31 Days of Autumn (26 page)

‘He has Andy,’ she reminded me, trying to
reassure me as she closed the front door, locked it, and set the alarm,
hustling me back up the corridor. ‘An Ellie in the kitchen he sure isn’t, but
he makes a great cup of coffee and the stewards on the plane will look after
him. This must be really serious, Ellie, I’ve never known the two of you to have
a night apart. I’m sure he wouldn’t have got up and left like that if he didn’t
have to.’

‘I need to speak to Andy, right now,’ I muttered,
jogging up the stairs to the lounge and grabbing the phone.

‘I’ll make you a coffee,’ Jenny smiled, rubbing
my arm. I nodded and paced backwards and forwards, waiting to be connected.

‘Talk,’ Andy answered. Christ, he was even more
direct than Dan.

‘Is he ok?’ I asked.

‘Sorry, Mrs. Davenport, I thought you were
Jenny. He’s understandably a little stressed, I don’t understand half of what
he’s saying and I excelled in information technology.’

‘I’m worried about him. He needs to dress warmly
as it’s cold and he dashed out with virtually nothing on. He’ll need to eat if
he’s going to be working all night, he has a crazy appetite, and too much
coffee makes him jittery and cranky and you know what cranky Dan is like. He’s
not fun to be around.’

‘I know, I’ll make sure he’s looked after, you
can trust me,’ he replied, his voice softening as he recognised the concern in
mine. ‘I’ll keep in regular contact with you and make sure he rests the moment
it’s all sorted. Knowing him, he’ll have fixed it before we’ve even taken off
and he’ll be home before you know it.’

‘I hope so,’ I whispered, nodding as I stared
down at the floor. ‘Can I ask a huge favour?’

‘You can ask me anything, except to speak to
him, I need to let him work.’

‘Will you … will you tell him that I love him
as soon as he has a break? I never got to say it before he was out of earshot.’

‘You want me to say the words “I love you” to
Mr. Davenport?’ he uttered, sounding horrified.

‘He needs to know.’

‘Trust me, he already knows.’

‘Promise me, Andy, promise me you’ll tell him.’

‘This is why I prefer to only work with men,’
Andy groaned. ‘Fine, I’ll tell him, but I can’t promise when that will be.’

‘Thank you, I’m trusting you with him, Andy. Please
don’t let me down, he’s never been good on his own.’

‘I won’t let you down. I need to go, I think my
talking is distracting him.’

‘Take care, Andy. Bring him home to me soon.’

‘I will,’ he replied. I clenched my lips and
pushed my tongue to the roof of my mouth as he cut me off. I’d heard it was
supposed to stop you crying, but all it was doing right now was making my
tongue ache. I needed to pull myself together. The children were going to be so
disappointed if he wasn’t here in the morning, I needed to be strong for them.

‘Here you are,’ came Jenny’s voice. I turned
around and gave her my best smile as she handed me my coffee. I took a sip and
looked up at her in surprise. ‘I put some Bailey’s in for you. It was all a bit
intense and dramatic, for the second day in a row. Do you want some peace?’

‘I’m fine, sorry to ruin your night off.’

‘You’re not ruining anything, I’m hanging out
with my best friend who’s just had a rough couple of days. Come on, let’s curl
up on the sofa and watch a film to cheer us up. I can put some popcorn in the
microwave.’

‘That sounds great, thank you.’ I made her sit
down and pick the film while I did the popcorn. I quickly sent Brooke a text
while I waited for it. She and Molly were supposed to be coming back up to
Scotland when Dan and I returned tomorrow night, to spend the weekend with us,
but now I wasn’t sure if I should go home after Oliver’s jabs or wait here for
Dan to return. I gave her a brief update, asking if it would be a problem if we
were to stay in London.

Course not, babe. Brolly love is Brolly love
whatever the continent xx

London and Loch Airdrie are both on the same
continent, Brooke, Europe! But I agree, Brolly love is perfect no matter the
continent, or in this case country.

I thought London was the United Kingdom? And
Scotland was the North Pole?

Are you being serious??!!
I typed,
giggling.
Just because Scotland is up north, it’s not in the North Pole.
Your knowledge of geography is seriously appalling. I hope you know North from
South when you’re waxing a client. Some poor guy may go in for a moustache wax
and get his balls or arsehole done instead!

Hehe, good job I’m not a surgeon then, eh?!
Can’t wait to see you, whatever the county.

Country! My God, even Oliver after home
schooling has better geographical knowledge than you! I still love you though,
my little challenged hot head xx

I do spend a lot of time in the cuntry,
namely Molly’s ;-)

Brooke Hanson! I’ll update you tomorrow when
I know more. Enjoy your bush whacking ;-) Got to dash, Jenny’s waiting to watch
a film and the popcorn is ready. LYMY xx

Traitor, that’s my role, cheering you up.
LYMY too, babe. See you tomorrow, come hell or Hiawatha xx

I shook my head with another chuckle, not
bothering to correct her, or we’d be at it all night.

I hugged Jenny tightly as we turned off the
lights in the lounge.

‘Thank you, I needed that.’

‘It was fun. Try not to worry, he’s in his
element now, and when he’s done, he’ll be straight back to you for lots of love
and nurture, which you do best.’

‘Sooner than later, I hope. Sleep tight without
Dean,’ I teased.

‘Don’t remind me,’ she groaned. ‘I can’t wait
for this weekend away. Only one more sleep!’

We kissed each other on the cheek and headed to
our rooms without our men. I popped in to see the children first, giving them
all a kiss, before getting ready for bed. Our specially-built bed, to
accommodate Dan’s tall frame, dwarfed me on my own, and the pillow didn’t smell
like him as they were fresh sheets. I picked up my mobile, checking for
messages, but there was nothing. I tapped out one to him, but at the last
minute I deleted it. I was being selfish. He’d said he needed no distractions
and space, so that was what I was going to give him. I doubted many husbands
and wives were as lucky, to have such a long run without a night apart, and it
wasn’t like he was in danger tackling a computer virus. I wondered how forces
wives did it, or women married to police or firemen, guys who were in danger
constantly. I had no idea how they coped, never knowing if today was going to
be the last time they said goodbye. I had it lucky, so very lucky.

‘I love you, Dan,’ I whispered, hugging a
pillow to my chest as I closed my eyes and tried to go to sleep.

Friday 11
^th
September

Ellie

‘Thanks, James.’ I smiled at him as he held the door
open at the surgery to let Oliver and I through, Jenny hot on our heels. He
nodded and smiled back. I checked in and we went to sit in the waiting room. It
was a good thing that it was a private practice, given three of us were
accompanying a four year old for his injections. The waiting room was amazing,
totally designed for children with pictures of animals all over three of the walls,
and the fourth, separating the reception and waiting area, was a huge glass
fish tank. Oliver was fascinated and pulled up one of the small children’s
chairs to sit and watch them, while James, Jenny, and I each took a seat on the
plush leather armchairs. I checked my mobile again and sighed.

‘No news still?’ Jenny asked.

‘No,’ I replied with a shake of my head. ‘The
last update from Andy was that Dan had worked all night on the flight, slowing
down the virus, but he was still working on eradicating it from the main lab.
It’s not healthy to go so long without sleep, not when you’re concentrating so
hard.’

‘It’s what he does, Mrs. Davenport, and he’s
exceptional at it. He knows his limits and if anyone can crack this, he can,’
James added in a reassuring tone.

‘Thank you.’ I gave him another grateful smile
and wrapped my arms around myself, in part as a virtual sympathy hug, in part
because I felt cold. The waiting room was heated, and I was in my jeans, Emu
sheepskin boots, and a black cashmere sweater with a vest underneath, but I was
still shivery. I put it down to lack of sleep last night worrying about Dan,
and not eating this morning or at lunchtime. I just hadn’t felt like food at
all. I rummaged in my jeans and found one of two pellets of bubblegum-flavoured
chewing gum I’d confiscated off Oliver this morning. I kept it in a bowl on a
desk in my office at both houses, and he’d sussed it and had started helping
himself to it. I was going to have to lock it up, it was a choking hazard for a
little boy. I popped one of them in, hoping the sugary hit would be enough to
keep me going until we got back for dinner.

‘Good morning, Oliver,’ came a kind female
voice. I looked up and the nurse nodded to me. ‘Mrs. Davenport, we’re ready for
him.’

‘Oliver, come on, darling,’ I called. He was
totally engrossed watching a brightly-coloured blue fish shooting from one side
of the tank to the other.

‘Can I stay and watch the fishes, Mummy?’ he
asked without looking around.

‘Lots of fish are just called fish, not
fishes,’ I told him, ruffling his dark hair.

‘Why?’

‘They just are,’ I replied, Jenny and James
chuckling in the background. I was an author and a trained editor and sometimes
even I didn’t understand the complexities of my own language. ‘Come on, we
can’t keep the doctor waiting, can we?’

‘Ok,’ he sighed, reluctantly standing up. I
straightened his blue and white striped jumper that I’d teamed with his dark
blue combat jeans and took his hand. We headed into Dr. Harris’s room and took
a seat by his desk. He spun around with a big smile on his face.

‘Good morning, Oliver,’ he beamed. ‘How are you
today?’

‘I miss my daddy,’ he replied with a shrug. I
put my arm around him and kissed the top of his head.

‘He’s a bit glum as his daddy had to go to
America on business urgently. Other than that, he’s been the picture of health
since our last visit.’

‘Excellent,’ Dr. Harris nodded. ‘Let’s just do
a general exam first, we should be done in about five minutes.’

I took Oliver’s jumper off. I’d put him in a
white t-shirt underneath so they could inject him easily without having to
totally strip him. They were well practiced here. Dr. Harris kept Oliver’s
focus on him as the nurse prepared the needle and I was so proud when he didn’t
fuss or cry as he was injected. He pulled a face and buried his face in my side
while the nurse put on a plaster. She waved a lolly, looking at me for
approval. I nodded. It was best he ended the appointment on a good note, so he
wouldn’t be scared to come back again.

‘Here you are, Oliver, a lollipop for being
such a brave boy,’ she coaxed. He lifted his head to look at it, then looked up
at me for permission.

‘You can have it, you’ve been so good, Mummy’s
really proud of you.’ I smiled at him and he grinned back up at me. I got him
back in his jumper as the nurse unwrapped the red lollipop and handed it to
him. He popped it in his mouth straight away with a sound of delight. I thanked
them both, took his hand, and headed out. ‘All done and no tears, from him or
me, for which I think I deserve some props myself, given I’ve turned into an
emotional waterfall since having babies,’ I announced as Jenny and James looked
up. Jenny giggled and gave me a high five.

‘Good boy, Master Oliver,’ James uttered,
looking quite proud himself.

‘I knew you could do it, Oliver,’ Jenny smiled.
‘Well done.’

‘Mummy said I was a brave boy,’ he mumbled, his
lolly still in his mouth.

‘A very brave boy, but what did I tell you
about not talking with your mouth full?’ I asked. He looked up at me with a
grimace and I chuckled as I shook my head. ‘Come on, let’s go home. Jonas was
far too lively at lunchtime. Poor Luiza will be worn out by the time we get
back.’

James held the door open for us again and we
ventured back out into the fresh air. It was another chilly, but clear and crisp,
day. James walked ahead, as usual, Jenny bringing up the rear, as we headed
down the steps to the pavement to walk up to the Range Rover parked a little
further up the street.

‘James,’ Jenny suddenly uttered, her voice not
having her usual cheery tone. ‘Ollie.’

‘I see it, guard them.’

‘Ollie?’ I repeated, my stomach sinking again.
Straight away I knew that something was horribly wrong, the whole point of us
choosing the code word Ollie. I quickly picked Oliver up, holding him against
my chest, one hand on the back of his head. ‘What’s happening?’

‘Black van, blacked-out windows, with no number
plates up ahead,’ James advised, flicking his head in the direction of it, parked
three cars up.

‘Fall back?’ Jenny asked, quickly stepping in
front of me.

‘Yes, and fast,’ James advised. My mouth went
dry. This couldn’t be happening again. Maybe they were doing another practice
run in the event of a problem occurring in London. I immediately discounted
that idea when the double doors of the black van burst open and three men in
black combat gear and balaclavas jumped out and started running towards us.

‘Owwww, shit,’ Jenny gasped. I saw her reach
for her neck, her fingers scratching as if she was searching for something. I
realised what when I saw what looked like a dart with short feathers on the end
just below her ear. ‘James,’ she slurred as she suddenly staggered. ‘Tran …
tranq …’

‘Jenny,’ I cried. I reached up and yanked it
out, but I was too slow. Her knees buckled and she collapsed onto her side, like
a dead weight, onto the pavement.

‘Get behind me right now,’ James barked. I
followed his line of sight and my heart almost exploded out of my chest. Leaning
out of the van window was another man in a balaclava with a rifle trained on us.
‘Damn it,’ James bit.

‘Close your eyes for me, Oliver, everything’s
going to be ok,’ I lied, stroking his hair. Blood was pounding in my ears as I
looked down at Jenny crumpled on the floor. I had no idea if she was alive or
dead and I was petrified. I didn’t want Oliver to see her like that. Everything
suddenly seemed to go in slow motion. Sound became muffled as I watched events
unfolding through wide, terrified eyes, my grip on Oliver tightening. James
jerked and quickly pulled a dart from his own neck as the masked men ran towards
us. I heard a woman screaming as James was hit again, then again with another
two darts and started to sway. By the time I realised it was me screaming, he
was already on his knees. I wanted to run, I knew that I needed to run back to
the safety of the surgery, but I couldn’t leave my friends, that and my brain
and my legs weren’t communicating. I was rooted to the spot, my whole body
trembling. James tried to stand back up, but the quickest of the men, who’d
reached us first, kicked him in the face and knocked him out cold. He collapsed
face first onto the pavement as I started to feel woozy. I was vaguely aware of
a stinging sensation in my left shoulder as another of the men approached me.

‘No,’ I cried as the world started spinning.
Flashes of green hedges, grey pavements, and blue skies swirled around me. ‘Don’t
you … don’t you … touch … my … baby.’ I felt myself starting to sway and heard
Oliver crying. One of the masked men caught me as I fell backwards. I fought so
hard to stop my eyes from closing, but everything was blurred and I felt so
sleepy. All I could see was a pair of fuzzy brown eyes when I felt Oliver being
ripped out of my arms as he screamed, and I didn’t even have the strength to
hold onto him.

Damien
Daniels

I sat in the back of the van, rapping my fingers
on the bench that ran along its length. I felt stifled in this fucking
balaclava, but Alfa had insisted I wear it until he was back in the van with
the package and Bravo and Delta. Charlie was our driver, but he’d scooted over
to the passenger seat with his tranquiliser rifle as we waited for the four of
them to exit the doctors. I felt a combination of excitement and totally and
utterly sick with nerves as we sat silently. I felt like Colin Farrell in
S.W.A.T.
I was dressed up like a bloody undercover commando, but I knew fuck all about
this stuff, this wasn’t my line of expertise.

‘Prepare,’ Charlie said quietly, winding down
his window. I swallowed hard. This was it, step nine on the ten-step plan and
there was no backing out now. I was about to kidnap a bloody kid for ransom. It
had never been in my life plan to do something so despicable, but I hadn’t
exactly been left with a choice. Everything happened so fast, the doors of the
van bursting open and the three guys leaping from it and racing towards our
target. The girl Jenny was already on the ground, the old man James was
swaying. For a moment I felt a sudden pang of guilt as I looked at Ellie
clutching her kid to her. She looked terrified. I closed my eyes, I couldn’t
watch. Was this what I’d let myself become? Some low-life scum who terrorised
innocent women and children? I wanted to call it off, I wanted to scream at Alfa
and his team to fall back, or whatever the bloody term was they used. They
spoke a language I didn’t even understand. But it was too late. I’d promised
them a share of Davenport’s money, and even if I could call it off now, they’d
probably fucking kill me for messing them around. I felt the van shake and
opened my eyes.

‘What the fuck?’ I spat as I looked down at
James lying unconscious at my feet. Delta was crouched by the doors, ready to
close them. I looked out at the street and could see Bravo with Jenny over his
shoulder and Alfa carrying Ellie over his, Oliver tucked under his other arm and
screaming his head off. ‘This wasn’t part of the fucking plan,’ I yelled. It
was supposed to be the kid, not the whole bloody ensemble.

‘Shut the fuck up, Damien,’ hissed Charlie as
he slid back over to the driver’s side and started the engine. I watched open-mouthed,
totally aghast, as Jenny’s body was dumped next to James, then Ellie. Bravo and
Alfa jumped in with the kid still screaming and seconds later, Delta
frantically trying to close the doors, the van screeched out into the street. I
could just see a couple of men running after us, were they crazy? They thought
they could stop these bloody guys? Delta slammed the doors shut as I was flung
back against the metal wall of the van when Charlie took a corner at speed.

‘Someone shut this fucking kid up,’ Alfa barked,
dumping him on the floor of the van next to his unconscious mother. Oliver
starting crying “Mummy” as he pulled at her hand, fat tears pouring down his
face. It was too much, I’d made a fucking mistake doing this. I covered my eyes
with my hands as I shook my head. I heard Alfa’s voice again over the noise. ‘Pedal
off the metal, Charlie, we’re clear. We don’t want to draw attention to
ourselves.’