Then He Was Gone

by Stephen Edger

  ‘Oh good, because for a minute there, I thought we were talking about setting off four bombs across Europe!’ Adie slammed his hand on the desk in frustration.

  ‘Violence is the only way to make the world sit up and pay attention. It’s a means to an end.’

  ‘No. Don’t do that. You’re going to cause untold damage with the location of these devices; don’t dismiss it so casually.’

  ‘What would you prefer? We do nothing, and let their armies grow stronger. What happens in a year’s time, or maybe two years’ time when they start planting bombs of their own in high profile locations? How would you feel if Noah died in one of their blasts, and you could have done something about it?’

  ‘If that’s what helps you sleep at night, then so be it. I don’t know why I’m even trying to debate this with you.’

  ‘Because somewhere, deep down you know I’m right.’

  ‘I know you’re crazy…’ He stops as each of the laptop screens turn black. ‘What the -’

  Owen races over. ‘What the fuck did you do?’

  He squirms as Owen presses the muzzle into the side of his head. ‘I didn’t do anything. I swear to you. It looks like the power’s gone. It’s nothing to do with me.’

  Owen runs the fingers of his free hand over random keys on each keyboard, but the screens remain dark. Owen straightens up and puts both hands to his head. He is pacing again, as he tries to figure out what is going on.

  Owen stops and snaps his fingers. ‘The generator: it must have stopped. We need to go and check it out. Up! I’m not leaving you here unguarded. Come on. I want you in front of me. And don’t try anything funny or I’ll force you to watch while I cut your boy’s throat.’

  He desperately wants to yank the gun out of Owen’s hand and beat him to death with it, but Owen is too experienced not to get a shot off first.

  He moves quickly down the stairs. When he reaches the ground floor, he sees Noah asleep on Becky’s lap. She doesn’t look comfortable, with her hands suspended just above her head. He offers her a reassuring nod and a smile, before Owen pushes him forward towards the door. The guards unlock it and the four men pour out, locking the door behind them. The ground is soft and wet, but the rain from earlier has stopped.

  Adie lifts his head, grateful for the cool breeze blowing on his face. Although it isn’t warm inside the lighthouse, the fresh air is welcome. Owen lights a cigarette and offers him one. At first he declines, but changes his mind at the last minute and takes one. The brand is stronger than he remembers and he coughs as he inhales the smoke.

  The generator is hidden behind a wall to the left of them. It is silent, a clue that it is no longer running. The four men step closer to examine it. There are no signs that it has been damaged in any way.

  Owen kicks at it in anger. ‘We need to get this bloody thing started again. The fuel level looks okay. The weather must have caused it to stop.’ Owen waves the gun at him. ‘You do it. Start it up.’

  ‘Do it yourself.’

  Owen glares. ‘I don’t like repeating myself.’

  ‘What if it’s faulty? It’s been out in the rain. Rain and electricity don’t mix well.’

  ‘It’s meant to be outside. It’s like a lawnmower. Pull the cord until it engages. Don’t make me ask you again.’

  He sighs. ‘Can I finish this first? If it’s leaking or something, I don’t want to go up in a cloud of smoke.’

  Owen nods, but continues to watch him as he takes short tugs on the cigarette. With the cigarette extinguished, Adie rests a foot on the generator’s shell, and grips the plastic cord handle. He lightly tugs on it, but the engine doesn’t start. He tugs again, harder this time, and the generator roars to life.’

  ‘See,’ Owen crows, ‘that wasn’t so difficult was it? You’d better get back up there and finish inputting the codes before it stops again.’

  They turn and head back to the lighthouse. The guard unlocks the door, and they bustle in. Adie notices first, but doesn’t say anything.

  Owen checks the door is locked before heading for the stairs. He stops and looks over at the radiator, before yelling in anger. Becky and Noah are gone.

  SIXTY-EIGHT

  ‘Where the hell are they? Owen screamed at the two sullen-looking guards. ‘How the fuck did she get free? How did she get out? Was the door even locked, you fucking numbskulls? Find her. Now! And don’t come back until you’ve located her, or you’ll be digging your own graves.’

  The two guards unlocked the door and jogged back out, splitting and searching the grounds. Owen slammed the door shut and relocked it.

  Adie couldn’t help smirking. Even when Owen glared at him and held the gun against his head. ‘Hey, you can’t blame me for this one. I don’t know where they went.’

  ‘Just get back upstairs,’ Owen grizzled.

  The two men climbed back up the stairs, crossed the floor and headed for the second flight. Becky ducked down, below the window pane, and listened until she heard them trotting up the stairs.

  She looked over at Noah who was lying flat on his back, beyond her feet. ‘Good boy, Noah,’ she whispered. ‘Keep quiet for Auntie Bex. There’s a good boy.’

  She grinned when she heard the sound of Owen bellowing from the top floor.

  The moment the guard had locked the door downstairs, Becky had woken Noah and sent him over to the roll of cord, asking him to bring the nail scissors over. She’d known she wouldn’t have long to break her bindings, and was grateful when Noah helped cut the cord. She’d grabbed his hand and rushed him upstairs. She’d opened the small window and helped him climb out onto the scaffolding, telling him to stay quiet. She’d then sprinted up to the top floor, and had removed the gold necklace from around Julia’s neck. It held a locket containing pictures of Julia and Noah. Julia had worn the locket every day since Noah was born, and it seemed fitting that Noah should be the one to keep it. She’d been about to hurry back to the scaffolding when she’d noticed the laptops on the desk.

  It had been a huge risk, but she’d lowered each to the stone floor and then stamped on them until the screens and keyboards were virtually destroyed. There was every chance Owen would be able to recover the information from them, but at least it would slow them down. For added effect she’d crouched down and emptied her bladder over them. She’d made it back to the scaffolding as the main door had opened.

  ‘That fucking bitch has trashed the laptops,’ she heard Owen yelling at Adie. ‘I’ll fucking kill her. As soon as they find her, I’m going to…fucking bitch! I’ll teach her to fuck with me. You hear that! I’ll fucking teach you!’

  Becky could hear one of the guards below them. She’d accidentally pushed the ladder over in her efforts to pull it up to the boards they were now lying on. If she was lucky, the guards would find the ladder and assume that’s what she’d used to get away. Of course, they were just as likely to deduce that she wouldn’t have had enough time to get down the ladder and away from the lighthouse in the time it had taken them to enter the house and discover she was missing.

  The guard was directly below them. She held her breath, praying the sound of her galloping heart didn’t give them away. She offered a silent prayer.

  Small droplets of water splashed against her cheeks. The clouds overhead looked lighter than before, so there was a chance it was only a passing shower. She tried to ignore the drops, hoping Noah wouldn’t squeal.

  She heard the guard move off quickly. He’d found the ladder. She heard him jabbering into his radio, before sprinting off across the stone chippings. She silently counted to three, and arched her back so she could peek through the bottom of the window pane. She could see Owen inside, circling the room. Beyond him, she could see the bathroom, and wished she’d remembered to collect her phone before squeezing out through the window. She had no idea whether Étienne had received her message.

  SIXTY-NINE

  Adie watches Owen’s meltdown with more than a hint of satisfaction. Owen is still ranting a
t nobody in particular, as he circles the first floor, waving his arms about. Adie has zoned out the noise. No matter what happens from here, he knows Noah is safe in Becky’s custody, and that is all he cares about. Even if Owen puts a bullet in his brain, he’ll die knowing his boy is safe.

  Owen barks something into his radio before moving to the stairs. He takes a cursory glance back at Adie, before deciding his former friend can’t do any harm from where he is. Owen heads down the stairs and Adie hears the front door open.

  Something flickers in Adie’s peripheral vision, causing him to turn and look at the wall to his left. He spots a pane of glass, partly obscured by the strange design of the wall.

  How long has that been there?

  He hadn’t noticed it earlier.

  What had flickered? A bird maybe? Wait, there it is again.

  He dashes across the room and looks out through the window. He doesn’t know whether to laugh or cry when he sees Becky lying flat on the scaffolding boards. She looks terrified.

  Adie opens the window a fraction, and whispers. ‘Are you alright?’

  She nods, conscious of Adie and one of the guards speaking below.

  ‘Is Noah okay?’

  She nods again.

  ‘You need to get out of here. It won’t be long until they figure out you didn’t leave.’

  She mouthed something.

  ‘I don’t understand. What do you want?’

  She rolls her eyes before raising a thumb to her ear, and placing her little finger over her mouth.

  ‘A phone? Wait, your phone? Where is it?’

  She jabs a finger at the wall.

  ‘It’s in the lighthouse? Where?’

  She frowns as she figures out how to mime the next word.

  ‘The kitchen? No.’ He turns and quickly scans the room, before turning back. ‘The bathroom? It’s in the bathroom?’

  She nods frantically.

  ‘Why would you…?’ He stops when he realises the pointlessness of the question. He tears off to the bathroom, glancing at the staircase to ensure Owen isn’t on his way back up. He opens the bathroom door, and is surprised by just how bare it is. There is no cupboard or flowerpot; nowhere obvious to hide a phone.

  Did she mean next to the bathroom rather than inside it?

  He hunts for anywhere she could have placed it, and is about to leave, when he works out what she was miming. He drops to his knees, and reaches behind the toilet bowl. His fingers brush plastic, and he pulls it out. He leaps to his feet and charges back to the window.

  ‘I found it,’ he says, holding it up. ‘Shall I pass it to you?’

  ‘Pass it to who?’ Owen says from behind him.

  His eyes widen in panic. He throws the phone through the window, before closing it, and screaming for Becky to run.

  Owen is over by the window in no time, and stares through it. He sees Becky’s feet, as she scurries away along the boards on all fours. He raises his gun, but Adie reacts quicker and kicks out, sending the gun spinning across the stone floor. Owen turns and deflects the next kick, following up with a punch of his own. The two scuffle, each jabbing at the other. They crash into the window, but the glass doesn’t break. Adie gets a lucky punch into Owen’s cheek. Owen responds by charging at Adie, sending them crashing into the window again. This time the glass fractures, but remains in the pane. Owen thrusts his knee into Adie’s gut, and drives an elbow down into Adie’s shoulders.

  Adie collapses to the floor, and tries to crawl away, but Owen is on top of him now, raining punches into his already bruised sides.

  Adie bends his knees and pulls his legs back, twisting wildly. He catches the side of Owen’s head, sending Owen sprawling. Adie pushes himself up, and regains his balance. Owen’s ear is bleeding from the kick.

  Adie wipes blood from the bottom of his nose. ‘Just like old times.’

  ‘Yeah, but this time, only one of us is going to walk away. Have you got it in you?’

  ‘Bring it on.’

  Owen raises his fists, a wicked glint in his eyes. He lunges at Adie, and the two grapple again, jabbing and kicking. Owen drives him into the kitchen countertop, and Adie drops to his knees again. This time Owen is quick to move into position and steps behind Adie, wrapping one arm around his neck, and placing the other behind Adie’s head.

  Adie puts his hands on the arm around his neck, as he tries to move it, but Owen is too strong. Adie begins to choke as his airway is cut-off. His arms flail above his head as he tries to whack and scratch at his attacker, but his efforts are futile. He hears a strange noise in the distance, but before he can register what it is, the world turns black.

  SEVENTY

  Becky found something peaceful in the beeping of the heart monitor. Her eyelids were heavy, and she envied Adie lying asleep in the hospital bed, though the mattress didn’t feel very soft, as she rested her elbows on it. Adie’s eyes flickered, before slowly opening. He raised his head slightly and gazed around the room, a look of confusion on his face.

  ‘Welcome back,’ Becky smiled. ‘Don’t panic. You’re in the hospital, and you’re going to be fine. The doctors want to keep you in overnight for observation, but you should be free to leave first thing.’

  He opened his mouth to speak, but wasn’t sure what he wanted to ask.

  Becky lifted a beaker of water, and placed the straw between his dry lips. ‘The nurse said you’d probably be thirsty. You’re allowed to sip the water, but don’t drink too much at a time. Just a sip every few minutes.’ She returned the beaker to the unit next to his bed. ‘You gave us all quite a scare. When I found you, I thought Owen had killed you. I had to give you the kiss of life!’

  ‘Wh-what happened? I don’t remember…’

  ‘I was out on the balcony, and I could hear you and Owen going at it inside. I was going to try and lower myself over the edge of the scaffolding, but the drop was too far…I decided the only way out of the lighthouse was going to be through the main door downstairs. The rain was getting heavier as well, and I didn’t want Noah to catch a -’

  Adie shot up in bed, and winced at the pain. ‘Noah: is he…?’

  ‘Noah’s fine. Don’t worry. Caleb’s looking after him.’

  He settled back, wincing as he did.

  Becky remained on the edge of the bed. ‘So, anyway, I looked through the window and could see you and Owen at the far side of the room. You both looked in a bad way. I saw him push you back against the countertop, and you crashed to the floor. I knew I had to get in. There was a stray tube of piping outside, and I used it to break through the shattered window, and squeezed through. Owen was throttling you, but his back was to me, so I…I clobbered him with the piping. I didn’t want to kill him, I just wanted to pacify him long enough for the three of us to escape and flag down help.’

  ‘He’s dead?’

  ‘Oh no. I thought I had killed him at first. The pipe struck the base of his head and shoulders, and he slumped to the floor and stopped moving. He was bleeding from a gash on his neck. While I was trying to wake you, I heard a commotion downstairs. I was sure it was Owen’s guards coming back to kill us, so I dived for Owen’s gun, which had fallen near the bathroom. I turned and aimed, and nearly wet myself when I saw Agent Lemaire staring back at me. I think he thought I was going to shoot him too. I discarded the gun, and tried to explain what had happened. He’d brought Durand with him, who was able to translate. They called an ambulance for the two of you, and we’ve been here ever since. Owen is in a room down the corridor, with an agent standing guard outside. He’s suffering with a concussion, but they’ll take him into custody when the doctor’s give him the all-clear.’

  ‘You saved my life.’

  She blushed. ‘I suppose I did. I hadn’t really thought about it.’

  ‘Did you tell the police who I am?’

  ‘I had to. They made me make a full statement about what had happened. They found Jules on the second floor, so I told them exactly what had happened. You’re goin
g to need to make a statement too when you feel up to it.’

  ‘What about the bombs? Jesus, Bex, there are four devices -’

  ‘I told Durand about that. His team are trying to piece together the remnants of the laptops to identify the locations.’

  ‘I know where they are. I need to speak to Durand.’

  ‘You can soon, but first there’s someone else who’s desperate to see you.’ She left the room, returning a moment later with a sleepy Noah. ‘Go and give your daddy a cuddle, Noah.’

  Noah’s eyes widened and a huge smile broke out on his face as he saw Adie in the bed. He darted over, and pulled on the sheets to lift himself up onto the bed. He wrapped his arms around his dad’s neck, and the two of them rocked as one.

  Becky stepped out of the room, and closed the door.

  ‘Are you ready to get out of here?’ Caleb asked from the bench in the corridor.

  ‘Soon. We’ll have to look after Noah tonight. Is that okay with you?’

  Caleb stood and pulled her into an embrace. ‘Of course it is.’ He kissed her forehead. ‘I nearly lost you today, I’m just grateful you’re still here so I can tell you how much I love you.’

  It felt good to be hugged. It felt good to be wanted. She wasn’t ready to think about what Julia had done, and the fact that her best friend would no longer be there to chat to. Her eyes welled.

  ‘Besides,’ Caleb continued, ‘looking after Noah could be good practice for us.’

  She sniffed. ‘Practice?’

  ‘Yeah, for when you and I have a baby.’

  She buried her head in his chest. She didn’t have the heart to tell him she couldn’t have children. It wasn’t the time for that. They would need to have a serious conversation about the future soon, but in that moment she just wanted to be held; to be reminded that the world wasn’t solely filled with evil.

  THE END

  A MESSAGE FROM STEPHEN