Thief (11 page)

Chapter 21.

It was lucky for us that Kim
did
have that martial arts training, otherwise we never would have survived. I'm positive that any other Kimless group
wouldn't
have lived to tell the tale. We next encountered a pitfall trap, with Kim teetering on the edge of what appeared to be a bottomless pit. Only her superb sense of balance saved her from toppling into an unending fall. We crept around the pit only to encounter the standard classic ‘walls mashing together’ ambush. Kim's supernatural
hearing
saved us from that one. She heard the electronic
click
of circuit relays closing and shoved us all backwards just before the walls slammed together.

“Very Indiana Jones this, isn't it?” Kim whispered, excitedly.

“Very
scary
, you mean,” I contradicted, as I felt Bella's grip increase its pressure on my hand.

“This is
great
!” Martina enthused gaily. “It's just like being in the
movies
.”

“Martina,” I lectured, “this is
serious
! We could be
killed
here! It's a miracle we haven't already been splattered all over the cave floor.”

“I
know
that, Paul,” she replied, suddenly serious. “I don't have a death wish or anything, and to lose Kim at this stage in my life would destroy me, but this is an adventure of a
lifetime
. It's the
one
opportunity that everybody gets to change their life around and I intend to
take
it, otherwise I'll spend the rest of my life wondering and regretting what
could
have been. Can you understand what I’m saying?”

“Yes, I
can
, unfortunately,” I replied with a grimace. “But at least you could have the decency to
appear
terrified for
my
benefit.”

Martina chuckled at that. “I'll see what I can do,” she promised.

We carried on but came across no more traps. The person behind all this must have decided that the three traps had been enough to obliterate any opposition. The cave meandered on and on until we finally arrived at a metal door. Kim cautioned us to silence, put her ear against the metal and listened. After about a minute she stood upright and shook her head.

“I can't hear anything,” she told us in a low voice.

“What
now
?” I asked.

“We have to get the door open,” Kim replied with a shrug.

“Well,
duh
,” Martina said. “Let
me
have a shot at it.”

We all stood back as Martina examined the door intently with aid of her torch.

She finally centred her attention on what appeared to be the keyhole. “Ah
hah
,” she muttered to herself, “let's see what we have here.” She took out a thin metal strip from a pocket and inserted it into the keyhole, wriggling it about in a decisive manner. There was a click at the door swung opened noiselessly.

“How did you do that so
quickly
?” I asked, astonished.

Martina shrugged, self-consciously. “Hey, I'm a
thief
. It's what I do. I open doors for a living.”

“Well
done
, munchkin,” Kim praised, giving her a quick cuddle. “I don't know what we’d do without you.”

“Just so long as you never find out,” Martina replied, glibly.

Kim ushered us through the door, stopping only to take something out of her backpack and place it carefully on the floor. It appeared to be a small black object with a flashing red light. I wondered what it was.

The door led us into a furbished room, complete with desk, chair and bookcases. At the far end of the room was a series of boxes, stacked one upon the other. One of the boxes was opened and we peered inside. Numerous sealed plastic packets filled with white powder were visible.

“What do you suppose it is?” I whispered to Kim.

“I can make a good guess,” Bella remarked. “I saw Francine
using
this sort of stuff often enough.”

“You are correct, young lady,” a strange voice said behind us. Startled, we whirled around to behold a rather fat individual, holding a gun. Three other people,
also
holding guns, were ranged beside him. Two of the three were our friends from the castle, and not looking very pleased to see us.

“Dear me, you look so
surprised
,” the fat man sniggered. “I can't believe you’re so naïve. Haven't you ever heard of closed-circuit television cameras? I've been
watching
your progress ever since you entered the cave. It was riveting viewing.” He addressed Kim. “I must say you avoided all my traps brilliantly. I might have to build a few
new
ones now,” he tittered, in an obscene parody of humour. “Now, what
do
we do with you all?”

“Do you mind telling us what all this is about
first
?” Kim asked in a level voice.

“
Certainly
, my darlings,” the man replied cheerily. “I'm quite proud of what I've accomplished. Nobody appreciates my genius around here. I don't mind explaining. It's not as if you're going to
tell
anybody else.” He gave voice to a high-pitched giggle, which sent shivers down my spine. This man wasn't normal, and that meant he wasn’t party to
rational
behaviour.

“As that pretty lady figured out,” he said, waving his gun at Bella, “I deal in drugs. There’s a never-ending demand for them and it's making me extremely rich.”

“
How
rich?” Martina broke in, questioningly.

The man's curiously pale eyes focused on her. “Very,
very
rich, my dear,” he said. “More money than you can believe. More money than you could
possibly
imagine.”

“Really?” Martina responded in a thoughtful tone of voice. “I don't know. I can imagine an
awful
lot of money.”

“Trust me, young lady, there's more money than even
you
could think of in your wildest dreams.”

“
That
much, eh?” Martina replied, stroking her chin.

“Martina!” Bella exclaimed. “What are you
thinking
?”

“I'm thinking that perhaps I've been
limiting
myself,” Martina replied, coldly. “Why wasn't I told before about all this money I could be making.”

“You
can't
be serious,” Bella continued in horror. “Why are you even
listening
to this?”

“Because I'm sick and tired of living like a
hobo
,” Martina exploded savagely. “I work my butt off every day just to scrape together enough for one lousy meal! We never have enough money for anything decent! You know that, Bella. You've told me often enough that you
hate
what you do for a living, and what have you got to
show
for it? A head full of disgusting memories and barely enough money to stay
alive
, is what. Well, I've had
enough
! I want
more
out of life than worrying about where my next meal is coming from! Money is power, Bella, and I want to be in
charge
for once.”

“You want to take
drug
money?” Bella asked in revulsion. “Martina, you'll be betraying Francine! Please stop
talking
like this.”

“Wake
up
to yourself, Bella. Francine is
dead
, and nothing we do will change that.” Martina spun around and asked bluntly, “Did
you
kill Francine?”

The man smiled apologetically. “It was her
own
fault. All I wanted was for her to carry a……… ‘
parcel
’ or two for me but she foolishly refused.” He waved his gun regretfully. “What else
could
I do? She brought it on herself.”

“I see what you mean,” Martina reflected. “Well, I never
did
like her much, anyway. All she talked about was her drug supplier. I think she secretly had a ‘
thing
’ for him, you know.”

“
Martina
!” Bella cried in anguish.

“For god's sake,
shut
up, Bella!” Martina said in exasperation. “Stop
whining
! Your recent goody-two-shoes attitude is turning my stomach! Try to live in the
real
world for once.”

“Martina, honey, what's
happening
to you?” Kim asked, in an appalled voice. “
Why
are you acting this way?”

“I'm just dreaming about what my life
could
be,” she answered, shrugging her shoulders. “Anyway, it's
always
been about the money. That's the whole
reason
for being a thief. As I've said before, it's what I do.”

“What about the two of
us
then?” Kim said slowly. “You claimed that you loved me. Are you telling me that you
lied
?”

“Of course not, sweetheart. I
still
love you. It's just that I have
different
priorities now. Why don't you
join
with me, Kim?” she wheedled. “Think of all the things we could do with unlimited money. We could go anywhere and
do
anything. Aren't you just a
little
bit tempted?”

“No, I'm
not
,” Kim replied, frigidly, “and it sickens me to think that
you
are. It looks like my track record of picking the wrong person to love is
still
intact.”

“Oooh,
dissension
in the ranks,” giggled the fat man. “How
delicious
!” He looked across at Martina with narrowed eyes. “Although it seems to me that your conversion to the money side of things is just a little
too
quick to be believable, my dear.”

“Well, I’ve never had limitless money waved under my nose before either,” countered Martina. “Isn’t there a saying that every man has his price? I’ve
dreamt
of being rich my entire life. It’s why I
became
a thief in the first place. But my dreams never happened. I couldn’t get out of that stinking hovel I live in, no matter how hard I tried. Do you
blame
me for wanting to grab this opportunity?”

“No, I don’t,” agreed the fat man. “I can sympathise with you. I was born into poverty
too
, you know. I spent all of my childhood scrounging for food. I always went to bed hungry.” He shuddered. “It
still
haunts me to this day. I vowed I’d
never
go back to that.” He paused. “Hmm, maybe we
could
use someone like you in the organisation after all. Of course, you’d have to
prove
yourself. I’m still not quite convinced of your
sincerity
yet, my dear.”

“Just
tell
me what to do,” Martina encouraged him. “For the sort of money you’re talking about, I’d do just about
anything
.” She hesitated. “But bear in mind that I’ve never killed, or even injured, anyone before. I’m not sure I could
do
that. Not
yet
anyhow. I’d have to work up to it.”

“I understand fully,” the man said, benevolently. “We all have to learn to walk before we can run. I find the sight of blood so
icky
myself.” He giggled insanely again. “But I’m learning to get over that. It just takes
practice
.” He paused in thought and looked around the room. “Okay, for starters, how about you take that lump of wood over there and beat some sense into your girlfriend?”

“What?
Kim
, you mean?” Martina said in a tight voice. “Why? I still have some feelings for her.”

“But she
hates
you now, my darling,” the man seductively informed Martina. “Weren’t you listening before? If you gave her half a chance, she’d spit on you.”

“Is that
true
, Kim?” Martina demanded.

“You
disgust
me, you Judas,” Kim replied, angrily. “I
loathe
you for selling out for a handful of money. You’ve
betrayed
Francine, you’ve betrayed Bella and you’ve betrayed
me
. I hope you rot in hell!”