You Will Never Find Me by Robert Wilson Page B

keeping a team in Algeciras to take the deliveries, but we all here now. Madrid is the transportation centre for the rest of Europe. Now we looking to send containers direct to Liverpool, forget Algeciras. We looking for markets for like a thousand kilos a month.’
    â€˜I reckon we could manage three hundred a month easy, don’t you, Dad?’
    Darren’s first words, and they might as well have come out his arse for all he knew, thought Dennis. Didn’t have the first idea.
    â€˜That’s what I like to hear,’ said El Osito. ‘Positive thinking. Three hundred a month it is.’
    â€˜Maybe we should just analyse thi—’ started Dennis.
    â€˜You a big strong boy,’ said El Osito to Darren, pulling his chair up to the table, putting his elbow on the surface, opening his hand. ‘You like to arm-wrestle?’
    Jaime and Jesús sat dead-eyed on the other side of the table as if they had to put up with this kind of thing all the time. Making a quick comparison between his vast but slightly overweight son and El Osito’s evidently powered-up musculature, Dennis thought, at least I don’t have to worry about Darren winning.
    They engaged hands, Darren’s not easily swallowed by El Osito’s monstrous grip. The Colombian stared into the Londoner’s blue eyes and with a grunt their shoulders popped and they started. After two minutes they hadn’t moved. The cords stood out in their necks. Jaime’s eyes started shifting in his head. This never happened. El Osito always won inside ten seconds. Dennis was trying not to feel too proud. Slowly the Colombian began to ease Darren down, but no sooner had he dropped him a couple of inches than Darren put him back to upright. A vein stood out in El Osito’s forehead. It throbbed with extra blood. His eyes had gone black with concentration.
    Slowly Darren eased El Osito’s wrist back, one inch, two inches, three inches. Jaime was thinking, don’t do this or none of us will get out of here alive. Only when El Osito’s knuckles were just off the surface of the table did Darren relent. The Colombian took advantage and slammed him back down.
    El Osito smiled, which was the good news.
    â€˜I
thought
you a big strong boy,’ he said.
    Â 
    â€˜Right!’ said Mercy, meaning business. ‘I need to work. I’m no good at this limbo . . . My life is falling apart.’
    She was back in Makepeace’s office and had just managed to stop herself saying ‘limbo shit’, Alleyne style.
    â€˜What happens if you start something over here and then there are, let’s say, developments with Amy in Spain?’ asked Makepeace.
    â€˜I’ll stick to the job. Charlie’s more than capable of dealing with anything that comes up. He speaks the lingo for a start, after all those jobs he did in Mexico, Colombia and the Philippines. He’s not far off fluent.
    â€˜I spoke to him as soon as I heard from the Spanish, told him that Amy had been seen on CCTV arriving in Barajas Airport and taking the Metro into the city. He’d already spoken to his friend at MI6, who asked Spanish intelligence if they’d help find out where she stayed on Saturday night, and he’s got a hotel name. If anything comes from that, Charlie will deal with it. If I don’t go back to work I’m going to go nuts. You know what I’m like, sir. Need a job to keep me focused.’
    â€˜You’re in an emotional state, Mercy, and that’s no way to be for a kidnap consultancy job.’
    â€˜I
was
in an emotional state. I’ve come to terms with what’s happened now. I’ve rationalised it. Amy told the police officer she had money and wasn’t going to be on the streets. She’s not in any danger.’
    â€˜Look, I don’t want to distress you unnecessarily but I have to ask you these questions,’ said Makepeace. ‘What if you get bad news