‘It’s no joke. I want you to slowly stand up and move away from the desk.’
‘I don’t understand.’
She pushed the gun harder into his shoulders. ‘Move away.’
He slowly stood, and walked towards Becky and Noah.
Owen stood, and patted Adie down, removing the two handguns. ‘On the floor, old friend.’
Adie complied, but didn’t take his eyes off Julia. Owen passed Julia a second gun, while he returned to the computer desk. Julia aimed one of the guns at Adie, and the second at Becky. Owen ordered the two guards to pick up their assault rifles, and to go and guard the entrance to the lighthouse.
Becky was the first to break the silence. ‘Did I miss something? My best friend is somehow involved in a plot to bomb four cities.’
‘Not now, Bex.’
‘No, I’m sorry, Jules, but you need to tell me something. I don’t believe that you’re in cahoots with any of this. And Noah: you’ve known where he was this whole time? I refuse to believe it. You couldn’t. You wouldn’t.’
Julia glanced at Owen over her shoulder, but he was busy trying to work out what Adie had done. ‘I don’t know what to tell you. It’s just how things are.’
‘No, I refuse to accept that. You’re Julia Saidi, a woman who wouldn’t say boo to a goose; a woman I’ve known, loved and trusted for more than half my life. Now, suddenly you’re wielding a gun and double-crossing your husband. It doesn’t fit.’
‘And what would you know about it, Bex? You know, I used to envy you. I used to wish my life was so well-organised. But now when I look at you, I feel nothing but pity.’
Becky clutched her gut as the breath caught in her throat. ‘I can’t believe -’
‘Oh and another thing, stop stringing Caleb along. We both know he’s too good for you. Either put up and shut up, or put him out of his misery.’
Adie passed Becky a tissue. ‘Lay off her, Jules. You’re only attacking her to avoid looking at your own actions.’
Julia lined him up in her sights. ‘Don’t get me started on you. A husband who pretended to be dead for months, rather than coming home to face up to his responsibilities.’
‘It wasn’t like that. I don’t know what he’s said to you -’
‘None of this is Owen’s fault.’
‘Of course it is. He’s brainwashed you in the same way he tried to with me.’
‘That isn’t what happened. You know, I used to listen to you moan about the army every day you were on shore leave. You’d spend hours recanting how shit the conditions were over there; how you were under-resourced, and ill-equipped to do anything more than babysit. I used to listen, knowing there was nothing I could do to help, but aware that you needed someone to vent to. That’s all I was to you, wasn’t it? A sounding board. I was okay with that, though. I had Noah, and I used to pretend we were a family when you were around. The other mums used to give me that look. Bex knows the look I’m talking about. It’s not pity or empathy, but somewhere in between. They kind of admire the stiff upper lip, but wouldn’t be able to cope in our shoes.’
Becky wiped her nose. ‘You mean the look you’re giving me now?’
Julia giggled. ‘Yes, I suppose that is the look I mean. It’s funny, but I hadn’t realised just how low you’ve sunk until just now.’
‘That’s rich.’
‘Don’t pretend to think that you’re better than me, Bex. You have no idea what I’ve been through. You weren’t there at the worst of it.’
‘I wasn’t there? I’ve been the one supporting you through this nightmare, at least that’s what I thought I was doing.’
‘But you weren’t there when I needed you. You weren’t there when I needed someone to pull me from the darkness.’
‘But you didn’t want anyone around when you thought Adie had died. You pushed me away.’
Julia launched forward, waving the gun just in front of Becky’s face. ‘That’s when I needed you the most. I tried to kill myself. You didn’t know that, did you? After they broke the news, my world imploded, and I had no one I could turn to. I could barely afford my rent and food for Noah. I was ready to give up, and just when I thought I couldn’t take any more, Owen showed up on my doorstep. He told me I’d been lied to, and that Adie hadn’t died like they’d said. He showed me evidence that Adie had abandoned us, and he told me how I could help him show you all how much you’d underestimated and used me.’
A tear rolled down Becky’s cheek, and she spoke in a whisper. ‘I never used you.’
‘You were as bad as the others. You only came to see me to make yourself feel better about your own failings.’
‘That’s not fair.’
‘Isn’t it? ‘You only suggested we get away to France because you felt guilty about not spending enough time with me after Adie’s passing.’
‘So what was all this about? Luring me to the lighthouse, pretending you’d been bound against your will. What was the point?’
‘We knew Adie would reach out to you soon enough. The message was for his benefit, not yours. It had to look authentic. You weren’t supposed to learn of my involvement, but you’ve left me no choice. The trap was set for Adie to give up the codes. You were never supposed to know about Owen’s involvement either. That’s why he slept with you: to win your trust. I’d warned him he’d have to work hard to seduce you, but you dropped your knickers without a second’s thought.’
‘It wasn’t like that.’
‘Look me in the eye, and tell me I’m wrong. Go on!’ Her eyes were manic. She was desperate to shoot Becky just to prove how far she’d come.
Becky fixed Julia with a stare. ‘Okay…you’re right, Jules…I’m sorry.’
‘Don’t try and use reverse-psychology on me. I don’t need you to tell me what I already know.’
Becky remained calm. ‘That’s not what I’m doing. I mean it, Jules: I’m sorry I wasn’t there for you. I’ve been too caught up in my own life, and I missed the signs. I wasn’t there for you, and I’m sorry.’
The first moment of doubt flickered in Julia’s eyes. She quickly shuffled back, and aimed the second gun at Adie. ‘I will do it. I’ll shoot the both of you if you try anything. I’m not the woman either of you remember. She’s long gone.’
Adie scoffed. ‘I understand Owen’s motivation for setting off four bombs – I don’t agree with it – but at least he has a reason for doing it: he’s fucking insane, but I don’t understand what’s in it for you. Has he promised you a place at his side in Mecca?’
Julia erupted in laughter. ‘Is that what you think this is about? You think we’ve both converted to Islam? That’s so typical of you, Adie. This has nothing to do with religion.’
‘It doesn’t? But I thought -’
‘Owen studied the Qur’an to understand how his enemy thought. He is no more a Muslim than any of us in this room.’
‘But the locations of the bombs, the videos he made me initiate…’ His words trailed off as he realised the truth.
Owen was grinning from ear-to-ear, as he joined Julia. ‘It’s supposed to look like an attack from Middle Eastern factions, to increase the terror alert. That’s the brilliance of the plan. While the world is left reeling about attacks on home soil, the wheels in the military will crank into overdrive.’
Becky avoided eye contact with him, and hugged Noah closer. ‘So, why all this big charade? Why keep up the pretence that Noah had been snatched?’
‘At first it was a distraction, to keep the press looking the wrong way while we moved the pieces across the board, but we also knew that a threat to the boy’s life was the only way to get Adie here to spit out the detonation codes he stole.’
Adie snorted. ‘Good luck getting the other three. You revealed your hand too quickly, Owen. I know you won’t harm Jules or Noah now. You’ve got nothing to hold over me anymore.’
Owen ran a hand over his chin. ‘Well that’s not quite true.’ Without hesitation, he raised the gun in his hand to the
side of Julia’s head and squeezed the trigger.
SIXTY-FIVE
In that moment, the world stopped turning. The boom of the bullet exiting the chamber echoed around the room. Instinct drove Becky to wrap a protective arm around Noah, shielding him from the developing scene. If Owen turned the gun on Noah, she’d do little to prevent a bullet passing through them both. Noah pushed his hands over his ears.
Julia didn’t see it coming. She had still been watching Becky when Owen had moved the gun up to her temple. One second she was there, and the next…gone. She crumpled to the floor in slow motion. There was a moment between the bullet exiting just above her right ear, and her body dropping, as if her mind hadn’t realised she was dead until everything stopped. She temporarily hovered, like a string-puppet, and then she dropped, landing awkwardly with one leg twisted beneath the other. Her head lolled to the side, as if maternal instinct had demanded one final look at her son.
It was at this point that Adie’s screams erupted, but he remained rooted to the spot, unable to register what had happened. It was worse than a nightmare. At least in a nightmare, relief came from waking up and realising it was just a cruel dream. There was no waking from this moment.
Owen didn’t even check to see that she was dead, before he turned his weapon back to Adie to ensure compliance. It was cold, and it was calculated: Owen’s true nature exposed. He was a monster; used to removing obstacles from his path by any means necessary.
Noah squirmed beneath Becky’s embrace. He wanted reassurance that the loud commotion was over. Becky fought to keep his head buried. If he saw his mum’s lifeless body or ghoulish stare, or grasped what had unfolded, a lifetime of counselling wouldn’t be enough to fix him.
Time remained frozen for everybody in the room, until a sudden crashing sound caused each of them to stare at the door. It burst open a moment later, and one of Owen’s guards menacingly waved his assault rifle around, until he realised Owen was still alive.
‘I’m fine,’ Owen barked. ‘Start loading the cars. We won’t be here much longer.’
The guard saluted and galloped back down the stairs.
Owen crouched in front of Adie. ‘Now, unless you want Noah to join his mother in an early grave, you’ll give me the remaining three codes.’
Adie’s eyes were red from sobbing, and his voice scratched as he spoke. ‘You fucking son of a bitch.’
‘You did this, Adie. You were the one who went off the reservation and stole the codes. You’re the reason Jules was so easy to manipulate. It was you who took Noah and that’s why he’s here now. You. It’s all you.’
‘How can you…you were my fucking friend…’ His words trailed off as his voice cracked and more tears fell.
Owen glanced at his watch. ‘I haven’t got all day. Are you going to give me my codes or am I going to be left to dig another grave?’
Adie’s head dropped as he sobbed.
‘I need an answer. Don’t make me count to five. Don’t let another innocent life suffer the consequences of your actions. It’s time to pick a side, Adie.’
Adie’s head remained bowed. ‘You win. I have no fight left in me. You’ll burn in hell for what you’ve done.’
Owen rocked back on his heels before straightening up. ‘I’ll see you there, mate. Now go and type in the fucking codes.’
Noah was still struggling to break free of Becky’s grasp. He could see his father crying, and sensed something was wrong. Becky kept his gaze from Julia’s eyes. ‘Let me take the boy out of here. Please, Owen? He doesn’t need to see…well, see any of this.’
He eyed her suspiciously. ‘No.’
‘Please, Owen. Just let me take him out of here. It’s not like we can go anywhere. Your men are guarding the building. Adie’s giving you what you want. Let me take him downstairs. Please?’
‘Fine,’ he sighed, before opening the door and shouting. ‘Ahmed, two coming down. Keep an eye on them.’ He stepped aside and allowed her to pick up Noah and carry him out. ‘Don’t go too far. I’m not finished with you yet.’
SIXTY-SIX
Becky could hear the guard’s tread on the lower staircase. She didn’t have long. She waited until Owen had closed the upstairs door, before yanking the mobile out of the back pocket of her jeans, desperately hoping the screen hadn’t smashed when she’d collided with the floor earlier.
She kept Noah behind her as she slowly began to descend. She unlocked the phone and eagerly typed a message to Agent Étienne Lemaire: Trace my phone. I am with Noah. Hurry!
She pressed send, and just managed to squash the phone back under her waistline, before she spotted the guard at the foot of the staircase, looking up. He motioned for her to continue down. She smiled and fluttered her eyelashes, but stopped when his expression remained blank. She noticed the open window to her left. It seemed that neither of the guards or Owen had noticed that it was open. The clouds were still dark outside, so the narrowing opening offered little additional light. It sounded as if the earlier deluge had stopped.
If I can get us up here alone, we could make a run for it.
She silently cursed when she remembered the guards had blown out the front tyres of the Twingo. If they were to escape, it wouldn’t be in the rental. She could also kiss her damages deposit goodbye.
The guard pushed her shoulder, urging her to speed up.
Becky glared at him. Before I go down, I need the toilet. La toilette? Me comprenez-vous? My bladder is going to burst.’
He looked her up and down, before glancing back up the staircase.
He’s thinking. He’s trying to decide whether to disturb Owen.
He shook his head and waved for her to continue across the room. Without a second’s thought she darted for the small bathroom, dragging Noah with her. ‘I’ll be two minutes,’ she called over her shoulder, before he realised she’d moved. She closed and locked the door.
He hammered on the door, jabbering in French.
She checked her mobile again to see if the message had gone through. The signal wasn’t great. She tried waving the phone above her head. Further hammering on the door startled her.
Come on, come on. Just send the bloody message!
She looked back at the screen. The message was still pending. She couldn’t take the phone downstairs and risk the message never being sent. She scoured the room for somewhere she could hide the phone, without diminishing the poor signal quality further.
‘Allez,’ the guard shouted.
The small bathroom contained a toilet and a small basin. A single bulb hung from a ceiling rose, but that was all there was. She considered lifting off the tank cover, but it was ceramic and would make too much noise. With no other option, she tentatively balanced the phone between the base of the toilet bowl and the wall. She flushed the toilet for good measure, and then unlocked the door. The guard pushed her out of the way, examining the room for any obvious signs of tampering. He gave her a second watchful glance, before ushering for her to continue to the ground floor.
She was exhausted. The effects of the adrenaline in her body were rapidly wearing off.
I must be strong for Noah.
She led the way down the stairs, and when they reached the ground floor, she didn’t struggle when the second guard tied her wrists to the radiator, in the same place Julia had been restrained earlier.
One of the guards reached for Noah, but he ducked away from his grasp, and ran over to Becky, curling his arms around her thigh. ‘I want mummy.’
Becky bent forward and kissed the top of his head. ‘I know you do, sweetie.’ She slid down the wall, until she was sat on the floor, with Noah snuggling between her legs. She glared at the guards as they stepped towards him, and then promptly changed their minds, deciding he wasn’t going to be any trouble.
The stone floor was cold and hard, and it wasn’t long before Becky was cursing her decision to race into the bathroom earlier. Now she really did have a full bladder.
Only time would tell if
the text message had reached Étienne.
SIXTY-SEVEN
Owen leans over Adie’s shoulder. ‘Have you finished yet?’
‘No, and this would go a lot quicker if you didn’t keep interrupting me. There are sixteen digits in each sequence, and if I remember it out of order, you can say goodbye to your toys.’
Twenty minutes have passed since Becky took Noah downstairs. Adie was so grateful that she had the sense to take him away. He has laid his jacket over Julia’s face, so at least he won’t feel her eyes burning a hole in his neck. The jacket has done nothing to stem the pool of blood slowly spreading across the stone floor.
‘I don’t know why you didn’t just write the codes down.’
‘If I wrote them down, there’s a chance they could get lost or stolen, and I’d hate for the codes to fall into the wrong hands. Oh wait…’
Owen begins to pace the room. ‘You should be more supportive. I’m doing this to help our brothers and sisters on the frontline.’
‘Yeah, yeah, whatever, I don’t want to hear your propaganda.’
‘Don’t be so naïve, Adie. The problem with the modern military is that all operations have to be signed off by a politician in a cheap suit; someone who has no experience of being on the frontline. They have no idea what it’s like to patrol foreign soil, waiting for the next fanatic in a suicide vest to charge forward. Every time the Prime Minister came over, they practically rolled out the red carpet, and he only ever saw the filtered version of the camp. Hell, even when they took him to the base hospital, they only showed him the patients with minor injuries, He didn’t get shown the soldiers screaming in agony because they’ve lost a limb or two from an IED. They think we’re winning the war against ISIS, when all we’re doing is mopping up water. The only way to lift the terror threat which hangs over the world like Damocles’ sword, is to cut off the source of the contamination.’
Then He Was Gone Page 26
