Martin, George’s fifteen-year-old son, looked down at Jason. He had jet-black hair like his father and was a little overweight, with acne spread around his mouth. He sat in the back of the car and ignored the rest of them, flipping through a football magazine.
“Hello, pet. I’m Mrs. Young. You can call me Jean,” Mrs. Young said, shaking Jason’s hand gently. Jason forced a smile. “What did you do to your hands?”
“I fell on some broken glass.” He looked up at George after he lied. George gave an agreeing nod. His wife and son did not need to know everything.
At the airport, George kissed his family good-bye at the departure gates and took Jason to one side.
“Jason, I ain’t been that honest with you,” George said, looking Jason in the eye.
“So what’s new?” Jason shrugged.
“Yeah, I guess I deserve that. Look, I had a tough job getting the higher-ups to let you go so Spain. SYUI wanted to keep you and Joanne locked up safe. I know a couple kids don’t want to be stuck in a safe house, so I got you this. Plus, I have the other benefit.”
“What other benefit?” Jason asked.
“I know you will look after my family, Jason. You will all be safe, but just in case, please look after them,” George said, holding out his hand.
“I will. Besides, Joanne is kinda cute,” Jason said, winking and grinning. George returned the grin and nodded.
Chapter 15
Jean sat in a row of three seats with Martin and Joanne. Jason had to sit next to a red-haired man and his three-year-old daughter, who insisted on sitting by the window and then using the bathroom every ten minutes. The two-hour flight seemed endless to Jason. Although, Jason could have sworn that an Asian man sitting several rows away kept looking at him. I’m probably just being paranoid.
At Malaga Airport, Jean rented a lime-green Volkswagen Beetle. The little car had no air-conditioning. As the car twisted its way up the narrow mountain roads, the temperature inside became unbearable. They eventually arrived at Villa Rosa—high in the Spanish mountains. It was just off the main road down a small dirt track. The white building with a terra-cotta roof stood out on a ledge overlooking some of Spain’s finest scenery. Just below Villa Rosa was another similar villa owned by a French writer and his young wife.
Villa Rosa had a pool on the terrace surrounded by a grapevine. George and Jean had used the villa for many holidays. Martin was upset when he found out he had to share his room with Jason and insisted on calling him “that boy” despite Jean’s attempts to chastise him.
• • •
Back in the United Kingdom, SYUI raided several properties owned by members of the Triads. Many were arrested on small theft charges or tax evasion—any charges the police could come up with. However, none of them would give up any information on Boudica.
Every shop and supermarket had to remove Coco-Bites from its shelves. Many children and some adults throughout the country had major withdrawal symptoms. Boudica’s assets were seized, and the Inland Revenue was amazed by how much money she had made in such a short while.
Boudica and Lin Cho had gone underground, and the police were no closer to arresting them despite several failed assassination attempts on Lin Tse-Hsu’s life. But in West London, an Asian man and his sumo-sized bodyguard quietly slipped into the back room of a club.
Dark smoke filled the room and stung Cho’s eyes as he tried to focus. Boudica sat in a throne-shaped chair. She wore a black, skin-tight, silk shirt and tight black trousers. On the floor next to her eating small cubes of meat out of her hand was a fully grown male leopard. Three other men sat in chairs around the room. A few heads nodded, but none spoke.
“Boudica, it’s good to see you again,” Cho said, bowing his head nervously.
“Ah, Lin Cho, the very man I wanted to see. You haven’t met Luke, have you? He is hungry. Take some meat from the bucket behind you and show him you are a friend,” she ordered. Lin dipped his hand into the bucket of warm blood and pulled out some flesh. He slowly approached Luke with his hand outstretched. The leopard lazily stood and opened its huge mouth to reveal large white incisors. As it got close to Lin’s hand, it snapped, took the meat, and growled loudly as it chewed. Boudica smiled and clapped her hands in delight.
“More. Give him more. He likes you,” she said. Her whole face lit up with excitement. Reluctantly, Lin continued to feed Luke by hand.
Boudica continued to watch, but the smile slid from her face. She glanced at Kotang in the corner before narrowing her eyes on Lin. “My whole operation has been destroyed. I am an embarrassment to our homeland. Everything I have worked for is gone. Do you believe in ‘an eye for an eye,’ Lin Cho?” Boudica asked.
“Yes, Boudica. This very moment, I have all my men looking for the SYUI man, George Young, and his family. I will personally see to it that they all die. I will bring you the head of George Young,” Cho said, his hand dripping with blood from the meat he was feeding the leopard.
“Was it not your son, Andrew, who allowed the ‘boy,’ Jason Steed, into our operation? You even brought him to my factory yourself! You got careless and allowed a spy among us.”
“Boudica, we didn’t know! How would we? We checked him out and he was just a boy. Anyway, he’s dead. We blew up his home and entire family!”
“His is not the only family about to be destroyed. Andrew is not missing—your mistake has already cost you a son,” Boudica said coldly. Lin’s face turned gray and he shook his head in disbelief.
“And now…Kotang, they tell me that you can crush a man to death. If you want to work for me now, you will have to prove your worth. Show me how you can crush a man to death,” Boudica ordered.
Kotang grabbed Cho from behind, took a deep breath, and started to squeeze.
• • •
Back in Spain, the Young family and Jason prepared to go out for the evening.
“How much of that stuff did you put on? It stinks.” Jason laughed, waving his hand in front of his nose.
“Not too much. There’ll be a disco at the bar and probably some girls. I want to look my best,” Martin said. He was standing in his underwear in front of the mirror, arranging his hair. He had covered his neck and chest with aftershave. “Do you want some?” Martin asked, passing the bottle of Hai Karate aftershave. Jason was drying himself off after his shower and examining himself. He was sunburned on his neck, back, and arms.
“No way! I mean, it’ll sting my sunburn.”
“Ha! So!” Martin shouted as he made a karate move toward Jason. Jason ignored him. “I might take up karate. I would be good at it.” He grinned as he threw his arms around in the air.
“You should. It’s the best sport you can do,” Jason enthused.
It was an hour’s drive to Port Malaga. The ancient Spanish town sat in the center of Costa del Sol. Soft sea breezes from the Mediterranean coastline regulated the summer heat, making the harbor a favorite tourist destination for northern Europeans. The ancient streets were overcrowded with modern, oversized hotels, restaurants, and bars. Gift shops selling tacky tourists trinkets of Spanish bullfights, donkeys, and beach towels littered the streets. The ice cream shops had customers spilling onto the payments and out into the busy street. The entire town was relaxed with a party atmosphere.
Jean found a place to park, and they walked along the shops and bars like any other family on vacation. Most of the British and German tourists were sunburned and smelling of coconut oil and mosquito repellent. Jason was relaxed. He enjoyed the company of the others. Jean treated him and Joanne as part of the family, and he was enjoying the motherly attention. Martin was four years older but immature for his age. He made Jason laugh and forget his troubles. Joanne didn’t speak much, and when he caught her looking at him, she immediately looked away.
Night was coming, proclaimed by a blinding orange sun
piercing an immense, fluffy wall of clouds to the west. Soon darkness would spread across the sky—but not here. Here the blazing neon lights would garnish the harbor and tiny streets.
“This is it. The Red Bull, they cook proper English food and have a disco, so you kids can dance after,” Jean explained, tugging Joanne behind her. Jason allowed Martin to follow next. He was about to follow them in when he noticed a man across the street watching them. As soon as Jason glanced his way, the man pretended to be looking at a rack of postcards.
What is he doing on his own? Why is he watching us?
Jason was now concerned. He couldn’t be sure, but he could have sworn the guy was the same man he had seen on the airplane.
Chapter 16
Come on, Jason. We are waiting for you,” Joanne murmured, grabbing Jason’s hand and pulling him inside. She led him to the table where Jean and Martin were smiling broadly at them. Jason then realized Joanne was still holding his hand. He immediately let go and started to blush. He was worried about the man by the postcards, but he told himself that it was just his imagination. What he didn’t see was the man on the Vespa scooter taking picture after picture of the happy group.
“Looks like you’ve already found yourself a girl, Jason,” Martin said and grinned, knocking Jason with his elbow.
Joanne beamed. Her large dark eyes sparkled.
“I’ll have whatever Jason is having,” Joanne said as she moved her chair closer to his.
Distracted and still a little rattled, Jason retorted angrily. “Order your own stuff and don’t hold my hand again. I already have a girlfriend,” he barked above the noise of the music.
When the waitress brought them their food, she asked if Joanne was all right. She noticed her face was red and tears were running down her cheeks. Jason felt guilty and was quiet until they got back to the villa.
Everyone quietly drifted off to different parts of the villa and went to bed. Jason was just about to turn over when Martin pounced on his bed, pinned him down, and glared into Jason’s face, his nose touching Jason’s.
“You upset that Joanne again, and I’ll give you a black eye, karate or no karate. You got that?” Martin hissed at Jason, spitting into his face at the same time. Jason thought about throwing him off and hitting him, but Martin was just trying to be protective. It was a noble thing to do.
“Okay. I’m sorry. I’ll apologize to her in the morning. Get off me.”
“Good,” Martin said, pushing himself up off of Jason. “Next time, you won’t get a warning.”
Jason turned over. He wished it was over and he was lying in his own bed or getting ready for school at St. Joseph’s. He wished he was eating Mrs. Beeton’s fabulous cooking and carrot cake and seeing his friends, Scott and Catherine.
Catherine—
With that thought, he fell asleep.
• • •
The next two days were uneventful. Joanne kept her distance from Jason and stayed close to Jean. Martin seemed to spend a lot of time alone on a lower lawn that overlooked the villa below. Jason spent hours in the pool, swimming length after length. When he warmed up, he pulled himself out of the pool and practiced his karate katas.
“Jean, why are boys so weird? Martin spends all day on the lawn by himself looking out at sea with the binoculars, and Jason swims nonstop for an hour and then spends hours doing those stupid karate movements. I hate karate. My father and my brothers do it, as it’s our tradition, but not me,” Joanne whined.
“Keeah,” Jason shouted as he made a strike forward. He moved on the balls of his feet and toes with precision, speed, and grace. Sweat trickled down his chest and dried in the strong sun.
They watched Jason as he gracefully moved across the pool deck with a variety of karate stances and moves.
“He seems like a nice boy. We can go into town again tonight and try a different restaurant.”
“Yeah, and I won’t make the mistake of holding Jason’s hand.” She paused and grinned. “Although he did apologize for that, but I’ve still not forgiven him. I hope he feels bad.”
Jason went inside and came out of the villa carrying two glasses of water. He smiled at Jean and Joanne. Jean smiled back, but Joanne looked away with her nose raised. He walked down to the lower lawn, where Martin was lying on his stomach and looking over the edge. He had been here for a few hours. Jason wanted to talk to someone, so he thought it was time he made up with Martin.
“I thought you might want a cold drink. It’s hot out here,” Jason said as he approached.
“Shhh. Keep your voice down,” Martin snapped back, grinning like the Cheshire Cat. He sat up and took the glass of water and then said, “Thanks.” He drank the water down without stopping, wiped his mouth, and burped. “Can you keep a secret?” he asked, grinning.
“Sure can,” Jason said, grinning back and sitting down next to him.
“Look down there.” Martin pointed down on the villa below. Jason lay on his stomach and looked. A woman was sunbathing naked next to the pool. She was lying on her back and revealing her body.
“You dirty old man,” Jason whispered. “So this is what you have been looking at.” Jason turned and grinned at Martin. Martin lay down next to him, both boys watching.
“I don’t think this is right,” Jason whispered.
“Then go back to the pool, but don’t say anything to my mum. I’m staying here.”
Jason started to lift himself up to go back, but curiosity was getting the better of him, even though he knew it was wrong.
“Do you think she would let me rub some sunscreen on her?” Martin joked, gesturing with his hands on his own chest.
Jason had to put his hand over his mouth to stop himself from laughing out loud. Suddenly a loud scream came from behind them up at the villa. It was so loud that the sunbathing lady also heard it and looked up. She caught both boys watching her. Immediately, Jason jumped back, his face flushed bright red with embarrassment.
“She saw us! She’ll think we’re perverts or something. It’s all your fault,” Jason said, completely flustered.
Martin lay on his back, laughing at Jason. “If she doesn’t like it, she should cover up.”
“Come on. We’d better check what that scream was about.”
As they walked back up toward the villa, Martin teased Jason, whose face was still bright. They were still laughing as they walked into the villa.
Just inside the door, Martin felt a cold metal object shoved against his head. Jason turned to face the threat, but it was too late.
Chapter 17
A second man appeared and held Jason at gunpoint. They were taken into Jean’s bedroom. She was sitting on the bed and crying. Her hair was a mess, and she had a cut just below her left eye. Joanne was hugging her and sobbing. Two more gunmen were in the room, smiling at the boys. They were all wearing black T-shirts and tight black pants. All four men were Chinese and in their midtwenties. Jason could not be sure, but one looked like the man he had seen in Malaga.
“I don’t like to kill children, but I have a job to do. Your husband has caused our boss many problems. So now his family will die. The girl comes with us,” a gunman coldly said. Martin climbed onto the bed and hugged his mother.
“What about this boy?” asked a shorter man with a scar on his face, pointing at Jason.
“He wasn’t part of the job, but he could call the cops before we get clear.” The man looked at Jason, trying to decide what to do with the boy.
“Tie me up and gag me, sir. Make sure I can’t get free for hours and hours. You’ll be far away with Joanne by the time someone finds me,” Jason said. He then crouched down and held out his hands in a begging position. “Please, sir. Don’t hurt me.” He started a fake cry. As far as Boudica was concerned, Jason had been killed in the bomb at the Bristows’ apartment.
&nb
sp; “Very well. Get something to tie up the boy with,” he ordered. One of the men left to find some rope. “You see, I have a heart. It’s just business. Now who wants to go first? Mother?”
Joanne clung tight to Jean. Jason caught Joanne glaring at him with hate in her eyes. She was now convinced he was a coward.
“I found a rope. I can tie him to the stove. Boy, come with me,” said the returning gunman. Jason followed him to the kitchen. Once next to the stove, Jason put his hands together, ready to be tied up. The gunman set his gun on top of the stove and moved toward Jason.
The move was so fast the gunman saw just a blur. Jason grabbed the man’s shirt with his left hand and pulled him toward him. At the same time, Jason threw a full-fisted punch, using everything he had. When his fist was inches from connecting, Jason also threw his shoulder into the blow to increase the power. It struck the man’s windpipe, completely shattering it. He collapsed onto the kitchen floor and held his throat. Jason grabbed the kitchen towel and dove down on the man. He forced the towel against the man’s mouth so his gasping sounds could not be heard. After just over a minute, the man’s wriggling body went limp.
Not wanting to waste a second, Jason picked up the gun and ran back toward the bedroom. The leader had his gun aimed at the bed. Jason sprinted toward the door, aimed, and fired, shooting the gunman in the shoulder and knocking him down. Jean and Joanne screamed. The loud bang and recoil of the gun also gave Jason a scare. He had shot a gun before, but he was still surprised by how loud it was.
Jason ran through the door, twisted his body, and aimed the gun at the man behind the wall. Before the man could raise his gun, Jason shot him twice. The first bullet hit him in the neck, but the second missed and buried itself in the wall. Jason kept his momentum going and leapt onto the bed. He landed on his right leg and then he bounced and kicked out with his left at the fourth gunman, catching the man in his chest.