Circle of Fire (10 page)

‘Cousin?' Lubna said, looking surprised.

‘Oh, sorry, didn't I tell you? Soraya's my cousin,' Khaled said.

‘And we can't have your
cousin
starving, can we?' Nazim chipped in.

Maya didn't like the way he put emphasis on the word ‘cousin'; it sounded sarcastic, suspicious.
She looked over at him, but he'd turned his back on her.

Lubna touched Maya's shoulder. ‘We have to wash before we eat, Soraya.'

‘Oh yes, of course,' Maya answered quickly.

The look of pure hatred on Nazim's face as she passed him spooked Maya. In the bathroom, her hands trembled as she ran them under the tap – she was afraid of him, she couldn't help it. His eyes burned with hate, he'd be capable of anything. But she was angry too. How she'd kept from screaming at him, she didn't know.

Keep calm, Maya, hold it together. Watch him carefully, use all the tricks that Pam taught you. He's not so bright, he's bound to give something away.

And what about Khaled? He'd covered for her, calling her his cousin, but then earlier he'd asked Nazim about the kidnapping – that coded stuff about catching the rabbit hadn't fooled her for a moment. He'd known about the plot to seize Pam, so why hadn't he warned her? Whose side was he actually on?

It was confusing and scary. Without much effort on her part she'd made contact with the Brotherhood,
but at any moment it could all blow up in her face.

She felt the touch of Lubna's hand on her arm. ‘Soraya. I think your hands are clean enough.'

‘Oh.' Maya dropped the soap and turned off the tap. ‘Sorry, I was dreaming.'

Lubna smiled and handed her a towel. ‘I've got cousins in Derby,' she said.

‘Oh, really,' Maya answered, her mind elsewhere. Some more of the code words Nazim had uttered came into her mind.
The decoy worked. The hounds are hunting south.

With a shiver of excitement she put two and two together. She'd been right, Omar's men wanted the police to think they'd taken Pam to the farmhouse, but they hadn't, they'd brought her north. It made sense. Nazim was here and he was one of the gang. Pam could be close by.

The cellar! Khaled had nearly had a fit when he'd found her at the door. He was warning her away. Her mind raced – she had to get a message to Simon.

Glancing across at Lubna who was waiting patiently, she fished for information. ‘It was nice of Omar to send food,' she said. ‘Who is he?'

Lubna pressed her lips together. ‘Omar's our leader,' she said. ‘He's very generous. Soon
you will meet him.'

‘Is he like a religious leader, then?'

Lubna averted her eyes and opened the bathroom door. ‘Remember, the men will eat first,' she said, as she went out onto the landing.

‘Lubna,' Maya said, as they were going out of the door.

She hesitated. ‘Yes?'

‘Did you hear about the kidnapping this morning?'

‘Yes, I heard.'

‘Do you know anything about it?'

Lubna raised her eyebrows and shrugged. ‘Why should I know anything?'

‘Because the police think it was done by Muslim extremists.'

A sharp look of anger slashed Lubna's face. ‘Who told you that?'

Maya gulped. Before she could think of a convincing answer Lubna stepped forward, her eyes glowing.

‘We are faithful to Allah and His prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him. Why is it that in this country, if you believe in something, you're called an extremist?'

‘I'm sorry,' Maya said. ‘I didn't mean to make you angry.'

Lubna raised her eyebrows and sighed. ‘I'm not angry. But you must learn to guard your tongue. People here are sensitive. Come on, or the men will have eaten all the food.'

Maya nodded, eager to get back to the kitchen where she might pick up some useful information.

Khaled and Nazim were sitting at the table. They'd been joined by three other guys and, as Lubna had predicted, they'd eaten most of the food. There were only a few bits of chicken left, but there was rice with vegetables and Lubna served Maya with a heaped bowl.

They sat apart from the men on two chairs by the sink. Lubna settled a book on her lap and was soon absorbed in the text, her lips moving as she read. Maya tried to look as if she was interested in her food and not in their conversation, but her ears were straining.

Nazim was speaking in low but excited tones. ‘Omar's coming to the meeting. Now that woman's out of the picture, if he gives the order to go, we'll do it. With Allah's guidance we'll light up the skies, brothers.'

For a moment nobody spoke, but Maya could feel the tension and a palpable sense of excitement. Then Khaled said, ‘We don't know how much the woman passed on before she was taken out. What if the Security Forces know all our plans?'

A lad with his back to Maya reared up and scoffed. ‘We're not going to let one woman dictate what we can do.'

‘They're raiding houses, rounding up brothers. We have to avenge their honour,' another of the boys said. ‘It's war.'

‘The woman should be sacrificed,' Nazim declared, adding emphasis to his words with a violent throat-cutting gesture.

The bowl of food slipped out of Maya's hand onto her lap, spilling some rice onto her jeans. She looked across at Nazim, sending daggers of hate towards his brain. He turned his head and stared at her. His mouth skewed into a tight, sneering smile, vindictive, nasty, but his eyes showed something else. It was hard to fathom, but she thought it was a glow of triumph.

‘Are you all right?' Lubna asked her.

‘Yeah, I'm fine,' she managed to say. ‘I was up early. I feel a bit light-headed. I need to get
some fresh air.'

Khaled got up. ‘You'll have to excuse us, we need to get ready for the meeting.'

After the guys had trooped upstairs, Maya opened the kitchen door and stepped outside to reach in her pocket for her phone. Glancing around, she checked the yard was empty, closed the door behind her and then punched in Simon's number.

Her heart raced while she listened to Simon's phone ringing.

Please answer, please.

She held her breath, desperate to hear his voice, but when she did, it was just his voicemail message. After the pips she whispered, ‘It's Maya. I'm in Leeds and—'

She stopped abruptly as the door behind her creaked. A small, dark figure stood at her shoulder.

‘What you doin' out here?' Nazim asked.

The phone nearly slipped from her hand. ‘I . . . I . . . er . . . was just phoning my family.'

‘Were you? Don't let me stop you.'

‘They . . . er . . . they weren't there. I was just leaving a message.'

‘So, finish it.'

‘It's OK. I'll do it later.'

‘What you doin' here? Who invited you?'

‘I'm Khaled's cousin.'

Maya tried to sound offhand, hoping he wouldn't notice how much she was trembling.

‘I haven't seen you around here before,' he said.

‘No,' she replied. ‘I live near Derby.'

‘So, why you here now?'

He was watching her closely. One eyebrow rose, the scar on his forehead wrinkled. Ten different answers shot through her head, but she found she couldn't speak.

He chuckled. ‘Khaled never told me he had a beautiful cousin in Derby.' He licked his lips and brushed close to her as he moved past. ‘Kept that to himself, didn't he? Funny you should arrive today when Omar had business in Derbyshire – important business, momentous.'

While speaking, his eyes examined her face, recording the slightest twitch of a muscle, assessing the meaning of every expression. Panic surged through her as his gaze swept the contours of her face and body. Her throat dried, her nerves sizzled. If he suspected who she was, she was in deep trouble.

She couldn't take her eyes off him as he walked across the yard. Suddenly he turned.

‘You'll have to excuse me,' he said, with mock politeness. ‘I'm meeting somebody important. They are down there waiting for me. Top secret.'

She caught a glimpse of a twisted smile before he opened the red door and disappeared, closing it firmly behind him.

Glancing back, she saw Lubna at the kitchen window watching her. Her mind racing ahead, she went back into the kitchen and grabbed the bag into which Lubna had put the remains of their meal.

‘I'll take this out to the bin,' she said.

‘Thank you,' Lubna replied, smiling.

‘Then if you come upstairs I'll give you some books and some of our leaflets to study.'

‘OK. See you in a minute.'

Outside it was raining lightly now, a strong, musty smell rose from the bin as she opened the lid. She dumped the rubbish inside and then, in a few quick steps, was standing in front of the red door. She bent down and yanked the handle; this time it opened. In front of her was a flight of stone steps leading down to a cellar.

Taking a deep breath, she edged carefully down the stairs. Halfway down, she stopped and listened. She couldn't hear anything.

A few steps from the bottom she paused, and listened again. Her heart was racing, blood thundering in her ears. If somebody came up the stairs she knew she was vulnerable, an easy target – no protection, no weapons. How could she explain what she was doing? But she had to get closer. She had to know who was down there, who Nazim was talking to. She hardly dared admit it, but wasn't there a tiny flaring spark of a possibility that Pam was down there?

That thought drew her onwards. Slowly, quietly she descended into the bare stairwell. Still nothing, no sound. She trod lightly, feeling her way into the darkness, until suddenly a violent spear of light blasted her eyes. She put up her hand to shield her vision, but she couldn't see round or through the dazzling beam.

A cold, steely voice sent a shuddering chill through her. ‘Ah, Maya, we've been waiting for you.'

Maya couldn't see a thing. All she could make out were shadows. Then she was grabbed from behind. She screamed as her arms were pinned to her sides.

She was sure it was Nazim holding her, breathing hot air onto her neck.

‘Shut up! It's useless to scream. Nobody can hear you,' he spat.

‘Sit her down,' the man in command ordered.

She was jammed into a chair, hands clamped hard onto her shoulders.

‘Where's my—' she started to say, but a hand pressed the words back into her mouth.

‘Let's get this straight. I ask the questions,' the man in charge said.

She peered into the light, trying to see the
owner of the voice.

‘Who are you?' he asked.

‘I'm Soraya.'

Fingers dug into her neck, forcing her head back. She could hardly breathe, a horrible gurgling sound came from her throat.

‘Let me ask you again. Who are you?'

‘I . . . I'm Soraya,' she croaked.

‘Why have you come here? Who sent you?'

She couldn't answer. Her tongue was stuck at the back of her throat; she thought she was going to swallow it. In panic, she pushed against the chair, writhing from side to side. Then suddenly she was released, her head lolling forwards. A face loomed in front of her: grey beard, dark hooded eyes. She was sure it was the driver of the silver Mercedes, the man who'd watched as she and Pam ran past him.

‘You're too curious, Maya, too curious for your own good,' he said.

‘My name's Soraya,' she told him. ‘I came to learn how to be a good Muslim.'

The man stooped down until his face was level with Maya's. ‘I know who you are,' he said. ‘What I want to know is, who sent you?'

His mouth, buried in his grey beard, was soft
and pink, it twisted into a half-smile. Maya couldn't stand it. She lunged forward trying to swipe at him. Immediately her arms were grabbed and forced up her back. She yelled out in pain.

The bearded man leant forward and hissed into her face, ‘How did you find us?'

‘Stop!'

It was Khaled. He was standing somewhere behind her. ‘Why are you torturing her?' he asked.

‘Do you know who this is?' the man with the beard demanded.

The dazzling light was turned away. She saw Khaled standing in front of her, his white shirt glowing.

‘Yes, it's Soraya, my cousin.' He stepped closer and spoke angrily to Maya. ‘I told you not to disgrace me. Asking questions all the time. There are some things a woman cannot know.' He grabbed hold of her hand. ‘Come with me. You can stay in the women's room and study.'

He turned to the man with the beard. ‘I apologise, Omar. Her parents sent her here because she's becoming rebellious. She'll soon learn our ways.'

So it
was
Omar, the leader of the Allied Brotherhood. She could see his sunglasses in his top
pocket. He was the crazy driver, the man who'd been watching for her and Pam, waiting for just the right moment to call his army. He was staring at Khaled, his eyes blazing, his white shirt open at the collar, stomach bulging over his black suit trousers, black shoes sparkling. Everyone in the room was silent.

Omar fingered his beard and shook his head. ‘She may have fooled you, Khaled,' he said. ‘But we know her true identity. This is the daughter of our captive. The woman who tried to ruin all our plans.' He swivelled his head to look at Maya and gave a short, mocking laugh. ‘No doubt you have come to find your mother.'

Maya dropped her head and closed her eyes, defeated.

Khaled stepped forward. ‘What?' he shouted at her. ‘You told me a pack of lies?'

She opened her eyes and glared at him, but said nothing.

He threw back his head and stood tall. ‘Omar, I can't believe it. She said she was my cousin Soraya, that her mother sent her to be educated. She's the same age and looks like Soraya, but I admit I haven't seen her for a few years. I can't believe I was such a fool.'