"We had to know. I had to know. Just exactly where in the mix you fitted. You see Mr Anders; we haven't been at all sure about you. About your exact position in this whole thing. Then we find you here, in London, in the same hotel as the people who have been trespassing - supposedly - on your property in Australia. People we have been trying to keep track of for some time and who have proved to be very elusive. For good reason. Considering the activities they have been involved in."
Cooper was dumbfounded. Finally, it came home to him. They had suspected him all along, and probably still did. Both the Australian agencies and the London agencies had thought he was directly involved. It had only come into the open when Rebecca had stepped unwittingly into the mix. The New World corporation had made a mistake when they had sent her out to talk him into selling his property, so that they would then have full access to it. Full access that meant in that remote place, not a soul would have had any idea what they were up to. No one that is apart from the local tribal people, and Cooper doubted that they would have been taken into consideration in any plans that New World were making. The whole sorry thing began to make sense to him, and it reaffirmed some of the resolves he had already begun to formulate, even before he had left Australia to come and talk face to face with Rebecca.
"Well." Stated Cooper. "I don't think you need worry yourself on that score Charles." Cooper had noticed the use of his surname by Charles, an obvious ploy to formalise the situation, and Cooper was having none of it. "Rebecca, Kali. Are you coming?" Cooper turned away from Charles and continued on. He took a few steps then turned and looked over his shoulder at Charles.
"Thank you for intervening in any case, but I assure you - for what my assurances are worth, that I knew nothing of these people. At least, I knew nothing of their intentions." Cooper continued on through the lobby toward the lifts. Rebecca and Kali trailing along behind. Kali stopped half way across the lobby and put her hand on Rebecca's arm.
"I'll stay here in the lobby, or the bar. I'll wait for you down here Rebecca. You don't need me to accompany you with Cooper. Honestly." Kali turned back with a last look at Cooper, standing at the lift doors, waiting for the lift to take him to his room. Rebecca simply nodded and went to join Cooper. The lift arrived and together they stepped inside. Within seconds they were exiting the lift on the twenty fifth floor, and heading for Coopers room along the quiet hallway. Neither had said a word since they had left the bar area, and Kali had taken her leave. Cooper was trying to sort out his emotions, and Rebecca seemed to be in a daze. It was enough to keep them both quiet.
Cooper swiped his key card and they entered his room. His suitcase lay unopened on the bed where he had flung it earlier in the day, and he opened it and started putting his things into the cupboard's hanging space, and onto the night stand beside the bed. He didn't have much, he had left the house in Australia in a hurry, figuring he could buy what he wanted in London, past his basic needs for the first day or so. Rebecca stood with her hands folded in front of her, watching. Cooper seemed to have forgotten her presence and in the end she had to beak the silence.
"Cooper..." she paused for a long moment. "Cooper, what are you thinking. Why invite me up here to your room, then just busy yourself in silence. Am I so hard to talk to?" The last was said in just above a whisper. "We need to talk, but first, you need to clean yourself up. I'm sorry - but you look little better than a tramp." Cooper swung to face her, his face unreadable.
"So you care what I look like do you?" He said. "I thought you only cared about yourself in the end." He knew he was being harsh, and he knew he had just insulted Rebecca, but he was tired and beyond caring. He strode into the bathroom and closed the door behind him. He needed a shower, that much he knew, and a shave. And a haircut. He looked at himself in the mirror. He looked closely for the first time in days. 'My God!" He thought. 'No wonder people were staring at me and not wanting to sit near me.' He shook his head and stepped into the shower, the hot water steaming up in a cloud that quickly filled the bathroom, the glass partition steaming over and little rivulets of water trickling down the glass, forming a myriad tiny tracks on the glass. Much like the tracks of lizards in the sand dunes back home he thought. He had taken his razor into the shower with him. This was going to need some heavy duty scraping he thought, so he lathered up his hair with the hotel shampoo, letting it run down over his bristly chin. Finally, with the stubble on his chin softened enough with the heat of the water and the shampoo he set to work. He soon had his face cleaned up, all trace of stubble gone. The haircut would have to wait, but at least he would look half way presentable again. It felt good to be 'Spring Clean' again he thought. He let the water cascade from his shoulders and stream away down his body, his head tilted back so that the shower ran directly into his hair, then out and away. He felt a change in the air temperature and opened his eyes. The shower door was open and Rebecca was standing there watching him. Just silently watching him, her eyes looking steadily at his as he opened them. He wasn't embarrassed, they had been far too intimate for that now, but he was surprised.
"What is it Rebecca?" He asked. He could not read the expression on her face, and so far she had not said a word. She turned away from him finally and went and leant against the sink.
"Cooper, you have to understand that I never did have marriage or children in my life plans. We enjoyed each others company and both of us are responsible for this baby. But I never expected you to have to marry me because of it. I don't expect it now. Regardless of what you or others may think. You have your life mapped out in the Australian bush, and I have mine mapped out here in London. I'm not changing, and I doubt you would want to, so there's an end to it." Rebecca folded her arms across her chest and looked at Cooper, now out of the shower and towelling himself dry. Her heart was racing and her stomach was tingling at the sight of his lean hard body., but she steeled herself as she had done many times in court, and would not be distracted. Cooper combed his long hair back and stepped into his underpants. He still hadn't said a word, just letting Rebecca say what she had to say. He could see that the sight of him had affected her, but he could also see her determination to deny her feelings. He was secretly pleased that she could still find him attractive, because if his plans went right, then she would be his for the long term. He still hadn't told her of the plans he was formulating. Indeed, he didn't have a full idea himself yet, but it meant major changes in his lifestyle if he could pull it off, and it did all hinge on Rebecca. So Cooper waited. Suddenly, Rebecca turned and left the bathroom, and without stopping left the hotel apartment. She had said nothing. The door swung shut with a soft click behind her. Cooper stood looking after her, poised in the act of pulling on his trousers. He tried to collect his thoughts. Caught completely by surprise, for a moment he couldn't take it in. What was she doing? She couldn't leave now, just... walking out like this, nothing resolved. He stumbled and almost fell as distractedly he tried to get his other foot into his trouser leg. Finally managing to get his trousers on and zipped up he reached the door of the apartment and flung the door open just in time to hear the hiss of the lift doors closing and the lift itself descending. He turned back into his rooms searching for his phone and keyed it into life. Suddenly he stopped. Dam it, he realised he still didn't have her personal number, so he couldn't call her.
Cooper reached for the room extension phone and pressed Reception.
"Come on, come on!" He shouted, just as a voice came on the line.
"Reception, how can I help"
"Quickly, the lift coming down has a young woman in it. Please ask her to stop. To wait in the foyer for me. Hurry man" Cooper had heard the soft chime of the arriving lift in the background. He slammed the phone down, and dragged on his shirt, socks and shoes, still hopping in the struggle as he headed to the lift to try and catch up. Half dressed, he almost fell into the lift as it's doors opened in front of him. The doors closed and the lift continued to ascend. He almost shouted in frustration, as he realised he
had mistakenly jumped into the rising lift car, instead of waiting for the descending one. The couple already in the car looked at him worriedly as he struggled to tidy his clothes and run his fingers through his hair.
"I'm so sorry." He offered. "I'm late for a meeting..." It was the best he could offer as he realised the lift was going all the way to the fifty fourth floor. He leaned back against the wall and closed his eyes in frustration. This whole day was not going well. Finally, the lift arrived back on the ground floor and Cooper emerged into the foyer. He had given up the chase, fully expecting that Rebecca was by now far away. He looked around in the faint hope that she might still be there, then turned and took the lift back up to his floor, and went back to his room. He reached into his pocket for his room key card and realised with a groan that it was on the little table right by the door - on the inside. He was locked out. Could this day get any more frustrating he wondered? There was nothing for it but to return to reception and request another key card.
Cooper was crossing the foyer when he almost ran into Kali, hurrying from the small bar where they had met earlier.
"Cooper, have you seen Rebecca?" She asked, grabbing his right elbow in her hand. She sounded agitated, her voice rising slightly. "Isn't she with you?" Cooper shook his head, and said.
"Kali, what do you mean? She left me about ten minutes ago now, either to return to you down here or to return to the office, or even home. I have no idea, really. One minute we were in the shower talking, and the next minute she just up and left the suite."
Kali raised an eyebrow at the mention of the shower, but was too concerned to pause on it.
"No, she was supposed to come back to me here, not go off on her own just now. Charles and his team have some sort of problem, and I need to locate Rebecca... And she isn't answering her mobile either. Cooper, I don't think she made it down here to the foyer, or I would have seen her."
By now Cooper had stopped in his tracks. He looked carefully around him. He was very tall, and could see over the heads of anyone in the area, giving him unrestricted sight of everyone moving in the foyer. There was no one he knew, and certainly no sign of Rebecca. What was going on he wondered? She couldn't have just disappeared. Although Charles and his crew seemed to have done. Cooper headed to reception and picked up another key card from the girl there.
He was about to turn away when she held up an envelope with his name on it.
"Mr Anders, this message was left for you just a few minutes ago by a European gentleman." She passed it to Cooper.
He opened it and scanned it quickly, and passed it to Kali, his mouth set in a grim line.
"So that's their game is it?" He smacked one fist into the palm of his other hand. "We'll see about that when I get my hands on them. They will regret the day they crawled out from under the rocks." He went to the lounge to see if Charles might be in the bar area. There was no sign of him, and indeed the whole room was empty.
"Kali, enough pussy footing around with Charles and these criminals. They must be close, probably have someone watching us to see what I do. Can you raise Charles do you think?" He asked. "I want his help, but obviously don't want him to be be seen with me." He stood in the middle of the room, trying to think what to do. He only had minutes. The note had been very brief. "Be in the third level car park in five minutes, alone, if you want to see Ms Boucher again." What did this mean? See her alive again? It certainly had that ring to it. Kali was on her mobile, and obviously had Charles on the other end. She was flapping her hand and pointing to the phone and mouthing 'Charles', while nodding her head in response to whatever was being said. Finally, she ended the call and said to Cooper.
"Charles said to go down to the car park and meet with who ever wrote the note. He will be close by, but out of sight. I have to go with you. The note did say they wanted you alone, but even so, you can insist."
Cooper just stood there for a moment. What was happening? Everything was going wrong. He felt like he was being led around by the nose. It was time to take charge. He was not a man to be pushed around easily, and although he felt somewhat out of his depth in this environment he was strong enough to forge ahead anyway. With a smack of his hand on his thigh, he strode across to the lift to go down to the car park. Kali could come along if that's what she wanted, but he now didn't care either way. He stepped into the lift and Kali hurried after him. He pressed the button for the basement garage and they headed down. Assuming someone from the gang who had taken Rebecca wanted him for some reason, he had little choice. He was acutely aware that he was unarmed. He could only hope that Charles was on the ball.
He stepped from the lift with Kali a step behind. The third level was almost empty of cars. Cooper couldn't imagine where Charles and his team would be, there was no cover and the lift was not really suitable. He slowly scanned the few vehicles he could see. If these people were there they had to be in the black Audi S8 with darkened windows that was parked some three bays directly opposite the lift. The half dozen other cars were all clear glassed window types, and didn't appear to contain anyone. Cooper hooked his thumbs into his belt with his legs slightly apart, and waited. It was their move. Kali stood beside him, almost vibrating with anger and tension as she raised herself onto the balls of her feet repeatedly, as though getting ready to take off at any moment.
Cooper was growing impatient with this game and began to stride toward the dark car. As he did so the rear window slid down and a voice commanded,
"Stop there. Do not come closer. Just listen. You have caused me a great deal of trouble over that worthless piece of desert in Australia. All you had to do was sell it to me. Ms Boucher simply had to facilitate the sale. But no, you both had to jump into bed with each other at the first opportunity and complicate things beyond all reason. Now I can never set foot there again in that country. I have lost millions of dollars already, and now the authorities in this country are forcing me out as well." The voice stopped. Cooper still hadn't seen the man responsible for it, and he still hadn't seen Rebecca. They were both too far back in the darkness of the interior of the car.
"Where is Rebecca? What have you done with her?" He shouted at the person in the car. "What have you done with the woman I love? If you harm her I will hunt you down like a rabid dog. Let her go now or by God I will start on you here and now." As he finished, two men got out of the front of the car, deadly black pistols in their hands. The driver and a passenger. They were gigantic! Cooper had rarely seen such big men, but it was the guns that stopped him in his tracks. It crossed his mind that they weren't going to be able to make any quick get away now that the driver was out of the car. So if he could disarm these two, he still had a chance.
"Well scum?" He shouted. "What is it you want? I couldn’t care less for your petty problems. Just let Rebecca go, I know you have her there. Let her go now and I won't harm you." Cooper kept his eyes on the two bodyguards. The pair looked at each other. Surprise evident on their faces. What was he talking about? 'Harm them.' They were armed, he was not. They didn't move however; they hadn't been told to. Cooper started forward when he heard Rebecca suddenly scream out.
"Cooper no, he has a gun." He stopped in his tracks. Rebecca was ok. She had risked everything to warn him. He had no idea where Charles and his team were, but their presence would be welcome any time soon. The man in the car spoke again.
"You are a foolish man Mr Anders; do you know that?" He paused. "You could have been very rich, but now you will have nothing. Your home will be worthless, and your girlfriend here will be gone."
The window of the car started to slide up, and was just about fully shut when there was a deafening roar of a large caliber gun shot and the glass of the window shattered into a million diamond fragments, spraying out in a great arc of razor edges that caught one of the guards across the side of his face. He cried out in pain, the blood already streaming down his neck. His companion was looking at the car in surprise and didn't see Cooper coming. He went to the ground with a thud
and lay still, his gun skittering under the car. Cooper kicked the other guards gun away and hauled open the car door. Nearest to him was a large man in a pin striped business suit holding a blood soaked trouser leg and staring at his shattered knee in silent surprise. His mouth formed in a silent O, the pain not yet overcoming the shock. Rebecca was pressed back into the farthest corner of the seat, holding a huge silver Colt 45 in both hands, pointing its wavering barrel in the general direction of the wounded man. Her eyes were as big as saucers in her face and Cooper could see in that instant that she was only just holding it together. Her face was as white as a sheet, and she was holding her bottom lip in her teeth, staring at Cooper.
The man in the car with her, Cooper didn't recognise him, was trying to deal with the blood and the pain of a shattered knee joint so he was no trouble.
Cooper quickly moved around to the off side door and reached in to help Rebecca out of the car. He carefully took the Colt from her shaking hands and lowered the hammer slowly, passing it to Kali who was by now at his side. Rebecca stepped out, holding on to Cooper to steady herself. She no sooner stood up straight than Cooper had to grab her to himself as she started to faint into unconsciousness. He wrapped his strong arms around her, supporting her easily in his embrace. He could smell the scent of apples in her hair. At that moment two black Humvees roared down the ramp and screeched to a stop at the front of the car, men in full armour spilling out and surrounding them all. Charles slowly got out of the lead vehicle and came over to Cooper, still supporting the unconscious Rebecca and shielding Kali. The bodyguard who had received the shattering glass shards to the face was leaning against the door trying to stem the blood flow, his companion was still out for the count, and the business type in the back of the car was now alternately moaning and calling for an ambulance.
The Innimincka Affair Page 19
