Natasha didn’t see who was outside but guessed it was one of his security men. She moved closer and listened.
‘Boss, you are needed in reception right now, two people have arrived claiming to be the couriers.’
Gustav grunted. ‘What the hell, I haven’t asked for anymore couriers yet. We already have two here and they may be transporting the organs from both donors.’
‘Boss, I don’t know what’s going on, but the guys along in reception are pretty anxious right now. You need to come.’
Gustav’s sigh could be heard through the door. ‘Okay, go and tell them I’ll be right there.’
As the footsteps moved away, Natasha ducked back just in time.
When Gustav opened the door his frustration was plain to see. He spoke through pursed lips as he told her he would be back as soon as he had dealt with the problem in reception.
Natasha nodded. ‘Okay, I’ll wait here.’
It was a lie. She had no intention of waiting for a repeat performance and had a horrible suspicion that the problem in reception was due to the real couriers arriving. As Gustav walked away she pulled out her phone and checked the time. It was just after 8am, and according to the guys in the blue van, it was the time the real couriers were due to arrive.
She waited for a few seconds after Gustav’s footsteps had faded, then opened the door and retraced the route down two flights of stairs and along two corridors back to the video room.
But when she entered she froze. No one was there.
34
KATERINA
Katerina looked up as Hugo and another man brought in a teenage girl and pushed her into the next room. She recognised her as the only girl not sold at the auction. But she refused to make eye contact with Hugo and was determined never to speak to him again. He had led her on, let her think he cared just enough about her not to assault her in the van outside the diner. And he had told her she was not like the other girls he had taken. But he must have been lying to her, which made him worse than the others. At least they didn’t pretend.
As she avoided Hugo she studied the stranger with him. He was staring at them and seemed surprised to see her and Jessica. She watched him closely. His eyes were not as cold and cruel as the others, and she sensed he was different to the rest. But he just turned and left with Hugo. So maybe she was wrong, maybe he was just like all the rest.
Katerina gently eased her arm away from Jessica and went to the glass window between the two rooms. The new girl was lying on the bed with her face buried into the pillow. She tapped on the glass and the girl jumped up. Katerina smiled. ‘I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to scare you. Are you okay?’
The girl seemed to relax when she saw Katerina. ‘I didn’t see you there. I thought I was alone in here.’ She got off the bed, walked to the window, and looked over Katerina's shoulder.
Katerina glanced back. ‘That’s Jessica, she’s ten. I’m Katerina and I’m twelve.’
The girl’s mouth dropped open as she drew breath. ‘I’m Sofia, and I have something to tell you.’
‘What?’
‘Did you see the men who brought me back here?’
‘Yes.’
Did you recognise one of them?
‘Yes, the big one is Hugo, he brought me here.’
‘Didn’t you recognise the man with him?’
‘No, why should I?’
‘He’s here for you. He has your photograph.’
Katerina nodded. ‘I know, a man at the auction had taken lots of photos of me back in Romania, some without my clothes on. I wondered how long it would be before they came for me.’
‘No, you don’t understand…’
Sofia was interrupted by the sound of the main door to the room being unlocked. Hugo swung it open and stood aside. Two security guys hurried in muttering something about no talking allowed. One of them pushed a stretcher bed on wheels to Sofia’s cubicle, took her out, and instructed her to lay down on it. He secured her wrists and ankles to the trolley using velcro cuffs, then they took her away. Hugo closed the door behind them.
After they had left, Katerina sat back on the bed, wrapped her arms around Jessica and wondered what it was that Sofia had wanted to tell her about the stranger with Hugo.
She cuddled Jessica in attempt to make her feel protected, though in reality, she would have little to no chance of actually doing so. For the last few days she had been protected by Hugo but that had all changed. She was no longer his concern. He had abandoned her, leaving her at the mercy of the men in this building and the unknown stranger who bought her at the auction.
She felt completely helpless.
But she had a job to do, and that was to comfort Jessica, and she would do it to the best of her ability for as long as she could. No one else was going to do it, so she must make it her duty, and it would help to distract her from her own fate.
Alone with Jessica, all she could do was think. She had a nagging feeling in the pit of her stomach that she’d missed something. Something that might help, but the harder she tried to think the more frustrated she became. She closed her eyes and went over everything that had happened to her that day. Hugo had just stood and watched as she was sold at the auction. He had watched as she was led off the stage and out of the room. The next time she had seen him was when he brought Jessica in and locked her in the next room. Then later he returned and took them to the video room. She cringed as she remembered the bed, and the cameras, and the man stripping off, and the camera man telling Hugo to get her out of there after she objected. She had pleaded with Hugo to intervene but he just pushed her toward a security man who brought her back and locked her inside this cubicle again. She remembered the sound of the lock clunking into position before he left.
She recalled how traumatised Jessica was when Hugo brought her back to the next room. But that time he had done as she asked and locked Jessica in with her.
Or did he?
Every time she had been left in the cubicle her heart had sunk a little as the lock rattled shut. Except the last time, when Hugo had left Jessica with her. She cast her mind back and drew breath. The scene was vivid in her mind. The two security men had taken Sabrina away, then Hugo just closed the doors and left. She had no memory of him locking the door to her cubicle or to the main room.
But what if she was wrong? Maybe it had just slipped her mind due to stress. If she tried the door and it was locked she would die a little more inside.
But what if she was right?
She looked up at the camera outside her room. It was panning back and forward again. She waited, then eased off the bed, walked to the door, and took hold of the handle. She hesitated a moment as she closed her eyes and prayed. Please, please, please be unlocked.
She pushed down on the handle and opened the door.
She jumped as if a bolt of lightening had shot right through her and she held the door open in a state of shock. Her prayers had been answered. They were no longer prisoners in the cubicle. But in her excitement she nearly blew it. She looked up at the camera as it swung towards her and slammed the door shut just as it panned onto her room. To disguise the sound she banged on the window a couple of times, feigned trying to pull the door open, then went back to the bed.
Jessica had only looked up when Katerina had slammed the door. All she would have seen was Katerina banging on the glass. This was good because Jessica would not yet know they had an opportunity to escape, so her body language would not give them away.
Katerina decided not to tell her just yet. Not until she had decided how best to take advantage of Hugo’s error. Or was it an error? Could he have left the doors open on purpose? She sighed. Surely not. It must have been an oversight. After all, he had failed to secure the box lid in the van once, allowing her to escape its confines if only for a few minutes. No, Hugo was still evil, but just stupid with it.
Ideally, Katerina would have wanted to wait until night to make their move when most of the security would be asleep. Bu
t it was still early in the day and unlikely they would be left in that room until night. At the very least someone would bring them food and see that the doors were unlocked. So they couldn’t wait. They had to make a move while they still could.
35
MASON
Mason had felt bad about leaving Katerina and Jessica behind as he followed Hugo back to the office. But at least he knew where they were, and the fact that they were together and next to Sofia should make their rescue easier. He just needed to join up with Natasha again.
As they entered the office his optimism drained away. Natasha was standing between two security men with Gustav glaring at her across his desk.
Gustav turned to Mason. ‘You were good, you had us fooled. But how did you expect to get away with it?’
Mason looked at Natasha. Her eyes showed a fear he hadn’t seen since the day he rescued her from the back of the traffickers car. ‘He knows, Mason. The real couriers are here.’
Mason thought fast. ‘So he knows we are not the couriers he was expecting, but does he know why we are here?’
Natasha shook her head. ‘Not yet.’
Gustav opened the top drawer on the side of his desk, pulled out a pistol, and pointed it at Mason.
Mason assessed the situation. Two security guys surrounded Natasha, he was staring down the barrel of a gun, and Hugo, the man mountain, was standing behind him. This wasn’t the time to fight.
Mason had anticipated this since the security had mistaken them for the couriers, and he’d been giving it some thought, but now he needed a plan, and fast.
Gustav waved the gun back and forward between Mason and Natasha. ‘I’m waiting for you to tell me what the hell you are doing here, and it better be good, or I might just shoot you and give your lady friend to my guys.’
Mason was thinking while Gustav spoke. He heard his threats but could not react to them. He was compiling a response in his mind first.
Gustav nodded to the two men with Natasha. ‘Take her down to the holding room and chain her to the wall.’
Hugo spoke up from behind Mason. ‘Boss, let me have her before you give her to your men. I’ve had a long journey bringing you the kid, and this girl’s just my type.’
Gustav nodded. ‘She’s yours, but give her to my men when you are finished with her.’ He turned back to Mason. ‘I still need to know why you are here.’
Before Mason could answer, one of the security guys spoke up. ‘Maybe they are the ones who have been killing our boys at the safe-houses the last few days.’
Mason responded fast. ‘I don’t know what you are talking about. I just flew into Brussels last night. I have my ticket in my pocket.’
Gustav held out his hand. ‘Give it to me.’
Mason took the ticket out and handed it to Gustav who studied it for a minute. ‘Okay, so you didn’t kill them, but what about her?’ He pointed at Natasha.
‘She’s our European courier. I met up with her at the airport.’
Gustav stared at Natasha but didn’t respond.
‘How many of your men were killed?’ Mason asked.
‘Seven.’
Mason forced a laugh. ‘Do you really think she could kill seven of your men?’
Gustav looked at his security man. ‘He’s got a point.’
‘Maybe she was working with someone else,’ the security guy said.
The short exchange had given Mason the time he needed to engineer a story. ‘I can explain why we are here.’
Gustav sat back in his chair. ‘I’m listening.’
Mason could feel Natasha staring at him, no doubt thinking, how the hell are you going to talk our way out of this?
‘You are right, we are not the couriers you were expecting, but we are couriers.’
Gustav shrugged. ‘Go on.’
‘Our clients use the same insider at the Department For Organ Donations and Transplantation and they heard about the heart that you were offering here. They needed one for a wealthy woman in London and as your donor is a perfect match for their patient, they sent us to intercept the deal and offer more money.’
A security guy sniggered. ‘He’s lying boss, let me shoot him.’
Gustav sneered at Mason. ‘If that’s true then you must have brought the money with you.’
‘I did, it’s in the car.’
‘How much?’
‘Fifty-thousand pounds.’
Gustav raised an eyebrow. ‘That’s nearly double the other offer already agreed.’ Gustav’s eyes narrowed. ‘How do I know you are not undercover cops?’
Mason grinned. ‘Do we look like cops? And even if we were, would I have fifty grand with me?’
‘Maybe, it would be quite a result for law enforcement to take us down.’
‘Look outside. There are no cops out there waiting to raid this place.’
Gustav studied him, clearly trying to weigh up what he was hearing.
Mason continued. ‘I can get you the money now.’
Gustav glanced at Hugo. ‘Get Marius and take him to the car.’ He looked back at Mason. ‘I hope for your sake and your pretty friend here, you are telling the truth.’
Hugo made a call on his mobile phone and told Marius to meet him in reception.
Mason gave Natasha a reassuring glance before leaving.
In the courtyard, Mason opened the car door, leant in, and reached under the seat for the small hold-all bag with the fifty-thousand inside that Jessica’s father had given him back in England. He had hoped to be able to return it, but under the circumstances, it was an easy decision to use it to support his story.
He pulled the bag out, and while blocking the view beneath him, grabbed one of the pistols under the driver’s seat. As he exited the car with his back to Hugo and Marius he pushed the pistol into the waistband of his trousers and covered it with his shirt. Then he followed them back into the building.
When they returned to the reception, Gustav, the security men, and Natasha were there waiting. Mason handed him the bag. ‘There’s fifty-thousand in there in packs of five grand.’
Gustav emptied the bag onto the counter top and counted through one of the bundles of fifty pound notes. Then he instructed one of his men to bring him the genuine couriers.
Mason watched the couple as they entered the reception. The woman was older than Natasha, and the man was younger than him, and they looked more like medical couriers than he and Natasha.
Gustav showed them the money on the counter. ‘You have been out bid. The organs have been sold to another agent.’
The male courier protested. ‘Our clients have done business with you before. They are reliable customers, and if you want them to remain your clients you had better honour the deal you have with them.’
Mason studied him. He was in his early thirties, professionally dressed in grey trousers, brown leather shoes, and a sports jacket, but he was taking a huge risk using such a strong tone with Gustav, especially in front of his men, and on his turf.
Gustav took out his mobile phone and seemed to be searching for a number.
The courier continued with his risky strategy. ‘Who are you calling?’
‘Your clients.’
‘They won’t do business with you after this.’
While holding the phone in his left hand, Gustav pulled out a pistol with his right, calmly walked over and pointed it at the man’s forehead. ‘We’ll see about that.’ Then he shot him at point blank range.
An explosion of grey matter and bright red liquid erupted from the back of the man’s head and splattered the wall behind him. He died on his feet and crumpled to the floor.
Gustav turned and walked over to the woman and without saying a word, shot her through the head from a similar range. The bullet’s merciless energy had the same result.
Then Gustav told his men to clean up the mess.
As the bodies were dragged out, Gustav began a conversation on the phone enquiring as to where the couriers were. He gave a convincing ac
count of how they had failed to turn up and that due to the delay, he had sold the heart to another buyer.
Although Mason could only hear Gustav’s side of the conversation, it seemed that having just murdered the client’s couriers, he then accepted their apologies and explained he would be willing to do business with them again provided they use different couriers. Unbeknown to the party on the other end of the phone, that was inevitable, as the two they had sent would not be returning, ever.
Gustav ended the call and winked at Mason. ‘That solved that little problem. When the couriers fail to return, they’ll think they ran off with the money. Now where were we? Oh yes, you have just secured one human heart for fifty grand.’
Mason shared a glance with Natasha. They had just witnessed a cold blooded double killing, but although it was brutal and shocking, the victims were hardly innocents. They knew that by facilitating the transportation of organs on the black market some innocent girl would be loosing her life.
Even so, had Mason known about Gustav’s intentions, he could not have stood by and watched. He would have had to intervene and start a war right there and then. So in a way, it was fortunate that it all happened so fast. Because now he could pick his time and start the war on his terms.
Gustav walked over to Natasha. ‘Now the confusion has been resolved, my offer still stands.’
Natasha glanced at Mason. Gustav must have seen because he turned to Mason. ‘Are you two more than just colleagues?’
Mason laughed. ‘No, she’s too young and good-looking for me.’
‘In that case, I have asked her to join me here and I can make you the same offer. I’m always looking to recruit quality men and women who can think for themselves. And there’s something about you two I like. So, after you have delivered the goods you can come back and work for me. I can pay more than your present employer.’
Natasha started to shake her head but Mason answered before Gustav could turn back to her. ‘That sounds interesting. Like you, we are always looking for better opportunities, so we may well take you up on that.’
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