The Crescendo (30 page)

‘So, what have we got?' he said sitting down next to Tilly.

All eyes went to Jaz, she had all the information.

Anna threw down some photos she'd done up on Jaz's request. Everyone started looking at them as Jaz spoke. ‘This is Jamison's warehouse where Ryan is being held. The main door has a code.' Jaz repeated the code and they all nodded that they had it stored in their mind.

‘And there is also a camera,' said Cody. ‘But that's easy to black out.'

‘Good. You can be in charge of that,' said Jaz. ‘Now, we don't know what we will be facing on the inside. So once we get that door open I want Tilly and Cody left, and Tay and Ian right.' Jaz wanted Tay protected and the best way to do that was to put him with the best. She was yet to see the commander in action but from Tilly and Ryan's stories, there was no better agent.

‘Best time is just on dark,' said Ian, his voice so strong and sure.

This was probably a walk in the park for him. Ryan had told her once how he'd taken down an opium grower overseas, killed all his men, set free the slave labour kids, and with hand grenades had decimated the plantation. Just listening to the story had seemed like some action movie or that TV show she liked called
Strike Back
. It made her wonder if these so-called fictional movies and shows were actually based on a lot of real events and truths. Who would really know?

They kept talking and planning for hours, pausing only for coffee and the Subway rolls that Anna grabbed for them. When Tilly's stomach rumbled people from two states over could hear it.

Soon they had the operation planned out as best they could.

‘Is everyone right on their position?' said Ian.

‘Yes, I wait in the car in case we need a fast getaway,' said Anna.

Her face was flushed and her teeth clenched together. She was as excited as she was scared to death. Jaz knew that feeling.

‘You don't get out of the car,' Jaz said to her softly. Anna may be a good shot but she wasn't prepared for one-on-one combat. ‘I can't have anything happen to you. Okay?'

Anna nodded almost as fast as a woodpecker who hammered his beak into a tree. Her friend was not going to stay at the gym and wait. She'd demanded she have a job. ‘But you get to go,' had been her reply. ‘I promise I won't get in the way.'

Sitting in the car was the best Jaz could come up with, and Tay had backed her up on this after initially wanting her at the gym.

So the three of them would be riding this mission together, a first. In a way it was comforting and yet it scared the hell out of Jaz. These were her closest friends who she couldn't live without. Yet they had watched her go off on missions and supported her. You couldn't wrap people up in cotton wool, you can't protect them or prevent them from wanting to help. It was a large ugly pill to swallow.

‘Right. I'm going to go and get ready,' said Cody standing up. ‘I'll get the spray can. And I'll meet you all at the rendezvous point.'

‘I'll bring cable ties, tape and extra bullets.' Tilly pushed back his chair and reached for the last Subway roll. He smiled. He was ready for a fight. ‘See you all soon.'

Tilly walked out whistling a tune, as if he didn't have a care in the world.

The commander stood next. ‘I always did like Pax's place. It always felt like a home, or a shelter, I guess.' His eyes took in every detail of Pax's kitchen. ‘It still feels like he's here, and I keep expecting him to walk out from the back room with one of his God-awful shirts on.'

Jaz and Anna glanced at each other. Yeah, they knew exactly how he felt.

‘So you've been here before?' asked Jaz. She didn't remember ever seeing the commander here.

‘I spent quite a bit of my younger days here, before you were born. Then in later years I'd stop by mainly for papers and a quick catch up with Pax. He was one of a kind.'

Ian's words were spoken with so much admiration Jaz felt like hugging him, but she didn't. Instead she watched him walk to the back door with no further conversation or goodbye.

‘Then there were three,' said Tay. ‘Is anyone else pumped?'

‘And shitting bricks?' said Anna.

‘I'm doing both,' said Jaz. ‘I have so many worries. What if we are too late? What if someone gets hurt?' She couldn't say die. But that was what she meant. What if someone died? It could even be her. Save Ryan only to die in the process. How very Romeo and Juliet.

‘Jaz, you have to stay positive. Remember what the commander said. You need to see our plan working, visualise it coming together, being prepared for anything. We can do this,' said Tay as he got up from the table to join his friends.

‘Besides, there might only be one guy holding Ryan. This could be a walk in the park!' Anna was so optimistic it was adorable, so much so Tay couldn't resist putting his arm around her.

‘Exactly,' he agreed.

Anna could have said the moon was green and that tomorrow the Martians would land and Tay would still agree with her.

‘Okay, so we need to make sure our alibis are in place, we get our guns ready, leave mobiles at home, change into black, pick up the getaway car—'

‘Oh that sounds so James Bondish,' said Anna.

‘No, it's more like
The Blues Brothers
or
Gone in Sixty Seconds
,' said Tay.

‘I would LOOOOVE an Eleanor to drive.'

Jaz clapped her hands together, making her friends jump. ‘Are you guys listening,' said Jaz gruffly. ‘Focus. Bullets, blood, mayhem. It's all about to get serious.'

‘We know that Jaz,' said Tay. ‘It's just nerves.'

Tay did look a little green around the gills and he still hadn't taken his arm away from Anna.

‘We know what's at stake.' Anna reached out and pulled her into a three-way hug. ‘I want you both to be careful. I love youse so much.'

As Jaz hugged her friends, she wondered what the outcome would be? To get Ryan would she lose someone else? Would this moment be the last with her friends? There were no answers and there was no point thinking this way. Jaz couldn't predict the future, all she could do was trust in her team, believe they could do this and see it through till the end. Jaz just hoped she could keep her head if and when she got to see Ryan.

Stretching out her arms she hugged her friends, enjoying their warmth, their security and the love they had. And she prayed it wasn't the last time they got to do this.

Chapter 29

The metallic scent of blood stirred his conscious, along with a damp mustiness that reminded him of a cold cave. Ryan drew a breath; the movement caused a sharp pain to radiate through his chest, broken ribs? Other parts of his body ached and throbbed, at least he knew he was alive. Death wouldn't be this painful. Ryan wanted to open his eyes but they felt stuck together like bad conjunctivitis. He'd taken a few hits to the face, how many exactly he'd lost count, but they would have caused the swelling. He must look amazing if how he felt was any indication.

He breathed again, less painful now as he grew used to the familiar pain, but this time he noticed a hint of something sweet. Like the last remains of perfume days after it was applied.

Something cold and wet touched his forehead and he flinched, causing himself more pain. What the hell was it? Suddenly he felt water rolling down his face as if he'd been crying.

He felt the air shift and felt the presence of someone else in the room. Where was he? For a second he panicked.

‘Stay still,' came soft feminine words. ‘It's okay,' she added. Her Filipino accent was thick.

Then it came to him. He was in the cell. Jamison's cell that he uses for his girls. This poor abused girl was helping him. It only made him feel worse. It should be the other way around.

‘Thank you,' he mumbled through cracked split lips that were dry and tasted like blood.

As if she had read his mind, he felt a wet cloth dabbed across his lips, making them feel heaps better. Then the cloth shifted back to his eyes and around his face. He must be a right bloody mess.

‘You take much pain,' she said. ‘You hurt?'

‘A little,' he said truthfully. Actually it was a lot, but with all of the pain from different spots all competing to be felt, it almost dulled into one ache. He focused his mind on Jaz, as he always did when things got too hard.

He'd taken the beatings, the questions, and stuck to his guns, repeating the same story. Only he knew it was just a matter of time before Jamison dug deep into his identity and found some anomaly. He was trying everything in his power to win Jamison over, to prove to him he was loyal. Even mentioning Annaliese and being worried about her. He could tell Jamison was unsure but it was Randall who was taking control of things. The big man took great delight in pounding his flesh, trying to get him to confess.

‘How long have I been out?' Ryan asked the girl. The days were hard to keep track of.

‘Long time. Other girl taken,' she said softly. ‘Can you sit up? Drink?'

Ryan felt his chest; his clothes had been taken off except for his pants, his skin was slimy and crusty at the same time. ‘I think so.' He pushed himself up into a sitting position, his hands protested as they pushed against the manky bed. The girl sat beside him and he felt a cup pressed against his lips. He drank the whole lot. ‘Thank you.'

Ryan dragged his body backwards until he could lean back against the wall. He tried to use his legs but the muscles screamed out, his feet felt like they were cut.

Overall, his injuries were ones that could be hidden later. If Jamison found nothing, maybe he would let Ryan go back to work and his daughter. If that was the case he couldn't go back too damaged. Missing fingers and other body parts would be hard to explain. For now Jamison and Randall were keeping it all above board, well, as much as you could with torture.

‘Will they come for you again?' she asked.

‘I reckon so.'

‘You strong man,' she added. Her tiny hands touched his chest as she continued to clean him up.

Ryan almost laughed, he didn't feel so strong right now. He wanted Jaz. Holding her again was the only thought getting him through at the moment. He would suffer whatever Randall wanted as long as he could kiss Jaz again. Nothing else mattered.

He wished he could pry open his eyes and see the girl helping him. Did she have raven hair like Jaz? ‘How long have you been here?' he asked her.

‘Two days. They come for you then I clean you. So much blood,' she said. ‘What you do, mister?'

‘I'm not actually sure what I've done wrong,' he said. Ryan wasn't taking any chances. For all he knew they could be watching him now, recording him, you name it. The girl could even be a plant to get him to talk. ‘Thank you for your help,' he said, trying to find her hand. It was so slender. ‘How old are you?'

‘Nearly sixteen.' Her words were whispered.

Oh my God, thought Ryan. His stomach turned and he felt the worst he'd had in days.

A sound of a door shutting echoed nearby and Ryan felt the girl's hand tense against his skin. She moved away from him and he felt the bed move as she sat at the end. Good girl, she was already learning that she needed to distance herself from him. He hated to think what she'd been through already. Without even seeing her he got the feeling she was a fighter.

‘Hey, he's awake.' Randall's voice was playful.

He loved his job far too much. He heard the shuffle of more feet and keys jangling as the cell was unlocked.

‘He looks like shit, Randall,' came Jamison's voice.

‘He's a tough nut to crack, sir. But I will. One way or another we will have our answer by tomorrow.'

Shit. Ryan knew what that meant. They were making a decision soon. Ryan didn't like his chances with Randall, who would love to kill him, or Jamison who hated any little blip in his plans.

He hoped if they killed him the poor girl wasn't around to see it. She'd been through enough already.

‘Come on then, time to get reacquainted,' said Randall.

His big hand wrapped around Ryan's arm, gripping it like a vice as he pulled him up off the bed. Ryan clenched his teeth, refusing to cry out in pain. He stood on his tender feet and went where Randall pushed him, each step feeling like it was on broken glass. Putting out his hand he tried to feel for a wall or a door, instead finding the cold metal of the cell. He tried to keep track of where he was going, if only he could prise open his eyes. The water the girl had washed them with was helping, he felt the blood that had helped glue them shut starting to soften.

He worked out they went through the door to the other area of the warehouse, where he'd been taken each time for his torture. This is where they had the pulley chains that hung from the ceiling, which they tied his hands into. Randall had enjoyed lifting him off the ground for hours on end, his wrists bruised to the bone from the heavy chains.

Before the beatings had started Ryan had seen the area they'd taken him. It was behind a half wall that segregated the open space, this place being where the sorting of fish was done; the other side was where the forklifts brought the crates in from a locked sliding door on the side. So if anyone happened to come in they were still hidden from view. Ryan wondered if the crew ever noticed his blood on the floor, or did it just mix in with the blood of the fish? Maybe Jamison had given them the week off? Ryan did recall hearing noises, the beeping of machines and the squeal of forklift tyres on the concrete floor, so he assumed they had worked some days. Maybe it was only when the boats came in with the fish?

Maybe Randall had one of the Shesha Serpents clean up after he'd spilt Ryan's blood all over the floor?

Even though Ryan couldn't see, in his mind he knew exactly where he was. His wrists were bound together again, the cold chain instantly causing pain and he wasn't even lifted up yet. Jaz's picture came to mind as he tried to escape to another place where the pain wouldn't touch him.