by Sewell, Ron
Bear dropped his unconscious captive on the floor, dashed to the door and booted it shut.
The other guard, finding his retreat cut off, took a defensive stance.
Bear circled, stepping over Petros as he did so. He feigned left, right, right again, and with minimal effort, grabbed the electric probe with his muscular black arms, twisted and pulled it from the man’s hands.
Bear pressed the red button, smiled and jabbed. The man collapsed. He raised the probe, broke it over his knee and tossed it at the wall.
“Get out.” The guard nodded his understanding and dragged his companion across the floor and out of the cell.
Petros crawled onto the bench. “That bloody hurt.” Bear remained standing by the door. “I thought you were going to throttle him.”
“No way. He was tired and fell asleep. He might have a headache when he wakes up, but who gives a monkey.”
“What happens when they come back with reinforcements?”
“Then we’re up shit creek without a paddle.”
Petros sat on the bench. “With luck Mike should have broadcast our story by now.”
“Maybe he has. One thing’s for sure, these morons aren’t going to tell us.”
Petros was at a loss and worried. “Put your feet up and relax.”
“PK, you rest first. I’ll wake you in a few hours. If they come back, I’d prefer to be on my toes.”
Petros did not sleep, he tossed and turned. Fear flooded his mind and his heart raced. Hope and a prayer existed between them and a firing squad.
Chapter Thirty-One
The chimes of the doorbell woke Maria with a start. The alarm clock on the bedside cabinet indicated six o’clock. To add to the confusion, her mobile began playing Sarah Brightman singing ‘ They call the wind Maria’.
In disarray, she answered her phone. “Hello.”
“Maria, Jocelyn. Let me in. I’m at your front door.”
Barefoot, she descended the stairs two at a time, charged across the hall, fiddled with the double lock, and with a deep breath opened the door. Charlie, wide-awake and growling, stood by her side. “What’s happened?”
“Tune your television to Sky News. I’ll take off my coat and make coffee.”
Charlie waited for a pat on the head before returning to his basket.
Maria hurried into the lounge and pressed the memory button for the news channels. Sky was third from the top. Frightened, she perched on the edge of the settee. The news followed the money programme and exchange rates throughout the world. She read breaking news. Two British Nationals reported missing from a hotel near the Simatai Great Wall in China.
Jocelyn gave her a cup of coffee and sat beside her.
With eyes glued to the screen, she sipped her coffee. The female newscaster commented on a video obtained from a source in Beijing. The pictures identified Petros and Bear as the two missing men. The next scenes displayed a uniformed workforce removing boxes and loading these into government vehicles. Three helicopters hovered above the wall. The footage cut back to the studio and both women stared at the deadpan face on the screen. “Chinese Officials in Beijing state they have no knowledge of this incident ... News just in from India ...”
Sky News moved on to the next story as Maria pressed the mute switch. “What can we do?”
Jocelyn, her eyes dark-rimmed, attempted to appear reassuring. “None of this makes sense. Soon as the world wakes, I’ll contact my legal friends and ask their advice.”
A thousand questions rattled through Maria’s mind. “I’m going to Beijing.”
“To do what?” said Jocelyn.
“Find my husband.”
“Might be better for you to wait until I’ve spoken to a few people who are better informed.”
Maria said nothing, got up, wandered to the drinks cabinet, and poured a large measure of brandy. “Want one?”
“No, thanks. You go back to bed and rest. I’ll doze on the couch.”
“You’re joking. We must be able to do something.”
Jocelyn gave her a comforting glance. “If I could, I’d be making a phone call to the Foreign Secretary or a member of his staff. The hard part is getting past a jumped-up civil servant on the switchboard. Many of my legal friends work closely with the minister and this gives us an edge.”
Maria attempted to smile. “It’s nearly seven. Alysa will wake up soon and shout for me. Let’s make breakfast and be ready.”
Eggs, bacon, and the aroma of fresh coffee filled the kitchen and drifted into the lounge. Jocelyn thought of Bear’s favourite meal as tears ran over her cheeks.
Both women, although worried, ate their fill. Charlie sat waiting for tit-bits. Jocelyn placed a rasher on his nose. He did not move but drooled onto the polished floor. “Eat.” With a single movement of his tongue, the slice vanished.
Maria gave an uneasy smile as she descended the stairs carrying Alysa.
“She gets bigger by the day.”
“Bigger, noisier, and more troublesome.” Alysa wriggled and Maria placed her in her playpen. Charlie padded across and settled beside her.
“Those two are inseparable. God help anyone who tries to touch her.”
Jocelyn checked the time from the kitchen clock. “I’m going to make a phone call.” She rummaged in her handbag, removed her mobile, and in seconds Edward Jewel’s telephone number showed on the screen.
She pressed the call button. “Good morning, Teddy.”
“Good? I’ve one hell of a day in front of me.”
“Just got worse, Teddy.” Desperation filled Jocelyn’s voice as she reiterated the Sky newscast.
“You believe William and his partner are the missing men?”
“Without any doubt. I need you to talk to the Foreign Secretary and get things moving.”
“Okay. I owe you. I’ll go straight to the FO and get someone, hopefully the minister himself, to contact the Chinese Embassy. I promise I won’t let go of the piece of string until a positive answer is imminent. My bloody junior can take his thumb out of his bum and work for a change.”
Relief rang in her voice. “Thanks. Come over for a meal when our men come home.”
“Give me a couple of hours. Talk later, bye.” The line went dead.
“What did he say?”
“Give him time.”
Tears filled Maria’s eyes. Jocelyn grabbed and pulled her close.
Alysa walked to the settee, holding Charlie’s collar. Maria picked up Alysa and kissed her.
Jocelyn made fresh coffee.
Side-by-side on the sofa, the two women smiled bleakly at each other.
“What else we can do?” said Maria.
“Be patient. Teddy will move mountains at this end. It’s the Chinese who might be the problem. You heard the news; they’re denying the incident ever took place. We’re good friends and I trust him.”
“So we wait,” said Maria.
Jocelyn shrugged. “No alternative.”
* * *
“Why are they leaving us alone?” said Petros.
Bear gave a grunt of contempt. “They don’t care. At a predetermined time it won’t matter, we’ll be dead.”
“Cheerful bastard, aren’t you? With luck Mike has gone public and exposed the truth. That should be enough to get us out of here.”
“Yeah, but is he willing to verify the story?”
Petros grimaced. “I’ll answer your question when they line us up in front of the firing squad.”
For the next hour, both men lay on the bench and remained silent. Dinner arrived, was eaten and the bowls placed by the door. Apart from their removal, nothing changed.
“Mike should have made his broadcast by now,” said Petros
“I’m sure he has, but is someone stirring the shit? Because if they ain’t, we’re going underwater for the third time.”
“Be positive. Things can’t get any worse.”
“When you’re in a pit full of snakes and somebody pulls you halfway out,
you thank them.”
“What day is it?” asked Petros.
“Sunday evening. Clearly they don’t shoot people at the weekend.”
“Maybe they won’t pay the overtime.”
“Tomorrow’s Monday, I’ll let you know.”
“I hope not. The official story of our crime might make interesting reading.”
“Lost at sea,” said Bear. “No bodies. Solves every eventuality for the authorities.”
“What you mean is, HMG hasn’t the balls to rock the boat.”
“Something like that. We need an escape plan.”
Petros scratched his chin. “Been mulling that scenario since we arrived. This place is as tight as a duck’s arse.”
“The way out is feet first,” said Bear. “Pity the poor bastards carrying me.”
“Ok, we bide our time.”
“Try and sleep,” said Bear. What was happening to them? Lies, and more lies had put them in prison. The truth, if anyone believed it, could set them free, but the hourglass was running out of sand.
Chapter Thirty-Two.
The cell door hit the wall with a crash, waking Petros and Bear. Six guards entered, grabbed and secured their arms.
The duty officer, a tall man with a thin, pinched face and dark, emotionless eyes, waited in the corridor.
With hands tied in front and constant jabs from an electric baton, both men exited the cell. At a security gate, the guards on either side inserted their keys and opened the locks as one.
The group traipsed along in silence and descended four flights of metal stairs. The odour of damp and decay tainted the air. Rats ran from the lights.
“This old prison,” said the officer, his face expressionless. “Special place.” He pointed. “This new cell. Stay long time.”
A rat scurried into a corner and disappeared.
One guard opened the stiff rust-covered door and turned his head from the stench. Another cut the bonds securing Petros’ and Bear’s wrists. Prods from the baton forced them into the bare red brick cell. The floor section was enough for two men but the ceiling was low.
Petros’ eyes scanned the space. No beds, no toilet, no window, and an open drain in one corner. He turned as the door slammed shut. “Top of my wish-you-were-here list.”
Bear leaned against the wall and slid to the floor. “Best if you rest with your back in a corner with your legs stretched out.”
The single lamp fixed to the ceiling died. “The Black Hole of Calcutta.”
“A complete fabrication. One of the survivors on recounting the story embellished the numbers. Someone worked out that no matter how you tried, half the stated number filled it to capacity.”
“At Sandhurst,” said Petros, “we were informed the Hole became the basis for demeaning the Indian people as cowardly and cruel.”
“Bloody bureaucrats, twisting the truth to suit themselves. Conserve your energy. I reckon we’re being concealed from view.”
“If you’re right, it means someone is searching for us.”
“A snowball’s chance in hell they’ll find us in here.”
“So we’re fucked and waiting for our own extinction.”
“Wishful thinking is an indulgence,” said Bear. “We must do something. All suggestions welcome.”
“I’m sure they’ll make their next move soon enough.”
“Go to sleep,” said Bear, his voice much more confident than he felt.
* * *
Maria jumped, spilling her coffee when the telephone rang. “Maria Kyriades.”
“Good afternoon. It’s Teddy, Jocelyn’s friend. News not good, I’m afraid. The Chinese authorities tell us they have no knowledge of your husband and William Morris. They keep repeating the same story, which implies your men went hill climbing after buying the necessary equipment.”
“So the newscast on Sky is a lie?”
“Your other half may or may not be involved. You’re telling me the truth as you believe it to be and I have persuaded the FO to delve deeper. Their contacts in China will be applying time and energy checking and double-checking. I’m in no doubt they’ll report back, but it will take time.”
“Who filmed the newscast? They were there.”
“Time, Maria - give us time.”
“How much time does it take to make someone disappear?”
“I’m sorry, but I don’t know any other way to do this. China is, in many ways, a law unto itself. I promise if something can be done, it will be.”
“So we wait.”
“I’ll keep in touch.”
“Thank you.” Her hand shook as she replaced the handset.
“Any news?” said Jocelyn.
“None.”
“Teddy is a man of his word.”
Tears rolled over Maria’s face as she spoke. “I pray they’ll be okay.”
“If Bear doesn’t come home, I’ll kill him,” said Jocelyn.
Alysa, holding Charlie’s fur, tottered into the room.
Maria wiped her eyes. “I suppose you two want something to eat.”
“Fings,” said Alysa. “Fings.”
Charlie barked.
“What on earth are fings?” asked Jocelyn.
“Fish fingers. She loves them, with baked beans.”
“Most disgusting.”
* * *
For seven hours, Stuart Gardner cursed the driving rain. He shoved his hands into his raincoat pockets as he sheltered in the entrance of the building opposite Mike Newman’s flat. The street remained deserted, as it had been for most of the night. He complained to himself, “What type of person was Mike Newman to risk his life filming the murder of a man?”
To his left he detected a movement and retreated. He wondered, was this him? In the orange glare of the sodium lamps, someone, in part concealed by the shadows, edged their way along the road.
Stuart glanced once more at the photograph as a man similar to Newman slipped into the block. Stuart lingered, his limbs stiff with cold and damp. A light went on in the flat. “Bloody fool,” he muttered.
With a determined stride, he crossed the road, entered the lift and pressed the button to ascend. He knocked hard on the imitation wooden door. It swung open and the grey-haired Mike, wearing a well-creased shirt, wrinkled jeans and a dirty anorak, gazed at him.
“Yeah.”
Stuart peered past him at the shambles of a flat. “Had a party?”
“And what’s it to ya?”
“Stuart Gardner, attached to the British Embassy. We need to talk.”
“You’re here, come in and mind where ya walk.”
Stuart followed Mike into a mess. Bookshelves lay on the floor, their contents strewn everywhere. The white stuffing from cushions and chairs covered the place like snow. Desktop and laptop computers their innards beyond repair and drives removed. Smashed drawers and their contents littered the floor.
“The bedroom’s the same,” said Mike.
“What were they looking for?”
“Nothing, just another senseless fucking robbery.”
“It’s the way I’d search.”
“Who the fuck are ya?”
“I’m on your side, but I’m reliably informed you were possibly the last person to set eyes on two British subjects who are now missing.”
“So fucking what?”
“Mr Newman, your associates at your club saw the broadcast. The camera work and editing is comparable to fingerprints to the police. You capture on film a murder and abduction. You can deny it, but from the state of this place, someone else wants what you filmed and my guess is they’ll be back. The Chinese invented many unique methods of obtaining information. You would not last long before you told them what they want. So tell me. Maybe I can help you and these men, if they’re not dead.”
Mike let his eyes wander round the room. “Fancy a drink?” From under a mass of books he pulled an almost full bottle of Chinese whiskey.
“That’ll do, with water.”
“No g
lasses. Cups ok. Find somewhere to sit.” He strolled into the kitchen and half-filled two cups with equal measures of the light brown liquid and bottled water.
He handed Stuart one cup before he sat on the arm of the settee. “Cheers.”
“I’m waiting.”
Mike spoke in a soft tone, recapping how Petros found the treasure and what happened with the police.
Stuart held up his empty cup. “Any more?”
Mike half-filled the cups with whiskey.
“Where have you been hiding these past few days?
“There’s a girlfriend. She lets me sleep on the sofa.”
“So why did you come back?”
“She received a strange phone call asking her if she had any idea where I was. They were not happy when she told them to take a hike.”
“You should get yourself back home. This film isn’t going to win you an Oscar.”
“No, but I promised I’d help.”
“You’ve nothing to offer.”
“The full, unedited version of me report.” He stopped. He had said too much.
“Grab whatever you need and move.”
“Where are we going?”
“Don’t ask stupid questions. Follow me as if your life depends on it.”
Mike froze. “What did ya say?”
“Are you thick? Run. Fire exit, where is it?”
“Along the corridor, on the left.”
Stuart led the way. Six flights of stairs later they exited the building by a rear door, running.
Stuart completed a full circle, returning to where he parked his car. An out-of-breath Mike collapsed into the passenger seat.
“Where are we going?”
“The British Embassy, where there’s a room for special guests. What do you need to retrieve your film?”
“Depends.”
“On what?”
“If I can get a secure line to Sydney.”
“Not a problem. We have a man who lives for computers.”
Stuart stopped his car a metre from the steel barrier protecting the embassy gates. One police officer examined the underside of the vehicle, another Stuart’s credentials, before the barrier moved. Here a British officer checked again and asked both men to enter the room next to the gate. Mike received a visitor’s pass and waited while Stuart chatted to the officer.
