The People Traders (26 page)

He called Hitchen, who instantly produced a large sandwich and a can of beer. She thanked him, before sitting on the grass to eat. For the first time she felt safe.

Farrow sat down alongside her. "Are you up for a walk tonight? We need to team up with another group. Its forty miles but we'll soon find transport; in the meantime we'll walk. The main road's about five miles across country, if we stay on this side of the hill it's a sixty mile drive on pretty bad roads."

"I don't mind, whatever you've got planned I'll fall in with," she replied, then carried on eating.

At that moment Chapman appeared. "We watched her go around you, Sir. I decided not to act because we couldn't see the others."

Karen grinned. "I knew you were there, you know, I'd seen you all arrive and split up, besides, I could have taken you out easily."

Chapman looked indignant. He'd taken a sudden dislike to this girl. "Cocky little kid, aren't you? What makes you so sure you'd have got the better of us?"

Karen finished the beer, then stood up. Her features had changed, her voice hard. She looked him directly in the eyes. "Don't ever call me ‘kid’. The people who thought me just a kid are now dead. My name is, Karen, Karen Marshall." She fell silent for a moment, Chapman was becoming red in the face at this girl's words but she'd not finished with him yet. She swung the machine-gun round and patted it gently, her voice scathing. "As for your so-called attempt to back your Commander, my laser sight was on you before you'd even settled in that hedge over there. I've been here ages and checked every possible place someone could hide. If the Commander hadn't given me the correct password, I could have taken you out very easily and if you are wondering how this little kid could have done that? I'll remind you; I spent two and half years in this sort of operation nearly every weekend. You may say that's just fun and not reality but I'll tell you this; those people were ex-marines with some very keen amateurs. They all took the games very seriously and yes, I was young, but they treated me as one of the team and I often slept alongside them out in the woods. Okay, our guns were paint splatters but that made it even worse; you had to be very close to get a kill, and your sort of carefree approach, before hiding, would have made them laugh."

Commander Farrow listened carefully to her words, he'd thought it strange she hadn't been quivering in a corner or crying in hysterics when they'd found her. That would have been more than acceptable under the circumstances, but now he understood. Her precautions had been good, checking the area, like he would have done. She was well armed, hand grenades in the correct place and she had approached from behind very successfully. Then to even know where the back up was, this confirmed the reports he'd read of this girl, that she was very capable for someone so young. Now he needed to diffuse the situation and bring his team together. He stood and came between them, placing a hand on each of their shoulders. "I think Karen's, owed an apology, Chapman. She's been through a lot and I agree with Karen, she's not a kid and we shouldn't talk to her in that way. In fact I'd go as far as to say she's a very resourceful young lady and we should congratulate her. It's now up to us and especially you, Chapman, to show her that we, too, are a professional team, besides being well able to keep her safe and reunite her quickly with her family. Now I want you two to shake hands and from now on, even you, Karen, treat each other with respect."

Chapman stood for a moment, then broke into a smile, offering his hand. "I'm sorry, Karen; it was the wrong choice of words. Commander Farrow is right, you're a resourceful girl and, I might say, a very attractive young lady, welcome to the S.A.S."

She smiled back and took his hand, grimacing at the strength in his grip, but not complaining. The others also came to her, shaking her hand and giving their names. Within five minutes they were ready to move off, Farrow happy in some ways that feelings had been vented on both sides. All of them now knew Karen's potential and while they would still protect the girl, they would also have confidence that she wouldn't break into hysterics at any moment.

CHAPTER 16

Sirec entered the hospital and was quickly shown to a private room. Saeed was inside, propped up with pillows in bed, pain written all over his face.

"You don't look too well, Saeed."

"Neither would you if you'd been shot as many times as me," Saeed replied with some indignation.

Sirec didn't comment on him being shot, but followed a different tact. "Perhaps you can tell me about the Friday night before Karen left you?"

Saeed frowned. "Friday, Sirec, what's that Friday got to do with anything?"

"A great deal, my friend, were you not playing cards?"

"I always play cards on a Friday."

"I hear you lost the game? You also lost my girl for a night as well."

Saeed frowned. "I didn't lose her, Sirec, I used her as collateral till the banks opened. She was well looked after, never at risk of escape and brought back the following morning."

"Oh yes, Saeed, she was very well looked after," Sirec replied as he leaned over him and squeezed his injured leg.

Saeed screamed with the pain.

"So bloody well, in fact," Sirec shouted, "they let her ring home and tell everyone where she was, who she was going to and I suppose everything else she could remember about her abduction. Now my villa's destroyed and you, my friend, unfortunately, are still alive."

Saeed's mouth dropped open. "I never knew that, Sirec, you must believe me? But you can be sure I'll kill him and the whole of his bloody household for letting her get to a phone."

Sirec didn't respond, but walked to the window, looking out. "You told Halif that the girl shot you," he said, without turning.

"Yes and she took my money. She's another who will pay for it. I've lost a leg, my other foot's shattered and I might even lose that, besides having to wear a bag to piss into for the rest of my life. When I get out of this bed, I'll find that kid and wrench her heart out her chest while she still lives. Show it to her, beating in my hand, before nicking it slightly with my knife. Death will be slow as I force her to watch the life-giving blood pump from her body," Saeed said with satisfaction.

Sirec smiled to himself, this was a very bitter man. "You intend to do a great deal of killing, my friend, but you forget in your desire for vengeance that the girl belongs to me, unless of course you have my money, plus, shall we say, another forty thousand as compensation? Otherwise I decide her fate; it's not in your hands."

Saeed looked at him strangely. "What's she to you? The kid would only have been one of twelve you will have had already this year. I suppose she'd have ended up like the others by the end of the month? It's my right to kill her; she's brought shame on my family."

Sirec still didn't turn, just gazed out. "No, Saeed, you brought the shame on your family, not the girl, but you can be sure I'll be very interested in talking to her and finding out just why she came back to kill you. Whatever you did must have been very bad to display so much anger to make a young girl want to kill? However, I digress; she interests me. That kid's got guts. She's clever and not afraid to fight. It's time I started looking for a more permanent relationship. I think she could be that woman."

Saeed had begun to feel very scared. If Sirec found out what he'd done to Karen on the last night, there was every chance he'd exact revenge for not following his instructions. He always insisted the girls he took were to be prepared, treated well and never touched. Somehow he must find and kill Karen before she talked.

"You're not thinking right, Sirec. Lie down with that girl and you'd be lucky to wake in the morning. I watched her; she never batted an eye after gunning down four people. I've also heard that at least seven others have died. No, Sirec, take my advice; if you want a nice girl, I'll find one, she would even be a virgin if you want, but Karen! Forget her, let me sort that girl out."

Sirec spun round, walking back to the bed, and Saeed shrunk back, terrified Sirec would grab his injured leg again, but he didn't, he just sat down on the chair alongside.

"But that's the point, Saeed. I live with death everyday, it excites me, I relish the danger. Now I can think of nothing else but her. It'll be my intellect, my charm, against a girl who'll be hell bent on destroying me. Think of it, if I succeed in taming this girl, convincing her I really want her for herself, then the way she came to me would be of little consequence. I'd have a girl for life instead of a stream of simpletons. I want her back, no matter what the cost."

Saeed listened to Sirec's ramblings. The man was insane, but Sirec could be talking money again and that interested him. He was already down on the deal with what he'd paid to Assam, besides losing Sirec's money. Then there would be the cost of this hospital, so any extra payments he could extract from him would be welcome. But of course, whatever money Sirec paid to try to bring her back would be a waste on Sirec's part. Karen would be dead before she could have a meeting with him. However, much as he wanted Sirec's money, he was confused as to what Sirec wanted of him.

"What do you want me to do, Sirec? I'm stuck in this bed for the next month at least, and thanks to her, crippled for life," he asked.

Sirec was now composed and moved again to the window. "This Assam, he knows her well?"

"He was with her for a number of weeks and spent time preparing her for her new life. If you want to know about her as a person, he's the man to talk to."

"You still have your contacts in England, yes?" Sirec asked without comment to Saeed's previous answer.

"Of course."

"Then this is what I want you to do. Call England; get your people there to stay close to the parents. I need to know if they hear anything before it becomes public knowledge. Tell them to pretend to be a freelance reporter; offer a big payment for an exclusive story. Most people are greedy and will fall for that. If the rumours I'm hearing are true and it's not mercenaries hired by the family but the British S.A.S. who pulled her out, because of their involvement, there's a very high risk they might just slip the net which is already closing around them in this country. You will also contact Assam. I want everything he's got on her sent to me. I also want him to set a course for Cyprus, not enter their waters, but wait for instructions."

Saeed frowned. "Why Cyprus?"

Sirec pulled a cigarette out and then lit it slowly before replying. "I'll soon have conformation if this was a military operation and if it was, their nearest UK military land base is Cyprus. From there they could fly her home. The military have transport planes leaving all the time to the UK. We have many contacts in Cyprus, and it's possible that we may be able to snatch her back. Assam could provide the means of getting her back to this country. But if we miss her in Cyprus then you will use your resources in England to take her again. I'll arrange for her to leave the country then."

With those words, Sirec left the room. Saeed lay there in deep thought. H hoped the S.A.S. was leading the operation, if they were there would be no chance of getting near her in Cyprus. However, once she's returned to England, that would be a very different story. He'd only need to wait a short time and soon, when she and her family were convinced she was safe, she'd fall back into a normal life and then he could easily snatch her back. Not for Sirec of course, but himself. She owed a heavy debt for killing his friends and crippling him. She would pay for it in many ways before he finally killed her. A grin of satisfaction came over his face as he picked his mobile telephone up from the side-table and began calling contacts.

Halif was stood outside Saeed's room waiting for Sirec. "The man who was with her, is now fully awake and able to talk. Do you want to see him?"

"I do, I certainly do," Sirec replied with enthusiasm.

Entering the room Garry was in, Sirec walked over to the bed. "You're feeling better?" he asked politely.

"Yes, thank you. Where am I?" Garry asked.

"You're in a private hospital at my expense. You were lucky my people picked you up before the military did. They don't take too kindly to people wandering about their country, destroying military warehouses and killing innocent civilians. At the very least they'd have tortured you, even put you up in front of the cameras for propaganda reasons. I've saved you from that."

Garry, still doped from the painkillers, frowned, confused. "So what's in it for you that I should get this star treatment? I'm broke, spend all my money on having a good time and can't repay you?"

Sirec sat down alongside him. "First things first; I must know if you are a mercenary or British S.A.S.?"

"I'm a British serving soldier, that's all I can tell you."

Sirec nodded with understanding, he'd suspected S.A.S. involvement as the overall operation was typical of them. However, until now, he couldn't be sure if the attack on the villa had been a separate operation by mercenaries.

"I suppose your orders were to collect Karen?"

"I can't tell you my orders."

"I could of course force you to answer, but it is of no consequence. We know she didn't die in the fire so it must be assumed, even if it wasn't planned, you did actually take her with you?"

"I can confirm that."

"Thank you; was she with you for some time?"