Hunters: A Trilogy (56 page)

However, after a lot of close study, it wasn’t too long before they began to establish patterns in his behaviour. The main one being on Thursdays – it was on this day when O’Hara seemed to be less careful. They guessed it was the lure of the betting shop and his social security payments, which, unluckily for him, lowered his guard on this particular day of the week.

‘This guy is nearly always pissed or stoned, I mean, how the hell does he get away with it? He’s dealing like nobody’s business, up to his neck in all sorts of bad stuff, and yet the cops have never lifted him!’ Ken said, reaching over for the pad of A4 paper. They had used it several times before and always burnt the top three sheets afterwards. Grabbing the pencil, he sketched out all of the routes that O’Hara used with some regularity. ‘We need to go down there and have a quick look, just to see how it feels on the ground…’ He paused, and then continued, ‘I think that if we can get him into the underpass we should be able to lift him without too much grief,’ Ken murmured, as he did a quick sketch of the old tunnel.

Mike agreed. ‘Yeah, it looks good, but as you say, we should definitely get down there and have a look first,’ he commented. Looking at them with a grin, he then asked if they were doing anything that evening. Without a word they rose to their feet and went to get ready. The time for talk was over.

***

If the pair of drunken teenagers had been two minutes later they probably would have given up on alcohol forever. The whirling dervish of green light, accompanied by the sound of ripping fluid, would have made sure of that. The intoxicated youths had just left the old underpass when the Spear jumped into its proper size behind them.

Only minutes before, the three occupants of a much smaller Spear had been sitting in miniaturised silence as the stumbling duo unexpectedly wobbled through the underpass. The giant training-shoe, belonging to the kid on the right, slammed down just inches away from Jane’s side window, the tremor of its impact shuddering through the vehicle’s suspension.

Mike frantically looked at the Scanner. ‘Where the hell did they come from?’ he asked, in surprise. He desperately pushed some buttons on the dashboard, but the machine showed them nothing. Only the forms of the two giants who had so recently passed by glowed upon its surface.

‘Fuck! We were nearly trodden on there!’ Ken exclaimed, he leaned forward and stared at his partners sitting imprisoned within the darkness of the cab.

‘Do you think we would be crushed by something like that?’ Jane asked, as she turned and looked at the men in horror.

Mike said, ‘Well…I’m not sure really, it’s not something I asked George, to be honest. Damn it! Sorry guys, I only had the Scanner on front view – what a bloody idiot!’ He looked at them aghast, knowing full-well that his mistake might have cost them dearly.

Ken tried to reassure him. ‘Relax, Mikey,’ he said. ‘It’s not a drama, at the end of the day we didn’t get stepped on. I reckon it wouldn’t make a difference anyway. Just remember when Red shot at me with the grenade launcher – it never even scratched that wagon, did it? George says these new ones are even better…’ The other two sat in silence. Ken grinned at them, saying: ‘Right, now then, Mister Wyppen, can we get back to the real world, please? Let’s just put that one down to experience.’ He leaned forward, patting Mike reassuringly on the shoulder.

Mike nodded and then rechecked the Scanner, this time it was on three-sixty and showed no life-forms. Breathing out a sigh of relief, he pushed the lever and they whirled their way back into reality. With stomachs lurching, they sat in the dark underpass and waited until the dust, dizziness, and drunken youths had disappeared. Ken told them to sit tight and watch the Scanner whilst he stepped out and had a quick check of their intended rendezvous with O’Hara.

He was only gone for five minutes before climbing back into the rear of the vehicle. ‘Right, it looks good, let’s get out of here,’ he said. ‘I reckon this motor is a bit too conspicuous around here, let’s take a drive past the betting shop and then the guy’s house – don’t stop outside. We’ll just have a good look at where he hangs out and what the area looks like. I also want to have a cruise down to the warehouse as well, okay?’

Mike nodded and began putting the data into the Navigator. Jane moved off and drove them up the sloping road towards the new bypass. Mike checked the notes and watched the Navigator as they drove through the night. The sodium lamps above them bathed the streets with their orange light. Even with this disguise the rundown condition of the neighbourhood was obvious.

Jane’s words were the only sound they made. ‘It’s hard to imagine that someone who is going to be so important is being raised around here, isn’t it?’ she mused. Looking at the shell of a burnt-out car that lay in the centre of the park to their left, it was hard to disagree.

‘Yeah, it’s a dump for sure, why do people do this to their neighbourhoods?’ Mike said, staring at the litter strewn streets.

The trio sat in silence as they drove through the town. In the distance they saw the flashing reflection of blue emergency lights, their eerie glow, flaring up the walls on some houses two streets away, made the area seem even more menacing than before.

‘Okay, take the next left,’ Mike said, pointing at the screen.

Jane nodded and turned in obedience of the Navigator’s directions. They cruised past O’Hara’s house, which sat in darkness, only the faint glimmer of a TV flickering in one of the back rooms hinting at the presence of someone within.

‘There’s no way we can pick him off the street here, you can be seen by about fifty houses, plus there’s a camera on that big pole over there,’ Ken said, nodding towards the end of the street. Sure enough, rising above the houses, stood a thick black pole. Mounted at the top of it were at least three cameras. He laughed, saying: ‘I tell you what – let’s use the Shrink Down right here, that’ll give those camera operators something to think about, won’t it?’ The other two laughed softly.

Mike tapped the controls and set Jane a new course to follow. Crossing the new flyover, she headed down into the large industrial estate. It was mostly derelict with boarded-up windows and ‘For Sale’ signs littering almost every corner. Turning off the main thoroughfare, she led them down a small road, which led to a dead end. The Navigator’s message blinked once.

‘Destination reached’.

Pulling the Spear in a tight U-turn, Jane slowed to a halt whilst Ken stared at the deserted warehouse. Opening the door, he stepped out and said, ‘Two minutes, I just want to check this out quickly, hit the horn if anyone comes.’

His tall figure glided through the shadows as he crossed the parking space in front of the large prefabricated building. After a decent scout around, he decided it was about as good as it was going to get. Ken had a bad feeling in his gut about this one, but felt somewhat reassured by the fact George had said they only had to drop their target at the warehouse, and then sit back to watch. After checking the area one last time, he walked back over to the Spear.

Once back in the vehicle, Ken asked Jane to take them to where they would be able to watch the building from a distance. ‘We’ll use the Scanner so that we don’t have to get too close, over there, look…’ he said, pointing at the small parking place, which lay about two hundred yards away.

The spot was ideal and lay behind the cover of some overgrown bushes that had a large amount of rubbish and old wood stacked up against them. Jane reversed the vehicle into the spot and they waited whilst Mike flicked the Scanner on; watching as its cold blue gaze peered into the warehouse with ease.

‘Perfect spot, people, just perfect!’ he said.

Ken asked him if there was anything else they needed.

Mike’s reply was immediate. ‘Just one thing, I ain’t happy about trying to get O’Hara into the back of this car. It’s too flash, for one thing, and secondly, the whole idea might become a nightmare if he kicks off,’ he said. It was obvious that he’d been thinking about this since their near-disaster in the underpass earlier on.

The point had been bothering Ken, too. The fact that their man was known to be violent was a minor problem, but there wasn’t a lot they could do about that as there was only a limited choice of places where they would be able to lure him into a trap. To Ken there was only one logical solution. ‘We need another vehicle, a van or something, one that’s a bit battered and with plenty of room inside,’ he said.

They agreed and decided to sort that problem out when they were back in the lodge. Checking the Scanner, Mike suggested that now would be a good time for them to get back as there was no-one around and dawn would shortly be upon them. Hearing their agreement, he set a course for home and did his work with the buttons on the control panel.

Back at the lodge, they disembarked from the Spear and waited whilst Mike prepared the vehicle for its hidden resting place. Gathering their gear and the suitcase, they headed for the house. Once back inside, they had a drink and then discussed the results of their practice run. Ken agreed with Mike when it came to the Spear – they definitely needed another vehicle, for sure.

Mike sent a message to George stating their problems, then the three of them sat and discussed Ken’s plan. He had been thinking about it for a while: providing they used another car, he reckoned they would be able to pull a deception on their target. Ken asked them what they thought about using Jane as bait. Jane thought it was a probably a good idea, but with some provisos.

‘Just as long as I don’t have to kill anyone, I don’t think I would be up for that, to be honest…’ she said, looking between the two men worriedly.

Ken shook his head. ‘No, that shouldn’t be necessary,’ he said, ‘you just get his attention and then as soon as he’s off-guard, you spray him with the aerosol.’ He grinned, saying: ‘It’s an old trick, a good-looking woman gets the target distracted and then he gets whacked, it works every time. All we need now is a good-looking woman…’ Seconds later he was yelping in pain as Jane gave his upper arm a cruel pinch. The moment of light relief was a welcome one.

After a further discussion, it was then agreed to give the plan a go. Ken also decided on some extra practice with the spray cans for Jane. ‘We’ll do it in the morning, I mean… George might not be able to help us and then we’ll need a new plan. So, let’s just see what happens overnight, shall we?’ he said, before standing and making his way towards the kettle.

It looked as though they wouldn’t be hearing from George just yet, and so they decided to call it a day. It had been a long night and Ken still had the feeling of unease in his stomach. There were too many loose ends at the moment and he really hoped that George would be able to help them. With those thoughts in mind, he grabbed his tea and went upstairs to bed.

***

It was over a late breakfast the next morning when they received a reply from George, it was a simple message: ‘Send information on the type of vehicle required.’ Ken connected to the internet and found some pictures of the kind of van that he thought would be suitable. He gave the printed pictures to Mike.

As Ken handed them over, Mike looked at him and smiled. ‘Nah, all we need is the web address, they’ll get the information from where they are – just give me a few places for them to look,’ he said, laughing at the stupid expression on Ken’s face. With a shake of the head, Mike said, ‘Come on, buddy, keep up!’

Ken just stared at him without saying a word.

It wasn’t long before the Communicator flashed again. Mike called the other two over. ‘Here we go,’ he said, pointing at the screen. ‘I reckon this type of thing will probably do, yeah?’ George had sent them some pictures and information on the sort of van in question. After a quick browse through the specifications, they selected a fairly old Volkswagen van with sliding side doors and a few knocks and dents visible on the red paintwork.

‘Yeah, that seems to be perfect, how do we get it and what’s it gonna cost?’ Ken said, with a quizzical expression upon his face. He wasn’t expecting the reply Mike gave him.

‘George will supply it, all I have to do is to plug one of the zappers into this machine, and he will do the rest.’ As he looked up at them, Mike saw by their reaction that he was going to have to explain further. He also knew that a demonstration would be better. ‘Right,’ he said, ‘just give me five minutes and I’ll show you what I mean.’ With an exaggerated sigh, he turned back to the keypad.

Jane turned to Ken with a baffled look. ‘Sometimes I feel like a complete dummy, you know?’ she said.

Her husband laughed in agreement. ‘That makes at least two of us, my love!’ Ken said, dryly. They grinned at each other – after all, even being in a gang of two tended to make a person feel better.

A very short time later, whilst standing in the old barn, husband and wife had another, rather surreal, experience, one that easily made them feel even more akin to a dummy – a pair of very stupid dummies.

Mike, placed one of the Spears on the floor, unplugged the zapper from his Communicator, and gave the little fob to Jane. ‘Zap away!’ he said.

After a slight pause, during which she wondered what came next, Jane hit the big arrow. The normal routine occurred: swirling green energy and that strange sound, both arrived as per usual. Only this time, once the show had ended, there stood before them a totally innocent-looking VW van. Even the dents and scratches were in the right places, just as they had been on the advert Ken had chosen.

‘How the hell have they done that?’ he exclaimed. Ken had to blink – some things around here would just never cease to blow his mind.

Mike explained that the van was, for all intents and purposes, just a ‘normal’ Spear. Only this one was in disguise. They spent a few moments getting used to the layout. Whilst Jane sat behind the wheel and checked out the controls, the men looked at the doors and into the rear of the van. It was able to carry three people on the front seat and was in every aspect identical to a normal van. The two rear windows were darkened and the scanner worked as per usual with its blue haze glowing in the cab. After ten minutes they decided that George had done them proud.