Captive Surrender (29 page)

Stephen blatantly ignored
the implied threat and moved over to Robbie, so that he could undo
the ties that bound him to the chair he sat on.

“
I wouldn’t
try to leave if I were you,” Rousseau drawled but made no attempt
to stop him.

Once he was free, Stephen
helped the boy to his feet and stood him between Harry and himself.
He bent down to whisper in Robbie’s ear. “If anything happens, run
like hell for home and don’t stop. Rufus is there.”

“
It seems
that you have been busy while I have been away,” Rousseau drawled
to nobody in particular. Although he tried to appear unconcerned,
anger was evident on his face. All of the months of hard work and
expense had all been for nothing. He turned cold eyes on the man of
business, who stood petrified behind the desk.

“
We have
everything we need,” Harry replied, keeping his voice neutral. “It
seems as though that you are back to square one, Rousseau. With
Beaulieu dead, and several of your contacts missing, your future
looks more than a little uncertain.” He shared a knowing look with
Stephen in an attempt to provoke the Frenchman into action.
Although both men would prefer not to have the lad present when
they brought the man down, at least they knew that he was alive and
well.

“
Beaulieu is
not dead.”

“
I am afraid
that he died several weeks ago,” Stephen retorted and turned to
watch Taylor, who had begun to frantically search through the
papers again. He turned back to Rousseau. “He isn’t going to find
what you are looking for. We have the deeds to the houses you have
purchased, and several other papers besides.” The accounts, and
lists of contacts, would indeed come in handy, and would go a long
way toward ensuring that the rest of the French spies could be
rounded up quickly, and with a lot less risk to the men of the Star
Elite.

Harry shifted beside him.
Stephen flicked him a glance but, before he could look back at
Rousseau, a loud bang shattered the silence and reverberated around
the room. Robbie screamed and clutched the back of Stephen’s shirt,
but he made no attempt to try to get the boy to break his hold.
Hiding behind Stephen prevented the young lad from seeing an inch
wide hole appear in the dead centre of Taylor’s forehead, or the
man’s blood splatter up the wall behind him.

Although he wasn’t
desensitised to death, he had seen enough of it, and been in enough
situations like this one, to know when to hide his disgust.
Rousseau would use any sign of weakness against them at any given
moment, and Stephen couldn’t lose sight of the fact that they had a
young witness who could be scarred for life if he had to witness
any more bloodshed than was absolutely necessary.

“
I wouldn’t
try anything,” the Frenchman drawled. “I have another gun on my
lap.” He took his time to reload the gun he had just used with
smooth calculation. He clearly wanted to draw the moment out and
raise the tension enough to provoke either Stephen, or Harry, into
doing something foolish.

“
What do you
expect us to try?” Stephen asked. “We have your paperwork, and the
boy, and know who you are, as well as where to find you, and your
associates.”

“
Do you think
that you will leave this house alive?” Harry demanded. His patience
with the man’s theatrics was waning rapidly and he had to fight the
urge to just shoot the man right there and then. Although Rousseau
had a gun on his lap, Harry was lightning fast and was confident
the Frenchman would never speak again even before he lifted a hand
off his lap. But this was Stephen’s investigation, and it was down
to his colleague to make the decisions as to the Frenchman’s fate.
Harry was just there for support and, if it came right down to it,
he was the one who would protect Robbie, while Stephen dealt with
Rousseau.

“
I have my
men at the ready,” Rousseau challenged; his eyes were as cold as
his voice.

“
They are no
good to you. As far as we can tell, you didn’t pay them enough to
stick around and see off danger.” Stephen’s lips quirked into an
arrogant smirk. “You see, we did a thorough sweep of the grounds
and house before we got here. Whatever men you did have seem to
have abandoned you, so I am afraid that you are on your own now.”
He glanced dismissively at the spot where Taylor had stood to make
his point.

“
You thought
you were so clever, didn’t you Rousseau?” Harry added nonchalantly.
“Although your contacts got things wrong the first time round, and
lost the first chain of houses you originally established, you
managed to steal and swindle enough funds from the rich and stupid
to furnish your coffers with enough cash to purchase a second set
of houses. Unfortunately, funds were limited this time, weren’t
they, Rousseau? You didn’t have enough cash spare, and couldn’t
send home for any given that everyone you knew and considered
reliable had either vanished or was dead.”

Stephen sighed and saw
the flicker of doubt on the Frenchman’s face. “I have been
following you for several months now. Although you were very
clever, you made one fatal error.”

“
I know that
I shouldn’t have relied on Levant,” Rousseau sighed and nodded
toward the body on the floor. “Or that foppish fool over there.
They were both incredibly stupid, but Levant was easy to direct,
and easy to fool. The idiot thought that he was genuinely working
for a Lord of the realm who wanted to purchase a property portfolio
and keep it away from his grasping wife. Levant tried to convince
everyone that he was someone rich and wealthy, but he had the
manners of an ingrate, and the intelligence of a country
wastrel.”

“
He had no
idea who you were, did he?” Stephen knew that Will had played the
part of employed thug to be able to keep an eye on Levant, as well
as the coffers.

“
The idiot
was so busy spending our money that he didn’t pay attention like he
was told to. He hired you,” Rousseau pointed one of the guns in
Stephen’s direction. “I knew you were different. I watched you, you
see. You had too many eyes.” For emphasis, the Frenchman opened his
eyes wide and flicked a glance randomly around the room. “You were
too calm and controlled and I couldn’t find any of the bodies you
were sent to get rid of.” He shook his head. “You were very clever.
I could have done with you on my side.”

“
I am afraid
that I am far more than a hired thug,” Stephen sighed. “I work for
His Majesty’s government, you see, and have been sent to ensure
that you are brought to justice; or killed, one way or the other.”
He heard Robbie’s gasp but didn’t bother to turn around; he would
explain to the boy later. Until then, all he had to do was keep
Rousseau talking.

“
I made no
mistakes, it was that damned idiot Levant,” Rousseau
argued.

Stephen shook his head.
“I am afraid that the big mistake you made was setting your sights
on Cragdale Manor and its beach.” He knew he was starting to irk
the man when Rousseau began to shuffle in his seat. The tell-tale
ruddiness that flooded the man’s cheeks warned of an unspoken anger
that wouldn’t take too much to bring to the surface.
“Unfortunately, you have to establish a relatively easy way to get
your replacements into and out of the country, don’t you? Despite
your desperate attempts to re-establish a network of people to help
you, I am afraid that this time round, my colleagues and I have
been one step behind you, clearing up in your wake and ensuring
that your plans never come to fruition.”

“
We now have
the ownership deeds to all of the properties you purchased. Putting
them in Taylor’s name was a huge mistake because he is now dead.
Because of the man’s association to you, the properties will be
turned over to the government, who will try to find the owners who
have mysteriously vanished, or will keep them for future sale, or
use. Whatever, it is irrelevant to you really because they are no
longer yours.” He sighed and tipped his head to one side to study
the Frenchman. “It isn’t as if you are ever going to have a use for
them anyway,” Stephen explained almost apologetically. “You see,
the local magistrate has gathered enough evidence against your
thugs to ensure that they will be arrested and brought to trial for
harassment, murder, and being traitors to king and country by
aiding you. Humphrey, bless his greedy heart, was enough of a
glutton to sing like a canary when we held out the pies, and he was
able to provide us with the details of everyone you killed, he got
rid of, and Levant threatened.”

A cold flash of anger
swept over the Frenchman’s face. Stephen watched Rousseau’s finger
twitch on the gun’s trigger, and contemplated whether he should
draw his own gun and shoot first. Unfortunately, he couldn’t
exactly kill the man in cold blood, especially while he was sitting
down. However, if Stephen didn’t draw this to a halt to soon,
Rousseau would undoubtedly start to take pot shots, and they
couldn’t afford that with Robbie present. At some point, the
Frenchman would want Harry and Stephen out of the way and, from
what they had seen him do to Taylor, he was a crack shot. Any
moment now, either one of them could be picked off.

It was imperative that
Stephen keep control of the situation. While he kept his stance
relaxed and his face impassive, his mind raced frantically to find
a way to get the boy out of the room without breaking eye contact
with Rousseau. He didn’t need to worry though, because a rattle at
the window drew Rousseau’s attention. When the Frenchman pushed to
his feet, the break in concentration was all Stephen
needed.

He was aware that Harry
shoved Robbie to the floor, but didn’t bother to look at them. He
kept his eyes locked on the Frenchman, took aim, and pulled the
trigger. The echo of gunfire exploded for a second time around the
room. This time though, it was followed by a loud, high-pitched
scream. Rousseau staggered back and stared at his gnarled, blood
stained hand before he turned almost feral eyes on Stephen, who
didn’t hesitate to shoot the man’s other hand.

Stephen wanted to order
Robbie to run home and not stop until he got there, but had no idea
who was outside the door. Given that nobody had arrived in response
to gunfire that took Taylor’s life, he was apt to think that there
was nobody else on the estate; that the men had indeed fled, or
been killed. He knew that it was far safer to keep Robbie with
them. He did, however, send a silent prayer of forgiveness to
Prudence for what the boy had experienced over the
evening.

He turned his attention
back to the Frenchman who, having been rendered useless, reverted
back to his mother tongue and began to speak loudly in French as he
held his damaged hands aloft. Although Stephen didn’t understand a
lot of what was shouted, he was fairly certain that he had heard a
swear word or two in there somewhere.

He watched Harry lunge
across the room and tackle the Frenchman to the floor. Despite the
pain, the man swung wildly with his bloodied hands and cursed as he
desperately tried to fight the pain and break free. Although the
man was injured, Harry didn’t hesitate to draw one large fist back,
and plant it firmly in the middle of the man’s face. With a
satisfying, bone crunching thud, Rousseau fell to the ground
without a murmur.

Stephen and Harry dragged
the unconscious man across the room to the chair Robbie had been
tied to. Once the man was seated, they tied him securely to the
wooden frame before he could slump to the floor. Relieved that it
was finally over, Stephen stood and contemplated Rousseau’s limp
body for a moment before he turned to look at Harry.

At that moment, he
realised that Robbie was sobbing into his hands while Harry patted
him on the back and murmured nonsensically to him.

“
God, I am
sorry, Robbie,” Stephen muttered. He hurried across the room and
barely got within a few feet before Robbie lunged across the short
distance toward him. Thin arms wrapped tightly around his waist as
the young boy clung on for dear life and continued to
cry.

“
I thought it
was you,” Robbie cried. “I thought it was you who got
shot.”

Stephen mentally cursed
at the sight of the horror on the young boy’s face. Although
Rousseau had been stopped from being any further threat to anyone,
they couldn’t lose sight of the fact that they had no idea if any
of the man’s hired thugs remained outside and were waiting for
further orders.

It was far too dangerous
to remain at Dinnington and wait for help to arrive. Stephen was
fairly certain that Rufus wouldn’t just leave his protective post
up at Cragdale without being dragged out. Someone, either Stephen
or Harry, had to go and get help.

“
I will go,”
Harry sighed. “Move the boy into another room and stay
safe.”

“
Are you
sure?” Although Stephen wanted to get Robbie back to Prudence as
quickly as possible, it was safer if they hid in the relative
safety of the house rather than venture out into the darkness. At
least inside the huge house, there were plenty of places they could
hide if Rousseau’s men came to look for them. However, the young
boy’s distress hadn’t diminished now that the threat of danger had
been eradicated, and it would be almost impossible to hide anywhere
with him and keep him quiet enough to avoid detection.

“
Let’s get
Rousseau down into the cellars and out of the way. He can stay down
there until we come back for him,” Harry suggested and motioned
toward the chair.