Fear of the Fathers (10 page)

He turned back to face her once more. “Are you in pain?” he asked, without compassion.

The girl nodded.

“That is too bad,” said Kamal. “I can ease the pain if you like, but you will need to cooperate with me. Will you do that?”

Again, the girl nodded.

“Okay then. Now we are getting somewhere.”

Kamal got out of the car and went to the boot. He retrieved a pair of false number plates and stuck them over the existing ones. Returning to the driver's seat he reached for his holdall, pulled out a black leather jacket, and put it on to cover his bloody midriff. After tying the girl fast so that she couldn't raise her head to the window, he walked over to the motel.

The lobby was deserted except for the young girl on reception, who was busy learning how to keep her man in ‘ten easy steps' with the help of
Cosmopolitan
magazine.

He walked up to her with a friendly smile. “Good evening,” he said cheerily.

“Alright,” said the girl, returning neither the smile nor the enthusiasm.

“I was wondering if you had any rooms available, preferably a twin.”

The girl typed something into her computer. “Yeah,” she said. “We've got a twin. It'll be £60 for the night. Breakfast not included.”

He thanked her and paid with a credit card registered under another of his aliases. He then returned to the car to fetch the girl.

“This is how it is going to work,” he said to her firmly, removing a pair of jogging bottoms from his holdall. “I am going to untie you, and you are not going to make a sound. You will remove your skirt and put these trousers on to cover your wound. You will then come with me to the motel where I will treat you. If you speak or try to attract attention I will break your neck. Do you understand?”

The girl nodded once more.

“Good,” said Kamal.

He untied her hands and feet and handed her the jogging bottoms. Tenderly, and with a fair amount of wincing, she put them on.

Kamal gave her a severe look. “Now then,” he said. “You must untie the gag. Do not even think about screaming.”

The girl removed the material from her mouth. She didn't say a word.

“This is good,” said Kamal. “I see that we understand each other.”

He helped the girl out of the car. She whimpered a few times but maintained her silence.

Cutting off the pain, with the girl in one arm and the holdall in the other he strode casually towards the motel. His hand was clasped at the girl's neck as a sharp reminder. They walked through the front doors without a glance from the otherwise-occupied receptionist. Kamal tilted their heads away from the CCTV.

Inside the room he lay the girl down on one of the beds and stripped off his jacket and shirt. Although the blood was plentiful, the bullet had actually just taken a chunk out of his side. Another centimetre and it would have missed completely. He delved into his bag and withdrew a green medical box. After cleaning the gash he layered on some antiseptic and dressed it. He then turned his attention to the girl.

“What is your name?” he asked blandly.

“Annie,” she croaked.

“Well, Annie, I suppose I had better have a look at your leg.”

He removed the jogging pants as gently as he could and rolled her over onto her front. The bleeding had stemmed a little and the wound was beginning to dry. He took a closer look. The bullet had lodged itself in the calf muscle, but not too deep to remove with his limited equipment.

From the medical kit he took out a syringe and a vial. “I'm going to give you a local anaesthetic,” he said. “It should take away most of the pain.”

He injected her and went to scrub his hands with antiseptic wash. After a short wait for the anaesthetic to kick in he removed a pair of sterile surgical tweezers from their packet. “I am going to remove the bullet now,” he said. “You may feel a little discomfort, as they say, but try not to move or it will take a lot longer.”

Annie braced herself for the pain, but apart from a slight tickle she felt nothing.

“That's it,” said Kamal, examining the bullet.

“That was quick,” she said.

Kamal continued to eye the bullet curiously. “Yes,” he said absent-mindedly.

He placed the bullet on a piece of tissue paper and set about cleaning, stitching and dressing the wound. He worked quickly and skilfully. When he was done Annie sat up on the bed.

“Thank you,” she said.

“Do not mention it. You did as I asked, and I did as I promised. I do not go back on my word.”

“And thank you for not killing me,” she added.

“Do not thank me for that,” he said. “I tried to, but the cosmos intervened.”

“The cosmos?”

“Yes, the cosmos, the universe, whatever you wish to call it. Someone or something intervened on your behalf. If it was not for that, then you would most certainly be dead. It stopped me in the hotel room, and it jammed my gun in the car park. You are an extremely fortunate girl…For the moment anyway.”

The last sentence made Annie shiver. She put it to the back of her mind.

Kamal produced a small bottle of brandy and poured some into a small plastic tumbler. “Have some of this,” he said. “It will help with the pain and shock.”

Annie took a couple of large sips and felt the warmth flow down through her chest. “I don't suppose you've got any food,” she said.

“I have some chocolate. Would you like some?”

“Yes please.”

After demolishing half a bar of
Green & Black
and finishing the brandy she felt a bit better.

“So what happens now?” she asked as he put on a clean T-shirt.

“Now we try and sleep,” he said.

“No. I mean, what happens after that?”

“What happens tomorrow, will happen tomorrow. Tonight you must sleep.”

He allowed her to use the lavatory, then bound her arms to the headboard and gagged her once again. He wanted an uninterrupted slumber.

Annie lay awake long into the night, wondering what would become of her, and whether she would ever see her little boy again.

It was eight in the morning and a light mist hung over the moor. Stratton and Oggi strolled in silence with Titan a couple of paces in front. It was becoming ritual for the three of them to venture out before breakfast. It was the only time they felt comfortable exposed on the sweeping spaces. They hadn't seen a soul at this hour in their three months of exile. It was their one chance each day to escape the claustrophobic confines of the coniferous wood.

Oggi blew his hands against the cold. “If there's one thing I will miss from this experience, it's my morning walk,” he said.

“Well, I'm glad there's at least something you enjoy,” said Stratton. “I'd hate to think you'd given up your nice cosy cell for nothing.”

Oggi ignored the comment. “What day is it today?” he asked. “I've got completely lost.”

“So have I,” said Stratton. “But I'm pretty sure it's Monday.”

“Any idea of the date?”

“Mid-March I guess. I haven't been counting. It doesn't seem to matter anymore.”

“I guess not,” agreed Oggi. “It's just that my birthday's coming up at the end of the month.”

Stratton did a quick calculation in his head. “It's the sixteenth today.”

“Two weeks today then. I'll be forty. Life will allegedly begin.”

Stratton chuckled. “Let's hope so,” he said.

In front of them Titan stopped, pricked his ears, and sniffed the air. He growled, turned round, and headed back in the direction of the woods. Stratton looked at Oggi and shrugged. They followed the big cat's lead.

The mist was beginning to lift and soon the trees were in view. Titan trotted along with purpose, occasionally turning to make sure the other two were keeping up.

“What the hell's got into him?” wheezed Oggi.

“No idea,” said Stratton. “But it'll be interesting to find out. Come on, keep up old man.”

Oggi produced a finger and made a face behind his back.

As they approached they saw figures milling about in their little clearing. Someone was taking an interest in the camp. Titan wove stealthily between the trees, and Stratton and Oggi did their best to stay low and hidden.

About thirty feet from the camp they crouched behind a bramble and peered over the top. Although the mist was dispersing, visibility was still hazy and they could only make out shapes, not faces.

“What shall we do?” said Oggi.

“Wait, I suppose,” said Stratton. “Whoever it is might head off.”

There came a shout from the camp. “Oggi! Stratton! Are you there!?”

Oggi recognized the voice and breathed a sigh of relief. “It's Tags,” he said.

They got up from behind the bramble and walked over to the clearing. Titan appeared from behind a tree and accompanied them.

Tags was standing with Dino, both were stamping their feet to keep warm. “There you are,” said Tags. “We were beginning to think you'd gone.”

“Where exactly would we go?” said Oggi. “And why are you here so early? Shit the bed?”

“Very amusing Oswald. But no, I haven't soiled my sheets. We come with news.”

They all clambered into the dugout to get warm. Stratton stoked the fire and put the kettle on to heat. “Have you brought any supplies?” he asked.

“Not yet,” said Tags. “We'll go out this afternoon for you. We didn't know how much you'd be wanting.”

Stratton made everyone a coffee and they sat in the glow of the flames.

“So what's this news?” said Oggi.

Tags lit a cigarette and relayed the events of the previous afternoon.

“That's interesting,” said Stratton, when he'd finished.

“Interesting?” said Tags. “Don't you find it all a bit suspicious?”

“What? Stella trying to organize a memorial? Not really. I'm surprised it's taken this long to be honest.”

“But what about this Cronin?” said Oggi. “What's he up to?”

Stratton shrugged. “No idea. He's probably just some do-gooder trying to populate the world with more Catholics.”

Oggi looked over at his friend. He'd known him long enough to realize when he was hiding something. “Come on Stratton. There's more to it than that – I can see it in your eyes.”

Stratton smiled. “Maybe. I don't know. But if Tags thinks there's something suss about the guy, then I guess we ought to be wary. But let's not let caution turn to paranoia. This is all happening in London remember. We're quite safe down here for the moment.”

“Maybe,” said Dino. “But it's not going to be long before the cops get wise. It was a right job this morning trying to get away without them noticing.”

“They're still watching the house then?” said Oggi.

“Just a bit,” said Tags. “It's hard to have a pee without them seeing. They want you Oggi. They want you badly.”

“Well, they're just going to have to stay disappointed.”

Stratton warmed up some of Oggi's mutton stew and they all ate hungrily. The food removing the last of the chill from their bones.

“That was great,” said Dino. “At least you're eating well.”

“Yes, it is good, isn't it?” said Oggi proudly. “But it's the last of what we have. Hopefully you boys are going to remedy that. I was saying to Stratton the other day that I could do with an Indian.”

In the early afternoon Tags and Dino left to get supplies. Promising Oggi faithfully that they would bring him a take-away in the evening. Stratton lay on his bed reading the newspaper that Tags had brought.

“What do you really make of it all?” said Oggi.

Stratton continued to read the paper. “What do you mean?” he said.

“I mean that now the boys have gone you can tell me what's going on.”

“Well, I see the PM's horse won the Gold Cup, and there was an attempt on his life.”

“Don't be funny,” said Oggi, lighting a cigarette. “You know what I mean.”

Stratton put down the newspaper. “To be honest, I can't be sure. But I get the feeling that someone other than us and the boys knows that I'm alive.”

The pain in her leg woke Annie from a fitful sleep. Although hazy, she knew that her dreams had been loud and disturbing. Her eyes were aching, her chest and stomach were tight, and her throat and mouth were dry. She desperately needed more sleep, but she couldn't settle. A grey dawn was starting to peep through the thick curtains. Luminous digits told her that it was 7.09 am.