Counterpoint (28 page)

Max adjusted the sensitivity of the
receiver to its lowest setting and as he approached one hotel the
blip got stronger and the other, it was weaker. Now they knew which
building Philippe was in.

Geoff Collins had also caught up with
Philippe and his four men. As they went up by lift, he raced up the
stairs, to watch each floor. They came out on the sixth floor and
made their way to room 620.

Was Amy there, or somewhere else, he
now had to find out, so he waited patiently for half an hour,
listening outside the door.

Max and Carla were sure they had the
right building. Their plan to draw Philippe, his men, and Amy out
was utterly audacious. Carla went up a floor where it was quiet and
free of guests, leaving Max outside the entrance. She set the fire
alarm ringing at the break-glass point. She knew the security
cameras would record her, but by the time the hotel security team
reviewed them, she would be long gone.

Geoff Collins was about to set off an
alarm himself, but now he held back and watched everyone on the
floor, leave their rooms. Philippe and his four men carrying the
briefcase and wooden box were the only occupants of room 620 to
leave. Collins forced the door when the area was clear and found no
one inside. Where was Amy? Collins immediately left the
building.

“Get the car,” snapped Philippe to one
of the men, when they reached the street. “We will use another
hotel”

Max followed the man, and as he pulled
open the car door to get in, Max grabbed his neck and smashed his
head against the edge of the car roof, then bundled the unconscious
body into the car. He reclined the driver’s seat, laid the body
flat and opened a newspaper over the bloodied face, as though the
man was sleeping under it. Max frisked the body and found a small
handgun, so he pocketed it, closed the door and went back to the
hotel up a parallel street.

Philippe was in a rage because the car
had not arrived, so he sent two other men after it. The remaining
man held the wooden box, and Philippe held his brief case.

By now, the hotel management had
determined the alarm was false and invited guests to return
inside.

Collins had spotted Max and Carla and
kept out of sight. He guessed they had started the alarm. He
quickly phoned his own men and told them to deal with Philippe’s
two men who were going back to their white Mercedes; the driver
should be there, as well.

Collins sneaked in up the stairs and
went back to room 620; Philippe and his man went slowly by lift as
returning guests got out on each floor.

As Philippe approached the room, he saw
the forced door and he kicked it open. He told his man to go in
first. Philippe pulled out a gun and followed the man in. Philippe
checked the room and was satisfied no one was hiding in it, so put
his gun away. The man put the box down on a table and went out on
the balcony, whilst Philippe called room service about the
door.

The man on the balcony felt a searing
pain in his neck and was silently laid out on the floor.

Max had followed Philippe into the
hotel, and like Collins, checked which floor Philippe got out on.
With so many people milling around, there was plenty of cover.

He saw Philippe and his man had gone
into room 620 and listened at the door, held slightly open, because
of the broken lock.

Philippe had finished speaking on the
phone and just replaced the handset, when two shots rang out. They
were so close together they were almost one, followed by a thump of
a falling body, then silence.

Max looked in, gun in hand and saw
Philippe looking at Collins dead body. Drop the gun Philippe,
commanded Max. Philippe lowered the pistol carefully to the carpet
and stood facing Max, a look of intense hate and loathing on his
face.

Max smiled back, forcing himself to
ignore the intimidation. “So! Where is Amy?”

Three of Collins men entered the room
behind Max, knives drawn. Seeing Max standing there, gun in hand
with the dead body of their boss, Collins, and their target,
Philippe, they assumed Max had killed Collins. One of the men now
had a gun and aimed it at Max.

Raising his hands slowly Max asked who
they were, fearing they were more of Philippe’s men, though they
were dressed like scruffy Europeans, not smartly dressed.

“We worked for him,” said the one with
the gun, pointing with it, at Collins.

“Ah!” Said Max, smiling, “that’s good,
we are working on the same side. I own the box!” He bluffed,
pointing to it on the table.

“No you don’t, I do!” Spat
Philippe.

“Shut up” snapped Collins gunman “we
know for a fact the box does not belong to you, Collins was
recovering it from you, for a client.”

“There!” Said Max, “now that’s cleared
that up, we’d all better get out of here. The shots would have been
reported by now, and Philippe has called room service, about the
broken door. Take Philippe with us, he has to show us where he is
keeping Amy, a friend of mine,” said Max

“So Amy, Collins girlfriend, is also
your friend?” Said the gunman.

“Well, my friend’s twin sister
actually,” corrected Max as he handed the box to one of the men. He
told Philippe to carry his own briefcase and headed out of the
room, followed by Philippe and the three men.

They heard a commotion as people ran up
from below so they went up a flight and came down to the entrance
lobby, by lift.

Max knew Philippe would need persuasion
to tell them where Amy was.

“Do any of you men know where
Philippe’s men are?” Asked Max as the lift descended. "I left one
sleeping off a headache in the white Mercedes, two others went off
in the same direction as the car, and the fourth was with
Philippe," said Max.

“We eliminated the two men before they
got to the car, the one in the car was still unconscious when we
left him” confirmed the gunman.

“Only one unaccounted for then, so we
had better keep an eye open for him,” said Max, unaware the man was
dead on the balcony. Philippe scowled and said nothing.

“Do you know where we can take Philippe
and get him to tell us where Amy is?” Asked Max.

“We can use the Mercedes; it will take
six at a squeeze and take him to some derelict buildings nearby. If
Philippe won’t tell, we can probably get the unconscious guy to
talk,” Said the man with the gun in Philippe’s back.

They were outside in the street now,
and Carla was catching them up. She was apprehensive to see Max,
Philippe and the 3 men walking and talking together, carrying the
box and briefcase. Max looked around for her, he felt sure she
would be following. He beckoned her to them, and explained what
they were going to do.

“We can’t take you in the car; there is
not enough room so we will get a taxi to take you, the box and
briefcase, back to our hotel. Then you will need to get some cash
to pay these three men. By then, I will know where we can meet you.
Hopefully we will have Amy by then,” said Max. Carla looked
relieved.

“How much are you guys owed by
Collins?” Asked Max. $500 each, one of the men said. “Make it $2000
altogether then Carla, they deserve a bonus!”

Carla hailed a taxi and Max put the box
and briefcase on the back seat beside her.

Philippe had no opportunity to make a
break for it; the men gripped him firmly, and kept him at
knifepoint.

When they got back to the car, Max
checked the unconscious man’s pulse; it was strong and regular. Max
pulled the man onto the back seat, raised the driver ’s seat, and
rolled the man onto the floor. Everyone climbed in with Philippe in
the back between two men. The man with the gun drove to the
derelict buildings nearby. They left the locked car, and with
Philippe supporting his own man, they entered the gloom inside the
building.

“So, for the last time, where is Amy?”
Max questioned Philippe.

Philippe had weighed his options, such
as they were. He could be a “hard ass” and say nothing, but that
would lead to a lot of pain, and ultimately death and the
unconscious man would tell them anyway.

“I will take you there, but then what
will you do with me?” He questioned.

“I won’t be doing anything, said Max
truthfully, with Amy safe, I will have everything back as it should
be, and that is the end of it as far as I am concerned. Carla will
feel the same.”

Max had given Philippe a clear way out,
at least he had some chance now, and he could always go after the
statuette and briefcase another time. He could not do that if he
was dead!

“I’ll take you there, it is an old
warehouse nearby, we need to go by car” said Philippe.

They tied up the unconscious man with
some old wiring in case they needed him later and left for the
warehouse. Philippe was probably hoping to make a break for it, so
they were taking no chances.

Max called Carla and described where
they were; they were going to get Amy. By the time Carla got there,
they should have her safe.

They entered the building and found Amy
bound and gagged, laid in a floor duct, covered with a concrete
slab. They would never have found her, without being shown.

Amy was sobbing with relief as Max
pulled her up out of the duct, and removed her gag and bonds. She
was in a desperate state. When Carla arrived, both girls hugged and
sobbed as Max lead them back to the car.

Max returned and paid the men and asked
one of them to run them back to the hotel. He added, “Ditch the car
when you have finished with it, and I will leave you to avenge
Geoff Collins, as you see fit, I don’t like the thought of Philippe
coming after us again, either!”

The gunman smiled knowingly as Max
walked away.

Amy was heartbroken when she discovered
Geoff Collins had disappeared without even, checking out of his
hotel. She felt unable to discuss it with Carla, having lied. She
said she just popped out to the shops, when Philippe kidnapped
her.

Neither Max or Carla raised any issue
about her disobedience, they thought Amy had learned her lesson and
it was best to let the matter drop. To avoid awkward questions
about Philippe and the statuette, they decided to say Philippe had
changed his mind and agreed to take cash instead. The matter was
now closed.

The next day, Max and Carla kept their
appointment for medical tests. It was a very intensive examination
and for Max, they took MRI scans and biopsies. After all that, they
said Max was very fit and there was no cause for concern.

The report to Sam was different, it was
confirmed that the stem cell treatment for the eye damage had
somehow leaked out into his body. Max had several small low-grade
tumours in his liver, of a type they had never seen before. His
body was actively attacking the rogue cells and he was effectively
in remission. Follow up tests were required to see how things
developed.

Sam decided to keep the information to
himself and see what the next examination in six months time,
revealed. He did not want Max to become vindictive about the
experimental eye surgery that might be killing him. It was possible
Max might be killed during a mission, so that would end the
matter.

The following morning, Sam Leighton
phoned Max. Sam explained the other assignment for the two of them
was ready, and briefly outlined the details again. He asked if they
would take it. Max considered it for a moment. Sam always asked if
they would take an assignment, but it was expected of them, to say
yes. In a way, Max wanted to turn him down, because of the way he
announced that Philippe was the girl’s father.

“OK!” Said Max. “Send us the details
and we will get right on it.”

"Thanks," said Sam, and he ended the
call.

Sam’s brief for the mission arrived. In
it, he said they were to meet a survey team, searching for mineral
deposits in Africa.

We have financed the team, and to
protect our Investment, we sent one of our members along. However,
he has met with a tragic accident, and must be replaced. I need you
both to go out with the new team, check the actual survey reports
are consistent with what we are told. We have reason to believe
someone is leaking the reports to a competitor. When we complete
the survey, the competitor will strike a deal with the Governing
Party to mine the minerals. Effectively, we will have paid for the
survey, they will reap the rewards.

Find out who are involved, and report
directly to me.

As your cover, we have arranged for you
to go to a University in London to take a brief study of the
subject, so you know what to look for and how the results should be
written up. Then you join the team. You will just be co-workers,
and not intimately involved with each other. Any background checks
will show you recently had a refresher course at the same
University, which is where you happened to meet.

I will send you a full brief, tickets,
and identities in the usual way.

Good luck, Sam

Max and Carla packed and left for the
hideaway, taking the statuette with them to its proper place,
Carla’s hall table.

Next morning at the hideaway, after
breakfast, Carla brought Philippe’s black leather briefcase with
her to the table; time to see what was in it. Max was also very
curious. She had to force the lock to open it.

Most of the contents were numbered
DVD’s of no obvious function, so Max tried to read the contents on
his laptop. There were 59 discs in all, and they turned out to
contain Project Oracle, software and data. The remaining contents
were letters from Philippe’s solicitor in Bern, Switzerland, copies
of his reply and used airline tickets from Prague.

Carla was more intrigued with the
letters. They concerned the purchase of a property in Switzerland,
which the solicitor had made on Philippe’s behalf. It suggested the
solicitor held details of his numbered accounts and had moved the
cash through 20 different offshore accounts to effectively, break
the financial trial.