bodyguards edged forward.
‘The girls will provide a few weeks’ sport for my men, nothing more. Then I will kill them.’ Kasem turned his head left and right. He too knew the signs.
‘No deal.’ Saw looked across at Handsome. Toad was nowhere to be seen.
‘Then you’ve wasted your journey. That is all I can offer you.’ Kasem held up his hand in a gesture of dismissal and turned back towards the car, anxious to leave.
‘Let’s go,’ he said to Tai.
But Tai was used to getting what he wanted and he didn’t understand why they didn’t just take the girls. He hadn’t the experience of his father. He didn’t know how to judge the situation and he didn’t know Saw. Instead, he glared at his father. Kasem glared back and his tone changed even though he maintained his frozen grin. He edged backwards towards the jeep.
‘Get back in the car.’ There was an understated urgency in it that Tai didn’t pick up on until he saw that the bodyguard with the Sterling was waiting for him to get safely out of the way before he opened fire.
But he waited too long. He never had a chance to hone his intuition skills, Toad had already stabbed him in the back and through the heart.
28
Mann was waiting at the airport when he got the text from Alfie to tell him about the burglary. Mann was about to phone him back, but he decided to call his mother first. He took a deep breath.
‘I understand that you must feel bitter about things.’
Mann waited on the other end of the line. There was no response.
‘Maybe that’s why you haven’t used the money Deming left you. But I want you to use it now. I want you to give me the money to put up a ransom.’ He could hear the silence and an intake of breath. He waited; she wouldn’t be rushed.
Then, ‘Yes,’ came the answer, strong, decisive. It was as if Mann had offered her some way to move on and to forgive.
‘I’ll see you when I get back, Mum.’
‘Take care of yourself, son.’
Mann phoned Alfie. He filled him in on the burglary.
‘How is Magda?’
‘She is mad, that’s a good thing.’
‘Do you think they got what they wanted, Alfie?’
‘I don’t know.’
‘We can’t afford to wait and see. Let’s make it interesting. Contact Katrien and say you have a chance of getting hold of two million US to put up for their safe return.’
‘Yeah, but we haven’t.’
‘Yes, you have. My mother has put up the money from Deming’s estate. But don’t let’s give it to her on a plate. She has to prove to us she can deliver. I’m still going out there.’
There was a pause; Mann could hear Alfie dragging on a joint. ‘Good. That is a good thing she does. Please thank her from us.’
‘It’s the right thing, Alfie—for everyone. Two million should prove tempting for anyone. Plus it’s enough to make someone careless. Katrien would cut herself into a slice of that, and she’d come out of it looking really good. Now we get to see what kind of a negotiator she really is.’
‘Oh, I already know what kind of negotiator she is. It takes a lot to afford this girl. She does deals with high-earning businessmen. Check this out—the Bitch is either a highly-paid call girl, or a dealer, or both.’
‘Who are her clients?’
‘I am in the process of trying to tap into her emails. She has contacts far afield, they cross many countries. Put it this way, I’ve seen the video footage—she doesn’t have boundaries.’
29
Jake grabbed the knife from behind the cooking pot and the five ran for the cover of the poppy fields, frantic to get away as the fight turned into a bloodbath and automatic gunfire rattled above their heads, leaving their trace in the night sky just metres away. They used the knife to cut their bonds and then they crawled on their hands and knees across the dried stony earth of the poppy field and headed towards the track at the far side. They crouched in the cover of the poppies.
‘We have to run for it,’ Jake whispered as the
‘The girls will provide a few weeks’ sport for my men, nothing more. Then I will kill them.’ Kasem turned his head left and right. He too knew the signs.
‘No deal.’ Saw looked across at Handsome. Toad was nowhere to be seen.
‘Then you’ve wasted your journey. That is all I can offer you.’ Kasem held up his hand in a gesture of dismissal and turned back towards the car, anxious to leave.
‘Let’s go,’ he said to Tai.
But Tai was used to getting what he wanted and he didn’t understand why they didn’t just take the girls. He hadn’t the experience of his father. He didn’t know how to judge the situation and he didn’t know Saw. Instead, he glared at his father. Kasem glared back and his tone changed even though he maintained his frozen grin. He edged backwards towards the jeep.
‘Get back in the car.’ There was an understated urgency in it that Tai didn’t pick up on until he saw that the bodyguard with the Sterling was waiting for him to get safely out of the way before he opened fire.
But he waited too long. He never had a chance to hone his intuition skills, Toad had already stabbed him in the back and through the heart.
28
Mann was waiting at the airport when he got the text from Alfie to tell him about the burglary. Mann was about to phone him back, but he decided to call his mother first. He took a deep breath.
‘I understand that you must feel bitter about things.’
Mann waited on the other end of the line. There was no response.
‘Maybe that’s why you haven’t used the money Deming left you. But I want you to use it now. I want you to give me the money to put up a ransom.’ He could hear the silence and an intake of breath. He waited; she wouldn’t be rushed.
Then, ‘Yes,’ came the answer, strong, decisive. It was as if Mann had offered her some way to move on and to forgive.
‘I’ll see you when I get back, Mum.’
‘Take care of yourself, son.’
Mann phoned Alfie. He filled him in on the burglary.
‘How is Magda?’
‘She is mad, that’s a good thing.’
‘Do you think they got what they wanted, Alfie?’
‘I don’t know.’
‘We can’t afford to wait and see. Let’s make it interesting. Contact Katrien and say you have a chance of getting hold of two million US to put up for their safe return.’
‘Yeah, but we haven’t.’
‘Yes, you have. My mother has put up the money from Deming’s estate. But don’t let’s give it to her on a plate. She has to prove to us she can deliver. I’m still going out there.’
There was a pause; Mann could hear Alfie dragging on a joint. ‘Good. That is a good thing she does. Please thank her from us.’
‘It’s the right thing, Alfie—for everyone. Two million should prove tempting for anyone. Plus it’s enough to make someone careless. Katrien would cut herself into a slice of that, and she’d come out of it looking really good. Now we get to see what kind of a negotiator she really is.’
‘Oh, I already know what kind of negotiator she is. It takes a lot to afford this girl. She does deals with high-earning businessmen. Check this out—the Bitch is either a highly-paid call girl, or a dealer, or both.’
‘Who are her clients?’
‘I am in the process of trying to tap into her emails. She has contacts far afield, they cross many countries. Put it this way, I’ve seen the video footage—she doesn’t have boundaries.’
29
Jake grabbed the knife from behind the cooking pot and the five ran for the cover of the poppy fields, frantic to get away as the fight turned into a bloodbath and automatic gunfire rattled above their heads, leaving their trace in the night sky just metres away. They used the knife to cut their bonds and then they crawled on their hands and knees across the dried stony earth of the poppy field and headed towards the track at the far side. They crouched in the cover of the poppies.
‘We have to run for it,’ Jake whispered as the
Similar Books
