by Mark Ayre
Ndidi walked down his driveway, and the security light above his front door burst into life.
His heart pounding, his breath catching, he reached the boot of his car. Pressing a button on the key fob, he unlocked the vehicle. He placed a hand on the release and took a deep breath.
He had done the right thing. It didn't matter if he felt uncomfortable following A's orders. It was his only choice. He would have walked into the police station where he worked with an AK47 and torn everyone to ribbons if it would guarantee Isabella's safety. Kilman might die, and Ndidi would have to live with that, but he would never regret it. There were no lengths to which he would not go to save his daughter.
He took another deep breath. He pressed the rubber compression pad on the boot of his car and stepped back as the lid flipped up, revealing the inside. Revealing...
Nothing.
The boot was empty.
Ndidi's breath caught. He grabbed his heart and staggered back. His legs went weak, and he almost dropped to his knees.
No, no, no, no. What had happened?
He was on the verge of tears, on the verge of screaming, when he heard movement to his right. Spinning in that direction, he saw someone step through the shadows.
"Looks like you're missing something."
The speaker stepped from the darkness into the bright glow of the security light. Revealing herself. Revealing Abbie King, Ndidi's attacker and enemy.
She gave a sad smile.
"Or should I say... someone?"
Thirty
"Where is she?"
Ndidi's fists were clenched, his eyes burning with fear and rage. Abbie could tell it was taking all his strength and self-control not to rush Abbie, attack her, as he had at the police station.
Abbie didn't move, didn't tense, didn't prepare herself to flee or counter attack. Ndidi was a grieving husband and frightened father. If he needed to attack her, he could. Abbie hadn't brought her gun because she knew she wouldn't need it. She had something the detective wanted. That he needed.
"Answer me," he said.
Abbie took a step further into the light and glanced into the boot of Ndidi's car.
"We got her out a couple of minutes before your friends arrived," said Abbie. "She's with my allies, en route to our safe house."
The allies were Christine and Ana. The safehouse was Christine's flat. The hope was to get their new addition up the stairs and into the apartment without drawing any nosey neighbours' attention. Should be fine at this time of night, but they would be careful.
"You need to bring her back. Right now."
His voice was on the verge of turning into a shout. Realising he was losing control, Ndidi looked left and right. Checking for flashing lights in nearby homes. Abbie kept her eyes on the detective.
"No," she said. "You're coming with me.”
She turned to walk away, and now he did dart down the drive. She heard his heavy breathing and clomping feet as he raced towards her. Then his sweaty hand was around her wrist, tugging her.
Abbie didn't resist. She spun into his pull and came towards him as though they were dancing.
"You're working with them," Ndidi said, the fear growing as he held Abbie tighter. "A tricked me."
Abbie shook her head. "Quite the opposite. I told you already I know who kidnapped your daughter. His name is Orion Becker, not A, and more than anything, he loves to cause heartbreak and misery. If you do what he says, he'll bring you to him. When you arrive, he'll murder Isabella in front of you, laugh over your tears and desperation, then put a bullet in your head. That's what happens if you do things your way."
Ndidi was shaking his head. Abbie didn't know if he was listening.
"You have no idea. If A brings me anywhere near my daughter, I'll save her. I'll do whatever it takes. No force on this Earth will stop me protecting my Isabella."
"Like you protected your wife?"
Ndidi's hand slipped from Abbie's wrist, and the detective stumbled back as though Abbie had punched him.
A punch would have been better. A fist hurt, but Abbie's words had been a knife in his gut, twisting, pushing, tearing.
"I'm sorry," she said. "That was a despicable thing to say, but you must understand the situation. I know you have the will and determination to do whatever it takes to save your daughter, and that's an asset. But it can only take you so far. I promise if you don't avail yourself of my help, you and your daughter will both die."
"I don't want your help," said Ndidi, without considering her proposition. His anger and fear were stealing his ability to think clearly.
"I thought you might feel that way," said Abbie. "That's why we took the decision out of your hands. You're welcome."
"Fuck you. You don't care about my daughter."
"Wrong. I don't care about Isabella as much as you do because no one could, but I do care. I’d give my life to save hers. You have my word."
Ndidi was breathing heavily. He was staring at Abbie. Still, she stood in the glow of the security light and maybe he could see the sincerity in her eyes. Perhaps he simply realised he could not force Abbie to change her mind. She'd pulled the rug from beneath him and with it taken all the choices he'd thought he had. She was in control.
"You have the woman?" he said. "The one from my boot."
Abbie nodded. "I've a car a couple of minutes walk down the road. Come with me, I'll take you to her. I promise."
Ndidi considered. His mind was racing, he still wanted to discover a way to reclaim control of the situation, but there wasn't one. He wasn't going to talk to his fellow police officers, so he either had to work with Abbie or force her to call her allies back. He was no idiot. The latter option was obviously not going to happen.
“Fine. Let’s go.” He started towards her. She looked him and down. Raised her eyebrows. “What?”
“It’s cold. You don’t want a coat?”
He looked down himself, then back at her. “I didn’t think you’d want to wait.”
Nodding, Abbie gestured to his door. "I will, if you don’t want to freeze to death. Up to you.”
There was a pause, then Ndidi nodded and about turned. He was thirty seconds. Leaving his house, he slammed the door and rushed down the drive. He glanced at his car with his still open boot. Abbie could see what he was thinking.
"We'll take my car," she said, although her car was actually Ana's car. Ana and their new captive had returned to the flat in Christine's Ford. "Come on."
She made to turn again, but he grabbed her once more.
"I don't have a choice, right now, but to try and do things your way. But I warn you, if anything happens to my daughter because of this, I'll kill you. Do you understand?"
Abbie looked into Ndidi's eyes.
"I believe you'll try. And if Isabella does die because of my actions, guilt will consume me, and I might even let you. But for now, let's think positive thoughts, shall we?"
Coat in hand, they made their way along the darkened, quiet street towards where Abbie had parked Ana’s car.
Even in the darkness, Abbie could see the way Ndidi’s fingers twisted around each other, the way he kept looking over his shoulder, left and right. Naturally, he was afraid, and his fear seemed to spiral further out of control with every step. Abbie understood it. By following Becker’s rules, Ndidi had allowed himself to believe he had a degree of control. So long as he did as he was told, he would get back his daughter. Safe. He might not have liked some of the things Becker asked of him, but he could put up with it so long as it offered a clear road map to Isabella.
The problem was, Ndidi had never had the kind of control he believed. Orion Becker had played him from the beginning. Following Becker’s rules wouldn’t guarantee a happy ending. Quite the opposite.
There were no stars in the sky or didn’t seem to be. The moon looked like a torch that was fast running out of batteries. Dim. You got the impression it could go out at any moment. Abbie didn’t mind the dark. Liked it at times. Of
ten she would take strolls in the dead of night. The darkness could offer a level of peace never found in the glare of the sun.
Then again, her first encounter with the Becker’s happened as a result of such a stroll.
The darkness pressed on Ndidi like a weight and wrapped around his lungs like an internal snake. The way he lumbered along, it was as though that weight might crush him at any second.
There was only one way to release the pressure.
“The man I’ve been speaking with about my daughter,” said Ndidi. “He told me to call him A. You said he was this Orion Becker?”
“I did.”
“How can you be sure?”
Abbie glanced Ndidi’s way, then nudged him and pointed at the next left. They took it and made their way towards Ana’s car, further along the street.
They continued in silence for a few more seconds while Abbie mused over whether she should tell Ndidi anything. There was no reason not to, she supposed. Maybe it would even help. She couldn’t force the detective to work with her after all, so she might as well try to win his trust.
“I overheard one of the kidnapper’s gang talking on the phone,” she said. “This guy used the name Orion, and I wondered how many important criminals there could be with that name? Not many. Of course, it was still possible this was a different Orion, so while I was working under the assumption it was Mr Becker, I couldn’t be sure it was him until this evening.”
Ndidi glanced Abbie’s way. “But now you’re sure?”
“Now I am.”
They reached Ana’s car. Abbie tapped it then moved around to the driver’s side, unlocking it as she went. By the front doors, they each paused, facing each other over the car's roof. Ndidi’s face was half caught in a street lamp’s glow, and Abbie could see the anxiety. He wanted to ask a question but feared engaging in too much dialogue with this woman he did not trust. Not to mention, he was terrified of what might be her answer.
In the end, he couldn't stop himself from starting.
“You said if I did what this Becker asked, he would still kill my daughter.” Ndidi’s words seemed to trail into the darkness. This was set-up to the question, but the question was lodged in Ndidi's throat. Luckily Abbie knew what it was.
“No," she said. "I cannot be sure that's what he'd do. But it would be characteristic of Orion.”
“You’ve met him? Had dealings with him before?”
“Not with him, no.” Abbie looked up the street. Saw a light on in a bedroom window six or seven houses down. The curtains were closed. No one was watching, and it seemed unlikely anyone was listening. Still, it was always better to be safe than sorry. “Come on. Get in the car.”
She did and, after a few seconds, he followed her lead. When they closed the doors, triggering the soft yellow lights above their heads, Ndidi seemed to gain a little confidence. As Abbie was putting the key in the ignition, he took her wrist in his hand.
“If you’ve never met him, how can you know what he’ll do to my little girl? You’re guessing. This is all guesswork.”
Abbie sighed. Looked to where his hand gripped her wrist but didn’t yank free or tell him to get off. Not yet.
“No,” she said. “You want me to be guessing because if I’m guessing, you can write off what I have to say.”
“No, it’s not—“
“Yes, it is. And that’s fine. That’s a human reaction. You want to believe you can take the simplest path and save your daughter. The simplest path is following Becker’s instructions to the letter, not rocking the boat or pissing him off. You wish that would be enough to save Isabella and guess what, I wish it too. I really do. But it just isn’t so.”
Abbie met Ndidi’s eye as she spoke and did not look away. In the end, he did. His gaze dropped to her wrist, and on realising he still had her arm, he unclasped as though her skin was red hot. His hands came together, and he rubbed them as though beneath a tap.
“How do you know what he’ll do?” he asked. His head was bowed as if he were ashamed for having to rely on her for information. Keeping her own gaze on Ndidi, Abbie told a similar story as she had earlier to Ana and Christine. Her meeting with Orion’s mother, what she knew of Rachel’s arrest and Quintus’ death, and the file she had since had compiled not only on Orion but on the entire Becker clan.
Ndidi didn’t look up once as Abbie told her story, nor did he say a word once she was done. Awaiting questions, Abbie held her gaze on the Detective for near enough a half minute once she’d finished speaking, then turned her eyes back to the road and started the engine.
“Come on,” she said. “Let’s get out of here.”
When Ndidi offered no objective, she started the car and set off.
As Abbie drove, Ndidi remained with his hands in his lap. He looked agitated and unsure. Had he a mind, he could have grabbed the steering wheel and fired them into the nearest house. Given that would not help him save his daughter, Abbie didn't worry.
“You know who the woman in my boot was, don’t you?” Ndidi said after a minute or so of silent drive time.
“I do,” said Abbie. “I’m guessing Orion never told you who it would be?”
Ndidi shook his head. “He didn’t tell me anything more than I had to know.”
“Which was the plan you were to bring to the police,” said Abbie, “and what you were supposed to do while the fake heist was taking place?”
Ndidi looked up from his hands to Abbie. He seemed to consider her words, then shook his head. In the sweeping light of the passing street lamps, Abbie noticed his eyes narrow.
“You want me to trust you, yeah?”
Abbie gave a wry smile. “That would be ideal.”
“Yet I don’t know what’s going on. I had no idea what Orion was planning, like you said. I didn’t even know it would be a woman climbing into my boot until I saw her running past my car. Even then, it was only a guess.”
“Which makes sense,” said Abbie. “Involving you in the plan was a risk, even though Orion has your daughter’s life as security. He was always going to mitigate that risk by telling you as little as possible.”
“Exactly,” said Ndidi. “So I knew nothing, and I told Norris and Kilman, my bosses, about the heist, and they didn’t suspect anything was up. They had no idea it was a diversion…”
Breaking off, Ndidi didn’t get so far as laying out his suspicions. Nor did he have to.
“You think my knowledge levels make me untrustworthy?” Abbie surmised. “I know more than you or the police, which indicates I must be working with Orion. Yeah?”
“Something like that.”
“Only if that were the case, why would we be having this conversation? We’ve already emptied your boot, taken what Orion wants. In which case, the only reason to lure you into my car would be to take you off somewhere quiet to murder you. Is that what you think’s going on?”
“The thought had crossed my mind.”
“More than crossed it, by the looks,” said Abbie. “But you got in anyway because what choice did you have? Getting back what I took is your only hope of saving your daughter. If you didn’t get in the car, Isabella was definitely finished, at which point your life wouldn’t be worth living anyway.” She glanced at Ndidi. “That about the size of it?”
“Pretty much,” said Ndidi. “Like you said earlier, I failed to protect my wife. I lose Isabella as well; life’s not worth living.”
“Trusting me is your only hope.”
To this, Ndidi did not respond. Perhaps he was afraid his voice would crack with fear if he did. The thought that Abbie might murder him was terrifying, not because Ndidi feared for his own life but because it meant Orion would have no reason to keep Isabella alive. That was the thought that brought the Detective to the brink of a panic attack.
Abbie shook her head. “I was able to join the dots and work out what was going on tonight faster than anyone else because I had vital information everyone else was missing. Predominantly, the name of the per
petrator.”
“Orion Becker?”
“Right. I’ve already explained my involvement with the Becker clan and my research on their gang, their family, and their exploits. That foreknowledge put me on the front foot in discovering what was going on the moment I so much as suspected the eldest of Margaret’s children was involved. Neither you nor any of your cop friends had that advantage. I also knew corrupt police officers were seemingly working both sides of this heist. I was suspicious that anyone could entice officers in Lucky Draw’s pocket to play traitor to those dangerous crooks. Again, your superiors didn’t have that information.”
Abbie took a turn. Christine's flat wasn't far, so Abbie didn’t have long to explain. Something she wanted to do, having decided it was the best way to win Ndidi’s trust and get him to play ball.
“Once I knew Orion was involved, I couldn’t convince myself the robbery made sense. This is a fugitive, one of the most wanted men in the country. So few jobs could I believe would entice him to put his head above the parapet and risk arrest. Although I tried to persuade myself the casino was one, it wouldn’t wash. And that was before I considered the issue of corrupt cops switching sides as mentioned, plus the compounding of your involvement. As well as the corrupt cops Orion already has to do his bidding, he gets a new detective under the thumb. But does he ask you to keep the cops from the casino? No. Quite the opposite: he wants you to ensure they’ll be there.”
Abbie shook her head, frustrated at herself in the story's retelling.
“When you consider all that,” she said, “it isn’t surprising I worked out what was going on before the police. What’s surprising is that it took me so long. In fact, I may never have worked it out before coming to you this evening if not for a throwaway comment made by one of my allies. Because when you consider why Kilman was shot, the only reasoning that fits with what you then asked of your superiors isn’t that Orion was worried Kilman would quash the heist but that he would quash it too quickly. A sizeable portion of the police force clearly had to be out of the way for as long as possible; ipso facto, the heist was a diversion. The actual job was taking place elsewhere. Once you accept that, everything falls into place. Orion didn’t have to convince the corrupt cops to switch sides because he's working with rather than against Lucky Draw. He’s paid them for the use of their building for the heist and for the benefit of their cops while he’s in town. That also explains why he didn’t pull out when it was clear Lucky Draw had to know what he was planning."
