Target (An erotic romantic novella) (14 page)

“Please,” she begged, he nodded and made his way to the stairs.  Cautiously they walked down
into the lower basement.

“It’s too bloody quiet,” he complained, gripping his gun with both hands.  Sarah pulled the rifle from her shoulder and readied it.  Coming
to a locked door, Rick entered the pin code and it clicked open. He pushed the door open.  Moving down the corridor, they passed private rooms, and Rick noticed they were locked.  Sarah looked nervously through the windows of the doors.

“Rick, what is wrong with the people down here?” she asked.

He looked at her, and gave her a gentle smile.

“Most
people who come here are traumatised, or injured through war, those for whom the government refuse pay for their medical needs or long term recovery.”

She pulled him to a stop.

“And you do?” she asked, giving a little raise of her eyebrow.  He nodded.  “You don’t charge them anything?” she asked.

“No,” he replied.  “They can stay here until they are fit and ready to return to civilian life.”

“Why the locked door down here?” she asked.

“Sarah, some of the patients are mentally disturbed, people I found living on the streets, they are a danger to other people and to themselves.
”

“So it is like a mental institute?” she asked.

“Only in the basement, we call it G wing.  I put Starre down here because of the tight security.  Although I am somewhat concerned as to where my security team are,” he added.

He stopped outside another room.

“This is the common room,” he told her.  His back tight against the wall he peered in and then gasped, pulling back tight against the wall.

“What?” she asked in a
terrified whisper.

“My team, they are tied up and gagged.”
  Then he sighed with relief when he saw Fred.

“Do we go in?” she asked
.  He shook his head.

“No, they are
probably safer in there.  Let’s get to Skye.”  They hurried down the corridor; he stopped suddenly.

“What is it?” she asked.

“My phone,” he replied, it was vibrating in his back pocket.  He pulled it out, and his eyes stared at the number.  He answered it.

“Hello,” he said in a whisper.

“Let us in,” the voice replied.

“Okay, give me a minute,” Rick replied, hanging up.

“They are here,” he said, and she looked at him, fear in her eyes.

“Come on I need a computer,” he urged, hurrying down the corridor.  He stopped at door, on the front the nameplate said, office.  He turned the handle
and cautiously pushed it open.   It was empty.  Hurrying to a computer, he logged in.  Searching through the system, he found the security centre, and over riding the commands, he unlocked the main doors and the basement.  He took his phone and dialled.

“Lower basement, G wing, it’s clear.”

“Okay,” the voice replied.

“Okay, come on let’s go,” he grabbed her hand and they continued back along the corridor.  Dropping her
hand, he held his gun in two hands.

“This is her room,” he whispered, glancing at the number.  Back tight against the wall, his hand reached for the handle.  Sarah swallowed, her hands trembling as she held the rifle tightly.  He pushed the door open, and then peered inside, but her bed was empty.  They walked into the room.

“Rick, where is she?” Sarah cried, looking at him.  He shrugged.

“Sarah, I don’t know
,” he replied.  He heard a door.

“Sarah, quickly,” he ordered, moving back towards the door, and glancing down the corridor. Walking down towards them were six armed men.

“It’s them,” he said.  He turned to Sarah.

“Wait in here,” he ordered, but she shook her head.

“Rick no.”

“Sarah
, please, just for a minute, I do not know for sure if we can trust them.”  She nodded and moved back inside the room.  Rick walked out into the corridor, immediately the men raised their guns at him.  Rick lifted his hands.

“Rick Hemmingway,” he said, and their guns lowered.

“Where is he,” a man asked.  Rick looked at him, and then at the man beside him, by their likeness he assumed they were the brothers. 

“I do
not know, we can’t find him, and the girl is missing too.”

“Okay, we split up and search this hospital.”  Rick nodded, and then called Sarah out.  The men stared at her.

“Who is she?” one of the brothers asked.

“Sarah, his other step-daughter,” Rick said, reaching out and taking her trembling hand.  He nodded back.

***

Zeb
marched down the corridors, crashing and banging into every room.  Patients yelled at him, some even tried to stop him, but found the back end of his gun in their face.

“For fuck’s sake,” he yelled at one of his men.  “She has to be here somewhere, hurry the fuck up, and find her.”

“Yes sir,” he replied, hurrying into the next room.  Zeb screwed his face up; he knew it had been going too bloody well.   She was supposed to be in a coma for fucks sake, how then, could she just get up and disappear.  The bitch had to die, they all had to fucking die, or he was a dead man himself.  The six men he had with him, darted down the corridors, searching in every room and every storage cupboard.

“Okay, we back track,”
Zeb ordered, turning around and heading back down the stairs to the basement.

***

“Sarah, stay here,” Rick said, pushing her back into Skye’s room.

“Rick no, please,” she begged, but he shook his head.

“No, stay here,” he ordered, pulling the door shut on her.

She peered through the window and saw him going down the corridor with the other six men.

“Rick,” she whispered, holding her hands to the window tearfully.  She spun around and frowned, her heart
began beating faster, her breathing quickening.

“Skye,” she called, moving into the room.  She could feel her. “Skye,” she called louder.  She walked towards the back of the room, one of the wall panels looked lose.  She put the rifle down,
lifting her hands to the panel she pulled at it, and it fell away.  Discarding it to the ground Sarah stared in disbelief.

“Skye,” she wept as she saw her sister, curled up in a tiny ball.  Skye lifted her head and frowned.

“Sarah,” she whispered.  Sarah smiled at her, reaching her hands towards her.

“Oh my god, Skye,” she cried.

“Sarah,” her sister, sobbed reaching out to her.  Then she froze and pulled her arms back.

“Skye what
is wrong, it’s me Sarah.”  A tear rolled down her sister’s cheek as she lifted her hand and pointed behind her.  Sarah spun around and Zeb stood there glaring at them both.

“Well, well, now I can kill two birds with one stone,” he growled at them.  Sarah went for the rifle, but
Zeb fired his gun, hitting the rifle it shot across the floor away from her.

“Get up, both of you,”
he ordered sharply.  Sarah helped her frail sister up from the floor and she held her close.

“You bastard, was it not enough
for you to kill our parents, kill Rick’s parents.  Why can’t you just leave us alone!” she screamed at him.

“Shut the fuck up,” he said, walking towards them.  Sarah flinched back,
and pulled Skye protectively behind her.

“Don’t you fucking touch her,” she growled at him. 
Zeb laughed.

“How did you get up here?” he asked.  His men had radioed him saying they had blown Rick up, so how was she here now?  Sarah remained quiet, glaring at
him; she was not going to tell him anything.

Whilst the brothers took care of the four men outside of the room, Rick launched himself inside; he grabbed one startled man around the throat, he snapped his neck, and dropped his body to the ground. Kicking out at another, he hit him in the throat, and sent him sprawling across the hospital bed, dead.  Zeb spun around, cursing aloud he lurched forward, grabbed Sarah by her hair, and yanked her towards him.  Sarah dropped her sister, her legs being weak, Skye collapsed to the floor.

“Back off Rick,” he ordered, putting his gun to Sarah’s head.

“Let her go Zeb,” he yelled at him, his eyes staring at Sarah.

“Like fuck I will,” he replied.

“Zeb there is no way out of here, you know who I am don’t you,” Rick said, stepping forward.

“Back off Rick,” he growled, rubbing the gun in
to Sarah’s dark hair.  “And put your gun down,” he ordered.

“There is no way out
Zeb,” Rick said, putting his gun down onto the floor, and lifting his hands.

“Yes there is Rick, when I have your money.”  Rick shook his head.

“No Zeb I have brought your debt,” Rick informed him

“What the fuck do you mean?” he asked.

The brothers stepped into the room.  Sarah felt Zeb shake.

“Fuck,” he muttered.

“Your step-son has taken your debt Zeb, but unfortunately for you he has also commissioned us with a little task, aint that right Rick,” the brother said, looking at him.  Rick nodded.

“Fuck you,”
Zeb yelled, sweat pouring from his brow, his gun hand shaking in fear.  As Rick looked at him, and he knew he was unstable.

“Sarah,” Rick called.

“Yes Rick,” she replied shakily.

“I love you,” he said.

“I love you Rick,” she replied, scrunching her brow as she closed her eyes and waited.  Rick moved like the wind, he pulled the gun from his back and before anyone realised what he was doing he fired, shooting his step-father right between the eyes.  His body dropped, his gun clattering across the floor, and Sarah was left standing along and shaking like a leaf.

“Fuck me,” the brothers said in unison,
as they looked at Rick.  “I thought you wanted us to make it look like a suicide?”  Rick grabbed Sarah, pulled her to him, and hugged her close.  He glanced down at his step-father.

“No fuck it, he deserved it.  Get rid of all the bodies
and I will give you another ten,” he offered.

“Million
?” one brother asked, Rick nodded.

“Yes,” Rick confirmed.

“Fuck yeah,” the brothers, replied in unison, signalling to their men waiting outside.

“Oh god Rick,” she said, burying her face into his chest.

“It is over my love,” he said, relieved.  Sarah, let him go and knelt down to her sister.

“Skye, honey, are you okay?” she asked, gently.
Skye lifted her head, she was very weak, but she nodded.  “How long have you been awake?” she asked.

“Awake, I, I don’t know.  I woke up, and heard a lot of screaming.  I managed to walk to the door and open it, I saw him.”  She pointed to the man whose neck Rick had broken.  “He was our pilot, he bailed out on us, and I remember seeing the sea crashing towards us.  I was
scared; I crawled over to the corner, and then saw the panel was loose so I hid.”

“Oh honey, you brave girl,” Sarah, wept cuddling her.  “You are safe now, okay, no one is going to hurt you.”  Rick bent
down and lifted Skye into his arms.

“Come on, we will free the others and take her to a room back upstairs, she is going to need to stay in for a while,” Rick said.  Sarah
gave him a smile.

“I take it I can leave you guys to sort this?” Rick asked.  The brothers nodded.  “
Good, text me your account details, where you want the money sent.”

One of the brothers placed a hand on his shoulder.

“I know you won’t mess with us Rick, what are you anyway?” he asked.

“A property developer,” he replied, grinning at him.

“Yeah sure,” the brother replied, with a chuckle.

Rick telephone
d Mary to let her know Fred was safe, and that one of his drivers was going to take him home.  They had one more thing to do before heading back to Rick’s apartment.

Rick pulled up outside the tiny terrace,
one of his drivers in a black Jaguar pulled up behind him. He and Sarah got out of the Aventador. Rick hurried around to her and took her hand.

“You okay?” he asked, and she nodded.  Approaching the door, she knocked.  It was early, only seven am.  The door opened and a young man stared at her.

“Hell Tom you look like shit,” she said. Tom stared at her in shock, he was unshaven, his hair stuck up and he looked like he had not slept for weeks.

“Sarah, bloody hell, where have you been?” he asked.  She smiled at him.

“It is a long story Tom, can we come in?  There is something I have to tell you.”  He nodded.

“Sure.” He left the door open as he walked into his living room.  The place was in disarray, the curtains were drawn, boxes containing the remnants of various take-away lay scattered around a single armchair.