Blighted Land: Book two of the Northumbrian Western Series (Northumbrian Westerns 2) (13 page)

She put her fingers to her lips, said nothing for a moment. ‘If we can get the key for Casper’s cell we’re fine,’

‘If.’ If Nico was around he’d never hand the key over. Never.
 

‘After that we can haul Casper out and he can drive the Eblis. Get us out of there.’
 

‘Just like that?’

‘The Eblis can blast its way out,’ she said. ‘Once we’re into it —’

‘Once we’re into it.’ It’d be a lot easier if we didn’t need to get him. Especially as he was such a miserable piece. And it sounded like he’d let on to Nico. ‘Can you drive it?’

‘The Eblis? Well, I can get us into it but he is the expert —’

‘So we need him?’

‘Yes.’

I left it at that but if things got tough I’d lead her down to the tank. Leave Casper.

She grabbed her bags up. ‘Ready to go?’

I didn’t really feel it. Then I thought of Gregg and Will in the car. Getting free and warning Nico. ‘Yeah. I’m ready.’
 

She led out, down the back staircase with its threadbare carpets and busted banister. Then we went through an internal door into the hotel’s old garage. The R6 was parked in the centre on a paddock stand, looking as immaculate as ever. There were a few cars at the other end. A security guard sat in a hut at the far side. Becky waved to him and he nodded back.
 

As she loaded up I walked out round a barrier to the Scrambler parked outside. I slid onto it and started it up.
 

A moment later she came out as the guard opened the barrier. She stopped beside me and the two bikes ticked over, the smooth four of hers and the lumpy twin of mine: one immaculate and cared for the other worn out.
 

Without a word she pulled off and I followed her, heading along Bay Road. She opened the R6 up and popped a wheelie, the back wheel skidding along the road once the front end dropped down. I worked the Scrambler to keep up. It really was a good bike, and she knew how to ride it.
 

We raced across town towards Round Up Central, ready to spring Casper. Take the tank. End my time at Faeston.

C
ASPER
WAS
IN
THE
far end of Round Up Central, the part that joined the old shopping mall to the multi-storey. We parked across the road in an overgrown car park, behind the derelict Citizen’s Advice Bureau and next to a busted ticket machine, out of view.
 

‘Just go through the layout again,’ she said.
 

I explained what was on the main levels. Where the office was and Casper’s cell. The basement with weapon’s-store and Eblis. She reached into her rucksack and took out several grenades and a semi-automatic pistol.
 

As she slipped several clips of bullets into her trousers, I opened my bag taking out the shotgun, sliding in the one cartridge I had. There was also the crowbar and pistol with two rounds I’d got from Gregg. Becky reached into her bag again and pulled out a whole box of cartridges, passing them over. I loaded one and put the rest in my jacket.

‘Where did all this come from?’ I said.

‘Where does anything come from?’
 

I looked over at the building. The place where I’d worked for the last eighteen months.
 

‘What’s the best way in?’ she said.

I pointed towards the far end. ‘The fire exit. It’ll bypass some of the security doors. We’ll raise the alarm going in. Once we trigger it we need to get a move on.’

‘We go straight for Casper?’

‘Yeah.’ But if we couldn’t get him out I’d be off to the tank. I’d need Becky to get into it. Or find out how it was locked, at least.

We headed along the road next to the decaying BT building then up the side of the multi-storey car-park. We went to the fire exit, locked with three heavy hasps and padlocks. I raised the pistol ready to shoot them off but Becky smiled and pulled out a cloth bag, picking out a lump of soft material, playing with it in her hand. She took off three pieces, rolled them and shoved them into each padlock. Once they were in place she felt around in the bag again, this time bringing out small fuses with a detonator attached. One of each went onto the padlocks as well.

‘Plastic explosive?’ I said.

She nodded and lit each fuse with a lighter. ‘Stand back.’ As she moved over to the side I joined her. A few seconds later there were two loud cracks and the tinkle of metal falling to the ground. The third didn’t fire. I was about to go over to it when it blew.
 

‘Not the same without electric detonators,’ she said.

I pulled the remains of the padlocks off, opening the door.

We went inside and shut the door behind us. There was no sound of alarms. No one running down towards us. The staircase smelled of smoke from the explosive.

‘Follow me,’ I said, leading her up.

We stopped on level two. Footsteps came down towards us, fast, two people. I grabbed Becky and pulled her under the stairs. Two Round Up men went off at the floor above us. They looked like a couple of the new fellas: young, keen to see some action. Once they’d gone we carried on to level three and stopped at the door. This led to the corridor where Casper was. The door was one of the reinforced ex-prison ones. It was locked.

‘Make a hell of a noise getting in here,’ I said.

‘Don’t you have access to the keys?’

‘No chance.’ Not now. Not with Nico after me.

She examined the lock and door. ‘We could wait for someone to come out.’

‘There’s not time.’ There was a fair chance they’d already noticed our entrance.

She took out a piece of dynamite and wedged it under the handle, taping it by the lock.
 

‘That won’t do it,’ I said. At best it was going to damage the mechanism and weaken it. Most of the blast was going to bounce back, destroying the stairwell. It would certainly alert Round Up. We’d have them all on us.

‘It’ll do it, don’t worry.’

‘We’d be better off using the plastic explosive —’

‘No, this I’ll do it.’

I grabbed her wrist, stopping her. This was a stupid idea.
 

She swung towards me with her gun in her other hand. The pistol was aimed at me. ‘Back off, Trent!’

We stood like that for a moment then I released her, let her carry on taping the explosive in place. The gun was still aimed at me as she worked. Once she’d finished she lowered the weapon. ‘Look, Trent…’ she said. Then made some sound from the back of her throat. A grunt. She lit the fuse and went down the stairs.
 

I joined her as we huddled on the second level, neither of us saying anything.

There was a noise from the passageway and the door to level two opened, the one right beside us. Two men came through, Tyler and someone I didn’t know. For a second they stared at me. At Becky.
 

Then she raised her pistol. ‘Don’t move.’

I pulled out mine as well.

A moment later the explosive went off. It roared down the stairs over us and the two men. Chunks of masonry flew off, bounced around the stairwell and one hit Tyler on the head. He fell to the ground and lay there without moving.

The other man stared at his body.

I went over to Tyler and shifted the chunk of concrete that now lay on his neck, felt for a pulse. There was nothing.

‘Trent,’ said Becky.

‘He’s dead.’ I stood and waved my pistol at the other man. ‘Are you armed?’
 

He shook his head and pulled out his pockets but his eyes were still on Tyler.
 

‘Stay here. Don’t move.’

I went over to Becky. Joined her and went up the stairs. She kept her gun trained on the fella the whole time but he didn’t move. Didn’t shift from the side of Tyler’s body.

The door to level three was still intact, the handle blown off, metal scorched but lock holding.
 

‘Shit,’ she said.

‘I said it wouldn’t blow —’

‘I know. I know.’

As she paced in front of the door, there were voices and shouts from below. I was ready to forget about Casper. Go straight for the Eblis. Get the hell out of there.

Then the door opened. It swung out and a Round Up fella peered out: Luke one of the regulars. Someone I recognised but didn’t know well. He went to say something and Becky swung the gun towards him.
 

‘Easy does it,’ she said.

He raised his hands and moved back through the doorway and into the passageway. When he looked at me I thrust my pistol towards him.
 

We followed him through the door, pulled it shut and locked it.

There were voices up ahead, several men. Becky shoved her pistol into Luke’s neck and pinned him against the wall. I slid past her and carried on.
 

When I came to the office I stopped at the doorway and looked round. There was Aaron and another man. Aaron had started in the last year. He was in his thirties. Keen but not too daft. I didn’t know the other fella. He was younger and look less sensible. There was no sign of Gregg or Will.
 

Aaron was doing all the talking. He said they had to stay there and guard the prisoner. The other man suggested they should investigate the noises. They argued and did nothing. Didn’t even notice me peering in.

Finally, Aaron sent the man off and he came towards us. I slid back towards Becky and held up one finger, then made a walking motion with the other hand.
 

When the man came round the corner he saw me. Before he had time to say anything I hit him in the neck, a sharp blow that made him gasp and grab at his throat. His eyes bulged and he staggered backwards towards Becky who smacked him round the back of his head with her pistol. He dropped like a sack of potatoes and sprawled out on the floor.

‘There’s one more,’ I said. I’d expected Aaron to come round and see what the noise was about. Find Becky waving a gun around.
 

When I went round the corner I saw why he hadn’t. He was on the phone, the one recently fitted by Nico as part of his plan to use old-world technology to increase Round-Up’s efficiency. Aaron bellowed into the device. He repeated the word bomb over and over. He had his back to us, making it easy to get up close. Ram my pistol against his spine, cocking it with a loud click.
 

‘Hello Aaron,’ I said.

He swung round, puzzled, especially when he saw Becky.
 

‘Trent?’ he said. But his eyes were off all over Becky and our two guns. ‘What are you up to?’

‘We want the prisoner,’ said Becky.

His grin vanished. ‘No way.’

Becky came up close and tapped him on the nose with her pistol. ‘I won’t ask again.’

‘No way.’

We stayed like that for a few seconds but it felt longer. Much longer.
 

At last he gave a nod. I took the phone off him and hung it up. He stood slowly, leading us on. He wasn’t especially brave or stupid but he knew his allegiance. He’d try something against us if he thought he could get away with it.

In the passageway we passed his unconscious companion.

‘He’s not dead,’ I said.

We carried on to the door of Casper’s cell. ‘This is it.’

‘Open it,’ said Becky.

‘Well,’ said Aaron. ‘I’m not sure if I’ve the right —’

‘Open it!’

Aaron eyeballed her, stuck his hands in his pockets.

She lowered her gun and cocked it. Fired. The shot boomed through the passageway. Aaron hopped back with one foot in the air. She’d clipped the edge of his boot and just missed his foot. It was hard to say if this was planned or if she’d meant to cripple him. For a moment he leant against the wall. Then he took the keys out and unlocked the door.
 

Becky pushed it open.

Casper sat at the table, his hands over his face. He peered through his fingers and smiled. ‘Thank Christ,’ he said.

W
E
DRAGGED
THE
UNCONSCIOUS
fella and put in the office with Aaron. Then we locked them both in.

Casper laughed, a nasty chuckle. He bruised face creased up as he smiled. ‘Knew you’d get me out, Becks.’ There was no mention of my part in this. No thanks or sign of relief, just a smug nastiness.
 

But it was too late to back out now. We’d locked up two Round Up fellas. Killed Tyler. So I led us to the end of the corridor and unlocked the door. There was no one directly outside but voices came up the stairwell. I went ahead onto the landing and peered down. Tyler’s body still lay there but the other fella had gone, no doubt to raise the alarm, if they’d not heard the racket we’d made. The door on the floor below us opened and someone came through so I ducked back. There sounded to be three, maybe four people down there. One of them was Nico, another Gregg. Will would be there as well but I couldn’t hear him. They’d be tooled up and ready for us. We’d certainly struggle to get past them even with the weapons we had.