollywood turned to keep an eye on the door, to make sure Niko wasn’t coming back out. “What was the other thing?”
“I’ve managed to intercept some messages coming from someone’s phone who was in the warehouse last night, and it seems that someone else is talking about an interception of the convoy, and a rescue of the women.” Hannah explained. “I don’t know who it is, but from the sort of information they’re passing on, it actually sounds like our informant.”
“So, you think our Angel is talking about it with someone else?” Hollywood frowned. “Maybe they have an accomplice on the outside.”
“Possibly.” Hannah muttered. “The messages are certainly coming from the same vicinity, and they’re talking to the other person the same way our informant is talking to us, but it isn’t coming from the same number.”
“Do you know who the phones belong to?” He asked.
“Nope. Neither phone has been used for any other purpose.” Hannah sounded as frustrated as she was puzzled. “The other person they’re contacting also seems to be using a burner phone, but they’re a lot more conniving about it. Their signal is being re-routed all over the world.”
“This all sounds a bit crazy if you ask me.” Hollywood guessed he was pointing out the obvious.
“You’re not kidding. Maybe if I wasn’t so tired it would make a lot more sense.” Hannah mused. “Anyway, to get back to the point, I’ve been liaising with Interpol, and through them with the Romanian and Hungarian authorities. The Romanians weren’t happy with you passing through their territory unmolested, but they’ve accepted that any action they might take could end up with the women being injured or killed. The Hungarian authorities are adamant that Budapest will be your final destination. We’ll intercept tomorrow night when you’ve settled in, and everyone is either relaxed or asleep.”
“Sounds like a good idea.” Hollywood agreed. “When will you know more about how the take-down is go
ing to happen?”
“I’m speaking with the Hungarians again today.” Hannah confirmed. “They’re being quite reasonable so far and have agreed that we can send in some of our own people to work with them, because the timescale is so tight. We’ve promised them they can take all the glory if it all goes to plan, and they seem happy with that. Our main concern is that we have people on the ground who recognise you and the rest of the Guardians. We don’t want the wrong people being shot by mistake.”
Hollywood looked up and noticed Niko exiting the building.
“Gotta go, mom.” He said a little louder for Niko’s benefit. “I’ll call you later to find out how your doctor’s appointment went.”
Hannah chuckled.
“I’m assuming you have company.” She suggested. “Good to know you can still think fast. I’ll talk to you later, H. Remind the guys to check in.”
“Will do. Bye.” Hollywood disconnected the call just as Niko approached.
“Problem?” She asked, looking at him suspiciously.
“Not really.” He smiled. “My mom has been having tests for diabetes. She’s got to go for the results later, or tomorrow morning, her time, so she wanted some reassurance.”
“I hope she’s going to be Ok.” Niko offered.
Hollywood shrugged.
“I’m sure she’ll be fine. She just needs to adjust her diet and leave out the cream cakes and Margarita nights with her girlfriends.” He grinned.
A noise from one of the trucks had him turning around to see Kris coming towards him.
“Morning, both.” He said quietly. “All peaceful last night?”
“Excuse me.” Niko smiled at Kris. “I’ll leave the two of you to talk. I need to make some calls.”
Hollywood watched Niko head back to the truck before turning to respond to Kris’ question.
“Yeah, everything was fine once Drago came back. He stayed with Kellen most of the night, and only left about an hour ago.” Hollywood nodded towards the truck. “I just relieved Kellen so he could get some sleep.”
“I just checked in with Hannah, and she said I needed to get an update from you.” Kris pulled up a chair and sat down. “What’s the latest?”
