Will managed to get himself into his car, he started the engine and headed for the slip road to re-join the motorway, as he made the turn from the car park, he slammed his brakes on as blocking the slip road was a Blue VW Polo which was parked across the lane. Ramsey put the selector in to reverse and screeched the car backwards performing a j-turn, he headed towards the slip road that he had earlier left the motorway from, he did not care that he would be facing the wrong way, he could use the hard shoulder until a gap appeared to cross over to the right side. This road was also blocked by another blue VW Polo, he was cornered.
Using his quick thinking he decided to j-turn again and head back to the first Polo with his foot on the accelerator. With the car getting faster, he drove towards the rear of the VW knowing that his Volvo was a far superior car in strength and safety, as he approached the car a shot was fired.
It hit his windscreen cracking the glass, making it impossible to see. Instead of hitting the rear of the VW he smashed right into the side of it, causing an almighty bang from the metal on metal collision followed by the bang from the detonation of three airbags. The driver of the VW was killed instantly, the Volvo making his head slam violently into the side window, the passenger who was on the side that had been hit had his legs amputated by the crushed metal and was bleeding out and unable to do anything about it.
Will Ramsey was temporarily deaf from the explosion of the airbags. He put the selector in to reverse to try and pull out of the wreckage, with a screech he slowly reversed out of the wreckage, he was unharmed and got out of the car to check the damage and to see if he could still drive it. The only damage was that the front bumper had come off along with some minor dents.
'Volvo one Volkswagen nil' he said out loud.
Now he knew why they were called the safest cars in the world. After inspecting the damage, he swiftly got back in to the driver's side reaching across to the glove box he pulled his Glock pistol out and shot the windscreen from the inside so that the glass would fall on the outside. After firing a second shot, the glass finally shattered and fell onto the bonnet.
A third shot was fired sending glass in to the Volvo and exploding the head rest behind where Wills head should have been had he not been leaning over to put his pistol back in the glove box. One of the Argentines from the other VW Polo had heard the loud bangs and went to investigate, he fired a round from his rifle into the Volvo. Will Ramsey feeling lucky to be alive put the car in to drive and mounted the kerb to get around the VW that was parked across the lane and drove down the slip road and back on to the motorway, with the wind in his face, due to the new air conditioning system he had created.
Unknown to Ramsey was that due to the crash his car was leaking oil and blue smoke started coming out of the engine compartment, just five miles on from the service station. Will decided to pull over on to a small country road which he noticed up ahead. Three miles down the country road was the city of Jerez de la Frontera but the tarmac stopped after a mile and the road became a dirt track, for farm traffic he assumed. After taking his pistol out of the glove box and tucking it in to his waistband, Will set off in the direction of the city to find some transport either to Gibraltar or back to Seville. After walking for five minutes he turned around to see the other VW coming towards him, he ran off the road and in to the field on his left-hand side, which was full of olive trees, knowing that they could not get the car through the trees made it a level playing field.
Running amongst the trees he heard rifle fire and the sound of the rounds ricocheting of the tree trunks around him, he kept on running, zig zagging through the trees to try and lose the Argentines. Five more rounds were fired, more in hope than actual aiming, then a sixth hit Will Ramsey in his left calf sending him to the ground, he struggled back to his feet and tried to carry on running but was unable to, he even tried on one leg but to no avail.
Deciding to sit at the base of an olive tree in the hope that he would not be seen, he ripped his shirt off to use as a bandage on his leg, this helped ease the bleeding. As he lay with his back resting against the tree, he could hear the Argentines getting closer, eventually they spotted him and one of them said in broken English.
'You leave me for the death, I will leave you to the death' and shot him with his pistol in the stomach. The Argentines left Ramsey where he was and walked back towards the road.
Will coughed up blood and kept pressure on the wound but he knew deep down that the end was nigh, he reached in to his pocket with the last of his energy and got his phone. He sent a text to his partner Nadine saying I love you.
The phone fell out of his hand as he took his last breath, his lifeless body slumped down the olive tree and his head came to rest on the hard-sun-baked earth.
TWENTY-FOUR
James Shaw looked south down the tracks and could see a white Media Distancia train approaching the station, the electronic board informed him it was the one he needed. As the train neared, he walked further down the platform so that he could look through the windows as it passed, before coming to a stop. The train passed him and he had spotted Lyndon Powell in the front coach on a table with four seats, they had left the sun shade open, he was sat with Mike Williams, Chris Hampshire and Jack Reuben, James remembered the others from the picture that Lawrence had sent to him when they first arrived in Seville. The train came to a stop and James Shaw boarded the train at the rear most of the three carriages, the train was only half full.
Sunday really is the day of rest here, he said to himself, as he began to make his way through the coach to the front, where Lyndon Powell and his crew where sat. As he walked through the second coach, he sent a text to Lawrence Sharif saying.
On way, they are on here, he put his phone back in to his pocket and walked through the dividing doors in to coach one. After letting the door close behind, him, he walked towards where Powell was sat and smiled a greeting at them before sitting on one of the table seats across the aisle from them.
TWENTY-FIVE
Lawrence Sharif had received the text from James Shaw as the Argentine soldier he had been keeping an eye on walked to the end of the station and in to the male toilets. As he watched him enter the facilities, he was shocked to see John Shaw walk in behind him. Lawrence took his phone from his jeans pocket and dialled James's number; it rang and rang but he did not answer.
In the facilities, John Shaw walked over to the urinals, where Argentine special forces soldier Rodriquez was relieving himself. John grabbed him around the neck with his left arm and put his right arm around the top of his head, Rodriquez struggled but John then pulled his right arm and with a crack Rodriquez's neck was broken, he had taken his last breath.
John put his arms out to catch the dead weight of Rodriquez's body and dragged it across the floor to trap four and sat him on the toilet, with his lifeless body slumped against the side wall of the trap. John closed the door on him then grabbed a handful of coins out from his pocket, picking out a penny he used it to turn the lock from the outside to the occupied position, he put his change back in to his pocket and left the toilets just as somebody was walking in. John Shaw left the station and walked back to Hotel Ayre to wait for James and Lawrence.
Lawrence Sharif watched as John Shaw left the station and after two minutes concluded that the Argentine would not be leaving the toilets any time soon. After another unsuccessful attempt to contact James Shaw on the phone, Lawrence decided to send him a text.
Well done, good move, that will make are lives a bit easier, see you when you get here.
As he looked up at the arrivals board it said that James’s train was due to arrive in five minutes. Lawrence decided to wait for him at the top of the moving ramp, which was used for access to the platforms from the main concourse.
The train from Malaga came in to view underneath Lawrence as it pulled in to the station, once it stopped, about fifty people disembarked and headed for the moving ramp, some had suitcases, some had backpacks and some just themselves. L
awrence spotted Lyndon Powell and his men exiting from the furthest coach to him, all four men were dressed in suits and were pulling small suitcases on wheels. As they moved towards the ramp, he noticed James Shaw about ten paces behind them. The moving Ramp brought Lyndon Powell to the concourse level, they walked right past Lawrence without paying him any attention and walked into the main concourse looking for the exit. Moments later James stepped off the moving ramp and walked to Lawrence.
'Shall we allow them time to work out where they are going first?' James said.
'What for, we know where they are going, we could get there before them if we wanted to. Would you care to explain what John was doing here?'
'It makes life easier for us, the last thing we need is eyes on that hotel whilst we are in there, then being followed to our new hotel, we need the advantage here.'
Lawrence smiled and said 'Good work, you are wasted in the RAF, now let us go and meet John for that beer before we introduce ourselves to Mr Powell and his friends.’
They hustled out of the station in to the heat and the bright sun, ahead of them Powell and his crew were walking towards Hotel Ayre, James and Lawrence kept themselves a short distance behind.
James and Lawrence walked in to the lobby of the hotel and right past Lyndon, Mike, Chris and Jack who were speaking with the desk clerk, who was checking them in, they walked outside to the pool area where John was waiting for them with three large beers. When he saw what James was wearing, he laughed and said.
'Where are you going, yachting?'
James laughed with his brother.
'Just for that you can get the next one as well, did everything go OK with what we discussed?'
'Yes, we won't be having any problems from him.'
Lawrence then cut in. 'Where did you come from? I didn't even see you in the station, only when you walked in to the toilets.'
'I wasn't in the station, I was outside, then I see that Argie walk towards the toilet and I decided to strike.'
'Good work, thanks for the beer, I am sure our guests will be out here once they have checked out their rooms.’
What are you doing tonight John?’ James asked.
'I have signed up for a tapas tour with a load of backpackers. What about you? Are you going out with those girls?'
'A tapas tour, that sounds fun, yes, they are going to Malaga tomorrow, we should meet up when we have finished our meal.'
'Yes, good idea, I think it turns into a pub crawl after the food so then you four can join in with that.'
'Sounds like a plan, wouldn’t you say Lawrence?'
'Yes, we have nothing to do tomorrow, well once we pack our stuff up and drop Ally and Delinda at the station around midday.’
Lyndon Powell, Mike Williams, Chris Hampshire and Jack Reuben walked out to the pool area around thirty minutes after they had checked in to the hotel. They each had a pint of lager in a plastic glass in their hands as they looked around the unfamiliar surroundings, trying to take it all in. The four men were all dressed in light coloured suits and had removed the ties that they were wearing earlier. Lyndon looked over to where James, Lawrence and John were standing like he recognised them but he then looked away and carried on talking to his friends.
Lawrence said to James and John 'Let us go and introduce ourselves.’
The three of them paced over to the other side of the pool area to introduce themselves. Lawrence took the lead and stretched a hand out to Lyndon Powell.
'My name is Lawrence Sharif and this is James and John Shaw, we are here to oversee your business deal with Javier Ramos and ESPoil.’
The seven men all shook hands and exchanged pleasantries.
'I was not aware of this, who are you overseeing for?' Mike asked.
Lawrence answered 'The British government sent us to make sure that Mr Ramos plays fair and does not try to dupe you.’
What Lawrence had said was not a complete lie but also not the truth.
'Why would the government be interested in this deal, we are just a small company selling to a bigger one, this sort of thing happens every day.’ Lyndon said matter-of-factly.
'They do indeed, however the government do not like the idea of its business owners being taken advantage of by foreign business's thus taking away income and revenue from the UK.’
James looked at Lawrence with a look that said what are you going on about, but he let him carry on.
Lyndon looked confused. 'Well that is very concerning of them, I was not expecting this, will you be in the meeting? Ramos is not very fond of Brits as we have found ou.t'
'No, we will be nearby, we do not want to interfere, we are just here in case things don't go as planned, where is the meeting taking place anyway?' Lawrence asked.
'We have not been told yet, Ramos said to contact him when we arrive and he will inform us of the location of the meet.’ Mike answered.
'I assume you have not informed him of your arrival yet, give it another couple of hours, get settled in here go and see the city first.’ James said.
Lawrence handed a business card to Lyndon Powell, the card read Lawrence Sharif, Director of Foreign trade and it had a foreign office logo in the top left corner and at the bottom his mobile phone number.
'As soon as he tells you the location, call me on that number and we will make the necessary arrangements, enjoy your first night here this is a great city, I look forward to hearing from you.’
He shook Lyndon's hand and then the others. James and John did the same and Lyndon asked the two of them where they were from, as he detected a Liverpudlian accent in them a bit like his own, washed out over the years from living out of the city but still underlying. James answered him and said 'Crosby originally.’
‘Small world, so am I.’ Lyndon said.
'It is a small world, we will see each other again soon, have a nice night, nice to meet you lad.' James winked at him, acknowledging their shared home town which they were brought up in.
James, Lawrence and John walked away from the pool area back indoors.
'Enjoy your Tapas tour, and text me when you have finished and we will come and meet you for a drink.' James said.
'I will do, enjoy your meal, see you later.’
John walked over to the lifts to return to his room, whilst James and Lawrence left the hotel walking out on to the traffic heavy street.
'I will get the car' James said.
'You have had a drink.'
'Only one. I will be fine'.
'It only takes one' Lawrence said.
'Your right, let's get a taxi, but you are paying.'
They stood on the pavement looking in both directions for a taxi, a few drove by but were occupied.
James said 'We will just get one at the station it will be easier.'
'Good thinking Batman.’
They finally managed to cross the road after waiting for the lights to change and headed towards the main entrance to Santa Justa station, where all the taxis would be parked up waiting for their next fare. They got in to a Seat Toledo taxi, which seemed to be the car of choice for taxis in the city and they told the driver that they were going to the Barrio Santa Cruz.
After getting out of the taxi a street away from the apartment they were staying in, they split up and walked in opposite directions to make sure that they were not being followed. They met each other at the street door to the apartment building, nobody had been following them.
James Shaw led the way in to the building, taking each step one at a time as he did not want to stretch more than he had to, as his stitches had been causing him pain since he had gotten off the train at Santa Justa. James led Lawrence through the front door of the apartment, there was no sign of Delinda or Ally and the apartment was spotless with two roller bags by the door they had just walked through.
'I wonder where they have gone?' James asked.
'Not sure but they are coming back because their bags are still here.’
James nodded in agreement
with Lawrence before he stepped in to the bedroom he was sharing with Delinda. His bag was still under the bed where he had put it, he turned back around to walk out of the bedroom, the front door to the apartment opened, James Shaw instinctively reached for his Beretta. Delinda and Ally walked through the door with Ally holding a cup holder containing four cups and Delinda was holding paper bags with something hot in them he assumed as Delinda was holding them by the top of the bags.
'Hey guys, I grabbed us all some churros and hot chocolate, take a seat' Delinda said as she placed the bags of hot churros on the table along with the drinks Ally put down.
James and Lawrence took a seat opposite Delinda and Ally and they all began dipping churros in to the hot chocolate.
'That was good timing wasn’t it? I wasn't expecting to come back and find you all packed and cleaned, I will do the same once we have finished these, they are delicious by the way, thank you.’ James said.
'I like to be organised that’s all, we have got an early start in the morning.’
Before he could say anything in return James's phone vibrated in his pocket, it was his brother John, he swiped the screen to answer the call.
'Hello John' he said, he listened then Lawrence's phone was ringing and James motioned him to pick it up before continuing his own conversation.
'OK, they are calling him now, thanks John I will text you later and let you know where we are, see you later' James hung up the phone the same time as Lawrence had finished his phone call.
'Was that them? John said 1400 Tuesday at the Alfonso Xiii hotel, that’s good for us, no travelling.’
'Yes, that’s what Powell just told me too, very good indeed, we can plan tomorrow when we are there.’
'Yes, sorry ladies, thank you again for the churros, how do you fancy some Tapas tonight?'
Delinda answered 'Sounds good to me.'
Ally and Lawrence also agreed with him, they all sat laughing and enjoying their Hot chocolate and churros, before going to relax by the pool for a few hours.
One Last Time Page 14
