Storm and Stone (32 page)

As long as necessary, he decided grimly.

Undoing the leather whip he had threaded like a belt through his jeans loops and tucking it down the front of his T-shirt, he stepped on to the cistern. He swung himself up and started the tricky business of wedging himself in the gap. It became a little easier when he got to the top as he had the bars to hold on to, giving his screaming muscles a break. He looped the thin end of the whip around the iron grating, making a kind of cradle for him to sit in, and steadied himself by holding the bars. Now all he had to do was wait.

Ducking behind a rack of coats in the foyer, Raven watched as two men escorted Johnny and Siobhan out of the front door. They looked terrified—hardly a surprise as they had cuffs on their wrists and their two-man team had weapons drawn. Siobhan tried dragging her feet but a guard solved that by hoisting her over his shoulder. No sign of Kieran. Had he been taken out already or was he left behind? With two of the guards outside for the moment it was too good a chance to find him if he was still in the building. Johnny and Siobhan had come from the kitchen wing so Raven headed in that direction, looking for somewhere people could be secured. She already knew the kitchen was clear so didn’t waste time there. Hadn’t Isaac said he’d checked the lower floor already? She would bet on him being a thorough man, so it was likely the room was out of the way, a forgotten corner of the building on another floor that had not been on their route, an entrance to a cellar maybe, or storeroom.

She opened a number of cupboards but they all proved empty. Then she came to one at the end of the corridor—a linen store, bigger than most. She went in and looked behind the racks to check for further doors. Nothing like another exit was visible in any of the walls.

Turning on the spot, she stepped on something soft. There was no sound but she sensed it was an animal, and one in pain. She forced herself to look down, fearing to see a squashed mouse; instead, she saw fingers gripping the grate below her feet and the glint of eyes gazing upwards.

‘Kieran! Oh God, I’m sorry!’ She jumped back and crouched over the grill, rubbing at his offended fingers.

‘Sssh!’ he cautioned.

Pausing to listen, she could hear sounds in the room below them. A door banged against a wall. A man shouted in alarm.

‘He’s not here!’

‘Impossible!’

Kieran’s knuckles tightened. She could see the strain on his face as he held his body up against the grate. She did the only thing she could think of to help him: she spread herself across the grid to cut out any light that would give away his position, taking care not to press on his fingers.

‘The girl must have got down here while we were outside. She must have seen us punch in the code.’

‘Search the lower floors again—and do it properly this time!’ That was the Russian—the one who had held the gun to her head.

Footsteps retreated from the room below, heading upstairs at the double. Heading for her position.

‘Hide!’ whispered Kieran.

‘No shit, Sherlock,’ she muttered, jumping to her feet.

‘I think they’ve left the door open. I’ll come to you.’

She heard him drop lightly to the floor. Where could she conceal herself? There was a stack of laundry bags by the door from a delivery of clean sheets. She took out a pile of the starched and ironed linen and put it neatly on the shelf, guessing that any disturbance would be noticed. Having made sufficient space, she climbed inside. Realizing a saggy, human-shaped bundle would be a dead giveaway, she stuffed a couple of folded sheets either side of her and topped it off with three on top. She did her best to close the bag again but it was impossible from inside. Maybe they would put that down to someone having searched in here earlier?

I’m really going to have to stop finding small confined places to hide in
, she thought grimly.

She didn’t have to wait long for the team to arrive. Once again, she heard the sounds of men conducting a room by room sweep. They reached the linen room and, like her, came in to give the shelves a complete inspection.

‘Nothing. They must be outside. Jones, you’re with me. Let’s search the area by the bins.’ Two pairs of boots stomped away.

Raven held her breath. There was a third member of the team and he wasn’t budging. ‘Sir, I’m just gonna check something.’

‘Catch us up!’ The commander’s voice was some distance away already.

‘You’re in here somewhere, aren’t you?’ the man muttered.

Raven’s heart pounded so loudly she feared that was what the searcher had heard.

The man pulled the sheets off the shelves, upended the detergent barrel, and then turned his attention to the laundry bags. He kicked the one next to Raven. It fell over with a thump. Hers lurched sideways, revealing the opening was unlaced.

‘Got you!’ A hand delved inside and grabbed a fistful of hair, hauling her out. She came up swinging. He caught her wrist.

‘Sir! I’ve … ’ His shout was cut off by a karate-style chop to his throat and blow to his temple. He crumpled, dragging Raven down with him.

‘You OK?’ whispered Kieran, rolling the man off her.

Relieved beyond words at her rescue, Raven rubbed her scalp. ‘Yes. You?’

‘Fine. Quickly—tell me what’s going on.’ Kieran ripped up a sheet and stuffed one end on the man’s mouth to gag him before he came round. As Raven filled Kieran in on the details, he tied up the guard’s hands and feet and dragged him behind a shelf where he wouldn’t immediately be noticed.

‘So there’s a team outside?’

‘Yes. But I’m not sure where.’ It was so good to see him again—he looked the same old Kieran, a little rumpled but no sign the brainwashers had got to him. Just being back with him made her a little warmer inside her fear-frozen chest. Things were going to hell but at least they were together.

‘And the people here have got Isaac and Joe?’ Kieran tidied up so it was no longer so evident that a struggle had taken place. He grabbed a spray can of starch and handed it to her without explanation.

‘Yes. Joe’s drugged but seemed to be coming round—enough to help me get away. Do you want me to keep hold of this?’ She waggled the can at him.

‘Yes. Just in case. For the dogs. We’ve got to move from here. They’ve taken Siobhan and Johnny to the garage so there’s a good chance Joe and Isaac will be there too.’ He went to the door and peeked out into the corridor.

‘The other men went out to the kitchen courtyard.’

‘We’ll go out the library window then. Follow me.’

Raven hurried to catch up, but collided with his back when he abruptly paused in the doorway.

‘What? Someone there?’ she asked anxiously.

‘No. I’ve just got to do this.’

She found herself wrapped in his arms, lifted off her feet, the recipient of a searching kiss that drove all thoughts of the dangers of discovery out of her mind for the moment. He walked her two paces back into the linen cupboard and propped her on a shelf so she could sit, face at a level with his.

‘Thank you,’ he said, when he broke off, ‘for rescuing me.’

She held on for a second longer, then forced herself to let go. ‘You are so very welcome. And thank you for my rescue too. Now, get with the programme, Kieran.’

‘Yes, ma’am.’ With a smile that made her knees weak, he returned to the door. ‘All clear.’

With a huff she slid from the shelf, tucked the can in her pocket, and took up her post at his back. He might now feel equipped by the kiss to go face the dragons outside, but she was still reeling.

He reached back and took her hand, thumb brushing across her knuckles. ‘Ready?’

She squeezed his hand in return. ‘As I’ll ever be.’

Raven did not like this game of hide-and-seek one bit, not when the searchers were armed and prepared to kill you. She put her trust in Kieran knowing what he was doing. Clearly, there was far more to him than an exceptional brain and superior kissing abilities: he moved like Isaac, taking advantage of all cover and sensing just when it was safe to pass through the most exposed parts of the house. They saw a number of guards still searching but, by timing their moves across the corridors, they could keep one step ahead. She had counted at least six different men working for Mrs Bain and the Russian and feared there had to be more. They had knocked one out cold in the linen store but the odds were still stacked against them.

They were back by her coat rack again. Kieran pointed across the hall to the far door.

‘Library,’ he mouthed. ‘Exit to garden.’

She nodded. This was the most perilous part of their escape from the building, involving crossing the central thoroughfare of the house. They listened hard before making their move.

Kieran tapped his chest.

She raised a brow.
You first?

He nodded, putting a finger on her nose in a ‘wait there’ gesture.

So he was being a hero again.

She shook her head.

He frowned.

She leant over and kissed him, putting her hand back in his.

With a roll of his eyes, he held up three fingers. One. Two. Three. As quietly as possible, they crossed the foyer and slid into the library. Their luck held. The room was empty. Two half-empty beer bottles sat on the tables by the fire but the wood had burnt down to ashes. The guards Raven had seen earlier were long since gone, too busy terrorizing Johnny and Siobhan to finish their drink. Kieran didn’t spare them a glance as he went to the French windows.

‘There’s an alarm at night but I’m guessing with the comings and goings out front, it’s not set,’ he said. He gave the double doors a shove, paused as if half-expecting bells to ring, then breathed a sigh of relief when there was no reaction. ‘Good, I was right.’

It dawned on Raven from Kieran’s manner that what he was doing was based on guesswork—good guesses, as this was Kieran—but still, he was no more certain of what he was doing than she was. He was winging it, being confident for her benefit. He appeared so self-assured it was easy to forget this.

‘You’re doing well,’ she whispered.

‘Thanks. I’m just trying not to get us killed.’

They hunkered down in the shrubbery where Isaac had led Raven only an hour or so before.

‘Choices?’ she asked.

‘Face dogs and try to find Isaac’s team.’ They both looked out over the dark grounds, neither fancying stumbling about with guard dogs snapping at their heels and only a can of starch to spray in their eyes. ‘Or we see what’s going on at the garage. They’re trying to get rid of all witnesses and, maybe, if we go for help, we’ll miss the opportunity to save the others.’

‘Or spoil it by trying to do it ourselves.’

‘Exactly. I can’t work out which decision gives us the better chance of success.’

Raven thought both looked pretty dire. ‘OK.’ She rubbed her hands. ‘Reason doesn’t work here so let’s go with gut. Mine says “go to the garage”. What about yours?’

‘Gut?’ Kieran looked uncomfortable with the concept.

‘You’ve got to jump one way or another—which?’

He screwed his face up like he was swallowing a very bitter medicine. ‘Garage.’

‘Good. Two gut instincts equal one rational reason in my book. Do you know where it is?’

‘Yes. Round the back.’

Kieran set off at a fast pace. He couldn’t shake the feeling that he was running out of time, like sand was pouring on his head as he stood trapped in an hour glass. He was grateful that he had Raven to think about: she kept him centred, helping him focus to make decisions. YDA Owls like him weren’t expected to be action-orientated, so his training hadn’t included the kind of skills he had to use. He knew he was acting up to a level beyond his normal abilities purely because she was at his side, like when he had taken out that guard. Just seeing the man lay hands on Raven had been enough to unleash the beast.

The first vehicle he saw when they approached the garage was the school minibus the centre used to transport the students to and from Westron. Beyond that was an unmarked black SUV. The doors were open, showing Johnny and Siobhan lying on the seat together, a guard with a gun trained on them. Two more men were just pushing Joe inside to join them. The one Kieran thought of as Handcuff Guy was speaking on the phone.

‘Yeah, we’ve got them in the car. No, the others are still loose but I’ve teams on them. We’ll arrange something fatal when we catch them—take them out of the area, do it somewhere they’re not known. Can’t have too many bodies in one spot. You want us to meet you at Windmill Hill in the lay-by? OK, got that.’ He tucked the phone away. ‘OK, let’s move out.’

One guard got in the driver’s seat as Handcuff Man took the passenger side. The one with the gun climbed into the rear seat, not caring if he trod on any of their victims on the way.

‘Windmill Hill?’ Kieran whispered.

‘It’s between here and the school—a really steep patch winding down an escarpment. It’s wooded.’

Kieran remembered it now from the satellite pictures. ‘Who are they meeting?’

Raven shook her head. ‘No idea.’

‘Mrs Bain, perhaps? She’s in charge of making this a plausible accident. A car crash is about as common as you can get.’

‘We’ve got to get there to stop them.’ The SUV was already reversing. The men left behind were heading back into the house.

Where was Isaac? Kieran glanced at the manor. Kolnikov did not look the type to let a big fish like Isaac go, not before he had got everything out of him he could.

‘Key, we’ve got to follow!’

Raven was right. Isaac was on his own for the moment; if he were here, he would tell them that their job was to save the other three.

‘Right. Let’s do it.’ He ran across the gravel towards the garage.

‘How?’

‘Like this.’ He got into the minibus and let down the sun visor. He had noticed on the journey to the manor that the drivers had fortunately developed the bad habit of keeping the keys there. He chucked Raven the set. ‘You drive.’

She gaped. ‘You serious?’

‘You have a provisional licence—I saw it in your room.’

‘Yes, Granddad’s given me a few lessons.’

‘That makes you the expert.’