Lorne surveyed the view of the passing countryside, thankful that she didn’t have a chatty driver bombarding her with inane conversation. She felt strangely relaxed in spite of the stress she’d dealt with for most of the day. Every now and again, she took a hopeful glance out of the back window to see if there was any sign of Tony. There wasn’t. She drummed her fingers on her knees and wondered what lay ahead of her. The squeal of tyres tightened her stomach, and she prepared herself for the impact.
Once the white van hit the side of the car, the taxi driver shot out of the vehicle, and with his fists raised, he threatened the other driver. Lorne jumped out of the car and inserted herself in between the angry men. “Stop it. Accidents happen.”
“Nice touch, lady. Not to my bloody taxi, it doesn’t. It’s frigging new! I’ve only had it a week. Look at it—it’s a write-off!”
Lorne cringed when she turned to examine the damage. “Hardly, but it’s not in good nick, granted. Look, I’m sorry to rush you, but I need to get to the airfield.”
The driver curled his lip and looked at her with contempt. “Are you effing kidding me? How do you propose I take you? In that?”
“Well, yes.”
The driver shook his head and mumbled under his breath as he walked back to the driver’s door. “Stupid woman hasn’t got a bloody clue!”
Lorne didn’t know whether to laugh openly at the man’s chuntering or slap the cuffs on him for insulting a police officer.
The driver returned, holding a pen and paper in his hand. “I want your name and address.”
Lorne pointed at her chest. “Mine? Why?”
“You’re a witness to the accident, a valuable one at that, given what you do for a living.”
“Before I do that, I want to know if you’ve requested a replacement cab?”
“Yep, it’s all in hand. The other driver should be here within fifteen minutes.”
Lorne flung her arms out to the side. “What? Nothing sooner?”
“Nope, take it or leave it, lady. Make up your mind quick if you want to leave it, and I’ll get onto the control room again.”
She shrugged. “Doesn’t look like I have a lot of choice, does it?”
“That’s right.” He held his pad up and stepped in front of the other driver. “Come on, hand ’em over. I want your name and address and insurance details.”
“Ah,” the driver of the white van said, “I haven’t got insurance. I was going to pay for it this weekend when my wages have come through.”
“Shit! So you’re uninsured and someone has let you loose on the road without you knowing your highway code. Is that it? Christ, this day just keeps getting better and better.”
Think yourself lucky, mate! You should see what my day has involved thus far.
Out of the blue, the van driver whacked the taxi driver in the jaw, knocking him to the ground.
Lorne cursed under her breath and dipped her hand in her pocket to retrieve her cuffs. “Not a smart move, buster. You’re under arrest,” she told the van driver.
“Shit! You’re a bloody copper? What for?”
“Assault.”
He held up his hands in resignation. Lorne looked around to find somewhere she could secure the man to until uniformed officers arrived. In the end, she hooked one end of the cuffs to the steering wheel of the van and the other one around his wrist. By then, the taxi driver was beginning to stir.
He glanced up at her and rubbed his jaw. “I hope you’ve arrested him?”
“I have. Let’s just all remain calm until help arrives, eh?” Lorne pleaded.
“Have you rung the station?”
“Not yet. Do you have a mobile I can use?”
Puzzled, he said, “Are you telling me you don’t carry a phone with you?”
“It’s a long story, one that I’d rather not go into if you don’t mind.” Lorne held out her hand for his phone. He slapped it into her open palm and muttered something incomprehensible. Her mind went blank as she struggled to remember the number of the station; otherwise, she would have called Katy. Instead, she dialled 999. “Police please, there’s been an accident.” She gave the woman on control her location and a brief outline of what had occurred.
“I see, ma’am. We’ll get a car out there ASAP.”
“Great. Emphasise the need for urgency, if you will. As soon as another cab arrives, I need to leave the scene immediately.”
“I understand, ma’am.”
She spent the next ten minutes warding off scowls from both men until finally a patrol car arrived to take care of the two men. Not long after that, a replacement taxi turned up. The new driver tried to get into a conversation with the other taxi driver, but Lorne flashed her warrant card and asked him to get on the road right away.
The driver tried to squeeze information out of her about how the accident had happened, but Lorne remained quiet, silently begging him to hush. She regretted not continuing her journey with the other driver.
“How long will it take us to get there?”
“It depends on the traffic. Rush hour is upon us. Between thirty and forty minutes. In a hurry are you?”
“Yes, you could say that.”
“Maybe you should carry one of those police blue lights in your pocket.” He laughed at his own joke, but ceased quickly when Lorne grunted her annoyance at the quip.
Yep, it’s going to be a long journey now!
***
“Hi, Katy. It’s Tony. We’ve lost Lorne. She gave us the slip, I’m guessing under instructions, at the pier.”
“Damn. That’s not good news, Tony. Things are accelerating pretty damn quickly.”
“Shit! In what way?”
“The gang are on the move. Sean’s tailing them for now, but his pilot is being forced to use more fuel to try and dodge another attack.”
“Right. Well, rather than staying out here, twiddling our bloody thumbs, you tell us what to do. Where do you want us? It’s your call, Katy.”
“I don’t know what to suggest. We’re all in limbo until we know what’s going on with the lorry. I have two ARTs trying to track it down, plus Sean up in the chopper. Seriously, I think it would be best if you try and locate Lorne yourself.”
“How the heck are we supposed to do that, Katy?”
“I know; it was a stupid comment. She’s out there, cut off from us. It sucks big time.”
“You’re not wrong. I have an idea. Let me make a call, and I’ll get back to you.”
Tony disconnected the call and immediately dialled another number.
“Who are you ringing?” Joe asked.
He winked at his partner and held up a finger, telling him to wait a moment. “Hi, Carol. How are you feeling now?”
Joe tutted and shook his head. He was a total sceptic.
“A lot better now my head has stopped spinning. Any news, love?”
“First of all, we know where Charlie is. We believe she’s with the other hostages.”
Carol gasped. “Oh my, that’s not good news.”
“I’d rather be inclined to disagree with you there, Carol. The likelihood of the hostages being hurt is minimal, I’d say. I could be talking nonsense, of course—we have no way of telling how it will pan out once the kidnappers have got their hands on the ransom money they’re demanding.”
“Okay, what about Lorne? Is she safe?”
“That’s really why I’m ringing you. We’ve lost contact with her. It was an intentional strategy from the kidnappers. I hate to ask this when you’re feeling so fragile, and I’m aware how much energy channelling your spirits takes out of you, but we’re desperate, Carol. Can you see if you can give us some form of clue where to look next?”
Carol fell quiet for a moment. “I see a long, long stretch of road. No traffic, just tarmac.”
“Okay, I guess that rules out the M25 then.”
“There’s really no need for you to worry about her. She’s in safe hands.”
“At this exact moment maybe. She got a ride in a cab. Who knows where that cab will lead her and who’ll be awaiting her arrival at the other end?”
“That’s not what I’m picking up, Tony. Hush a second...”
Tony tapped his foot on the pavement and swayed gently back and forth as if Carol’s om mantra were putting him under a spell. Joe clicked his fingers in front of Tony’s face. Tony snapped out of his trance and held the phone away from his ear until Carol spoke aloud.
“Don’t laugh when I say this—you know how this works. Pete is watching over her; he’ll ensure nothing bad happens to her. I have no ill-feelings about this. Yes, she’s in danger, but he’ll ring her with a shield of protection. Sam is there in the background, too. However, Pete is the one who has been handed the task to watch over her from above.”
“That’s all very reassuring, Carol. I appreciate what you’re saying. Now, can you home in on a location? This road, does it lead to a deserted warehouse perhaps? Is that why it’s empty?”
“It’s all rather fuzzy still—my head, not the visions. Let me try and focus more.” After a brief pause, she added, “There is some kind of huge building. I can roughly see the outline. Perhaps it is a warehouse after all. I’m sorry I can’t add more, Tony. I truly am.”
“You’ve done really well, considering you’re recovering from a bump on the head. We’ll find her. I’ll start searching the map now for possible locations. I take it this road is still in this area, the London area?”
“It’s hard to say. I think so.”
“Thanks, Carol. I’ll keep you informed.”
“Please do. I’m praying that Charlie and Lorne remain safe and that their feistiness doesn’t land them in hot water.”
“I’m hoping that too.”
Tony ended the call and peered over Joe’s shoulder. His partner had already pulled up Google Earth on his mobile.
“The problem is the size of area we’re dealing with,” Joe said.
“I know. It’s all we have to go on, mate. A long straight road...”
Joe looked at him, and in sync, their eyes widened. They both shouted, “A runway!”
Tony rang Katy again. “Katy, we have an idea where Lorne might be heading. I just rang Carol, and she told us that Lorne would end up on a long stretch of road with nothing on it. There would also be a huge building in sight. Well, I immediately thought of some kind of disused warehouse, but now Joe and I think we should be looking for a runway.”
“Wow! Really. Shit! You think they’re going to get her on a plane and transfer her out of the country?”
“Well, I hadn’t really thought that far ahead, but now you’ve mentioned it, yes, that’s a succinct possibility.”
“What about the hostages? Did Carol pick up anything about them? Will they be harmed in any way? Furthermore, what about Charlie?”
“Honestly, I don’t know. All Carol picked up was that Lorne, although she’s in danger, Pete is protecting her. We need you to help us find this runway or airfield, Katy. I doubt that we’re looking at one of the major airports in or around London.”
“How do you know that, Tony?”
“I don’t really, I’m speculating more than anything. Too much security, for a start. They’ll want to keep her out of the public eye. I would, if I were in their shoes, knowing her reputation.”
“You’re right. So AJ and I will look for a smaller airfield that takes private planes. How’s that?”
“Perfect. Can you perhaps look at a thirty-mile radius of the centre of London? It needs to be fairly accessible for the kidnappers, I would have thought.”
“Let me see what we can find and get back to you.”
“We’ll search for some kind of transport in the interim.” Tony watched Joe walk away and approach two men. He pulled out a wad of notes and returned wearing a broad smile and carrying two motorcycle helmets. “Money talks, eh?”
Joe nodded. “What better form of transport than those beauties.” He nodded at the pristine Kawasaki motorcycles.
“Jesus, I haven’t ridden one of those since I was a spook! Not sure how the leg will hold up.”
“Nonsense. You’ll be fine. I told the guys we were MI6 agents in a covert operation and promised to take care of them.”
“Stretching the truth a little there, mate,” Tony said as they crossed the road to collect the vehicles.
The men seemed anxious but handed over the keys anyway. Tony and Joe climbed on their respective bikes, revved the engines then set off.