Danny Dempsey and the Unlikely Alliance (32 page)

She sneaked back to the door and eased the key gently around until she heard the lock clicking open. Matthew heard it too and was now at a loss as to what was going on. From his hiding place, he couldn't make out any shadowy movement in the room. His eyes had adjusted to the darkness sufficiently well enough to see a bit better. But not well enough to distinguish the small figure of Lily who was obscured from his view by an armchair. She felt along the wall close to the door where she knew the light-switch must be. When her fingers found it, she took a deep breath and flicked it on, at the same time ensuring her hand returned quickly to the door handle, ready to pull it open and fly out of the room as fast as her legs could carry her.

Matthew almost dropped the candlestick when he saw her in the full glare of the light. ‘Lily!' he gasped, throwing aside the drapes and rushing towards her. ‘Oh, Lily, Lily, Lily! I never thought I'd see you again!'

If Matthew was surprised, Lily was astounded. As soon as she heard the drapes being flung across, she tore open the door in readiness for flight. And then she saw her grandfather rushing towards her with a brass candlestick in his hand, tears in his eyes, calling her name. She couldn't speak with the shock of it all. ‘Oh, Lily!' he repeated, tossing the candlestick into an armchair, then kneeling down and wrapping his arms around her so tightly she could hardly breathe. ‘My precious little Lily! I'd never have forgiven myself if anything had happened to you!'

‘Well, well, well!' the mocking voice of Myles Moran interrupted the reunion, his elegant form standing just outside the open door, looking down on them with amusement in his eyes, the artificial light reflecting from the muzzle of the gun he was holding in his right hand. ‘How wonderfully touching altogether. And how thoughtful of you to go to such lengths to make our task that much easier.' He honoured them with one of his most dazzling smiles before briefly glancing over his shoulder. ‘Is that not correct, Miss Conway?'

Anna, in the background, mumbled something inaudible. Myles returned his gaze towards Matthew, affable and amiable as ever, seemingly feeling the need to explain the convenience of discovering the two hostages together. ‘You see, Mr. Dawson, we have another matter of urgency to attend to. But that is the way of things sometimes, is it not? So little time, so much to do, as some wise gentleman once so aptly put it. I'm afraid your influential friends have sealed your fate by refusing to honour their end of the bargain. In short, they consider both yourself and your charming granddaughter to be expendable. My apologies, Mr. Dawson, but as a businessman yourself, I'm sure you understand perfectly the need for final closure on the deal .'

For someone who's supposed to be in a hurry, Anna couldn't help thinking to herself, he's certainly taking his time about getting on with things. There were already ominous noises coming from the entrance door. It sounded as though they were using a battering-ram to break it down. And as much as she deplored what had to be done now, if it didn't happen soon, their chance of escaping would become less likely by the minute.

From the very first second Myles had started talking, Matthew's mind had gone into overdrive. He clutched Lily more closely to him, burying his head in her hair, pretending to be sobbing uncontrollably, while what he was actually doing was whispering into her ear and easing her closer to the door, his body trembling to cover up what he was about.

‘Oh, come, Mr. Dawson!' Myles continued, apparently not in the least concerned at the sound of the front door being pounded. ‘Please! I'd really have expected a more dignified display from a gentleman of your standing. I assure you it will be absolutely painless. After all, I'm not a barbarian.' He slowly brought his gun in line with Matthew's head, at the same time calling on Anna do likewise with Lily. ‘To my right, Miss Conway, please. And at the count of six, if you'd be so kind. I feel the most humane thing to do is despatch both of them at precisely the same time. One, two, th - -'.

‘Now!' Matthew hissed, releasing Lily and throwing himself bodily at the door, slamming it shut before Myles could go any further. Lily sprang from his arms and turned the key in the lock exactly as she'd been told to, then both of them scrambled away on their hands and knees and lay down full-length on the floor behind the bed.

Myles looked at Anna in mild amusement. ‘That was rather impolite of them, don't you think, Miss Conway? Slamming the door in our faces like that.' He aimed at the lock and fired four bullets into it, then tried the handle, but it held firm. ‘I suppose it serves me right for having it built so sturdily in the first place. I must say it has been a most frustrating day all round. Come, Miss Conway, I believe we should be on our way before something
really
unpleasant occurs.'

As she followed him down the corridor towards his office, Anna felt a great sense of relief flooding through her body, despite being unsure of whether or not she'd actually have squeezed the trigger at the count of six. She hardly heard the continued pounding the front door was undergoing as the unanswered question floated around her mind like an unwelcome phantom.

*

When the shots rang out inside the house, Danny felt an icicle enter his heart. They looked at each other in trepidation, none of them wanting to express what they were thinking. Even Charlie stopped battering at the door with his body armour. Harrington face fell. It was Mr. Pearson who was responsible for bringing them back to their senses. ‘We're wasting time speculating,' he declared, even though he was dreading what the shots might have been an indication of. ‘We need to get inside
now
!'

Charlie took a deep armadillo breath, then recommenced battering at the door with renewed energy until it finally disintegrated under the assault. ‘Good work, Charlie!' the Superintendent said, dashing inside, closely followed by Harrington, Danny and Mr. Pearson. Charlie, unfortunately, couldn't fit, and only made matters worse by trying to force himself through. Danny saw his dilemma, slipped back and whispered a few words in his direction. The effect was immediate. A bloodhound with a gloomy face, long sagging ears, and an ungainly way of walking now joined the rescue team, its head swaying from side to side, sniffing along the floor as it went.

The Superintendent and Harrington, guns at the ready, methodically went from room to room in the section Lily had been kept in, finding them all empty. They progressed onwards cautiously, following the route Lily had taken earlier as she followed Myles and Anna. Not far behind them, Danny, Mr. Pearson and Charlie were on the alert for any eventuality. Mr. Pearson had his trusty remote waiting to be brought into action if necessary. They came to the outer door of Myles's secret office. One look and the Superintendent knew it would take an explosive expert to breach it. ‘It looks like we're too late,' he said dismally. ‘My guess is that they've probably already escaped and taken the hostages with them.'

‘But what about the shots we heard?' Harrington blurted out, voicing what they'd all been trying not to think about.

‘ If that‘s the case, Harrington, we've failed.' He bit his lip and tried to prevent tears welling up in his eyes. ‘And we're – we're now looking for two dead bodies. If you're right, they're still around here somewhere.' He turned to Danny and Mr. Pearson, trying to compose himself. ‘It's not something I think either of you should have to endure. You've done enough already. And – and that includes you, Charlie. Harrington and myself will conduct the rest of the search. Wait for us outside.'

‘He's wrong,' Linda whispered into Danny's ears. Danny had forgotten all about her. And no wonder. She'd just returned from one of her telepathic trances in which she'd become totally rigid and unmoving. ‘I've been receiving vibes. Living brain cell vibes. One male, one female. Both still intact and in full working order. They're not far away. There were two similar vibes earlier, but they've left the vicinity and, I suspect, the building. Too far away now for me to trace them any more.'

‘Er, Linda thinks the hostages are still alive, Super.'

Harrington looked at Danny in mystification. ‘Linda?' he asked, looking around in all directions. ‘Who's Linda?'

Danny flicked his head in the direction of his shoulder. There was nothing there. Linda had secreted herself behind his ear. Harrington suspected the strain of it all was becoming too much for Danny. Then, much to Harrington's consternation he heard the Superintendent ask, even though he too hadn't a notion who Linda might be. ‘Can she give us a bearing on where exactly they are?' Harrington then began to think that it was perhaps himself who was the one cracking up. Maybe that latest bump on the back of his head he'd taken when the killer brought him to the ground had been the final straw after being rendered unconscious earlier. He watched as Danny cocked his head and listened to what appeared to be the empty air, then nodded in affirmation to the Superintendent's question. If he did come out of this in one piece, Harrington was going request leave of absence and take a long vacation in some exotic resort to recover what was left of his sanity.

Danny then led the way under Linda's directions straight to the bedroom door. Charlie was a bit miffed to be relegated to second place in the search and discover operation, especially as he now was what was needed to sniff his way to success. But it was only a passing wavelet of resentment. He knew the important thing was to locate the hostages, whoever might be responsible for discovering them.

The Superintendent tried the door handle, but it wouldn't budge. ‘Someone's already had a go at shooting their way in,' he said softly, seeing the bullet holes massed about the lock. Then he gestured to Danny and Mr. Pearson to back off to a safer position. ‘Harrington,' he said quietly, pointing a finger to the left of the door, ‘Cover me! And let's hope this isn't a trap they've set up for us.'

Harrington took up his position as instructed, his weapon at the ready. The Superintendent retreated across the hallway to the far wall, made a run at it and took a flying leap off the ground, smashing the sole of his size twelve boot an inch or so under the lock. It was all it took after being weakened by Myles's earlier gunfire. The hinges held, but the door flew inwards and crashed against the bedroom wall, the reverberation echoing loudly throughout the house. Harrington was inside before the Superintendent had recovered his poise, his gun hand waving all around the room, prepared to squeeze off as many shots as he could before he himself was gunned down. If that was what it took, he was fully prepared to give his life in the line of duty. And was determined to bring down as many as he could with him to make it easier for the Superintendent to take out any survivors. A figure rose from behind the bed like an apparition. Harrington swung the gun in its direction, his finger automatically tightening on the trigger.

Matthew raised his hands over his head just in time. Then Lily's face appeared over the top of the bed, pale and frightened looking. She flung her arms around her grandfather's waist and clung to him desperately. Harrington felt a wave of sheer terror engulf him at the realisation of what he'd almost done. The enormity of it overcame him, and his entire body crumpled in a mixture of relief and guilt. The Superintendent's voice helped him recover some of his composure.

‘Sorry it took us so long, Mr. Dawson, but we did have a few obstacles to overcome along the way. And despite our ragged appearances, we are the forces of law and order. We've come to take you home.'

Matthew nodded, his arm tightening protectively around Lily's shoulder. He didn't really care what they looked like, though couldn't help wondering as he eyed Danny if the police recruitment age had been drastically reduced over the last number of years.

* * * *

M
yles brought the silenced helicopter down, then cut the engine in case the movement of the rotor blades might possibly draw attention to their position. He somehow doubted it, having a strong suspicion that those inside the house were now fully occupied in their search for the hostages. He eased himself from the cockpit, as Anna did likewise from the passenger side, then opened the back passenger door to its limits. As Anna stood watching, Myles drew a powerful shoulder-harness attached to a thick chain from the aircraft. He eased the chain out further until it reached the spot where Teddy was solidified. He gave another tug to draw the chain taut and ensure it was securely anchored inside. ‘Splendid, Miss Conway,' he said pleasantly, slipping the harness into position under Teddy's armpits, then buckling it over his shoulders. ‘Now all we have to do is winch Mr. Tattoo aboard.'

Anna looked at Dapper and Needles, then raised her eyebrows in the form of question marks. ‘I'm afraid not, Miss Conway.' Myles answered her silent query as he went and turned on the engine, pressing the winch switch to lift Teddy off the ground. ‘As the vulgar expression has it, such individuals are a dime a dozen, as are all those others who deserted their posts at the first sign of danger. Once we have regrouped, we can recruit as many of that type as we wish.' He steadied Teddy as the winch drew him ever closer to the welcoming door. ‘Mr. Tattoo, on the other hand, is a treasure beyond replacement.' He eased him inside and laid him out full-length on the back seats. ‘As are you yourself, Miss Conway.'

Teddy's feet were still sticking out slightly, preventing the door closing properly. Myles tried to bend Teddy's knees, but he was as stiff as a poker. Nevertheless, he managed to engineer the rigid body further inside, allowing him to safely lock the door. ‘There we are!' he said, indicating to Anna to climb aboard. ‘I'll join you in just a moment, Miss Conway.'

Anna glanced over her shoulder before strapping herself in her seat. She reached behind to feel Teddy's face. It was like granite. He still had his hand up shading his eyes, as though looking into the distance for something or other. Only for the winch, there was no way Myles could have managed to get him aboard. She wondered how they were going to manage to free him from the mysterious spell Mr. Pearson had put on him. But that was for the future. She wished Myles would hurry up or the only future they'd have would be in a prison cell. Anna looked out to see what was keeping him. He was putting the finishing touches to something he was writing in a notepad. Then he tore the page out and placed it in the breast pocket of Desmond's jacket, jutting out so that it wouldn't be overlooked and, smiling as though their campaign had been a triumphant success instead of a dismal failure, Myles boarded the helicopter. Only when he was directly over the house did he disengage the engine silencers, deliberately hovering there to let those below realise they were being bid
adieu.
Then he banked the craft to the left and opened the throttle, taking himself, Anna and Teddy towards freedom, his mind already occupied with the severity of the punishment which would have to be brought to bear on those who'd been foolish enough to thwart him on this occasion. He was looking forward to inflicting it on them immensely.

*

Later that night, at ten o'clock precisely, Superintendent Clifford turned on his television set. The face of the Minister for Justice beamed out from it, looking extremely self-satisfied. He allowed the cameras dwell on the glow radiating from every fibre of his being, surrounded as he was by the aura of elation those in seats of power revel in when they are in the position to bring to the nation's attention tidings of joy, whilst also ensuring that their listeners are in left in no doubt that their leadership has been responsible for the wonderful news they are imparting. Which was exactly what the Minister did. The dreadful ordeal of the Governor of the Central Bank and his little granddaughter was over. The perpetrators of this most heinous crime were all in custody. None had escaped, and the public could rest assured that the full rigours of the law would be applied to see that they were locked away for a very long time indeed. The Minister concluded his broadcast with words to the effect that he'd immediately put the wheels in motion to make absolutely certain that nothing like this would ever happen again. The electorate had his solemn word on it.

The Superintendent gave a wry smile as he switched off the set. The only ones in custody were minions. He looked at the note he'd extracted from Desmond's top pocket, lying on the coffee table in front of him. If the contents were anything to go by, the Minister might yet have to eat every single word his spin doctors had so carefully scripted for him. Time would tell. He himself had the feeling that his non-existent team were going to be called into action in the not too distant future. It would be a privilege to work with them again.

* * * *