Part 25 (1/2)

Barrett jabbed the intercom shut and s.n.a.t.c.hed up the phone. ”Yes?” he growled.

”Ripley, Sir. We've tracked Meyers' phone signal to a truck stop just outside of Dumfries. We raided the lorry and found the phone but no Meyers; there's a chance that he might have skipped out before we got there but I don't think so. The driver swears that there was no one in the back and I'm inclined to believe him.”

Barrett bristled with the incompetence of others. In any usual circ.u.mstances, he probably would have sent Meyers on a case like this but that was obviously off the table now. He hung up the phone without replying and leaned back in his chair.

”Everything okay?” a voice from below the desk asked as the attractive reporter from earlier looked up from her kneeling position.

”None of your d.a.m.n business,” Barrett snapped. ”And who told you to stop?”

As the bobbing woman continued her duties, Barrett remembered that he also had the ability to track Zerneck. He couldn't believe that the reporter might suddenly develop a backbone and work with the missing policeman and his psychic sidekick, but it was the only hope that he had.

There were men under his command that he had faith in, men that could be relied upon for their discretion and obedience, men who had access to firearms and weren't afraid to use them. His men had been on alert and mobile for the last few days now and ready to spring into action at a moment's notice. As the woman below the desk reached his finish, he made the decision and made the call.

Simon walked alone, savouring the quiet moments before the approaching storm. His life had all been building slowly towards this moment and now that it was finally close, he felt fear and a strange kind of loss as the chase reached its conclusion.

His mind had been so full of antic.i.p.ation for so many years that he was afraid the finale could never live up to his expectations. His family was about to be reunited and the whole world would be laid bare before their feet.

He didn't consider himself a monster. Sure, some people had to die but in the grand scheme of things it was a small sacrifice to make. Martin Kline had been set on his path to death and destruction long before he had found him; all he had done was to give some direction and meaning to the inevitable.

As he surveyed the scene before him, he could feel the power coursing through his veins. Off in the distance a lone dog walker was throwing a ball for her pet to retrieve and the animal showed no signs of tiring of the game despite its owner aching arm.

Simon closed his eyes and sought out the dog; one minute the animal was chasing a bouncing rubber ball but the next it caught sight of a rabbit running across the sands. Simon projected the image, driving the dog into a frenzy as it ran away from its panicking owner and straight into the sea beyond. The dog swam and swam as the rabbit turned back with a mocking grin etched across its furry face only serving to enrage the dog further.

He pulled his mind back before the dog started to drown; he didn't want to feel the animal's lungs fill with cold salt water. It was a small trick to him now to enter those around him and only further prove that he was a G.o.d among the shaved monkeys of this world. Before this night was over he would be rejoined with his sister and together they would ascend and take their rightful place and there would be no one left to challenge them.

Danny drove Randall's car, much to the consternation of the reporter but he wasn't running a democracy. Randall held the smart phone with the blinking dot that would lead them to Jane and, hopefully, in time.

He drove faster than he would have normally dared. Jane was one of the most capable people he had ever met in his life, but even she wasn't bulletproof.

”Is she still moving?” he asked.

”Yes, she's heading up the coast and hasn't shown any signs of pulling off the main road yet,” Randall replied, his eyes never leaving the small screen. ”You got any idea where she's going?”

”Not a clue,” Danny admitted.

His thoughts returned to the road ahead as he navigated the traffic, weaving in and out of the fading tourist trade as the end of summer was drawing to a close and the holidays were over. He was heading for the motorway, using some back roads where he was sure that he could make up some time on Jane.

The road was surrounded by woodland on all sides and was normally only used by those with time on their hands to enjoy the scenery as the main roads carried higher speed limits. He swung out and overtook another car as Randall breathed in harshly as the silver car flashed by, complete with an angry shaking fist by the driver.

He rounded a bend a little too quickly and the car started to skid a little too far out as the backend protested that it wasn't built for racing. For a moment, Danny thought that they were going to spin but at the last second the tyres grabbed some purchase despite their squeals and they straightened out.

”Take it easy,” Randall said nervously. ”We're not going to be much good to her if we're wrapped around a tree.”

Danny knew that the man was right but there was an aching in his gut that told him that they were going to be too late unless he really pushed it.

As he looked back at the corner in the rear-view mirror to see how close they had come to disaster, he spotted the car behind. In his haste and worry he hadn't noticed the car before, but if it was there then it had to be racing along with as much dangerous speed as they were. There wasn't much in the way of civilisation out this far and there were only two more turnoffs for the motorway with the penultimate one coming up. He had intended to take that turning, but now he pressed on forwards, increasing speed to the point that the rental car started to shudder. The other car followed his lead.

”What the h.e.l.l are you doing?” Randall cried out, shocked.

Danny ignored him and only concentrated on his driving as he dragged every last inch of performance from the hire car. Whoever was driving the car behind was clearly a professional as they matched him move for move and closed the gap rapidly now that their cover had been blown.

It quickly became clear to Danny that there was no chance that they were going to outrun their pursuers. The road ahead may have been currently empty but the car behind seemed to care little for their very public display and Danny knew that they were no longer interested in subtlety. His only hope now was to try and make the last turning for the motorway where there would surely be too many witnesses.

He risked a look back just in time to see the car behind slam into the back of them. The jolt whipped them forward in their seats and Danny fought to keep the car straight and only just won the battle but not the war. Just as he managed to line the car up again, the vehicle behind accelerated until its nose was just past his b.u.mper and then turned in sharply.

Danny had been on several driving courses in the dim past and could vaguely remember the PIT or Precise Immobilisation Technique manoeuvre for stopping fleeing vehicles during a high-speed chase. The car behind affected it perfectly and Danny began to spin around and out of control. The car's tyres screeched as the rubber burned before one of the rear tyres slipped over the edge of the road and swapped tarmac for soft dirt.

He didn't have time to shout a warning to Randall before they started to roll, disappearing down the slope into slapping branches and darkness.

By the time that Randall came around, his head ached monstrously and a quick check with his hand revealed that there was a lot of blood. Danny had started driving like a lunatic, seemingly without warning, and then another car had crashed into the back of them, sending them careering off the road. It took him a moment to realise that it wasn't the world that was upside down, it was him.

He struggled to free himself from the seatbelt before cras.h.i.+ng down onto the car's ceiling with his knees jammed up to his throat. He inched himself around until his feet were pressed up against the door's window. The door itself was severely buckled inwards and it was clear that there was no way it was going to open. He could feel rather than see Danny in the driver's seat next to him, but his first instinct was to get the h.e.l.l out of this metal coffin.

He kicked at the gla.s.s several times until it finally shattered. He stuck his feet out through the window and scooted his a.s.s forwards until he was almost free. His shoulders were the problem as they got stuck in the opening. A sense of claustrophobia started to make him panic as he wriggled and jerked frantically to get free. His heart was pounding hard and his mouth was dry but suddenly, strong hands grabbed his feet and he was yanked forward, leaving a chunk of skin behind.

”Thank you, thank you,” he babbled as his face was. .h.i.t with glorious fresh air. ”Has someone called the police?” he asked, not caring about Danny's warrant or Barrett - all he wanted was a clean hospital bed. If Barrett wanted him to play ball then so be it. He'd been an idiot to think that he could be a hero; the truth was overrated.

Off to the side he could hear Danny being unceremoniously dragged out of the wreckage and started to wonder about the veracity of their rescuers. There were m.u.f.fled voices followed by a dull thud and an exclamation of pain.

”Look, there's no need for any of this,” Randall pleaded as Danny appeared, being half carried around the front of the car.

They were hidden from the road under a canopy of broken branches. The car was upside down and ruined; there was also a strong smell of petrol in the air that Randall wanted to get away from as quickly as possible.

”Why don't you get Barrett on the phone,” Randall begged desperately. ”I'm sure that we can sort this all out. It's just a big misunderstanding.”

”Shut up,” Danny slurred, as the man carrying him dropped him next to Randall.

He watched in horror as both of the men standing over them withdrew black automatic pistols from inside of hidden holsters. ”Please!”

”Don't beg,” Danny scolded. ”Have some dignity, for Christ's sake.”

”Look, it's him that you want, not me.” Randall pointed, no longer caring about right or wrong; only survival mattered now. ”I'm already under Barrett's thumb. I can't hurt him. I wouldn't!”

”Jesus, you don't hear me begging, do you?” Danny barked. ”I've lost everything. I had the perfect man and he broke my heart; he was the love of my life,” he choked off.

In spite of their precarious situation, Randall couldn't help but feel uncomfortable.

”So I'm gay, so the h.e.l.l what? Does that mean that I shouldn't be happy? Don't I deserve to be who I am and find love? Don't I deserve to be loved?”

Randall looked away at the emotional outburst, feeling embarra.s.sed, and then he couldn't help but notice that their two executioners were doing the same thing and he realised what Danny was up to. If there was one thing that men hated it was raw emotion; if you coupled that with latent h.o.m.ophobia, then Danny had just intentionally made a window.

There was a flicker of flame from a lighter in Danny's hand and suddenly the pooling petrol around them caught fire. The two men standing over them leapt backwards in shock and Danny was moving faster than Randall thought possible. The copper swung a hard fist on the way up to his feet that caught the first man squarely between the legs and dropped him like a stone. Randall saw the man's gun drop to the floor and rolled towards it as Danny launched himself at the other man, entangling them both in a flail of swinging punches.

Randall searched frantically for the fallen weapon amidst the spreading flames that threatened to engulf them. The smoke was already rising and he suddenly remembered that the petrol was spilling from a car mere feet away that was full of fuel. His first instinct was to scramble to his feet and run in the opposite direction, but he fought hard to ignore the very loud voice in his head.