Dark Winter (48 page)

‘Report to who? What has happened?’

‘Doesn’t matter. Look, if they call in and don’t get an answer, fuck knows what they’ll do. I repeat, one of them is contaminated. This is the source’s cell. I’ll give you his numbers. You tell me where they are, and I can get there now, before they report in. You’ve got to get your finger out – I don’t know the check-in time. You understand?’

Suzy revved the engine and dropped the clutch. ‘Let’s find that van.’

I went through the menu to ‘calls made’ as the Renault screamed down the road. Suzy attacked the condensation on the windscreen as the wipers thrashed ineffectually on the other side of the glass. ‘Fucking car!’

We passed a warren of roads through a housing estate.

Three numbers came up. I knew the Yes Man would be on to it now he had this one, and would be checking its history, but it would take them a couple of minutes. This was quicker.

Shit: 001212.

The American call.

I got back to him. ‘I’ve got a Manhattan number. He spoke to them less than thirty ago.’ I recited it, then reeled off the other two UK numbers.

‘Got it. Wait out.’ He cut off.

Suzy slowed as we passed a service road for a run of shops, and wound down her window. I did the same, my eyes shooting all over the place, trying to ignore the pain in my foot.

‘I was just coming in to get you, then I saw you pile over the gate.’ She was virtually shouting at me, her head stuck out of the window so she could see ahead. The windscreen was thick with condensation. ‘I had to stay with DW. You know that, don’t you?’

‘Kelly is with them, they took her in the van.’

‘Tell the boss, he needs to know.’

‘Why? This is the only way I might get to her. He won’t give a shit about her. I just can’t take any chances.’

We sped towards the junction, having cleared the service road. ‘I saw them – they went this way for sure. Fuck, fuck!’ She hit the brakes as the headlights caught a set of bollards blocking off a rat-run through the estate.

We both turned and squinted through the rain-covered rear window as she reversed. ‘They can’t be more than five minutes away. They called in to the source when they got there. We’ve got to find them before their check-in time, or that’s it. Come on, throw this fucking thing round.’

As we turned at another junction, my hands were on the dashboard, rocking backwards and forwards, willing the car to go faster.

We saw plenty of vans, but none of them was the battered Transit. ‘Why hasn’t he called yet? It shouldn’t take this long to locate these fuckers. Faster, Suzy, for fuck’s sake.’

‘Shut it. He’ll call, don’t worry. But we need to check these roads. Keep looking, we’ll find them, we’ll find them.’

I kept checking the cell’s signal. What was taking the Yes Man so long?

We came to another junction. Rain flew in through the windows. ‘Down there. Look, go left, left.’

She turned, driving hard towards two white vans parked further up the road. ‘Got it!’ she yelled. ‘Look right – the carport ’bout five houses up.’

She threw the Renault sideways and it bumped up on to the pavement. I fell out of the passenger door and used the parked vans as cover. The house was end-of-terrace, with a corrugated plastic lean-to down its side.

The cell rang.

I checked the number before hitting the green button and the Yes Man was immediately talking at me.

‘Listen in. Do not go into the house, you understand me? Both of you stay outside. Contain the area. A team is on its way. I repeat, stay outside.’

How the fuck did he know where we were?

I spun round, looked up and found it. A CCTV camera at the end of the road, less than fifty away. The arsehole had located the numbers within a minute of me giving them to him and had just fucked us off and taken over.

Suzy kept eyes on target from behind the van as I bent down to protect the phone from the rain.

‘You bastard! Kelly’s in there!’

‘Where is Dark Winter?’

‘Go fuck yourself. Find it yourself.’

‘Do not go in, Stone.
Do not go in
.’

I brought the phone down, but she grabbed my hand before I could jab the red button. ‘Tell him where it is. Tell him. You can’t take any chances, remember?’

Shit. I brought the cell back up to my ear. ‘It’s above the disused Indian on Caledonian Road, opposite the mosque. Have you got that – opposite the mosque?’

I could hear plenty of commotion going on behind him, even above the lashing of the rain.

I cut the call, and immediately got another series of short sharp bleeps.

61

The number displayed was one of the two UK numbers.

‘They’re checking in! They’re checking in!’

She broke into a run, heading straight for the house. I hobbled after her, the cut in my heel widening until I felt tarmac on bone.

I was only metres behind her as she squeezed into the gap between the van and the side door. I went straight for the front, barging into it with my shoulder. Three times I tried to ram it in, but just bounced off. I checked the windows. No good – double-glazed.

Suzy was breaking glass. Slipping and sliding on the muddy grass I limped as fast as I could round the side to her. She had an arm through the smashed pane. Her wrist jolted upwards as she fired a round, the report drowned by the suppressor and the rain.

She pulled her weapon away, screaming, ‘I’ve missed! He’s gone left, left, left!’

I pushed her out of the way.

My raincoat sleeve rode up my arm and jagged shards of glass cut into my skin as I fumbled for the lock and Suzy jostled for position, weapon up, shouting in my ear, ‘Come on!
Come on!
’

My fingers closed over a Yale. I turned it and half fell inside, my arm still in the frame as Suzy barged past, weapon up, running through the inner door.

Almost immediately she was screaming. ‘Fucking hell! Fuck!’

I followed her into the hallway, my mouth still filling with blood. Street-light shone through the panels either side of the front door.

Two young dark-skinned bodies lay on the floor. Suzy must have fallen over them and was now scrabbling to get up the stairs. Her feet thumped on to the landing as a frantic shriek echoed somewhere above me.

‘KELLY! KELLY! I’M COMING!’

I jumped over the bodies and took the stairs two at a time. My legs couldn’t go fast enough.

A door was open ahead of me.

The bathroom.

Empty.

Suzy was standing a few paces further down, weapon up, hammer back. It was gloomy, only the street-light filtering up from the hallway, but I could make out three or four further doors, a couple each side of the corridor. Suzy was trying to work out which one she was behind.

I grabbed the handle of the first left and she went for the right.

It was dark in there, but I saw movement. I dived towards it, crashing into furniture on the way. As we fell between two beds, sharpness penetrated my right thigh.

‘Suzy! Suzy!’

The muscle seized up immediately, in spasm round the blade.

We tumbled on to the floor and his hand was wrenched away, leaving it embedded. He got on top of me, his head rammed into my neck, biting, trying to get flesh.

I smelt cologne, cigarettes, coffee, as his teeth sank into my neck.

I bucked and kicked as I tried to reach the knife in my leg. Blood ran down the side of my neck.

Another scream from next door.
Good, she’s still breathing
.

I added a yell of my own as his head jerked away from me, taking a mouthful of my flesh with it.

For a moment all I could hear was his grunting and growling, then Suzy’s voice. ‘Get away! Move away from her! Now!’

Kelly’s screams took over as bodies thumped against the connecting wall.

My fingers reached his eyes. I wanted to gouge my way through to his brain.

He flicked his head and tried to bite my hand. I grabbed a fistful of his slippery hair, yanking it back, trying to keep his teeth away.

The room filled with next door’s screams. I shut it out of my mind, concentrating on the knife.

I head-butted him, and his teeth cut into my face.

I did him again – ‘BASTARD!’ – anything to distract him as my hand stretched down again for the knife.

Suzy was still trying to get control. ‘Let her go! Let her go!’

My fingers closed round the hilt and I pulled.

I screamed at him again as I pulled the blade free, then rammed it into him as hard as I could. I didn’t know where I’d hit, but he stiffened, his muscles tensing to fight the pain.

I pulled it out and thrust it down again and again, into his back, into his arse, anywhere I could reach.

His screams reached a crescendo as he jammed his head down on my face and tried to bite my cheek, never giving up.

Another high-pitched scream next door.

‘KELLY, I’M COMING! KELLY!’

He was leaking over me – our blood was burning into my eyes.

I dug the knife into his back, keeping it there, jerking it forward, backwards, left, right. His breathing was getting laboured, but he still hung on.

I churned my hand up and down and round in circles, any way I could. My head was over his left shoulder and I was breathing through clenched teeth as he screamed just inches from the side of my face. He tried to bite me again, then hollered into my face like an animal.

But his bucking and writhing were less violent, his cries softer.

Kelly’s screams bounced off the walls again, then just stopped.

I felt as if I was drunk. I was aware of what was happening, but it was taking too long for the message to reach my brain. All I could see were bubbles of red light in front of my eyes, and starbursts of white.

I have to get to her
 . . .

Our faces were just millimetres apart when his grip loosened completely and his movements weakened to no more than a spasmodic twitching.

My software started to kick in as I tried to focus and get up, but the raincoat was tucked underneath him. I pulled as best I could until his body slumped to one side.

The back of my neck felt as if it could no longer hold on to my head. The starbursts and bubbles returned. I scrambled over the single bed and fell out into the darkness of the landing.

I’m losing too much blood, I’m going down
 . . .

No other noise from anywhere, just the rain on the windows.

I stumbled to the door and reached for the handle, but I just couldn’t make my trembling hand take hold.

I turned for the stairs, wanting to get away, but my feet just froze.

Falling to my knees, my head against the door, I could only sob weakly as I smelt the metallic tang of blood.

Feelings of nausea and helplessness crashed over me. ‘Kelly . . . Kelly? Suzy? Please talk to me – please.
Please
.’

Why didn’t I get here quicker? I could have stopped this fucking nightmare
 . . .

I didn’t want to go in. I just wanted to crawl away, pretend this wasn’t happening. But I had to.

I started banging at the door, screaming at it, begging for an answer. ‘Suzy, open the door, please. Kelly, Kelly . . .’

I slid to the floor, collapsing in a heap.

But I needed to see, I needed to be sure.

I had to go in.

I can’t run this time
 . . .

A sliver of light came from under the door. I tugged at the handle, and tried to push my way in. It wouldn’t budge.

I pushed again, harder, and it did shift this time, but no more than a few inches. I knew why, and felt the tears roll down my face.

My hands shook and I lost control of my breathing.

My sight was fading. Blood dripped from my neck and leg as I pulled myself to my feet. I pushed the door again, and the dead weight behind it gave way some more.

It was Suzy who was blocking the door. A knife had been stuck into her neck; the tip of it was just visible the other side. Her eyes were closed, but on what I could see of her face through her blood-soaked hair, she seemed to have a little private smile.

I sank back to my knees, my vision blurred, and crawled through the gap.

The other two lay on the double bed. Navy was slumped face down across her, the back of his white shirt red with blood from the site of the exit wound.

‘
Kelly, I’m here now . . . Everything’s fine, I told you I was coming
 . . .’

I crawled over and knelt at the edge of the bed. Tears, snot and saliva splashed off my face as I hauled at his arm with my last reserves of strength.