the river. I’ll go and call her.’
Sabir trudged back towards the car, shaking his head. It was an odd thing to admit but he was slowly beginning to enjoy himself. He wasn’t a great deal older than Alexi but there had been times in the past few years when he’d realised that he was starting to lose his zest for life – his sense of the absurd. Now, with the loose artillery of Alexi and Yola acting in counterpoint to the still lurking threat of the police, he suddenly felt all the excitement of the unknown bubbling up again in his stomach.
‘Adam!’ The shout came from just beyond a small stand of trees down near the river.
Sabir dropped the asparagus and started to run.
The first thing he saw was Alexi floundering in the river. ‘Quickly, Adam. I can’t swim. She’s in the water.’
‘Where?’
‘Just below you. Her face is down but she’s still alive. I saw her arm move.’
Sabir crested the bank and executed a clumsy leap into the slow-moving river. He reached Yola with his first surge and levered her up into his arms.
She raised a hand as if toward him off, but her eyes were dead when they looked up at him and there was no real force left in the movement. Sabir clutched her to his chest and allowed the force of the river to sweep them back towards the bank.
‘I think she’s had a fit of some sort. Run up to the car and get a blanket.’
Alexi floundered out of the water. He gave a single, anxious glance backwards and then pounded up the hill towards the car.
Sabir laid Yola down on to the sand. She was breathing normally, but her face was sheet-white and her lips had already turned an unhealthy blue.
‘What is it? What happened?’
She began shaking, as if, with her retrieval from the water, some other non-mechanical process had been triggered.
Sabir glanced up to check on Alexi’s progress. ‘Look, I’m sorry. Alexi’s bringing a dry blanket. I’m going to have to get you out of these clothes.’ He had expected – even hoped for – an argument. But there was no response. He began undoing Yola’s blouse.
‘You shouldn’t do that.’ Alexi had reached Sabir’s side. He proffered the blanket. ‘She wouldn’t like it.’
‘She’s cold as ice, Alexi. And she’s in shock. If we leave her in these clothes she’ll catch pneumonia. We need to wrap her up in this blanket and then get her back to the car. I can start driving with the air conditioning set to full heat. She’ll warm up quickly then.’
Alexi hesitated.
‘I’m serious. If you don’t want to embarrass her, turn away.’ He eased off her blouse and then worked the skirt down over her hips. He was surprised to notice that she wore no underwear of any sort.
‘God, she’s beautiful.’ Alexi was staring down at her. He was still clutching the blanket.
‘Give me that.’
‘Oh. Okay.’
Sabir wrapped Yola in the blanket. ‘Now take her legs. Let’s get her up to the car before she freezes to death.’
39
‘Don’t you think it’s time to call in back-up?’
‘We’re forty-five minutes behind them. What sort of back-up do you think we need, Macron? A jet fighter?’
‘What if the eye-man strikes again?’
‘The eye-man?’ Calque smiled, amused by Macron’s unexpectedly creative imagination. ‘He won’t.’
‘How can you be so sure?’
‘Because he’s achieved his purpose. He’s bought himself a few hours’ leeway. He knows that by the time we’ve restored…’ Calque hesitated, searching for the right word.
‘GPS trilateration?’
‘GPS trilateration… exactly… and caught up with the car, he’ll have what he wants.’
‘And what’s that?’
‘Search me. I’m after the man, not his motive. I leave all that sort of rot to the judicial courts.’ Calque made a pillow of his jacket and placed it between his head and the window. ‘But I know one thing for certain. I wouldn’t want to be in Sabir or the girl’s shoes during the next sixty minutes.’
***
‘Is she
Sabir trudged back towards the car, shaking his head. It was an odd thing to admit but he was slowly beginning to enjoy himself. He wasn’t a great deal older than Alexi but there had been times in the past few years when he’d realised that he was starting to lose his zest for life – his sense of the absurd. Now, with the loose artillery of Alexi and Yola acting in counterpoint to the still lurking threat of the police, he suddenly felt all the excitement of the unknown bubbling up again in his stomach.
‘Adam!’ The shout came from just beyond a small stand of trees down near the river.
Sabir dropped the asparagus and started to run.
The first thing he saw was Alexi floundering in the river. ‘Quickly, Adam. I can’t swim. She’s in the water.’
‘Where?’
‘Just below you. Her face is down but she’s still alive. I saw her arm move.’
Sabir crested the bank and executed a clumsy leap into the slow-moving river. He reached Yola with his first surge and levered her up into his arms.
She raised a hand as if toward him off, but her eyes were dead when they looked up at him and there was no real force left in the movement. Sabir clutched her to his chest and allowed the force of the river to sweep them back towards the bank.
‘I think she’s had a fit of some sort. Run up to the car and get a blanket.’
Alexi floundered out of the water. He gave a single, anxious glance backwards and then pounded up the hill towards the car.
Sabir laid Yola down on to the sand. She was breathing normally, but her face was sheet-white and her lips had already turned an unhealthy blue.
‘What is it? What happened?’
She began shaking, as if, with her retrieval from the water, some other non-mechanical process had been triggered.
Sabir glanced up to check on Alexi’s progress. ‘Look, I’m sorry. Alexi’s bringing a dry blanket. I’m going to have to get you out of these clothes.’ He had expected – even hoped for – an argument. But there was no response. He began undoing Yola’s blouse.
‘You shouldn’t do that.’ Alexi had reached Sabir’s side. He proffered the blanket. ‘She wouldn’t like it.’
‘She’s cold as ice, Alexi. And she’s in shock. If we leave her in these clothes she’ll catch pneumonia. We need to wrap her up in this blanket and then get her back to the car. I can start driving with the air conditioning set to full heat. She’ll warm up quickly then.’
Alexi hesitated.
‘I’m serious. If you don’t want to embarrass her, turn away.’ He eased off her blouse and then worked the skirt down over her hips. He was surprised to notice that she wore no underwear of any sort.
‘God, she’s beautiful.’ Alexi was staring down at her. He was still clutching the blanket.
‘Give me that.’
‘Oh. Okay.’
Sabir wrapped Yola in the blanket. ‘Now take her legs. Let’s get her up to the car before she freezes to death.’
39
‘Don’t you think it’s time to call in back-up?’
‘We’re forty-five minutes behind them. What sort of back-up do you think we need, Macron? A jet fighter?’
‘What if the eye-man strikes again?’
‘The eye-man?’ Calque smiled, amused by Macron’s unexpectedly creative imagination. ‘He won’t.’
‘How can you be so sure?’
‘Because he’s achieved his purpose. He’s bought himself a few hours’ leeway. He knows that by the time we’ve restored…’ Calque hesitated, searching for the right word.
‘GPS trilateration?’
‘GPS trilateration… exactly… and caught up with the car, he’ll have what he wants.’
‘And what’s that?’
‘Search me. I’m after the man, not his motive. I leave all that sort of rot to the judicial courts.’ Calque made a pillow of his jacket and placed it between his head and the window. ‘But I know one thing for certain. I wouldn’t want to be in Sabir or the girl’s shoes during the next sixty minutes.’
***
‘Is she
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