END GAME a gripping crime thriller full of breathtaking twists Read online

  Chapter 39

  George needed to get back the way he had come. They were about two and a half miles from their destination and the queue of traffic was already longer than that. It was slow going, but he finally brought the Skoda to an untidy stop as far off the motorway as he could get. The front end of the car nudged a wooden gate that had once led to the rear of the channel-tunnel offices and a tract of Ministry of Defence land. It looked as though it was rarely used nowadays.

  ‘We’re about a mile out. We’ll need to walk from here.’

  ‘They’ll spot the car and then they’ll know where we are. I thought you had a plan for losing them?’ Kane seemed amused, as if he were enjoying the situation.

  ‘Means we don’t have much time. I suggest we get going.’ George untucked his shirt in an attempt to conceal the gun.

  ‘These are going to cause me problems.’ Kane raised his handcuffed arms. ‘I reckon you could take them off for now, don’t you? Especially as you appear to be armed.’

  ‘You’re still under arrest.’

  ‘I may not be the only one before too long.’

  ‘Get walking.’ George pushed Kane towards the gate. He looked back at the queue of cars and saw a woman driving a people carrier staring at him. She looked away. George turned his attention to the wooden gate.

  Kane struggled to climb it, forced to use his elbows to lever himself across. He fell to the ground on the other side.

  George walked past him and grunted, ‘Get up.’

  They followed an overgrown track through an area of woodland. When they emerged, George could see a large building surrounded by a high perimeter fence. It looked vaguely sinister and out of place amid the cropland.

  ‘This is the place, right?’ George’s heart raced, and he battled to hide his rising excitement.

  Kane nodded. ‘Yeah, there’s a break in the fence on the east side.’

  ‘After you.’ Kane followed the track around the fence. George peered through and saw a large parking area that was gradually being reclaimed by nature.

  ‘Here.’ Kane lifted his handcuffed arms and gestured at the fence. George could see the place where it had been cut. Kane bent forward to step through, and George followed.

  * * *

  Barry Lance in the Volvo was reduced almost to walking pace. Impatient at the continuing delay, people had started to get out of their cars. They were everywhere, strolling into the road or stepping out onto the hard shoulder to try and see what the hold-up was. His marked police car attracted attention, and several people had tried to flag him down. A couple of times he had been brought to a complete stop by cars that had moved onto the hard shoulder. He was losing valuable time, and he could only hope that George was being held up in the same fashion.

  ‘Fuck’s sake!’ Barry swore as yet another member of the public stepped out to flag him down, a lone woman, standing beside a people carrier. He slowed but didn’t stop. The woman leant forward and put her hands flat on the bonnet.

  ‘Hey!’ she shouted.

  Barry stopped and half-opened the window. ‘Out of the way!’ he bellowed.

  She pointed off to Barry’s right. ‘Over there!’

  He swore again and turned his head to see an abandoned Skoda, the passenger door wide open, standing in front of a farm gate.

  ‘They got out, went down there!’ the woman shouted again. Barry reversed and turned round, causing the woman to stagger. She swore at him but Barry wasn’t listening.

  Barry parked against the rear of the Skoda, blocking it in. He made sure it was empty, then assessed the gate, and the chain that held it shut. He looked in the boot of the Volvo and found standard bolt cutters. They wouldn’t be enough.

  ‘Hey! What’s going on up there? Twenty minutes and we haven’t moved an inch!’ Barry heard footsteps coming towards him. He slammed the boot shut and moved round to the passenger door.

  ‘Hey! You listening to me or what? I got to get to work here!’

  Barry turned towards the man, holding the G36 assault rifle pointed at his chest. ‘Fuck off!’ he growled.

  The man lifted his hands and backed away.

  Barry jumped the gate and broke into a jog. George and Kane had left a clear track of flattened grass for him to follow.

  Chapter 40

  The building loomed above them like a steel cliff face. They walked around it to a huge lean-to, covered with plastic. A loading bay. Kane stopped some twenty metres short of it. There were two lorry trailers parked under its cover.

  ‘This is it,’ he said. He turned towards George, his eyes flashing.

  ‘This is what? Where’s my family, Kane?’

  ‘End game.’ Kane smiled.

  ‘No more games. I want my family.’ George reached for the weapon. He was in control now.

  ‘One more game.’ Kane brought up his hands and raised his index finger. ‘Two lorry trailers. Your wife in one, Barry Lance’s in the other.’

  ‘Barry? What are you talking about?’

  ‘It’s very simple. Your wife in one, Barry’s wife in the other. No locks. You can just go up and take your wife away.’

  ‘What about my daughter? Where’s Charley?’

  ‘Now, George, if she was here and you got to take her too, what would stop you shooting me dead with that nasty looking weapon in your hand?’

  ‘George?’ The voice was Sarah’s.

  ‘George!’ she called again. George heard a scraping sound. He pushed past Kane and went to the back of the lorry on the left. Her fingers pushed through a small gap in the door. George reached out and held them.

  He scanned the door quickly. It stuck out, there was a clear gap all the way around, the hinges on the side sticking out rather than lying flat. The door handles were thick metal bars pointing downwards.

  ‘Don’t open it, George. There’s a bomb. If you open the door it goes off.’

  ‘What?’ His wife stood against the door. He could see some of her face, and she gave him a lopsided smile.

  He turned to Kane, he raised the gun to point it at his chest. ‘What did you do to her?’

  ‘I needed to make sure she wasn’t injured in the snatch, George. She’s had a little chemically induced sleep but she won’t have any ill effects. As long as you’re not hasty.’

  ‘What bomb?’ George stepped down to face Kane. He pushed the barrel of the gun into Kane’s forehead and fought the urge to pull the trigger.

  ‘Who’s there?’ It was another voice, a woman George didn’t recognise. It sounded weak.

  Kane smiled. ‘You should meet Barry’s wife, George. She’s a nice girl.’

  George looked at the second lorry trailer, about twenty metres away. It looked identical to the one his wife occupied. The same pronounced door, but nothing visible through the gap at this distance.

  ‘What did you do?’

  ‘Nothing. Shelley’s not a well woman. She’s had a long fight with cancer. And from what I can see, it’s not been going too well.’

  ‘You stay still. Move off that spot and I will kill you.’

  Kane shrugged. ‘I have nowhere else to be.’

  George glanced over to the trailer with his wife inside. He could see part of her through the gap around the door. She was standing, peering out.

  He made it to Shelley. ‘I’m George Elms. I’m a police officer, and I’m here to get you out of there. Are you okay?’

  ‘Oh, thank God!’ Shelley let out a sob.

  ‘Are you okay?’

  ‘I take medication. Pain medication. It gets pretty bad without it, I can’t move much. I feel so damn useless.’ George stepped closer and looked in. Shelley was sitting on the floor. Even in the poor light he could see that she was very gaunt. Her cheekbones protruded through her skin, and she was leaning on her elbows. Her breathing was laboured.

  ‘Hold on,’ George said. He paced back over to Kane.

  ‘You should thank me really, George. You get to be the hero.’ Kane’s expression suddenly hard
ened. ‘But only once.’

  ‘What are you talking about?’

  ‘The bomb. You’ve got a very real choice to make and time is not on your side. What is it now? It must be close to three, surely?’

  George glanced at his watch. Sixteen minutes to three. ‘What happens then?’

  ‘Both charges detonate. No one can stop it. And we all need to be standing right back when that happens, George.’

  ‘You said I would have a chance to save her! What chance?’

  Kane tilted his head. ‘You can go up to her now and walk her away. That’s your chance.’

  ‘You’re fucking with me. I do that and the bomb goes off, right?’

  ‘One of them does. It’s simple. Open one door and the charge under the other detonates. I talked to the two girls about it before I left. I half expected to get here to find one of them had made the decision to walk away. You couldn’t blame them for that, could you?’ Kane smiled.

  ‘You sick fuck.’

  ‘My last chance to be anything, George. I’m so glad you’re part of it.’

  ‘Where’s my daughter?’

  ‘Solve your little conundrum here, George, and I will take you to your daughter.’

  George felt the rage take him over. He grabbed Kane by the throat, and forced him backwards.

  ‘You can kill me as many times as you want, but you won’t get your daughter back,’ Kane spluttered.

  George hit Kane hard in the face. ‘Where’s Charley?’

  ‘Fuck you, George. Make your choice and then we go get her.’

  ‘No more of your games.’

  ‘Tick-tock, George. A few minutes more and there’ll be nothing left to choose from.’

  George took a step back, raised the gun and pulled the trigger. The bullet tore through Kane’s ankle. He screamed, and fell to the floor.

  ‘Where’s Charley?’ George’s voice was even and full of venom.

  ‘Fuck you!’

  George pulled the trigger again. This time the bullet penetrated the shin, shattering it and all but severing Kane’s leg. He screamed again.

  ‘Charley?’ George said.

  Kane rolled onto his side and clutched at his leg. George rested the barrel against the side of Kane’s knee. Giving him no time to reply, he pulled the trigger. The joint exploded. Nothing remained of the knee but a red pulp. Kane rolled onto his front and whimpered. Afraid he might pass out, George put his foot on the bloody stump and pressed. Kane’s eyes opened wide.

  ‘My daughter. Or I keep shooting until I hit something you can’t live without.’

  Somehow Kane managed to laugh. ‘You can be quite persuasive,’ he said. ‘It’s too late anyway. She’s already been handed over to a Romanian gang. They make good money from pretty little girls like that. They are expert at making children disappear. You’ll never see her again.’

  George stepped off Kane’s bloodied leg and stooped over him.

  ‘I know about Jana. I know she’s our leak. She should have been picked up by now.’ Kane raised his eyes and they met his. George had his confirmation. He stepped away from Kane so he wouldn’t hear, and called Paul Baern.

  ‘George! Jesus, I’ve been trying to call you for ages. What the hell’s going on out there?’

  ‘Paul, what happened with Jana? Did you get the message, did you—’

  ‘Charley was there. That’s why I’ve been trying to get hold of you. Charley was with Jana. I saw her come out and went over to talk to her, and she just fell apart. I took her back to her flat and Charley was sitting there with a glass of squash. But, George, what the fuck is going on?’

  ‘Oh God.’ George dropped to his knees. The phone fell from his hand and he bent forward, weeping. After a few moments he rocked back onto his heels. ‘Sarah!’ he called out. ‘Sarah, Charley’s fine! She’s with Paul!’ He picked up the phone again.

  ‘Mate, look after her. Don’t let her out of your sight.’

  ‘Well, yeah of course. Is Sarah there? Where the fuck are you, man? The radio’s going mental. It sounds like you’re on the run again.’

  ‘I owe you so much, Paul. Please, you have to trust me, just for a little while longer. I can’t explain it all now, but it ends today.’

  ‘You wanna speak to Charley? She’s right here.’

  George looked at his watch. Nine minutes to three.

  ‘I can’t talk to her now, mate, but I will real soon.

  ‘I understand. Don’t do anything fucking stupid out there, man. Just come home in one piece and explain it all to us, yeah?’

  ‘Yeah, alright, mate. And, Paul?’

  ‘Go ahead.’

  ‘Stop swearing in front of my daughter.’

  Paul was still chuckling when George cut the call. Kane was lying on his back, groaning. George aimed the gun at his forehead. ‘Charley’s at the police station waiting for us.’

  ‘You’re doing better than I thought,’ Kane gasped. ‘So now you get to kill me.’

  ‘I don’t have to. Tell me about the explosives.’

  ‘What would you like to know?’

  ‘How do I stop them going off?’

  ‘One way or another, George, there is going to be an explosion.’

  George settled on the left foot this time. The bullet hit the knuckle, and blew away three toes. Kane howled.

  ‘Jesus, George!’ Sarah shouted. He ignored her.

  ‘Hold your hands flat against the ground.’

  ‘Fuck you!’

  ‘Do it.’ George pushed the barrel of the weapon into Kane’s mouth. ‘I said hold your fucking hands out flat.’

  Kane held out his right hand, palm up. He lay on his back and closed his eyes.

  ‘I will keep shooting bits off you until you tell me something useful about that bomb, Kane. I know you. There is a way out. No more games.’ He moved the gun and held it a few inches from the centre of Kane’s hand. Kane’s eyes flew open.

  ‘It’s only under her.’

  George held the gun steady. ‘What?’

  ‘The charge. The only live one is under Shelley. Your wife’s is just a barrel of water.’

  George shook his head. ‘Bullshit.’

  ‘It’s true. That stuff is volatile and I couldn’t get enough for two. I didn’t need to anyway.’

  ‘So why under her? Why not Sarah? I’m the one you got the issue with.’

  ‘You would have died with her,’ answered Kane.

  ‘That’s my point.’

  ‘I never wanted you dead, George Elms. What I want is for you to fucking suffer. I want you to be the one to fucking ruin another good man’s life, kill his wife to save yours. I want you to be who you are.’

  ‘Bullshit.’

  ‘You can believe me or not, I don’t care. Both doors trigger the charge in Shelley’s trailer. Look at her, George, she’s dead anyway. Go get your wife, and then spend the rest of your life pretending you did right.’

  ‘And the timer? Three o’clock. Is that bullshit?’

  Kane smiled, bloodily. The gun barrel had dislodged one of his teeth. ‘Definitely not.’

  George looked at his watch. Two fifty-six. He went back to his wife.

  ‘What’s going on, George?’ Sarah said. Her voice was unsteady. He checked around the door, and then bent down to inspect the underneath of the lorry. Immediately he spotted two family size vanilla ice cream tubs screwed to the underside. Wires ran out of them up into the body of the trailer. A further two wires led towards the second trailer and another ice cream tub with a mobile phone strapped to the outside.

  George called to them. ‘I’m getting you out, just stay calm in there. Charley’s fine, Sarah. Paul has her at the police station.’

  ‘Is that safe? You said I wouldn’t be safe at the police station.’

  ‘It’s okay now, honey. And she’s with Paul.’

  ‘Can’t you call the bomb-disposal people?’

  ‘Maybe, Sarah.’ George glanced at his watch. Another minute had ticked by.
>
  ‘Is there anything on the inside? Anything that’s coming through from underneath the trailer, through the floor?’

  Sarah called back. ‘There’s a metal barrel. Like a beer barrel, you know.’

  ‘Okay.’

  ‘He told me not to touch it. He said it was really dangerous.’

  ‘Any markings on it?’ George called out.

  ‘Only what he wrote.’

  ‘What’s that?’

  ‘T.A.T.P.,’ Sarah said, ‘and then a smiley face. You know what that means?’

  ‘Possibly. Can you get close to it?’

  ‘He said not to.’

  ‘I need you to get close to it. I want to know if it has any smell.’

  ‘What sort of smell?’

  ‘Any fucking smell, Sarah! Just tell me!’

  ‘Alright, alright, George. Give me a second.’

  ‘Don’t touch it. Don’t open it or anything, just give it a sniff.’

  George waited. He could hear his wife moving around. A few seconds passed. ‘Jesus, George, I don’t know. My nose is like numb, ever since he shoved something over my face and I went unconscious.’

  ‘Shit! Okay, okay. Just stay away from it. Give me a sec while I speak to Shelley.’

  Shelley had her mouth at the trailer door, as if she were trying to breathe in fresh air.

  ‘How are you holding up?’ asked George.

  Shelley seemed to be struggling to focus. Her headscarf had fallen away and George could see her bald head, dotted with wisps of sandy coloured hair.

  ‘I’ve been better,’ she said, and gave him an exhausted smile.

  ‘Shelley, do you know about this bomb?’

  She nodded.

  ‘I’ve tried to look, but I can’t see inside. Sarah says she has a barrel in her trailer which would probably contain the charge. Have you got the same?’ George leaned towards her.

  Shelley spoke in a whisper, coughed and winced. ‘He put it in. He wrote on it and told me it was explosive.’ She coughed again. ‘The bastard said it was made out of hair dye. Made a joke about too much dye making your hair fall out. As if I haven’t heard them all before.’

  She was holding onto the adapted hinge, and George placed his hand over hers. It felt icy cold. ‘Everything’s going to be okay, Shelley. We’ll all be going home soon.’