“We’ll ask the questions, soldier boy," the voice growled again. "Just nod, if you understand or I’ll Taser you again?”
He was about to ask where he was when he heard the buzzing. “Taser,” he thought, reluctantly nodding.
“Good, soldier boy. Now, where are they?”
With his head still spinning, Dave moved into army mode. “Roberts. David. Corporal. Two One Three Four Five Four Two One.” His head jerked back as he was punched square in the face. Things started to spin again. “Fuckers!” he shouted.
He was punched again.
“Anymore smart arse answers and you’ll watch us rape your lady friend, Lucy isn’t it? Now, where are the diamonds?”
“What diamonds?”
This time the punch broke one of his teeth. The metallic taste of blood filled his mouth, his head and neck throbbed in pain.
“Where are the diamonds?” the voice demanded.
“What pissing diamonds?” Dave shouted, louder.
There was a pause as he waited for the punch or the Taser, but instead, he heard a door open. Lucy was screaming, a man laughing. "Bastards! Let her go!” He cursed.
“I’ll ask you once more, soldier boy. Or I'll fuck your whore! Where are the diamonds you found in the safe?”
Dave went silent. “How did they know about the diamonds? How did they know about the safe?”
He could hear Lucy screaming and sobbing. He said, quietly, “They’re back at the hotel in the security box.” His head snapped around again. Gagging in pain, he spat! The tooth that had come loose with the last punch flew out and rattled across the concrete floor.
“Put soldier boy back,” the voice said.
Dave was grabbed and dragged down a corridor. He heard them unlock a door, and he was thrown down onto the floor, landing on a mattress. His blindfold and cuffs were removed and the door was slammed shut. Lucy was still screaming.
As he lay there, he thought, “They’ve let me see their faces, which could only mean one thing, we aren’t getting out of this alive!”
The room was pitch black. As the minutes passed, Dave started to see a little more. The pain in his shoulders was starting to subside but his head still throbbed. When he put his arms out he could touch the four walls around him, they were cold, damp.
He lay there thinking, “What the hell is going on? How did they know about the safe?”
Lucy was still sobbing in the next room, Dave tried to talk to her, to calm her down, but it didn’t help. He kept asking, “Do you know where Bob and Harry are?”
She didn’t answer.
After a while, the sobbing stopped so he tried again, “Lucy, do you know where Bob and Harry are?”
A few more minutes went by, then.
“I heard Harry and Bob being taken out yesterday. There was a lot of screaming and banging around.”
“Yesterday! How long have we been here?”
“I’m not sure. I think about two days. Harry was in the room next to me. Bob was on the other side of the hall, I think.”
Dave lay there stunned. “Two days!” he gasped.
A little while later, Dave heard Lucy’s door being unlocked. She started to cry again and then started screaming hysterically. He started shouting and banging on the wall, “Leave her alone, you bastards!”
“Shut it, soldier boy!” one of the men shouted, kicking his door.
All Dave could do was listen to her sobbing as she was dragged away. A few moments later, he heard the footsteps returning; the two people who'd dragged Lucy away were speaking to each other outside his cell.
“Ready for soldier boy?” one of them said.
“Yep!”
Dave thought, “a man and a woman,” as his door was pulled open. He flinched at the light cutting through the blackness, waiting to see what they would do. He froze as a Taser was forced up against his neck, and waited for the jolt. Nothing happened! Dave could make out two silhouettes, they were just standing there. “Probably waiting for me to move so they can shoot me!” he thought.
The woman was holding a handgun: a Glock!
She motioned for Dave to get up. He crouched and shuffled out of the room. The man reached in, grabbed his ears and pulled him out, then pushing him up against the wall opposite, they handcuffed his arms behind him.
The man stood, forcing his hip into Dave's back, he kicked his legs apart, his hand pushing his head up against the wall. He shoved the Taser hard against the back of Dave's neck and breathed slowly into his ear.
The woman stood to Dave's left and held her handgun to his face, she smiled, and said, “Any trouble and I’ll gladly put a bullet in your head, got it?”
Dave smirked and blew her a kiss.
The man jerked Dave's head around, scraping his face along the wall. “Just give me an excuse, soldier boy!” he growled.
Dave used all his strength and twisted back so he was facing the woman again, and said, “I don’t know who you are, bitch," he spat, "but when I get out of here, I’m going to mess you and your friends up!”
The smile dropped from her face and she started to pull the trigger, slowly. Dave saw her finger tighten.
“Fuck you!” he cursed and waited for the shot.
The man told her to cool it. He then punched Dave in the side.
As Dave collapsed to his knees, coughing, the man put his mouth to his ear, and whispered, “Shut it, soldier boy. Your time will come!”
Dave glanced at the Taser and watched as the man moved it around to his right temple. He flinched, and thought, “If he fires that thing, he’s going screw my brain right up!” Instead, the man moved to the side and eyeballed Dave for a second, then ordered him to walk.
The woman took the gun away from his face, smiled and returned the kiss.
“Move, soldier boy," the man signalled, with a flick of the Taser.
Dave was pushed along behind her. He clenched his fists as he recognised the voice. “That's the same arsehole who knocked my tooth out,” he growled inside.
The man pushed Dave to the end of the corridor, pushing him into a room whilst the woman stayed outside.
The bulb that hung from the ceiling barely lit the room, making it look dark and dingy. It was cold and smelt damp. Lucy was sitting in a chair in the far right corner.
Dave looked at her, she was still crying, “Don’t worry, Lucy, we’ll get out of this.” As he spoke, he was struck from behind with a rod, just below his buttocks. He screamed as it cut into his thighs. He toppled forwards, landing against the wall.
“Next time I’ll break them,” a man growled.
Dave was pulled over to a chair next to Lucy and forced to sit. His legs felt as if they were on fire.
The one with the Taser stood behind Dave and pushed it into his neck, while the one with the rod stood to his right. A few moment later, and the woman with the Glock entered. Behind her was Harry. He was still blindfolded and handcuffed, and was being held up by another man. They leant him up against the far wall, then backing off, told him to stand still. He’d obviously been worked over as he was struggling to stand. The lady stepped up and lifted her handgun.
“No!” Dave shouted.
Then she shot him.
The noise his body made as the bullet went into his thigh caused Lucy to throw-up. It sounded like someone hitting their head off the tarmac: a dull thud with a slight crack.
As Harry folded over at the waist, sliding down the wall, blood squirted from his leg. He landed in a heap, face up on the floor, bubbles of saliva running down the side of his face. Lucy was hysterical.
The woman calmly put her Glock back in her shoulder holster. “The next one will be in his head," she smiled.
Dave looked at Harry, he was unconscious. “Thank Christ!” he thought, as he lay on the concrete floor, a damp patch appearing at his crutch, he’d pissed himself, but he was still alive.
26
Lucy and Dave were blindfolded, taken outside and put in a car. Lucy was still sobbing.
The car smelt the same as before.
One of the men said, “I’ll make this easy for you to understand, okay, soldier boy? If you try to make trouble, I’ll Taser you. If you take your hood off, I’ll Taser you. If you try to get out, I’ll Taser you. If you talk, I’ll Taser you.”
“If, If, If," Dave mocked. "You ain’t going to do anything, monkey boy. You need us awake, otherwise, you don’t get the diamonds.” Dave felt the Taser shoved up against his mouth. “How’s about I just mess with your little friend here… soldier boy?”
“He’s just trying to wind you up. Just rough him up a bit, then we can get going,” another voice said.
“Give it your best shot, monkey boy.” Dave ground his teeth, knowing he couldn’t fight back with his hands handcuffed behind him. He growled, “Because when we’re done here, I’m going to stick that Taser where the sun doesn't shine!”
Dave heard a buzz and got ready for the jolt, but Lucy grunted and fell across his lap.
“Make you feel better did it, monkey boy?”
The man whacked Dave round the head with the Taser and he went out like a light.
When Dave came to, they were travelling down a winding road. He was probably only out for a few minutes. He heard the other man telling monkey boy to pack it in. He stayed down where he was and listened, hoping they'd say something that might give their position away.
Lucy was waking up, she was making gurgling noises and moaning. Dave sat up, “She needs a drink, she can’t take it as much as I can.”
He heard the Taser click again. “Okay, I’ll shut up, just, please, don’t do that to her again.” Dave pleaded to make it seem as if he was begging. It seemed to work, as monkey boy said, “That’s better. You’re learning.”
The drive seemed to go on for ages. The road was straight and Dave could feel the car going fast. “Probably a motorway,” he thought.
Lucy had sat up and was sobbing quietly.
They started to slow down, as if they were in traffic, starting and stopping. Dave tried to estimate how long they'd been in the car, but just then they stopped and their blindfolds were removed. The driver looked familiar, Dave recognised him from the bar, being one-half of the newlyweds. He didn’t recognise the one with the Taser, “but he'd remember him,” he thought, scowling.
“Don’t get any ideas, soldier boy. Just get the diamonds and get back here, we’ll give you fifteen minutes," the driver said.
When Lucy and Dave got out, they looked back at the car, it was the same blacked-out SUV as the other day. The driver saw them looking and pointed at his watch.
Dave was glad to be out of the car as his stomach was feeling hot and he wanted to throw-up. He looked at Lucy, she was in a daze, her eyes looked glazed and she was staring straight ahead. Dave offered his hand and they walked into the hotel.
Inside, they looked around to see if they could see the SUV. It had driven off and was out of sight.
“Go and get the diamonds," Dave said. "I need to get something from my suite.”
Lucy looked broken but managed to smile.
They went to the counter, the concierge looked up, smiled and came over, “Good evening, sir, madam. Can I help you?” At the same time he pressed a button on the counter and a few seconds later a security guard walked over and stood behind the two of them. Dave turned and looked at the guard and smiled.
“I’d like to take some things out of the hotel safe please,” Lucy said.
“Madam, are you a guest here?”
“Yes, I’ve been sightseeing for a few days and bumped into some old friends. Once I have my belongings out of the safe I’m going up to my suite for a shower.”
The concierge took their details and put them in the computer, “Have you got any identification, please?”
Lucy looked at Dave and then back at the concierge. “No, I’m sorry, I don’t have any on me. My driving license is in my room.”
“That’s no problem, madam. I’ll just need to ask you some questions.” He thanked the guard and the guard left.
“I’m sorry about that, madam, but we do get, how can I say, a few undesirables, coming in and trying to get a room.”
They nodded their disapproval, which seemed to appease him.
Dave took another look through the entrance doors to see if he could spot the SUV - it was clear. He gave Lucy’s hand a squeeze, “I won’t be long. You’ll be fine, okay?”
Lucy smiled weakly at him and watched as he walked towards the stairs. Dave went through the door, as soon as they closed he set off at a run. He didn’t want to wait around for the lift, it’d take too long.
On the way up, Dave started to ache. “If I ever get out of this, I’ve got to get down the bloody gym again,” he frowned.
He got to their floor and ran along the corridor to his suite. There was a 'Do Not Disturb' sign on the handle. He pulled it off, unlocked the door and went in.
The room had been trashed. Dave hesitated slightly as he thought about hidden cameras, he then went over to the bed and pulled it away from the wall.
When he'd booked into the room he'd knocked the bed, it bumped up and came away from the brackets holding it secure. When he went to see if he could fix it, he found a small hole in the wall behind it.
He retrieved a handgun and a spare magazine. Making it ready, he pushed it into the front of his jeans. Taking a deep breath he ran back down the stairs.
He stopped at the bottom and took a deep breath, he then pushed the stairwell door open, just a crack, to see if it was still clear. It was.
He walked over to Lucy, and asked, “Okay?”
“Yes. He’s just getting the box now. He’ll be back in a second.”
Dave looked at her, “Everything’s going to be fine now," he said, smiling.
Lucy had a tear running down her face, he wiped it off with the edge of his T-shirt. When he lifted it, Lucy spotted the handgun in his jeans. Dave dropped his shirt back down and smiled.
“Thank you,” she said and kissed him lightly on the cheek.
“Harry’s a lucky man.”
She looked at him, surprised, “How did you know?”
“What, the way you two have been eyeing each other up, and don’t forget, I have the room next to yours,” he said, with a smile and nudging her with his arm.
“Oh!” she blushed.
“Don’t worry, Luce, I won’t tell Bob, but I think he’s already guessed. Harry’s gonna be fine, we’ll get him out of this. Okay?”
She nodded as tears welled up in her eyes again.
The concierge put the box on the counter and asked Lucy to sign for it. He nodded at Dave, “Sir.”
Dave nodded back and thanked him, saying “We’ll be back later tonight for dinner, could you send someone up to tidy the suites now please?”
He nodded and made a note of the booking on the hotel computer. Dave took the box, and they walked out of the hotel.
Outside, they could see the SUV parked just on the corner. Taser man was waiting where he could be seen. As they got closer, the other man got out of the driver’s seat and came around and opened the back door.
Dave growled, “How’s this for an iron rod around the legs?” as he pulled the handgun out and shot him straight between the eyes. He fell back against the car and ended up in a pile, face down in the gutter with the back of his head dripping down the side of the car.
Lucy screamed.
Taser man went for his gun, but Dave was ready for him and shot him in the left leg. He buckled and went down screaming.
“Two bags of shit,” Dave mused, as he looked at them both on the floor.
He grabbed the man's weapon and pulled him up and pushed him into the car, then got in behind him, shoving him over to the driver’s position.
Lucky for them, and him, Dave hit him in the thigh, but he was still bleeding a lot.
Dave put his belt on and shoved his gun in his side. A quick look around confirmed Lucy was in the back. “Now, drive," Dave ordered. T
he man didn’t respond at first, so Dave pointed the gun at his left foot and fired, Lucy screamed, but it did the trick, he looked at the gun, then at Dave, and drove off.
“Drive us back to where you had us before,” Dave ordered. “If you don’t you’ll join your mate back there?” he flicked his handgun in the direction of the body lying in the gutter.
“You won’t get away with this,” the man panted, trying to stay conscious. “The police will be all over that body before we even get out of Mayfair. They’ll have every road shut before you and the little whore back there, can say boo!”
“Then they’ll be digging two graves, cunt,” Dave cursed.
He looked straight ahead and drove.
27
As they worked their way out of London, Dave looked around at Lucy, she smiled back, but he could tell it was an empty smile - her eyes were sunken and her face looked pale and drawn. “Soon be over, Luce, we’ll get Harry and go away for a while.”
“Too right it’ll soon be over," the driver cursed.
Dave pushed down on his leg. As the man screamed, Dave said, “Anymore from you and I’ll make sure you never walk again.”
As they drove towards the motorway, Dave could feel the fatigue taking him over. He turned the A/C on and directed it at his feet. A little trick he'd learnt at driver training back in the army. "Point a stream of cold air at your feet," his instructor had told them, "you won't fall asleep with cold feet!" Dave smiled as he thought about his army days.
Getting on the M4 was easy, it was clear and running fast. They headed towards Reading. “Which made sense of the journey into the city earlier,” Dave thought.
They'd been driving for just over an hour, when the driver said, “I’m going to be sick.” He lifted his foot off the accelerator, then as the car started to slow he threw up over the steering wheel.
Lucy opened the window in the back and started to gag. Dave grabbed the wheel as the man slumped back. "Just keep going!” Dave said.
He put his hands up onto the steering wheel and held it, the colour had drained from his face and he was starting to shake.