Kidnap (The Billionaire Series) (4 page)

Conor
checked his watch. He had less
than 36 hours to go. Two weeks earlier, he thought he’d have plenty of time.
However, he had since seen the security
system which
protected the Kennedy Estate. It was unbelievable. They had every conceivable
device and many he was not aware even existed. Donald Kennedy was obviously a
very paranoid man.

Conor
and his
eight
man
crew had committed just about every crime imaginable. They had been
the IRA’s top team before the peace agreement. They were extremely violent and
highly respected terrorists. But all that had now passed and they were
struggling to adapt to
peace time
. When
Conor
had called them to gauge their interest in the job,
they had jumped at the chance. The prospect of getting rich beyond their
wildest dreams certainly didn’t hinder their decision.

The previous two weeks had been spent planning how to snatch the
kids and this had not gone well. Their preferred option of sneaking in and
stealing the children during the night was quickly ruled out. On seeing the
estate for the first time, they knew they had a problem.
Eight
foot
walls were topped with razor wire and sensors were everywhere. The
surveillance
cameras which covered every inch of wall
were not like any they had seen before. They had the usual infrared bulbs
either side but a strange spherical device hung underneath. Ryan was their
technical whiz and after a few days of searching had finally discovered that
this device was a
scanner which
detected body heat,
movement and smell. Ryan had managed to get a copy of the system’s
specifications which
detailed its capabilities. It was
designed to detect any foreign object in the vicinity, scan its body mass and
dimensions, including facial structure and body odour. Anything outwith its
programmed parameters would trigger an alarm. Ryan explained in plain English
that unless their physical details were programmed into the system, they would
trip the
alarm
as the scanners were everywhere. Only
wildlife and specific individuals would be accepted into the grounds. The
system could even differentiate between the male and female of a species. He
also explained that the system had not gone beyond the experimental phase
because the project had been scrapped.
Conor
perked
up at the thought of some design fault but was disappointed to learn that the
system had only been scrapped because it was not economically viable. It was so
perfect, nobody could
have
 
afforded
it. They realised that
‘sneak and grab’ was definitely not an option.

Another possibility was to ram the front gate and make a run for
the house in a fast car, grab the kids by force and escape to a safe house.
They had had to watch the gates for two days before being able to confirm the
viability of that plan. It was ruled out. The gates revealed two issues.
Firstly, there were in fact two sets of gates. A small area behind the main
gates revealed another
gate which
was closed. Any
vehicle entering the premises had to wait for the first gate to close before
the second gate would open. The second issue was the gates themselves. They
were more like vault doors than gates, even a bulldozer would not get through
them.

The next option was ruled out even more quickly - the use of a
helicopter to infiltrate the grounds. The estate was close to the UK’s nuclear
warhead storage facility and was a strictly enforced
no-fly-zone
.
The Kennedys’ helicopters were the only civilian aircraft permitted to fly
within the area. Any other aircraft would immediately be challenged and shot
down if it did not comply with instructions to leave the area. Following recent
terrorist events, the UK had enforced a strict ‘shoot first, ask questions
later’ policy when national security was at risk. None of
Conor’s
team
were
suicidal.

That left them with one final option, infiltration from the Loch.
The Estate stood on the edge of Loch Lomond and had over 2 miles of shoreline.
However, no boat could get closer than 200 yards from the shoreline due to
thick wire netting protruding above the water-line barring access. The only
entry and exit point for boats was via a similar system to the one operated at
the main gates, a primary and secondary gate. The water was also littered with
sensors and
the shoreline was covered by as many cameras
.
So that option was also ruled out. This job was looking impossible.
Conor
was
beginning worry
,
seriously worry
.
 

He stared at the buildings just behind the shoreline. That was
the only place from which the whole estate could be seen. The driveway from the
main gate was over three miles long and the houses could not be seen from any
point along the wall. He zoomed in on the main house and wondered what would
happen if they just went for it. The
pay day
could be huge.
If a man could spend the money Donald had on security, how much would he pay to
save the lives of his kids?

It suddenly came to him, there was one thing missing from the
estate. How could he not have noticed it? He scanned the buildings again, the Main
House, the Lodge House, the Guest House and the gymnasium. He couldn’t believe
it. He even checked the helipad, nothing.

“Guys?” he began to sound positive again.

“Yeah,” they answered. Kevin and Ryan had accompanied him on the
boat trip.

 
“Have you noticed
anything missing?”

“Don’t think so. That place is tighter than Fort Knox,” replied
Kevin.

“Maybe and maybe not. Fort Knox has one very important feature
this place doesn’t have.”

“What?” asked
Ryan.

“Guards with guns. Or any guards for that matter,” he said
triumphantly.

They both grabbed their binoculars and scanned the grounds.
Conor
was right. During their surveillance of the estate
they had not spotted a single guard. They had been so caught up in the
incredible security system that they had failed to notice the lack of the most
obvious. It couldn’t be that simple they thought. OK, the alarms would go off
but the alarms were only as good as the police who responded to them. A couple
of country coppers were no
match
for them.

“Let’s get back. We’ve got a raid to plan,” said
Conor
as he continued to scan the grounds for guards.

Kevin spun his seat back round and threw the throttle to full
power. The boat powered away and would soon have them back to camp.

Chapter
11

Rachel hit the intercom button.

“Tom! Lela! It’s time for lunch! Come on! We’re all waiting for
you!” she shouted.

A minute later, Lela buzzed back to let her know they were on
their way up. Two minutes later, they appeared. Tom’s grandparents, who had
just arrived, wished Tom a happy birthday and gave him even more presents,
although he didn’t know when he would ever wear the jumper with “TOM” on the
front or use the handkerchiefs with “TK” embroidered on them.

“So how is it?” asked Donald who could see that Tom was bursting
to tell them all.

“Amazing!
It’s just
so
realistic! I mean
,
we crashed taking off from Glasgow and I nearly
sh
…”

“TOM!” interrupted Rachel, glancing at her parents slightly
embarrassed.

“It really was terrifying!” said Lela taking a seat. “Absolutely
terrifying.” She was still shaken by the experience and was glad to sit down.

Tom spent the next twenty minutes detailing his first lesson,
eventually pausing to notice the glazed look on everyone’s faces.

“Too much detail?” he asked.

He received a resounding yes. Every time he started discussing
planes or any kind of technology, he seemed to lose them. However, before he
had a chance to try and translate what he had just said into plain English, his
father interrupted.

“I received a very interesting call today,” he announced,
grabbing everyone’s attention. They all looked at him, waiting for him to
continue. But he remained silent.

“Well are you going to tell us or not?” asked Rachel, the
suspense irritating her.

“It was from an old friend whom I haven’t seen for ages and it
seems that a conversation we had a few years ago has come to fruition. It’s
probably easier if I start from the beginning though.”

“Always a good place,” suggested Rachel.

“Anyway,” said Donald. “About five years ago, a company which had
been in operation for over seventy-five years went bankrupt; it was the single
largest bankruptcy ever. The impact of its downfall was felt worldwide. Over
100,000 people lost their jobs overnight and over the course of the year that
followed, it’s estimated that more than half a million further jobs were lost
as a direct result of the bankruptcy. The company had been a very well run and
profitable organisation, with a highly respected Chief Executive Officer. But
following the untimely death of this CEO, his only son, aged
twenty
eight
, took over the running of the company. Unfortunately, his business
acumen up to that point had extended to selling unwanted gifts on eBay. Without
taking the time to speak to his father’s Board of Directors, he fired them all
and replaced them with a bunch of imbeciles, mostly old friends who’d only
bothered to befriend him because of his family’s wealth. The son had complete
control and nobody could challenge his authority. It did not take long for him
and his bunch of imbeciles to destroy the company. As I said, the impact was
felt worldwide. The son was sent to the best schools and colleges but it
transpired that he’d dropped out of every course he’d ever started. This
catastrophic bankruptcy was the
straw which
broke the
camel’s back. Something had to be done to protect the world from these
uneducated, ill-prepared heirs who destroyed decades of hard work and millions
of jobs. So, a few of the world’s most powerful men met to discuss the problem
and they reached an extraordinary conclusion.” Donald paused to ensure he still
had everyone’s attention. He did. They all sat silently urging him to continue.

“A school,” he said simply.

“A what?” asked Tom
confused.

“A school,” Donald repeated. “Not just any school, a specialist school
to train the world’s heirs in how to become statesmen and business leaders - a
super school if you like, strictly by invitation, for which only the children
of the world’s most wealthy and powerful families would be eligible.”

“What do you mean by children?” asked Rachel warily.

“Children, as in children, like Tom and Lela. The school will be
for ages 13 to 19.”

“Not a university?” she asked.

“Nope, a secondary school,” he confirmed. “It opens in September
and Tom and Lela have both been invited to attend,” he added casually.

“OK, rewind and start at the beginning. Only this time, I want
names, locations and a damn site more detail,” replied Rachel, not believing
her ears and trying to remain calm.

Ten minutes later, a rather sheepish Donald admitted that at the
end of the conversation with his old friend, he had pretty much accepted the
offer. Also, he had no idea where the school was actually located, other than
it was on one of two islands, cloaked in secrecy and he had absolutely no idea
who else was attending. However, he did confirm that the old friend was Sam
Mitcham
, the ex-President of the USA and now Chairman of
the school’s Board of Governors. It also transpired that the governors
consisted of retired CEO’s and former statesmen and the school had cost
billions to develop.

Donald was bombarded with numerous
questions
which
were to be answered before Rachel would entertain any further
discussion about a new school for her babies. Donald may have been the
undisputed king of the boardroom but Rachel was most definitely the undisputed
ruler of the Kennedy household.

With Donald back in his box, Rachel turned her attention to Tom
and Lela.

“What time do your friends arrive for your party?” she asked, as
though the last ten minutes had never happened.

“In about three hours,” replied Tom, still stunned.

Tom and Lela had an interesting set of friends. Their current
school was fairly exclusive, housing both day and boarding pupils. Its
resources ensured it remained top of the academic tables and was the current
school of choice for the children of the most powerful families in the UK.

Tom’s birthday was five weeks into the summer holidays and as
many of Tom and Lela’s school-friends were boarders, they were mostly back home
or on holiday across the four corners of the globe. However, Tom and Lela had
managed to round up a few friends who were within easy reach. The Alba
International corporate jets were put to use and sent to collect two of their
friends from London, three from the South of France and two from Italy.

Between them Tom and Lela had an incredible list of contacts.
They had made friends with the children of some of world’s
best
known
power brokers. They had built up the list over years of attending
social and sporting events with their parents. Donald would take care of
business while Tom and Lela played with the children. If Donald
was
struggling to contact somebody, he would quite often ask
Tom or Lela for their home number. Kids swapped home numbers whereas adults
swapped office numbers. They had never let him down. From the US Chairman of
the Joint Chiefs of Staff, to the Australian PM, to the King of Thailand, their
numbers were on their list. Donald was certain that between them, there was
nobody he couldn’t get hold of.