Dark Tidings: Ancient Magic Meets the Internet Book 1 (24 page)

Michael was totally stressed by his last conversation with Faith. He’d felt like a schoolboy in love; heart pounding, gut turning and his words drying up. The more he thought about it, the more he realised how much he adored this girl.

Something, however, was troubling him. He couldn’t put his finger on it, but something about the way Faith had talked to him was making him feel a bit uneasy. Was she scared? Had being followed made her over anxious? Or was he more frightened than he liked to think? Had he missed something which would allow these people to pick up his trail again?

He thought through all the precautions he’d taken. He was sure they couldn’t trace the phone call he’d made. All they could do was keep a tail on Faith. He’d tackle that particular problem in good time.

At exactly three thirty, he rang the phone outside the Ritz restaurant. He was expecting the usual tense wait, but she answered on the first ring. She didn’t even give him time to speak, she was so excited.

“I got the money! They gave me all the money! I have over twenty thousand pounds in a case at my feet.”

“Calm down, calm down. I knew it would work. I told you I’d planned all this meticulously and I am good.”

He said this with tongue-in-cheek and hoped she understood. He was actually surprised they’d given her all the cash at such short notice, but that was great. It meant they wouldn’t have any money issues to deal with for a while. Cash was always good to have because it was untraceable. Mental note, check the cash and make sure it hasn’t been tampered with.

“Listen Faith, now that you’ve had a little time to think about things, how do you feel about the prospect of starting a completely new life with me? We had talked about it as something way in the future. How do you fancy making it happen now?”

“I don’t know if I’m coming or going right now. I have no idea what to think. You have just robbed a bank and I’m standing here with twenty grand at my feet. I’m sure this will come as no surprise to you, but I’m scared and confused.”

“Look, I know this is bound to be a massive shock, but we always talked about taking the big chance when it came along. Well, it has come along. Trust me, I can make this work for us. I know it sounds a bit trite, but I really can make our dreams come true.”

They talked for the next forty minutes. Michael tried to paint a picture of how things could be for them in six months time when they’d created new lives and put IIBE far behind them. He talked of travel, money, luxury and assured her that, if they were extremely careful, they could disappear off everyone’s radar forever.

Faith talked about her fears and concerns. She was worried about getting caught and also questioned what would happen if their relationship didn’t work out; after all, they’d only been seeing each other for a matter of weeks.

They talked it out, but Faith kept expressing her doubts. Then out of the blue, like a switch had been thrown, Faith said she was ready to do it.

“Okay Michael, you’re on. But don’t you let me down. I am putting my faith in you. I can’t believe I’m doing this. I love you. I can’t believe I’m saying that.”

She took a long, deep breath and then asked him in a serious tone.

“What happens now?”

He explained his plan. He said he still couldn’t tell her where he was because, at this stage, the less she knew the better. The less she knew the less chance of an accidental slip of the tongue. He told her he’d phone her soon on her mobile and she needed to react as if it was their first contact. They would plant a false trail when they talked. She had to play along and follow whatever instructions he gave her, as if she believed them to be the real thing. They would talk again soon. It was to be yet another public phone and he gave her the place and time.

She clutched the phone to her chest after he hung up. This was what she’d been waiting for. This was the pinnacle of her life so far. She knew she had to be super careful, but she knew she could do it.

“Don’t be scared,” she told herself. “Don’t be scared”.

Tung, Madrick and Michael were all happily settled into the Liverpool house. It was quite a grand old mansion with comfortable, period furnishings. The main reception room was particularly welcoming with its stylish furniture and open fireplace. There were plenty of sizable bedrooms so everyone had space to spend some time on their own when they wanted to. Even with all the available space in the house, the well equipped kitchen with its large farmhouse style table was the heart of the house. It was the main social meeting point, particularly when there was food around.

It was day two in the house… lunchtime. They were all sitting round the table enjoying a steaming bowl of tomato soup and discussing the excitement of the last week.

“I reckon my life’s nearly perfect right now,” said Madrick.

“I’m pretty happy too,” said Tung. “I can watch TV all day long or just sleep, and there’s never any shortage of food. What could be better?”

Tung raved about modern food. He’d fallen in love with the tasty soups, fabulous crusty bread and the overall quality of anything which contained meat, in particular, he loved pizza. In his mind, it was an innovation worth waiting a thousand years for.

Tung talked about food constantly. He was like most teenage boys. He couldn’t be filled no matter how much food you tried to shove into him. Michael had already introduced him to lots of the modern staples, but pizza was, far and away, his favourite. Stuffed chicken breasts were a close second on his list and he was talking about them again.

“I love stuffed chicken breasts nearly as much as pizza,” he said between slurps of soup. “I mean I love chicken, I love breasts and I love stuff. So what could be better?”

“You’ll just have to watch your weight, we’ll maybe have to put you on a diet soon.”

“If that means I have to do without stuff,” said Tung, “then it’s not going to happen.”

“We could put you on the wine and whiskey diet. It can help you lose up to three days a week.”

“Ha ha,” said Tung as he slurped another spoonful of soup.

Michael sensed the calmness in the air. Now was as good a time as any to break the news.

“I’ve been in touch with Faith. I’m going to get her to come and join us.”

Silence.

“What? Are you crazy?”

“I miss her. I miss being with her. I need to see her because I just can’t be happy without her,” he said and waited for the bad reaction he knew was going to come. And come it did.

“No way, you can’t do that,” said Tung. “You told us we had to stay low. You told us we had to take no chances. Low profile, you said. Stay below the radiator, you said.”

“Radar,” corrected Michael.

“Whatever. Come on, Michael, be fair. This would be a massive risk, you said so yourself. It’s madness.”

“I know. But listen guys, I really do miss her. And you know how careful I am and how well I plan things. My smart planning has already got her a heap of money… how useful is that? It’ll keep us comfortable for months.”

His argument was clutching at straws and he knew it.

“Look, guys, once she’s here, then we’ll be able to keep a really low profile. We’ll become invisible. I promise.”

“No, no, NO,” shouted Tung as he jumped to his feet. “You’re putting us all at risk for the sake of a stupid woman. You wouldn’t let me do something like this. You’d call me an idiot if I suggested it.”

He screwed up his face and stamped his feet; like a child throwing a tantrum. He couldn’t stop himself. Contacting Faith was obviously risky. Okay, Michel genuinely cared about her, but did he care as much about his friends? Would this nonsense disrupt his new lifestyle? He was being selfish, he knew that, but he really didn’t care. Madrick put a hand on his arm and helped guide him back into his seat.

“I’m not happy either, but to be fair, I think we should trust him, Tung. After all, he’s got us this far and he has looked after us well. He’s put himself out and taken risks for us. We would’ve been in big trouble without him.”

He turned to Michael and just looked at him quizzically as if to say ‘I can trust you, can’t I?’

“Honestly guys, I’ll be super careful. Remember, I’m in as much danger as you. I’m as scared of these people as you are, so I wouldn’t take any chances. I won’t take any chances.”

After a bit more heated discussion Tung agreed reluctantly. He knew they owed a lot to Michael, but he also knew this was going to be risky no matter how well he planned the rendezvous.

“We trust you, Michael. We’re not happy but we do trust you.”

“Thanks guys, I promise I won’t let you down.”

He was genuinely moved. They’d accepted his idea so quickly. He’d expected a much bigger battle. He’d have fought much harder if the boot had been on the other foot. He thanked them again and went upstairs to make the calls he’d been planning in his head for ages.

The first call was to Faith’s mobile. As agreed they both played the ‘we-haven’t-spoken-for-ages’ game and it seemed convincing. In fact, Faith was so convincing he almost believed her himself. He was sure their call was being monitored and he was right; a team of IIBE security agents was listening in.

Small talk over, he got down to the task of introducing deception into the call. Here we go, let’s throw the listeners off the trail.

“I’m in Newcastle,” said Michael. “I really want to see you. I’ve missed you so much. Will you pack some things and come up here? You could get a train and be here by tomorrow.”

“Newcastle? What on earth are you doing in Newcastle?”

“I’ll tell you all about it when you get here. It’ll all make sense, please trust me.”

“I don’t know. It’s a big step for me and…”

“Please. You won’t regret it.”

“I can’t just pack in my normal life on a whim. You can’t ask me to do that.”

“Just take a few days holiday. Think of it as a short break. We’ll play it by ear and see how it goes.”

The pleading went on for five minutes and Faith played the part of the reluctant party brilliantly. Michael was beginning to think she’d forgotten the point of the conversation and was never going to agree to meet him. Finally she gave in.

“OK Michael, you’re on. But please don’t you let me down. I am putting my total faith in you. I can’t believe I’m doing this. I love you. I can’t believe I’m saying that.”

It was nearly a verbatim repeat of their last ‘real’ conversation; she thought it was a nice touch. He told her what to bring and what to do when she arrived.

“There’s a nice Chinese restaurant where we can meet up.”

He explained where the restaurant was and finally he gave her a time to meet. Everything was set and the plan was all systems go.

“I love you so much, Faith. I didn’t realise just how much you meant to me until we were apart. I can’t wait to see you again, it’s going to be a long, long couple of days. Be careful. Be very, very careful.”

He hung up, but held the phone against his face for a good five minutes. It was like he was trying to cuddle her voice. He reluctantly dropped the phone onto his desk and went downstairs to join the others. They both looked at him quizzically when he entered the room.

“It’s done. She’s coming.”

“I hope you’ve done the right thing,” said Tung.

So do I, thought Michael, so do I.

Michael arrived at the central train station in Newcastle. He had a lot to do if everything was going to be ready for Faith the next day. He headed up the hill to the city centre and the shops. First job, find a ticket tout. It didn’t take long, illegal ticket sellers prowled the streets looking for suckers to fleece. He paid way over the odds for a match ticket. Who cares, he had plenty of money? Next job, hit the shops. Every clothes shop seemed to stock his first set of items… a black and white striped Newcastle football top, black tracksuit bottoms and white trainers; all Faith sized. That was easy. Next, he wanted a blonde wig and ladies glasses to complete her disguise. He wandered round a few department stores. No sign of wigs, but he did pick up a money belt. Another item ticked off his list.

He hated shopping. Why couldn’t shops be ordered alphabetically? Then the wig shop would be easy to find. More wandering. Why do women like spending their days doing this? Eventually he found what he was looking for. About time too. It was a posh shop, not a problem, money wasn’t an issue. For some reason though, the sales lady wasn’t making it easy for him.

“And is the wig for sir himself? I can help you with the fitting.”

“No, it’s for my girlfriend.”

“Of course it is.”

“It
is
for my girlfriend.”

“And you’re getting her to dress up as what?”

“Look, just sell me the wig and glasses… please.”

“Of course, sir, and would you like any lingerie to go with the outfit? I’d imagine you’re a size sixteen.”

This banter continued until he gave up and just stood and stared at the women. With a condescending smile, she eventually brought him what he wanted.

“Thank you so much for all your help,” he said as he left with the parcel under his arm.

He was glad to get out of there. Time for a bite of lunch. He headed towards the football ground and found the Emerald Palace, a large Chinese restaurant which was only a few hundred yards from the stadium. It was the perfect place. He finished a delicious three course banquet and asked to see the manager when the bill arrived.

“Was there a problem, sir?”

He considered telling the waiter about his experience in the wig shop. No point in confusing the issue.

“No, no problem, the food was great. I just want to ask him something.”

After a short conversation he’d done a deal with the manager. The man agreed to pass the parcel of clothes and the match ticket to Faith… for a ‘mere’ two hundred pounds. Job done.

He kept a close eye on his time. When two-thirty rolled around he made his way to the public phone in the restaurant. At the end of his last conversation with Faith he’d given her a phone box location and he’d told her exactly what time he’d call it. He dialled the number. He prayed Faith would be there and, after only three rings, he breathed a deep sigh of relief when he heard her voice. His heart beat double time while he tried to sound as normal and relaxed as possible. They exchanged a few pleasantries before he explained the final part of the plan. Every so often, she’d stop him and check some little point. Her attention to detail meant she was taking the whole thing extremely seriously. This was going to work; this was actually going to work.

Once they’d finished the private call, Michael phoned her mobile and the pair laid a false trail for the eavesdroppers he knew would be listening in. Faith played her part well. She’d clearly understood both the plan and the precautions. He just prayed they were both clever enough to fool the snooping wire-tappers.

He ended the call by telling her how much he loved her and then he hung up, left the Palace and headed to the station to start his journey back to Liverpool.