Out Of His Depth, page 17
“What the hell Maria? Why…?” shouted Barker from the middle of the room.
“Shut up now John…” Maria said, twisting to the right, still holding Lucy. Lucy groaned. “You couldn’t keep your nose out John, so I had to bring you with me, keep you close.”
Maria turned to look at Michael again. “No time to explain Michael. Change of plan. Call your men off, him included. Weapons on the table,” nodding at the IT guy stood at the end of the desk.
Michael turned and nodded to the IT guy and guards behind. They stepped forwards, placed their guns on the desk while not taking their eyes off Maria. Then they took a few steps backwards towards the hostages.
Barker looked at Lucy, shrugged, and shook his head. He’d been so close, but he’d been a fool. He should have gone in by himself and never trusted Maria.
“You tried to have me killed Michael.”
“What did you expect?”
“I expected to help you. To look after our home until you came back.”
“They would have got to you sooner or later. You would have helped them. They would have found out about everything. Not just that one shipment. I had no choice.”
“Well now you have no choice. That money is as much mine as it is yours. I worked hard for you. For us. We had a life. You tried to take my life but I survived. And then I had to hide. My world changed. And my son. Our son…”
Lucy wriggled as Maria pressed the barrel harder into the side of her head.
‘I’m going to give you a different account number to enter into that box Michael, my account number.”
Michael stiffened and said, “It’s not your money.”
“I hold the cards now Michael. You’ve screwed this up for the second time. Accept it and we all live to see another day.”
Maria pulled the pistol away from the side of Lucy’s head and pointed it at Michael, loosening her grip slightly around Lucy’s neck. She ordered Michael to enter the numbers and turn the laptop to face her so she could confirm.
“Enter it,” Maria said.
Chapter 97
Barker was staring at the confrontation between Maria and Michael when he noticed in his peripheral vision Lucy’s right hand moving. Her hands were still untied from when she called her father and Maria hadn’t noticed. Her fingers seemed to move randomly but then Barker understood what she was doing. She pointed her thumb at herself, then her first finger upwards towards Maria. Then she pointed at Barker, and then at Michael. Barker looked up at Lucy’s face and saw her eyes widen and her lips mouth the word “Now.”
In the space of a couple of seconds, Barker looked up to assess the chance of Lucy’s plan working. Maria was pointing her pistol at Michael, basking in the glow of inflating her bank account by twenty million dollars. Michael had the exact opposite feeling. He was losing it again and his ‘dead’ wife had stolen it from him. His attention was on the keyboard. The guards were distracted watching this unfold and not interested in Barker who was unarmed. No one was looking at him, except Lucy and, it turned out, a couple of the hostages who seemed to be thinking what he was thinking.
This was it, one of those fortuitous moments when things coalesce in your favour, but it would only last a split second more if he was lucky. He had to act now if there was any chance of success. He dropped almost to a crouch, tipped his weight towards the entrance door and launched himself in a sprint towards Michael. He was there in three or four strides and too fast for anyone to stop him.
Lucy watched Barker intensely and as soon as he began to move she stood bolt upright and tipped her head back, cracking underneath Maria’s jaw and sending her helplessly backwards onto the floor.
Barker hit Michael with his left shoulder just above waist height and momentum took both of them crashing into and over the table, sending the laptop smashing onto the floor.
Maria landed heavily and banged the back of her head on the floor but, realising she’d lost control of the situation, fired at random across the room, hitting one of Michael’s guards, who were both by now starting to move towards her and Barker. The guard fell face-first onto the floor halfway across the room and rolled over onto his back, grabbing his shoulder where he’d been hit.
Lucy bent forwards and tipped her chair upwards and backwards, sliding its legs out of the tie-wraps that had been holding her to it and darted for the entrance door, making a grab for Barker’s shirt as he tried to get up.
As he stood up and jumped out of Michael’s way, Barker watched Lucy push the door open and go through it. Lucy pulled him through and said, “This way. Run!”
Chapter 98
Diane Collins couldn’t hold back the tears. Helen held her face in her hands and Stephen Mitchell stood up behind Aidan who was tapping at a laptop on the board room table, his face going grey. He looked like a man who was about to lose twenty million dollars. With every keystroke he wondered how he could avoid the inevitable. Either way he would lose. Either twenty million or his daughter. But that decision wasn’t the hard one. They had fallen out many times and he hadn’t seen her for years. He didn’t even know where she was working. It wasn’t her fault if she’d found herself in the wrong place at the wrong time.
No, the decision was twenty million or Starlight. If Michael wasn’t bluffing and put a hole in his flagship and sent it to the seabed he would lose a lot more than twenty million. Insurers would probe too deeply and he didn’t need that. If that happened and the truth came out he’d go down for years. Better to get out with a little than lose everything.
“What’s happening?” Stephen asked.
“I don’t know, he’s taking his time giving me his account details,” Aidan replied. “I’m not in a hurry.”
“The sooner you get this done, the sooner we get this finished.”
“Finished?”
“You’re not walking out of here and going back to your normal life Aidan. People have died.”
“I’ve not killed anybody!” Aidan shouted.
“They died because of what you started Aidan,” said Stephen, leaning over Aidan’s left shoulder and breathing down his neck. “I can’t do anything about the other guy. But I can sort you out.”
Stephen Mitchell was taller than Aidan and had been an athlete in his younger days. For the first time, Aidan realised he might not get out of the building on his own terms and began to sweat.
Chapter 99
Lucy ran barefoot down the port-side corridor towards the mid-ships staircase. Barker followed noticing soreness in his chest and thigh where he’d fallen onto the table, but now wasn’t the time to think about that. His legs were working as well as they ever did so he just about kept up with Lucy, who turned left at the staircase and immediate right up one flight of stairs, turning left again down the stateroom corridor. After a few strides she darted left into a doorway. Barker noticed the Launderette sign above it.
Inside, Lucy stood in the middle of the narrow room, which stretched across from port to starboard corridors. There were four washing machines, three dryers and four ironing boards along one side of the room. Barker burst through the door gasping for air and slowed down as he walked over to Lucy. Lucy put her arms around his shoulders and hugged him tight for a couple of seconds, then pulled back, looked him in the eye and pressed her lips against his for another couple of seconds. They separated and looked at one another, but before either could say anything the door burst open.
Lucy jumped back and Barker span around to see who it was. At first he didn’t recognise the face and was ready to run again.
“We followed you. We saw you come in,” said Jordan, breathlessly, his wife Sam following him into the room. “We got out. It was chaos in there. I don’t know about the others.” The door opened again seconds later and in walked a face Barker did recognise.
“Marcus?!” said Barker. Marcus just nodded and leaned forward putting his hands on his knees and gasped for air, eventually turning to put his back against the wall and slumping down onto the floor.
“What now?” Jordan said, “We can’t stay here. They’ll come after us.”
“Did they follow you?” Barker asked.
“No. Pretty sure. There was shouting but I think there was too much going on in there. But this isn’t a good place to hide.”
“No,” said Barker, thinking for a moment and turning to Lucy. “What’s your date of birth?”
“What?”
“Birthday. Day and month.”
“Er…twenty-first of August. Why?”
“Twenty-one, eight. Two, one, eight. Is there a room two-one-eight on this floor?”
“Er, yeah, I think so.”
“Floors above?”
“Probably.”
“OK, go one floor up and find room 218. Take this.” Barker reached round to his back pocket and pulled out the master Sea Star they’d used to get into the Gibson and Mitchell rooms. “It should let you in. Take Sam and Jordan with you.”
Lucy took the card off him, “Quick thinking. You’re on form today.” Then she frowned, “What about you?”
“I need a word with Marcus. Wait there for me. I won’t be long. If you have to move, just go up a deck to another 218. I’ll find you. If you need to escape, climb out over the balcony. Quick, Go.”
Lucy motioned at Jordan and Sam to follow her out through the starboard side door. Barker turned the locks on the inside of both doors and sat down next to Marcus.
Chapter 100
In the Adriatic Suite, Maria picked herself up off the floor and stood up, still pointing her weapon in the direction of Michael’s guards. The second one stopped in his tracks after her wild shot had downed his colleague, and he put his hands in the air in front of him.
“Lie down,” said Maria, “Face down. Next to your friend.”
The man did as he was told, getting to his knees and lying prostrate on the floor, avoiding the blood coming out of his friend’s shoulder, who was lying on his back gasping for air.
“He’ll live,” said Maria, keeping the gun trained on them both.
By the door, Michael groaned and tried to get up from the floor where he’d fallen. Maria span round to her left and waved the gun at him.
“Think about it Michael. Don’t be stupid.”
Michael groaned again, rubbing the back of his head where it had hit the wall, as he sat up.
“You! Over there. Yes, you.” Maria nodded across the room at Jasmine who had backed up to the wall during the commotion and kept out of trouble.
“Me?” said Jasmine, looking hopefully to either side to see if Maria meant someone else.
“Yes, you. You can help. Pick up the rest of those cable-ties and tie his hands before he gets up,” said Maria, “And don’t put up a fight Michael.”
Jasmine obediently walked over to the upturned table, bent down and picked up a couple of cable-ties, and shuffled around to where Michael sat. She squatted next to him and waved the tie at his wrists to indicate that he should put them together in front of his body, then proceeded to wrap one around and click one end through the other and pull it tight.
“Careful!” Michael winced.
“Another one. Then the same with these two, hands and feet,” said Maria, gesturing at the guards on the floor. “Then tie their feet to each other. I don’t want them going anywhere.”
Jasmine continued carefully, and Maria allowed herself to take a deep breath in relative safety. She looked across to the wall opposite where a few of the hostages were still cowering.
“I’m not here to harm you, but I need you to co-operate for a while longer. In a few minutes, we’ll be leaving. But you will be staying here until we’ve left the ship. If I see you outside this room I will shoot you.”
“Done”, confirmed Jasmine, standing upright and looking at Maria with a deadpan stare.
“Good. Pick up that laptop. Is it still working?”
Jasmine moved back around the table and picked up the device.
“It’s from engineering, so it’s more robust than average. It’ll be fine,” said Michael.
“Lucky for you. Wouldn’t want to drag this out for much longer. The sooner I don’t have to see your face anymore the better.”
“Ditto.” mumbled Michael, “What’s your next move?”
Maria shrugged, “Once I’m done here I’m going to take you with me and throw you overboard. If you behave yourself I’ll throw a life-jacket in after you. Then I’m going to leave.”
“It’s OK. It’s still on the same page,” Jasmine said as she placed the laptop onto the chair and turned it around so Maria could see it.”
“It still has the account number I entered in the box?”
“Yes.”
“Press Enter.”
Jasmine hit the Enter button and Maria breathed in a deep breath of satisfaction and looked at Michael, who looked away.
“It’s timed out,” said Jasmine.
“What?” Maria replied.
“It’s timed out. Because nobody’s touched it for a few minutes.”
“Shit. Log back in,” Maria said, looking at Michael and waving the gun again.
Michael flashed Maria a hard stare and struggled to his feet, unable to support himself properly with his tied hands. He stumbled around the table to the chair and leaned over it, touching the trackpad to refresh the page and enter the login details he’d been given by Aidan.
“Happy?” he said.
“Not yet. Move over there with the others. Face the wall.”
“Seriously?”
“What do you think?”
Michael shuffled backwards to the wall next to the hostages and turned around to face it. The door was only six feet away. He could make a run for it but he knew Maria was watching. He could feel her eyes in the back of his head. And she’d already used her gun. He’d taught her how to use one. For self defence at home.
“Enter these numbers,” Maria said to Jasmine, giving her the account number she’d forced Michael to enter before. “Now back off.”
Jasmine backed up as Maria walked up to the laptop to check the details.
“Good,” she said as she backed away, “Now hit Enter again.”
Jasmine did as she was told and the screen asked for confirmation. She looked up at Maria.
“And again,” said Maria.
Jasmine hit the key in the hope it was the last time and she would be allowed to go and join the others along the wall and be out of danger. She looked up at Maria again and saw a broad grin forming on her face.
“Thank you. Now you can come with us. Stand by the door facing away from me.”
Jasmine looked crestfallen but turned to walk to the door.
“Michael? You stand behind her. The three of us are going to leave now. If either of you runs I will shoot you both.”
Chapter 101
Aidan felt the blood drain from his face as he watched the live balance of his private account reduce by twenty million dollars. So far he’d hoped it wasn’t really happening, that something would stop it all. But now he had to go into survival mode. His instincts had to kick in and he had to protect himself and get out with as much as he possibly could, even if that was just the Bentley sat in the car park.
“Helen, would you ring the police please?” Stephen asked. “Somebody needs to come and deal with him. And tell them what happened to the lifeboat. I’m sure the authorities over there know by now, but it will help put the puzzle together if we tell them what we know.”
Just as Stephen finished speaking, Aidan stood up and rammed the metal frame off his chair backwards into Stephen’s shins, and scrambled onto and across the conference table towards Diane and Helen on the opposite side by the door. Stephen yelled in pain and stumbled back against a windowsill before regaining his balance and starting to move around the top end of the table.
But Aidan was too far ahead. Diane recoiled out of his way and Helen, already dialling, stepped back and shouted “Police! Please, quickly!”
Aidan swung the door open and slipped through it, turned left into the corridor and burst through reception and out into the car park. He patted his right trouser pocket to see if he still had his car keys with him. At this point, something so simple could be life-changing. Stephen burst through the entrance door about five metres behind Aidan but slipped on the wet tarmac, falling on his face in the rain. He was up again in a second or two, but it was enough to allow Aidan time to open his car door, jump inside and press the button that locked the doors.
“Get out you bastard!” Stephen shouted as he reached the front of the car, putting his hands on the hood.
Aidan prodded the starter button before taking a couple of quick, deep breaths. Stephen was hammering on the bodywork with his fists and feet, but Aidan didn’t care. He saw Helen walking out of the door behind Stephen as he slowly nudged the car forward, pushing Stephen backwards. At first he thought he was going to jump on the car and try to stop him from driving away, but Stephen knew that wasn’t going to work. The last thing Aidan saw as he swung the car out of the car park was Helen filming him with her phone. He couldn’t resist raising his middle finger as the tyres squealed and launched him out onto the road.
Chapter 102
Inside room 7218 on Deck Seven, Lucy opened the mini-bar and threw the contents onto the king-size bed next to where Jordan and Sam were sat. She picked up a miniature bottle of vodka and sat down in a tub chair next to the balcony doors.
“Help yourselves, I think we need it.”
Sam picked up a small bottle of gin, unscrewed the cap, took a swig, and passed it to Jordan. Jordan stood up and picked a glass up off the shelf above the mini-bar and tipped the gin into it, reaching for a can of tonic water to add to it.
“What now? Where’s your friend gone?” said Sam.
“I don’t know,” said Lucy in between sips from the small bottle, “but I trust him. He won’t be long. We’re fairly safe here if we don’t go out again. Did you deadlock the door?”
“Shut up now John…” Maria said, twisting to the right, still holding Lucy. Lucy groaned. “You couldn’t keep your nose out John, so I had to bring you with me, keep you close.”
Maria turned to look at Michael again. “No time to explain Michael. Change of plan. Call your men off, him included. Weapons on the table,” nodding at the IT guy stood at the end of the desk.
Michael turned and nodded to the IT guy and guards behind. They stepped forwards, placed their guns on the desk while not taking their eyes off Maria. Then they took a few steps backwards towards the hostages.
Barker looked at Lucy, shrugged, and shook his head. He’d been so close, but he’d been a fool. He should have gone in by himself and never trusted Maria.
“You tried to have me killed Michael.”
“What did you expect?”
“I expected to help you. To look after our home until you came back.”
“They would have got to you sooner or later. You would have helped them. They would have found out about everything. Not just that one shipment. I had no choice.”
“Well now you have no choice. That money is as much mine as it is yours. I worked hard for you. For us. We had a life. You tried to take my life but I survived. And then I had to hide. My world changed. And my son. Our son…”
Lucy wriggled as Maria pressed the barrel harder into the side of her head.
‘I’m going to give you a different account number to enter into that box Michael, my account number.”
Michael stiffened and said, “It’s not your money.”
“I hold the cards now Michael. You’ve screwed this up for the second time. Accept it and we all live to see another day.”
Maria pulled the pistol away from the side of Lucy’s head and pointed it at Michael, loosening her grip slightly around Lucy’s neck. She ordered Michael to enter the numbers and turn the laptop to face her so she could confirm.
“Enter it,” Maria said.
Chapter 97
Barker was staring at the confrontation between Maria and Michael when he noticed in his peripheral vision Lucy’s right hand moving. Her hands were still untied from when she called her father and Maria hadn’t noticed. Her fingers seemed to move randomly but then Barker understood what she was doing. She pointed her thumb at herself, then her first finger upwards towards Maria. Then she pointed at Barker, and then at Michael. Barker looked up at Lucy’s face and saw her eyes widen and her lips mouth the word “Now.”
In the space of a couple of seconds, Barker looked up to assess the chance of Lucy’s plan working. Maria was pointing her pistol at Michael, basking in the glow of inflating her bank account by twenty million dollars. Michael had the exact opposite feeling. He was losing it again and his ‘dead’ wife had stolen it from him. His attention was on the keyboard. The guards were distracted watching this unfold and not interested in Barker who was unarmed. No one was looking at him, except Lucy and, it turned out, a couple of the hostages who seemed to be thinking what he was thinking.
This was it, one of those fortuitous moments when things coalesce in your favour, but it would only last a split second more if he was lucky. He had to act now if there was any chance of success. He dropped almost to a crouch, tipped his weight towards the entrance door and launched himself in a sprint towards Michael. He was there in three or four strides and too fast for anyone to stop him.
Lucy watched Barker intensely and as soon as he began to move she stood bolt upright and tipped her head back, cracking underneath Maria’s jaw and sending her helplessly backwards onto the floor.
Barker hit Michael with his left shoulder just above waist height and momentum took both of them crashing into and over the table, sending the laptop smashing onto the floor.
Maria landed heavily and banged the back of her head on the floor but, realising she’d lost control of the situation, fired at random across the room, hitting one of Michael’s guards, who were both by now starting to move towards her and Barker. The guard fell face-first onto the floor halfway across the room and rolled over onto his back, grabbing his shoulder where he’d been hit.
Lucy bent forwards and tipped her chair upwards and backwards, sliding its legs out of the tie-wraps that had been holding her to it and darted for the entrance door, making a grab for Barker’s shirt as he tried to get up.
As he stood up and jumped out of Michael’s way, Barker watched Lucy push the door open and go through it. Lucy pulled him through and said, “This way. Run!”
Chapter 98
Diane Collins couldn’t hold back the tears. Helen held her face in her hands and Stephen Mitchell stood up behind Aidan who was tapping at a laptop on the board room table, his face going grey. He looked like a man who was about to lose twenty million dollars. With every keystroke he wondered how he could avoid the inevitable. Either way he would lose. Either twenty million or his daughter. But that decision wasn’t the hard one. They had fallen out many times and he hadn’t seen her for years. He didn’t even know where she was working. It wasn’t her fault if she’d found herself in the wrong place at the wrong time.
No, the decision was twenty million or Starlight. If Michael wasn’t bluffing and put a hole in his flagship and sent it to the seabed he would lose a lot more than twenty million. Insurers would probe too deeply and he didn’t need that. If that happened and the truth came out he’d go down for years. Better to get out with a little than lose everything.
“What’s happening?” Stephen asked.
“I don’t know, he’s taking his time giving me his account details,” Aidan replied. “I’m not in a hurry.”
“The sooner you get this done, the sooner we get this finished.”
“Finished?”
“You’re not walking out of here and going back to your normal life Aidan. People have died.”
“I’ve not killed anybody!” Aidan shouted.
“They died because of what you started Aidan,” said Stephen, leaning over Aidan’s left shoulder and breathing down his neck. “I can’t do anything about the other guy. But I can sort you out.”
Stephen Mitchell was taller than Aidan and had been an athlete in his younger days. For the first time, Aidan realised he might not get out of the building on his own terms and began to sweat.
Chapter 99
Lucy ran barefoot down the port-side corridor towards the mid-ships staircase. Barker followed noticing soreness in his chest and thigh where he’d fallen onto the table, but now wasn’t the time to think about that. His legs were working as well as they ever did so he just about kept up with Lucy, who turned left at the staircase and immediate right up one flight of stairs, turning left again down the stateroom corridor. After a few strides she darted left into a doorway. Barker noticed the Launderette sign above it.
Inside, Lucy stood in the middle of the narrow room, which stretched across from port to starboard corridors. There were four washing machines, three dryers and four ironing boards along one side of the room. Barker burst through the door gasping for air and slowed down as he walked over to Lucy. Lucy put her arms around his shoulders and hugged him tight for a couple of seconds, then pulled back, looked him in the eye and pressed her lips against his for another couple of seconds. They separated and looked at one another, but before either could say anything the door burst open.
Lucy jumped back and Barker span around to see who it was. At first he didn’t recognise the face and was ready to run again.
“We followed you. We saw you come in,” said Jordan, breathlessly, his wife Sam following him into the room. “We got out. It was chaos in there. I don’t know about the others.” The door opened again seconds later and in walked a face Barker did recognise.
“Marcus?!” said Barker. Marcus just nodded and leaned forward putting his hands on his knees and gasped for air, eventually turning to put his back against the wall and slumping down onto the floor.
“What now?” Jordan said, “We can’t stay here. They’ll come after us.”
“Did they follow you?” Barker asked.
“No. Pretty sure. There was shouting but I think there was too much going on in there. But this isn’t a good place to hide.”
“No,” said Barker, thinking for a moment and turning to Lucy. “What’s your date of birth?”
“What?”
“Birthday. Day and month.”
“Er…twenty-first of August. Why?”
“Twenty-one, eight. Two, one, eight. Is there a room two-one-eight on this floor?”
“Er, yeah, I think so.”
“Floors above?”
“Probably.”
“OK, go one floor up and find room 218. Take this.” Barker reached round to his back pocket and pulled out the master Sea Star they’d used to get into the Gibson and Mitchell rooms. “It should let you in. Take Sam and Jordan with you.”
Lucy took the card off him, “Quick thinking. You’re on form today.” Then she frowned, “What about you?”
“I need a word with Marcus. Wait there for me. I won’t be long. If you have to move, just go up a deck to another 218. I’ll find you. If you need to escape, climb out over the balcony. Quick, Go.”
Lucy motioned at Jordan and Sam to follow her out through the starboard side door. Barker turned the locks on the inside of both doors and sat down next to Marcus.
Chapter 100
In the Adriatic Suite, Maria picked herself up off the floor and stood up, still pointing her weapon in the direction of Michael’s guards. The second one stopped in his tracks after her wild shot had downed his colleague, and he put his hands in the air in front of him.
“Lie down,” said Maria, “Face down. Next to your friend.”
The man did as he was told, getting to his knees and lying prostrate on the floor, avoiding the blood coming out of his friend’s shoulder, who was lying on his back gasping for air.
“He’ll live,” said Maria, keeping the gun trained on them both.
By the door, Michael groaned and tried to get up from the floor where he’d fallen. Maria span round to her left and waved the gun at him.
“Think about it Michael. Don’t be stupid.”
Michael groaned again, rubbing the back of his head where it had hit the wall, as he sat up.
“You! Over there. Yes, you.” Maria nodded across the room at Jasmine who had backed up to the wall during the commotion and kept out of trouble.
“Me?” said Jasmine, looking hopefully to either side to see if Maria meant someone else.
“Yes, you. You can help. Pick up the rest of those cable-ties and tie his hands before he gets up,” said Maria, “And don’t put up a fight Michael.”
Jasmine obediently walked over to the upturned table, bent down and picked up a couple of cable-ties, and shuffled around to where Michael sat. She squatted next to him and waved the tie at his wrists to indicate that he should put them together in front of his body, then proceeded to wrap one around and click one end through the other and pull it tight.
“Careful!” Michael winced.
“Another one. Then the same with these two, hands and feet,” said Maria, gesturing at the guards on the floor. “Then tie their feet to each other. I don’t want them going anywhere.”
Jasmine continued carefully, and Maria allowed herself to take a deep breath in relative safety. She looked across to the wall opposite where a few of the hostages were still cowering.
“I’m not here to harm you, but I need you to co-operate for a while longer. In a few minutes, we’ll be leaving. But you will be staying here until we’ve left the ship. If I see you outside this room I will shoot you.”
“Done”, confirmed Jasmine, standing upright and looking at Maria with a deadpan stare.
“Good. Pick up that laptop. Is it still working?”
Jasmine moved back around the table and picked up the device.
“It’s from engineering, so it’s more robust than average. It’ll be fine,” said Michael.
“Lucky for you. Wouldn’t want to drag this out for much longer. The sooner I don’t have to see your face anymore the better.”
“Ditto.” mumbled Michael, “What’s your next move?”
Maria shrugged, “Once I’m done here I’m going to take you with me and throw you overboard. If you behave yourself I’ll throw a life-jacket in after you. Then I’m going to leave.”
“It’s OK. It’s still on the same page,” Jasmine said as she placed the laptop onto the chair and turned it around so Maria could see it.”
“It still has the account number I entered in the box?”
“Yes.”
“Press Enter.”
Jasmine hit the Enter button and Maria breathed in a deep breath of satisfaction and looked at Michael, who looked away.
“It’s timed out,” said Jasmine.
“What?” Maria replied.
“It’s timed out. Because nobody’s touched it for a few minutes.”
“Shit. Log back in,” Maria said, looking at Michael and waving the gun again.
Michael flashed Maria a hard stare and struggled to his feet, unable to support himself properly with his tied hands. He stumbled around the table to the chair and leaned over it, touching the trackpad to refresh the page and enter the login details he’d been given by Aidan.
“Happy?” he said.
“Not yet. Move over there with the others. Face the wall.”
“Seriously?”
“What do you think?”
Michael shuffled backwards to the wall next to the hostages and turned around to face it. The door was only six feet away. He could make a run for it but he knew Maria was watching. He could feel her eyes in the back of his head. And she’d already used her gun. He’d taught her how to use one. For self defence at home.
“Enter these numbers,” Maria said to Jasmine, giving her the account number she’d forced Michael to enter before. “Now back off.”
Jasmine backed up as Maria walked up to the laptop to check the details.
“Good,” she said as she backed away, “Now hit Enter again.”
Jasmine did as she was told and the screen asked for confirmation. She looked up at Maria.
“And again,” said Maria.
Jasmine hit the key in the hope it was the last time and she would be allowed to go and join the others along the wall and be out of danger. She looked up at Maria again and saw a broad grin forming on her face.
“Thank you. Now you can come with us. Stand by the door facing away from me.”
Jasmine looked crestfallen but turned to walk to the door.
“Michael? You stand behind her. The three of us are going to leave now. If either of you runs I will shoot you both.”
Chapter 101
Aidan felt the blood drain from his face as he watched the live balance of his private account reduce by twenty million dollars. So far he’d hoped it wasn’t really happening, that something would stop it all. But now he had to go into survival mode. His instincts had to kick in and he had to protect himself and get out with as much as he possibly could, even if that was just the Bentley sat in the car park.
“Helen, would you ring the police please?” Stephen asked. “Somebody needs to come and deal with him. And tell them what happened to the lifeboat. I’m sure the authorities over there know by now, but it will help put the puzzle together if we tell them what we know.”
Just as Stephen finished speaking, Aidan stood up and rammed the metal frame off his chair backwards into Stephen’s shins, and scrambled onto and across the conference table towards Diane and Helen on the opposite side by the door. Stephen yelled in pain and stumbled back against a windowsill before regaining his balance and starting to move around the top end of the table.
But Aidan was too far ahead. Diane recoiled out of his way and Helen, already dialling, stepped back and shouted “Police! Please, quickly!”
Aidan swung the door open and slipped through it, turned left into the corridor and burst through reception and out into the car park. He patted his right trouser pocket to see if he still had his car keys with him. At this point, something so simple could be life-changing. Stephen burst through the entrance door about five metres behind Aidan but slipped on the wet tarmac, falling on his face in the rain. He was up again in a second or two, but it was enough to allow Aidan time to open his car door, jump inside and press the button that locked the doors.
“Get out you bastard!” Stephen shouted as he reached the front of the car, putting his hands on the hood.
Aidan prodded the starter button before taking a couple of quick, deep breaths. Stephen was hammering on the bodywork with his fists and feet, but Aidan didn’t care. He saw Helen walking out of the door behind Stephen as he slowly nudged the car forward, pushing Stephen backwards. At first he thought he was going to jump on the car and try to stop him from driving away, but Stephen knew that wasn’t going to work. The last thing Aidan saw as he swung the car out of the car park was Helen filming him with her phone. He couldn’t resist raising his middle finger as the tyres squealed and launched him out onto the road.
Chapter 102
Inside room 7218 on Deck Seven, Lucy opened the mini-bar and threw the contents onto the king-size bed next to where Jordan and Sam were sat. She picked up a miniature bottle of vodka and sat down in a tub chair next to the balcony doors.
“Help yourselves, I think we need it.”
Sam picked up a small bottle of gin, unscrewed the cap, took a swig, and passed it to Jordan. Jordan stood up and picked a glass up off the shelf above the mini-bar and tipped the gin into it, reaching for a can of tonic water to add to it.
“What now? Where’s your friend gone?” said Sam.
“I don’t know,” said Lucy in between sips from the small bottle, “but I trust him. He won’t be long. We’re fairly safe here if we don’t go out again. Did you deadlock the door?”
