The People Traders (27 page)

"She was with us for only two days, but why the interest?"

"I have a great deal of interest in Karen because she belongs to me."

Garry laughed, but cut it short as pain shot through his body. "I'm not sure that Karen or the British Government would see it that way. She's got the impression that she was abducted and sold in some sort of auction. Perhaps you'd better explain to Karen herself how you come to the conclusion that you own her? In our country we call it kidnap and you go to prison for it."

Sirec shrugged. "That's incidental, she will understand when we meet as to ownership, but I digress. I'd like you to tell me a little about her."

"Why?" Garry asked.

"Well, you took her back before we could meet. I've a little time to spare and you're going nowhere for the moment, so why not talk?"

Garry could see the man's point, but failed to understand just what he'd want to know about her. "You know she's only just eighteen and a bit young for you?"

"Of course I knew her age; however, you must understand what you call young is not regarded as young in these parts," Sirec corrected, "but I stop you, please go on."

"Okay. She's tall, very slim with blue eyes and long dark brown hair and as far as I'm concerned, decidedly attractive."

Sirec held his hand up. "Yes, yes. I know all that, I've a number of photos; what I want to know about is her personality. Is she, as everybody seems to keep saying, competent, bright and interesting to be with?"

Garry couldn't believe what he was hearing; this man had an infatuation for Karen, seemingly desperate to have someone talk about her. It worried him, a man like that would follow her all over the world. She'd never be safe unless he thought her dead. But there was no harm that he could see, in playing along. After all, she must be still free and safely with the Commander, otherwise he'd not be asking these questions.

"The time Mark and I were with Karen, we found her very intelligent and certainly a bright girl," Garry continued, "she is also very resourceful and fully committed, no matter what it takes, to going home."

"But she'd listen to reason and realise her home is with me, wouldn't she?" Sirec cut in.

Garry shrugged. "I suppose, anybody would listen to an argument, but unless you had some bloody good reasons, I can't see you convincing her to come back with you. That's if I'm reading what you're thinking correctly? A man she called Saeed found to his cost, that to mess about with her is not to be advised."

Sirec nodded his head up and down. "I suppose she didn't tell you just what this man Saeed had actually done to make her want to kill him?"

"No, we didn't have time to get that out of her. Stupidly we let Karen enter his house alone. She said she knew him intimately and he'd do anything for her. We needed a car and he had one. Besides which, she knew the house and how to get in so we didn't disbelieve her. I now believe he treated her very badly and she went in there with the sole intention of killing him."

Sirec stood and walked to the window. "Thank you for your honesty; I also believe that. But now I need to know something that's important, both for your life and that of Karen's. What were your plans after the operation, in how you intended to leave this country?"

Garry shifted his position. "What day is this?" he asked.

"Thursday the twentieth, why?"

"Then they've already left. The pickup was last night, I'm afraid you're too late, Sirec, the girl's going home."

Sirec stood silently for a short time, then turned and made to leave the room.

Garry called after him. "What will happen to me?"

Sirec glanced back. "I should kill you, after all, your people have destroyed my warehouses. You, lad, have destroyed my home and taken my girl, but I don't kill cripples. You will serve to be a reminder for others who might want to walk in your footsteps as to the futility of it all."

Garry eyes widened at Sirec's words. "What are you on about?" Garry whispered, hardly daring to know the answer.

Sirec gave a sickly grin. "They didn't tell you then?"

"Tell me what?" Garry demanded.

"A bullet had lodged in your spine. They tried to get it out but it was messy. These people aren't that good, so in trying to save your life, which was the priority you understand, they managed to sever your spinal cord. I'm afraid you'll never leave that bed. Your life in the S.A.S. is finished, so, I suspect, is your sex life. That's if any girl would want you? We will in due course inform the British Consul, and they, I presume, will want to fly you home."

Garry lay there, stunned at his words.

Sirec stood watching him. "It was all a waste of time; you've paid dearly, have you not?" Sirec said softly.

"What are you saying, what was a waste of time?" Garry asked.

"To collect my Karen, of course; you see she'll be returned to me no matter what. There's no place in the world she can hide. Unlike you, I know people, some easily bought, others more difficult, but in the end everyone has a price. Someone will tell me where she is. Then Karen will be brought back. So you see, Garry, I'll call you, Garry, if you don't mind? You've been crippled for nothing; even the weapons your friends blew up have already been replaced."

With that, Sirec left the room. Garry could hear him laughing outside with somebody else. He felt very down and depressed with Sirec's words. Karen had made an impact on him and for the last hours he had thought of nothing else. Her promised date when they met up again, now dashed by these bungling idiots. A girl like her wouldn't want to go out with a cripple, of that he was sure.

CHAPER 17

Three hours had elapsed since Karen had teamed up with the Commander. They'd had an uneventful forced march across country, before climbing aboard a canvas covered truck procured by two of the soldiers sent in advance of the main group. Now they were heading south to assist Group Two, who were still trying to come up with a means to destroy the final warehouse.

Initially Farrow had tried, unsuccessfully, to take all Karen's weapons off her. She'd been adamant that they were hers and she intended to stick with at least one of them, 'for her own personal protection' she claimed, until she was 'definitely on the way home'.

Farrow considered, after trying to reason with her for some time, that it was perhaps pointless trying any longer. He'd no intention of placing her on the front line and where she was going to be waiting for them would offer no chance to utilise any of her weapons. So as not to raise tensions any higher, he agreed she should keep the laser guided machine-gun, its ammunition and the grenades on the ammunition belt. The rifle, which she'd procured from the Land Rover, was in bad condition and could explode if she used it, so he insisted she gave that up. Karen, looking at the rifle with Farrow's help, understood and finally agreed to this, but didn't volunteer to Farrow that she had a handgun, having moved it from the holster and into her jeans.

The truck eventually turned off the main highway and they travelled for about two miles before coming to a halt. The men scrambled out and began to cover the vehicle with branches and other items they could find around for concealment. Then they grouped together round Farrow. "Chapman and two of your group remain here with Karen and defend this position. The rest of you will come with me," Farrow ordered.

Chapman said nothing, just saluted and pointed to two men for the task. In some ways he was disappointed, having to 'nanny' this girl, but he was also realistic. Even if Karen hadn't been here, the truck would still need defending, so he resigned himself to the task and watched quietly as Farrow moved away.

Karen sat quietly on the tailgate of the truck, sorting her few clothes out from the bag. Morning was beginning to break and she'd decided to change into her shorts.

Chapman was a short distance away cleaning his finger nails with a penknife. He glanced up at her. "Are you good at cooking?" he asked.

She looked up from what she was doing. "Cooking what?"

He patted his rifle, grinning broadly. "I could get us a rabbit."

Karen scrunched her nose. "What, a live one?" she asked hesitantly.

He began to laugh. "Well it's not going to come frozen from a bloody supermarket. I'll skin it if you're that squeamish."

She shuddered. "I wouldn't know what to do with it. Anyway it's hardly likely to be much good on its own; we'd need vegetables and things like that. Can't you settle for a biscuit?"

Chapman called over to one of the others. "Did you hear that, Franco, Karen wants us to get vegetables and all the trimmings. This is a girl that's slept with men, drinking and farting all night and she's never lived off the land."

The other men burst into laughter, making Karen feel decidedly ill at ease.

"It's not that funny and I didn't sleep with them. I was often with my dad and never allowed to drink, I was too young," she said, trying to defend her position. "Besides, I'm not a bloody cook anyway."

Chapman had finished messing with his nails and threw the penknife hard into the ground a few times. "You're not really good at anything are you, apart from pretending to be grown up and showing off like last night at my expense. I would have put you over my knee like I do with my kids at home when they get out of line if Farrow hadn't been there. He's weak and stupid; even lets you keep the weapons. What for? You've probably not got the guts to fire a gun anyway."

Karen looked at him for a short time. She didn't like this man or the others for that matter, but she was stuck with them, whether she liked it or not. It was possible, as with Garry, she could be in a situation where she needed their help. With this sort of attitude towards her they'd probably just dump her. Jumping down from the tailgate, she removed her jeans and replaced them with her shorts, finally taking off her jumper. Four weeks back she'd have been hiding shyly behind the truck rather than stand in front of men in her knickers, now she didn't even give it a second thought.

"You don't think much of me, do you?" she asked Chapman.

He shrugged. "Why should I, you're a cocky little bitch. And I'll tell you this, strutting around in shorts and t-shirt will have no affect on me; like I said, I've kids and a wife I love?"

Karen grinned. "I don't strut around, thank you, besides I'm not really bothered if I have an effect on you or not. I'm not that desperate I want sex from a man who's older than my dad. All I ask is you don't try to knock me down all the time."

"Yes, love," he replied in a patronising way, "just go and sit in the sun like a good little girl and leave the soldiering to us."

Karen sighed, she stood facing him. "Right that's it; you've done a lot of big talking so I'm going to give you an opportunity to show how good you are. Why don't you come at me with that knife of yours?"

He laughed at her. "What, this penknife?"

She frowned. "No... The knife on your belt."

"Don't be childish, I'd kill you," he retorted.

"I don't mean kill me, just get me in a position where it's at my throat and you could kill me. If you can do it twice, I'll apologise and you can even put me over your knee, like you keep threatening, if you want? But if I take it off you, or throw you to the ground twice, I win and you apologise. What do you say?"

Chapman never moved, but the other two had been listening and began ribbing him.

"Go on, Chapman; show this cocky little girl what the S.A.S. can do," Franco urged.

Still Chapman kept muttering under his breath about how he didn't fight girls.

Franco persisted. "She's putting you on, Chapman; the reality is, she's kinky and wants to go over your knee. Mind you, if you keep saying no, she'll win by default. So I'll tell you what, here's ten quid, the winner takes all. How about you, Hawkins, have you got a tenner as well, it'll make it more interesting?"

Hawkins pulled two five pound notes from his jacket and threw them on top of Franco's money, grinning. Then he looked at Chapman. "Go for it, Chapman," he ribbed, "you don't often get a pretty girl wanting to fight you.. Show her a thing or two before giving her a good spanking."

Chapman stood, pulled his jacket off, removing the gun belt, and drew the knife from its sheath. "You're sure about this, Karen, fighting with knives can get you injured very easily?" he warned.

Karen stepped back. "Listen, we've got to sort our differences out one way or the other. I'm just a girl who's had a few self-defence classes. I'd like to try them out in a relatively real situation, that's all. Besides, it'll pass the time and I might end up with egg on my face and a sore bum, but I'll take that chance."

Franco cut in. "Treat her gently, Chapman, but it sounds like she's already resigned to the punishment."

Karen glanced at Franco. "I'm not intending to lose, but if I do, I'll not renege on the deal," she replied curtly.

Chapman suddenly stepped back and lowered his body, holding the knife out in his right hand. "Okay, you've asked for it, girl. Defend yourself."

She turned and faced him, keeping her legs slightly apart, her eyes concentrating on the hand with the knife. Chapman suddenly lunged forward. Karen moved like lightning to her right. Chapman had seen her action, and his arm holding the knife followed, crossing his own body. Within a second Karen, having hoped for this, literally flew back to the left, at the same time lunging forward and grasping his wrist with the knife and wrenching it up, kicking his legs from under him, and throwing Chapman completely off balance. He fell to the ground with a thud. She stepped back and stood there.