“Hi, Katy. Bloody hell. Thought we’d lost contact for good then.”
“Sean! Thank God. What happened?”
“One of the shots must have hit its target and knocked out our communication system, if only for a few minutes. Right, I’m here now. What’s the reinforcement’s status?”
“They’re on their way.”
“Good, I hope they’re coming in force. These guys mean bloody business.”
“I enforced that urgency upon the commanding officer. He said they intend hitting the place with two teams; that should cover it. Where are you now?”
“We’re going to hang around out here, Katy. View things from a distance from now on. The trouble is that I have no idea what’s going on at the farm. They could be up to all sorts in their blind panic, including killing the hostages.”
“Crap, don’t say that. They wouldn’t do that surely; that would be illogical. While they have the hostages, they’ll still be able to call the shots.”
“Yeah, but then once their plans go awry, you know as well as I do, panic can lead these types to be unpredictable.”
“Good job Lorne is out of contact with us at the moment. If she knew they had Charlie, there would be hell to pay.”
“Let’s keep it that way. Any news from Tony as regards to his whereabouts?”
“He called in a few minutes ago. He’s located Joe and Lorne. They’re on a boat cruising the river at present.”
“What’s that all about? These guys certainly get off on taking the piss, don’t they?”
“At least we know she’s safe again. My assumption is that what has occurred at the farm will probably put an end to this Warrior’s futile cat-and-mouse game now.”
“You’re probably right. Keep me informed as and when you receive any info. We’ll keep an eye open for the ARTs here.”
Sean disconnected the call and instructed the pilot to circle the farm again, with caution.
***
Lorne searched the immediate area for a taxi rank. There has to be one around here, surely!
Relieved when a silver Mercedes taxi pulled up, she ran to the front of the queue and flashed her warrant card. “Sorry, it’s a police emergency.”
The disgruntled man helped his bemused wife out of the backseat of the car and objected under his breath.
Lorne gave the couple another apologetic smile then hopped in the back of the car. “Fairoaks Airfield. I need you to put your foot down; I’m on a mission.”
“Right you are, love. Never been asked to do anything like this before,” the driver in his thirties replied in a strong cockney accent.
Lorne couldn’t help but smile at his response. If people’s lives hadn’t been at stake, she would probably have enjoyed the day’s adventures. As it was, she was getting tired and frustrated about being a pawn in Warrior’s ludicrous game. She glanced out of the window as the car sped away; Tony was standing on the kerb, thumping his fist against his good leg. With no other taxis in sight, she realised the chances of him keeping up with her were minimal. She was on her own again. I’m sorry, darling. It looks like this one is down to me from now on.
***
Warrior watched the last of the hostages being loaded into the back of the lorry. He had a firm grip on Charlie. Her look of disgust and open desire to throttle him didn’t go unnoticed, either. “Why? Let them go. At the end of the day, isn’t this really about me and my mother?”
He had to admire the girl’s guts and astuteness. “Shut up. It’s not all about you. Well, in a way it is, but ultimately, there’s thirty mill of goods sitting in there. You’re an added bonus if you like.” Charlie raised her leg and stamped on his foot. Warrior tightened his grip with one hand and slapped her around the face with the other. “Feisty little shit, ain’t you?”
“I have my moments. I’m not scared of you guys. I’ve been in tighter fixes than this and come out of them unscathed. I can tell what a crap setup this is. You haven’t got a clue what you’re doing. Your men couldn’t even take the police helicopter down. And talking of the police, you really think they won’t attack this place with armed men soon? Are you nuts? Or just plain stupid?”
“You’ll get what’s coming to you, bitch. For now, I’m under strict orders not to hurt you, but the boss said I could do what I like to you once you’ve been delivered to your final destination. I might even let the other guys take their turn with you, too, as punishment for being so lippy.”
Charlie tilted her head back and laughed. “You think that threat is going to scare me?” She looked inside the lorry at the terrified faces of the women and children tied to their seats. One by one, the women turned away. It didn’t concern Charlie; she’d been in the same situation before and had grown in stature since her time under the Unicorn’s confinement. Her willpower and survival instincts would see her through the ordeal; she was confident about that.
Warrior leaned towards her and shouted in her ear, “It should effing worry you, girl. If you thought the Unicorn was bad, he was an absolute pussycat to my men. You’d be well advised to shut up and just enjoy the ride for now, because we have a different form of ride in store for you later.” He laughed, and so did the men around them.
Charlie looked at him, her eyes narrowing in anger. “Words are cheap,” she taunted.
The remark earned her another slap before Warrior ordered her to get in the vehicle. Sneering, Johnny tied her roughly then ran his hands down her neck and over her breasts. He tweaked her nipple. Charlie refused to cry out in pain. She needed to keep up the pretence that the men didn’t frighten her. Displaying some of her mother’s spirit was the only way she was going to get out of the scenario alive. I’ll make you proud of me, Mum. Once all the hostages were restrained, the men locked the back of the lorry. In the darkness, the children began to scream and cry out for their mothers. As her eyes adjusted to the darkness, Charlie asked, “Is everyone all right?”
One voice replied, “Yes, barely. No thanks to you.”
“I’ve been in a similar situation before. I assure you being carefree and feisty is the only way for us to survive this.”
The woman who had spoken before snorted. “I think you’re wrong, young lady. Your foolishness is likely to get you, and us, killed in the process. Now shut up. Don’t try and drag us into your ridiculously naive plan. I think I speak for all of us. Don’t I, ladies?”
“You do. I want no part of your outrageous plan,” said one of the other women, then a little voice in the corner agreed.
Charlie shook her head. “Fine. That suits me. But you have my word on this, ladies. I will get out of this fix alive.”
“We’ll see,” the first woman replied coarsely.
Well that was unexpected. Looks like you’re on your own in this, Charlie girl! She shrugged her acceptance as the lorry pulled away.
***
Sean pointed at the lorry below. “They’re leaving. Shit! Where are the reinforcements?” He rang the station, and Katy picked up.
“Where are they? The kidnappers are getting away.”
“Shit! I’ll get onto them ASAP. They assured me they were on their way. I’ll get back to you in a mo with an update, boss.”
Sean disconnected the call. “Wonder where they are heading. Damn, I didn’t see the lorry back there, did you?”
The pilot shook his head. “They could be heading anywhere. I think we should still keep our distance just in case they open fire on us again.”
“Agreed,” Sean replied before he answered his ringing mobile. “Katy? What did they say?”
“There was some kind of hold-up with one of the teams. I again specified the urgency, and they’ve assured me it’s all in hand and that they’re on their way.”
“Well, it’s going to be too late. The lorry is already five minutes ahead of them. I’m not privy to their route, so have no idea where to send them. Jesus, this is a logistical nightmare.”
“You’re not wrong there. Can you continue to follow them?”
“We’ll do our best with the fuel we have.” Sean looked over at the gauges on the dashboard, and the pilot pointed at the fuel gauge. “We’ve got about half a tank.”
“What about if we set up some kind of roadblock? Will that help?” Katy suggested.
“It might if we knew what direction they were heading in. At the moment, the lorry is still making its way down the country lanes. The main road is coming up about five miles ahead. We’ll know more then. Standby, Katy. I’ll call you back when we reach it.”
The pilot weaved in and out and circled the lorry, keeping his movements erratic in case the gang opened fire again. Once they reached the main road, Sean called the station again. “Katy, it looks to me like the lorry is heading for the M25. Which direction it takes then, I have no idea.”
“Great! They couldn’t be heading for that motorway at a worse time. It’s almost six, and the rush-hour traffic will be building soon. It won’t be long before it lives up to its tag of being the world’s largest car park.”
“Yep, my thoughts exactly. If only we could figure out a way of cutting it off before the lorry reaches it.”
“I hear you, boss, except going down that route could endanger the hostages’ lives.”
“I’m aware of that, Sergeant. I’m just fed up with sitting back and letting this gang walk all over us. Aren’t you?”
“Of course I am. There’s no point us falling out about this. What do you want me to do at this end? If I were running the show, I’d hold off trying to intercept the lorry. Gather all the relative teams and form a convoy, ready to set up a rescue attempt once the vehicle has come to a standstill.”
“Okay, we’ll do things your way. Notify all the teams, including the ARTs, to remain on standby and give them our location, Katy. I’ll be in touch soon.”