The Child Taker & Slow Burn (4 page)

“I don’t think that we should leave him behind, Tank,” the agent whispered into the coms unit.

“You don’t need to think, you need to follow orders,” Tank hissed back across the coms.

“Pilgrim two, do we have a problem?” The Major’s voice broke into the conversation.

“No problem, Sir,” Tank replied. “Number three was expressing his opinion,” he added sarcastically.

“Number three needs to keep any opinions to himself and get on with this damned mission!” The Major said annoyed that there had been any level of dissent at all. It wasn’t tolerated in the military and the Special Forces units were even more unforgiving. “Are you clear, Number three?”

“Roger that, Sir,” the agent replied. He looked at Tank as he spoke and wiped a thick sheen of perspiration from his face with his sleeve. The look in Tank’s eyes told him nothing. It was like looking into a shark’s eyes, they gave nothing away at all.

“Check that he’s secured and then we move,” Tank ordered. A second agent checked the bindings, and he added a Plasticuffs tie to the boy’s legs as a final measure. The unit moved out of the ruined building and scurried across the narrow road. There was an alleyway between the buildings opposite. Tank checked the compass on his wrist and signalled to the unit to move on. A hundred yards down the alleyway, the walls became higher and offered them both shelter from the burning sun and cover from snipers. They reached a ruin that looked like it had once been a bakery of some type. There were stone ledges fixed to the walls and two large brick ovens. Beyond through an empty window Tank could see the high walls of a compound across the street. His unit had reached the souk and they took cover behind the ruins of a stone bread oven. The helicopter would pass over in a minute, and then the fun would begin.

Chapter Five

Coniston Water

Hayley sat on a folding camping chair. It was made from tubular metal and rainbow striped canvas, and her husband said that you needed a pilot’s licence to erect it. She was reading the story of ‘Puff the Magic Dragon’ to the twins as they dozed off to sleep, snuggled up in a double sleeping bag. They had been asleep for at least five minutes now but she treasured the time that she had with her little angels and so she read on for her own sake while she watched them. The atmosphere inside the tent was hot and stuffy and the smell of the synthetic chemicals that made the structure waterproof tainted the air. She didn’t like the tent one bit, although the surroundings were fabulous. A squadron of crane flies were hopelessly trying to barge their way out through the roof of the tent. Occasionally one of the clumsy insects would bounce off the battery-powered lantern that hung from the apex of the tent and then spiral out of control towards Hayley. She hated insects of any description but especially flying ones with huge gangly legs. The thought of them becoming entangled in her hair made her feel sick. She lashed out with her children’s book as another hopeless insect hurtled towards her. The insect took a direct hit and was launched into an involuntary warp speed freefall. It ended fatally with a collision against a camping stove.

Sarah opened her eyes sleepily, and frowned at her mother. The flapping pages of Puff the Magic Dragon’s storybook had disturbed her slumber.

“What are you doing, Mummy?” She mumbled.

“Nothing, angel, you go back to sleep,” her mother lied.

“Were you killing beasties?” The little girl whispered.

“Yes, but don’t worry, they’re all gone now.” Hayley chuckled at her daughter’s perceptiveness. There was no fooling Sarah at all, whereas Zak could be gullible. His sibling had been born first so she was technically older than he was, something she reminded him of at every opportunity. Sarah wrapped her brother around her little finger. She was somehow much smarter than her brother was. Not more intelligent; she was just cannier.

“I don’t like beasties, Mummy.”

“No baby, neither do I.”

“Do you think Puff the Magic Dragon would eat all the beasties up?” Sarah closed her eyes and licked her lips, and before her mother had contemplated whether the kindly Dragon in her book did actually eat crane flies or not, she was fast asleep. She turned her head towards her sleeping brother and he placed his tiny arm over her shoulder as if he was protecting her.

“Sleep tight little angels, I love you both so much,” Hayley whispered and pulled their sleeping bag up an inch. The temperature inside the tent plummeted at night. Hayley grimaced at the thought of reaching through the crane fly squadron to turn the lantern down a shade but she was saved by the arrival of her sunburnt husband. The zip on the flysheet rasped noisily as he opened it up to gain entry. “Shush, you clumsy man! They’ve only just gone off to sleep.”

“Good, because the barbecue is glowing and the sausages are nearly cooked.” Her husband clapped his hands together playfully as if he was excited about a plate of charcoaled sausage. Hayley noticed that his hands were black.

“Look at the state of your hands, Karl. I hope you haven’t been touching the food with them,” she scolded him.

“I had a little trouble starting the barbecue that’s all.” He opened his hands and made to rub them on her face. She giggled and pulled away from him. “What’s the matter? You used to like my dirty hands all over you,” he teased. He was joking but there was a barb in his humour.

“Get away from me you tramp!” She laughed. “I never liked your hands on me. I just pretended that I did to keep you quiet.”

He pulled her towards him and kissed her cheek. “Oh you were pretending were you?”

“Yes, well not all the time,” she said coyly.

He pulled her closer still and felt himself stirring sexually. His flimsy cargo shorts did little to hide his excitement as he tried to kiss her on the mouth. 

“Karl.” She leaned away from the kiss and pushed him away.  Things hadn’t been right between them for a long time.

“What’s wrong?” He gasped. It had been a long time since they had made love. His wife didn’t seem interested any more. He was hoping that the fresh mountain air would stir emotions in her that had been dormant since she had given birth to the twins. The reality was that it wouldn’t, in which case the fishing rod would come in handy.

“Nothing is wrong, Karl.” She stepped back out of the embrace completely. “Apart from the fact that our children are sleeping two yards away and your brother and his snooty wife are on the other side of that canvas wall.”

“She’s not snooty, Hayley, and I’m sorry, I was just fooling around,” he whispered. He stepped closer to her again. She tensed as he touched her. He could feel her involuntary physical revulsion to his embrace. Something had been lost between them along the way. He still loved her, that was for sure, and he certainly loved his twins but the fire that they once had was gone. At first he thought the arrival of their children had doused their passion, but it ran much deeper.

Sleepless nights and tiring days took their toll on his wife in the early months and so he gave her space and time to feel like being a woman again, not just a mother. Months flew by and when they finally made love, he knew that something had changed in her. She seemed to be mechanical. There was no intensity to the passion like there had been before. It had gone and so far, it showed no signs of returning. He tried hard to cope with the constant rejection but he was a red-blooded male with a high sex drive. Karl had turned his attention to other women and although he tried to be discreet, he couldn’t help but feel that Hayley knew every time that he cheated.

“Your sausages will be burning,” she said quietly. She couldn’t look him in the eyes. Hayley leaned forward and kissed his lips quickly. He felt like it was a kiss from his grandmother or an old aunt, for all the passion that it contained. “I’ll be out in a second,” she added.

“Fine, you do that,” Karl snorted like a sulky schoolboy. He opened up the tent flap and went back outside. Hayley could hear her sister-in-law’s voice through the canvas.

“Hey babe, what’s the matter, has the Ice Queen been at you again?” She whispered a little too loudly.

“Shush, Louise!” Karl’s concerned reply sent a shiver through Hayley. She had an inclination that something wasn’t right between her husband and his brother’s wife. There was no solid evidence. She just had a feeling about her. There were several incidents over the past few years where she had seen them exchanging glances, maintaining eye contact a little too long. Now she knew that she called her the “Ice Queen” behind her back, and that rankled her. The two women had never gelled, never got on or liked each other. Karl, on the other hand, got on with her like a house on fire and he defended her far too quickly for comfort. They constantly teased each other, to the point of embarrassment.

Hayley noticed that Karl’s brother Steve wasn’t altogether happy with the attention that his sibling paid to his spouse either. Steve was the quieter brother. He had dark eyes and boyish handsome features. He was sensitive and thoughtful, but also very dull. Karl was the opposite, selfish and brash, but good company. He had a wide jaw and rugged good looks. There was no doubt which brother had had the most success with females during their younger years.

Karl had a string of young babes through his university years and Hayley was flattered when he asked her to go steady with him. She was a stunning blonde with piercing blue eyes and Karl was the envy of his friends when they started dating. At first, she revelled in his attentions and physically she was as keen and eager to explore as he was. But having the twins was like flicking a switch for her and sex was no longer enjoyable. Hayley was very aware of her shortcomings in the bedroom but she didn’t think that they justified her husband seeking solace elsewhere, especially with his brother’s wife. Her face darkened and she felt her heart beating faster. Anger was rising in her throat. Jealousy is a powerful emotion and she could feel it coursing through her veins. Was it all in her mind? She couldn’t be sure they had done anything at all, but she couldn’t prevent herself from suspecting them either. She took one last glance at her beautiful twins as they lay sleeping, and then she breathed deeply before she unzipped the flysheet and climbed out of the tent.

“Have the twins gone off to sleep then, Hayley?” Louise asked. She always adopted a baby girl voice when she spoke about the children. It irritated Hayley immensely. Hayley ignored the question and zipped the tent closed. She took another deep breath before turning to face the others.

“Are the twins alright, Hayley?” Louise persisted. “Here, have a glass of wine.” Louise picked up a bottle of Australian Chardonnay from a cool box. She tipped the remaining contents into a plastic cup. There was barely enough left to fill it halfway.

“Oh my God, we’ve drunk all the white already,” she giggled as she passed the wine to Hayley. Hayley glared at her as she took the cup. She felt like sloshing the wine in her face. Louise giggled again and walked away on unsteady legs towards the barbecue. “I don’t think your wife is talking to me,” she whispered into Karl’s ear as she approached him. It was said loud enough for everyone to hear. Karl looked up from the smoking grill and he saw the anger in his wife’s eyes. He blushed and Hayley wondered if it was embarrassment or guilt that made his face flush red.

“The sausages are ready,” Karl announced. A forced smile creased his face as he tried to make the best of the situation. The atmosphere was tense to say the least. Karl carefully placed burnt sausages onto four paper plates, but he couldn’t maintain eye contact with Hayley.

“I’ll nip to the shop and get another bottle of wine if you like,” Steve offered. He ripped open a floury bun and handed it to his brother. Karl plonked a frazzled sausage onto the bread and handed it back. “I’ve only had one beer, so I’ll eat this and drive down the hill. Do we need anything else, babe?” He bit into his sandwich and burnt his tongue. He laughed and fanned his hand in front of his mouth to cool the food down.

“Get me some cigarettes; I’ve only got a few left.” Louise didn’t even look at her husband as she spoke. “You might as well buy some extra beers too. Karl will want another beer or two I’m sure.” She put her wine to her lips and smiled provocatively. Karl blushed again. The sound of a baby crying drifted over the camp.

“Why don’t you go with him, Louise?” Karl looked at her sternly. He’d had enough of her theatrics in front of his wife. The wine was starting to affect her better judgement, and she was becoming more embarrassing by the minute. He wanted her out of the way for a while so that Hayley could calm down. 

“Yes, why don’t you go with your husband?” Hayley stared at her. The look in her eye warned her that she had crossed the line. There was a moment of complete silence as the two women glared at each other. It was a very uncomfortable moment for Karl, although Steve didn’t look too happy either. 

Steve looked between the two women, bemused by the tension between them. He was a little slow on the uptake, but not completely stupid. The sound of a baby crying pierced the silence and he looked across the campsite towards the sound. There were no tents in that direction, and he wondered where the sound could be coming from.

“I don’t know why you two can’t get on,” he mumbled to himself.

“I don’t know why you and Steve don’t go to the shops and get some more wine together, Louise,” Hayley snarled.

“I think I’d prefer to stay here thank you very much,” Louise sneered. She shook her head defiantly and tossed her shiny long black hair. Her hair was jet black, and it had a deep sheen to it. The evening sun’s rays gave it a blue tinge. The sun was nearly gone now and the shadows were lengthening. “Steve doesn’t mind going on his own, do you darling?” She draped her arms around her husband’s neck and kissed him full on the lips. Steve looked more bemused than ever but he responded in kind and squeezed her shapely buttocks with one hand, while the other clung to his sausage sandwich. The noise of the baby crying increased a notch, and the cries were becoming more urgent. Karl looked towards a small copse of trees across the campsite. It seemed as if the distressed infant was somewhere in that direction.

“I don’t mind going on my own if I get some more of that kind of attention when I get back,” Steve cajoled his pretty wife. She was firm and fit, and attractive to men. She flirted at every opportunity and used her sexuality to wrap her husband, and other men, around her well-manicured finger. Louise opened her lips wide and allowed his tongue into her mouth. She kept her eyes open and stared at her husband’s brother all the time she kissed him. It was a deliberate act of provocation to wind her brother-in-law up and she loved every minute of it. Hayley watched her husband’s expression for signs of jealousy, but he was otherwise occupied. He was staring into the darkening shadows of a wooded area across the site, and the sound of an infant in distress became louder still.

“Can you hear that?” Karl asked. Hayley nodded and sipped her wine.

“I can’t make out where it’s coming from, noise travels so far on the breeze,” Hayley replied quietly. “Give me the car keys, I’ll drive down the hill to the village and get some supplies.”

Louise and Steve were still joined at the lips. Alcohol was fuelling their passion. Louise pulled out of the embrace and shook her hair again. “Steve will go, Hayley,” she said, tossing her dark mane sexily. “You don’t mind, do you babe?”