“Look, sir,” a young officer who was holding up a clipboard with writing on it said. “It looks like they got Kinver to talk.”
“What does it say?” George asked, still rubbing his throat. The SYUI officer walked over.
“It’s in Chinese, but it has two names written in English on it,” he said, showing his superior. George took it and walked over to Jason. He still sat on the floor, his elbows resting on his knees, his head down. George kneeled down beside him.
“Are you all right, Jason?” George asked sympathetically.
Jason looked up, his nose still running with blood and his hair and face covered in blood splashes. Jason looked at the back of his trembling hands. His knuckles were split open. They were also covered in his and his victim’s blood.
“Tired, sir.”
“You speak Chinese. What does this say? It looks like they got poor Jim Kinver to speak after all.”
Jason glanced at it. “It says George Young and Jason Steed. The rest is in Chinese.”
“I bloody know that, don’t I? What does the Chinese say?” George shouted impatiently. His sympathetic feelings did not last long.
“I can speak Chinese. I have no idea how to read it.” Jason bowed his head back down. He was still trembling.
Boudica’s men had started a fire to try to burn the evidence. The wooden pallets and boxes burned rapidly, and a hungry blaze raged through the building. Smoke started to fill the corridors.
A police officer pulled Jason to his feet. They had to get out of the blazing inferno.
Chapter 11
Mrs. Bristow gently woke Janice by giving her a kiss on the cheek.
“Morning, sweetheart. It’s time to get up,” she said, picking up Janice’s clothes from yesterday off the carpet. “Oh, and if you want to spend half an hour in the bathroom getting ready, at least wait until Jason has used the toilet. Yesterday, the poor boy stood outside dancing on the spot.” She headed into Jason’s room.
Oh, no, Jason. How am I going to explain that? Maybe the police brought him back after the doctor and Scott dropped me off, Janice thought, dreading what might happen if he was still out.
“Jason,” Mrs. Bristow shouted as she ran out of his room. “Jason…he’s gone!” Mr. Bristow came out of the kitchen and helped look for him. It was not long before they came into Janice’s room to look for him.
“He’s not here. He’s at the police station. He’s been there all night,” Janice admitted.
“What has he done now?” her father asked. “Why didn’t you tell us?”
Janice tried to explain, but she was cut off by the doorbell. Thinking it might be Jason and she’d be off the hook, Janice jumped up to get it.
“I have a package for Mr. and Mrs. Bristow,” a man said. He was wearing black leather motorcycle trousers and a jacket. He wore a large, black, full-face crash helmet. Janice took the package and went into the kitchen, where her parents were starting breakfast.
“It’s a delivery for you,” Janice said as she handed the package to her mother. Mrs. Bristow looked puzzled and started to open the parcel.
The explosion could be heard from miles around. Not a single window was left intact. Glass and debris showered the few parked cars below the apartments. The explosion also blew a hole in the ceiling, damaging the apartment upstairs and killing the cat. The fire that burned afterward completely gutted the apartment. The bodies of the Bristow family were never found.
Chapter 12
When Jason emerged from Boudica’s blazing factory, he was faced with a parking lot full of flashing sirens from police cars, ambulances, and fire trucks. He staggered toward George’s car, coughing from the smoke. He needed to sleep somewhere. He limped a few paces when two paramedics swiftly approached him. They walked him to the ambulance and told him to lie on the bed while they cleaned the blood from his hands and face. His nose had finally stopped bleeding. The loss of blood and earlier exertion had drained Jason’s young body of all his energy.
“You’ll be all right now, son. I’ll take you to St. Mary’s Hospital and they will check you over,” the paramedic said.
“No, I want to go home now,” Jason coughed. Jason climbed off the bed and tried to stand. The paramedic pushed against Jason’s shoulder.
“No, son, stay on the bed. You need to go to the hospital. You are injured and have breathed in a lot of smoke.”
Jason swiftly knocked his hand away. “I’m not in the mood to argue, sir. I want to go home. I need to see George Young.” Jason stood. He could just see George talking to some other officers. George caught sight of Jason standing in the doorway of the ambulance and broke away to talk to him.
“You all right, son?” George asked.
“I want to go home, George. I’m okay. I don’t need the hospital.” George studied Jason. He looked so small. His normally shiny blond hair was matted with blood and dried sweat. His face was still covered with soot, and his hands were covered in fresh bandages. George felt guilty for using such a young boy on an operation. He has a fifteen-year-old son of his own and would never dream of putting him through this.
“You’re right, son. I will drive you myself. That’s the least I can do.” He put his arm on Jason’s shoulder and led the boy to his car. The drive home started quiet. Jason sat heavily in the front seat, fighting to stay awake. His and George’s eyes were still stinging from the smoke.
“Jason, if you don’t mind me saying, you lost it back there, didn’t you?”
Jason didn’t reply.
“You just kept hitting that guy. It was bloody scary to watch you like that.”
Jason sighed. “I build up adrenalin in my body and use it as a weapon. It helps me fight. Without it, I could never take on those twins and win. I just can’t control it properly yet. It’s worse when I lose my temper.”
There was a long silence.
“I wanted to thank you, Jason, not just back there for getting that guy off me but for the whole operation. Oh, and I’ll need you to make a statement regarding the murder of Russell Watson. They’ll arrest Andrew Cho for that and the store owner’s murder.” Jason’s eyes had closed, but at George’s statement, they popped opened.
“What did you say? Store owner?” Jason looked horrified. George looked away from Jason’s glare and kept his eyes on the road. “It was a real knife? You tricked me! I killed him.” Jason punched his own forehead with the back of his hand and swore at George.
“Come on, Jason. We couldn’t use a fake knife. Cho may have noticed and the whole bleeding operation would have been at risk.”
Another long silence.
Jason stared out the window and said quietly, “I will never forgive you for doing this.”
After an awkward silence, George turned on his police radio. The voice over the radio was giving details about a large explosion at an apartment block. It was suspected to be a gas pipe accident.
Chapter 13
After just three hours of sleep, Jason was woken by angry shouting downstairs in the hallway. At first, he thought he was dreaming, but it returned and alerted him. Someone with a deep Scottish accent shouted, “No, out of the question. Over my dead body.”
Jason recognized the voice of his grandfather. Jason still felt guilty after the talk he had had with his grandfather when he had gotten home. He told Jason that he had worried his grandmother sick and that he was disappointed in him. Jason protested that he was undercover and couldn’t tell his grandparents what was happening, but he realized that he had never stopped to think how they might have felt. He leapt out of bed and hurried to the top of the stairs so he could see what was happening.
George was at the front door. His grandfather was blocking the entrance—his grandmother at his side. Mrs. Beeton was on the phone, talking to someone. She also looked agitated.
“It’s too bloody important to argue about. I need to see Jason. Either you move or I’ll move you,” George shouted, pointing his finger in Jason’s grandfather’s face. Jason was walking barefoot down the wooden staircase. He jumped down the last four steps and ran up to the door.
“You lay a finger on my grandparents and I break every bone in your body. What do you want now?” Jason shouted. He stepped between his grandfather and George. His grandfather rested his hands on Jason’s shoulders and lovingly stroked the back of Jason’s neck with his thumbs while George explained.
“Jason, the gas explosion at the apartment block? It turns out that was no accident. It was a bomb. It was the Bristows’ home.”
“Oh…are they hurt?” Jason asked, concerned.
“They didn’t stand a chance, son. The place is gutted. I’m sorry. My home was also attacked with a mortar. It blew the bloody roof off. Jean and my son were staying at her mother’s, thank God. Jean and I aren’t getting on too good. You know, grown-up stuff. Anyway, bloody lucky really.”
Jason could see the fear in George’s eyes. The man’s hands were shaking, and he looked very frightened. Two armed police officers stood on the doorstep with him, and Jason wondered if they were bodyguards. He was devastated to hear what had happened to the Bristow family.
“Dr. Turner is coming over,” Mrs. Beeton said. “I told him we were having trouble with you,” she said, glaring at George. She stood next to Jason’s gran—the three of them standing together behind Jason.
“What do you want with me?” Jason asked.
“It’s not safe, Jason. If Boudica works out you live here, they will come after you.”
“They? We caught them. You should have them locked up.”
“Boudica has not been seen and the Chos have also disappeared. Once they got Jim Kinver to talk, they went into hiding. Our information is that Boudica has a large bounty on me and my family, the Lin Tse-Hsu family, and you, Jason.”
“Who is Lin Tse-Hsu?” Jason asked.
“Lin Tse-Hsu is the Chinese commissioner and a supporter of Chairman Mao. He is working hard to stop corruption in China and has frozen all of Boudica’s Chinese assets. Our informants believe Boudica will try to snatch someone he cares about so she can ransom the release of her funds. His youngest daughter attends school here just outside London. We believe that she is a target.”
What George didn’t say—and couldn’t prove—was that he suspected the Triads had been tipped off. The Cho family had fled their home just minutes before the raid.
“What have you done? What have you gotten him into? He is just a wee schoolboy. He came home covered in blood with his hands in bandages and his body covered in bruises. Why can’t you leave the boy alone?” Mrs. Macintosh scolded.
“Sir, a car is approaching,” one of the armed police officers warned.
Jason looked out the open door.
“That’s Scott and his father,” Jason said before he squeezed out the door past George. Before the car stopped, Scott was opening the car door. He jumped out and ran up to Jason. They gave a brief welcome hug, and Dr. Turner ruffled Jason’s hair.
“Is everything all right, Jason? Mrs. Beeton called and asked for help,” Dr. Turner said.
“I’ll let them explain. I’d better get dressed.” Jason went up to his room with Scott to get dressed. It felt good to get into his own clothes at last. For weeks, he had been wearing the juvie overalls or the clothes Mrs. Bristow had bought him.
“Jason, what’s with the bandages?” Scott asked.
“I cut my knuckles up pretty bad. I had some good fights though. Unfortunately, Jim Kinver was already dead, and he’d talked. Help me with my buttons and belt. I can’t do it with these bandages,” Jason said, trying to do his shirt up.
As Jason and Scott came thundering back down the stairs, George was suggesting that the Macintoshes go back up to Scotland.
“Then Jason will be coming with us. We’ll take him to Scotland,” Jason Macintosh demanded.
“No, Mrs. Macintosh, that won’t be safe. If these geezers work out where he lives and come here, they might find something to trace him back to you. We can’t protect him in Scotland,” George argued.
“I can ask to stay with Princess Catherine at Buckingham Palace. They have great security,” Jason suggested.
“No, we can’t put the Queen at risk, Jason. I’ve already made plans. You’re flying to Spain this afternoon,” George said. “Pack a bag. You won’t need much—it’ll be hot. Treat it like a vacation paid for by Her Majesty’s government for all your help.”
“Do I have to? I have just got back home! I’ve missed tons of school and I haven’t spoken to Catherine for weeks. That’s not fair,” Jason whined, showing his age. He was acting like any normal boy who didn’t get his own way.
“Will Scott be safe?” Dr. Turner asked.
“I believe so. He’s pretty smart, that one. Used a fake name when he went to visit Jason, so they can’t trace him. However, I will be placing a police guard outside your home twenty-four hours a day. It’s just to be on the safe side.”
Within ten minutes, Jason was once again saying good-bye to his family and friends.
Chapter 14
You’ll be traveling with my family and Lin Tse-Hsu’s daughter, Joanne. I told the ‘Trouble and Strife’ that she’s helping hide two children—nothing more. My boy isn’t too happy about two strange kids coming along, but he’ll have to make do. I got a villa up in the mountains in Spain just north of Malaga. It’s got a swimming pool, and you will get to have a well-needed rest. But most importantly, it’s safe. It’s the last place in the world anyone would suspect. You’ll hide out until we capture Boudica.”
“And what about you, George?” Jason asked.
“I got myself into this mess. I will get meself out. I will catch Boudica and the Chos. I’ll make them bleeding pay for all this hassle.”
They drove for nearly an hour toward Kent and turned down a tree-lined road. Jason read the sign: “Benedon Girls School.”
“This is Catherine’s school. I’ve been here before.” He grinned.
“Looks like a right stuck-up school,” George grunted. “I bet the kids who go here don’t even fart.”
Benedon School thrust into the air proudly—the main building towering imposingly over the smaller wings. The entrance was flung wide open as if with greeting. George marveled.
The car slowed down as it drove into the front courtyard. The two-hundred-year-old building stood majestically before them. A group of girls stood in the doorway and talked. Jason opened his door and jumped out. One of the girls had a suitcase with her. She was Asian and about eleven years old. George smiled as he climbed out and opened his trunk, thinking Jason was going to collect the girl’s case. Jason walked passed her, his eyes looking farther back at two girls talking.
“We have to stop meeting like this.” He grinned at the two girls.
“Jason!” Catherine screamed with a huge smile. “What a nice surprise.” She dropped her books and threw her arms around him.
George shook his head and paced toward them. A lady with glasses balanced on the end of her nose came out of the corridor and coughed behind Catherine and Jason, who were now hugging and rubbing foreheads.
“Miss Catherine, you do know the rules about boys and safety. We can’t have strangers turning up whenever they feel like it,” she said abruptly.
George introduced himself and showed his ID. Mrs. Cookson, the school principal, shook his hand and introduced George to Miss Tse-Hsu.
Joanne Tse-Hsu slightly bowed her head as she shook George’s hand. She smiled nervously at him. Her left hand was playing with one of the pigtails that hung down her chest.
“Is that boy with you, Mr. Young?” Mrs. Cookson asked as she jabbed a finger at Jason, who was sti
ll hugging Catherine.
“Yeah, that’s Jason. He’s coming with us,” George said, trying to conceal a smirk.
“Well, I hope he keeps his hands off Miss Tse-Hsu,” she tutted.
“Jason, we have to go. Put her down,” George shouted with a grin on his face.
Jason quickly explained to Catherine that he had to go away and could not say where. He said he and Joanne were being taken to a safe house. The meeting was very brief, but he was glad he had a chance to see her at last. He realized how much he had missed her. He gave a tight-lip smile to Joanne. They gave a nod but didn’t speak. She had no idea who he was or how he knew Princess Catherine. Joanne looked just as unhappy as Jason about the situation.
George tried to make conversation on the drive back into the city, but his attempts fell on deaf ears. Joanne gazed out the car window as she sucked on her hair. She was good-looking with large, dark eyes and black hair tied in two long pigtails. Jason looked at her through his long blond bangs, which hung over his eyes. The rest of his hair was short, but he kept the front as long as he could. He had done this since he had been old enough to argue about his haircuts. He was naturally shy and had always felt safe behind his bangs.
George stopped outside a home in a quiet suburb of London. Large chestnut trees shaded the front gardens. The redbrick, terraced home was surrounded by rose bushes and flowering red geraniums.
George disappeared into the house. A while later, the Young family came out with suitcases. George placed their luggage in the trunk and introduced Jason and Joanne to his family.
“Right then. This is the boy I told you about—Jason. He’s quiet and no trouble. I am sure you will all get along. Martin, Jason’s a good swimmer. You boys will have a good time. And this is Jong Tse-Hsu…or Joanne, as she calls herself here.”