‘Ah, it’s you, son. Thought little Snods had found something interesting. Hold your horses and I’ll have this off in a jiffy.’ There was the sound of wood being forced, some puffing and a very mild curse, and then the door burst open under Aleksey’s weight.
Harry whistled when he saw him. ‘Well, that’s not good.’
Aleksey began to half-run, half-limp towards his car. Rachel and Harry trailed after him. ‘You knew about this place?’
‘Suspected more than knew. It was what some of the lads said—going home. They often talk quite wistfully about their old units being home—often the only stable ones they’ve known.’
‘You were watching it?’
‘When we have a few spare hours, we are. Sunday today. Just come from the service. Wonderful sermon, I must say. Was passing, so we popped in. Snoddy started nosing under the door and, bobs your uncle, there you were.’
Rachel sobbed, panting to keep up, ‘My brother’s been taken. I have to try and help him.’
‘Who took him, lass?’
Aleksey got to the car and yanked open the door. Rachel opened the passenger door and climbed in.
‘Get out.’
‘Do you really have time to argue?’
Aleksey didn’t. He climbed in and shoved the key into the ignition, but just as he was about to reverse, Harry opened the backdoor, lifted Snodgrass in and slid in himself. He whispered, eyes closed, ‘Bid its angry tumult cease and give, for wild confusion, peace. No time for your wobblies now, Harry. See it through, son, see it through.’
Rachel glanced at her watch. ‘They must be, what? An hour ahead of us? Oh, God, we’ll never catch them. How fast can you drive?’
Aleksey could barely turn the wheel to reverse, so he didn’t bother replying.
He got to the road and turned away from the city centre.
‘What are you doing? We need to get on the motorway!’
He ignored her. He was going to get Ben. He had never needed anyone more than he needed Ben Rider-Mikkelsen. He glanced at his phone, wondering if he should call, but could not for the life of him arrange words in his head that would translate into anything Ben would understand.
When they finally reached the airport, a short but memorable drive Aleksey didn’t want to dwell on, Ben was leaning on the wall of the small fight school, one leg bent up, chatting to an older man who was consulting a clipboard.
Aleksey screeched the car to a halt, mainly because his blood-soaked hand slipped off the gear stick and he stalled it. Ben’s face went pale. Aleksey had seen this draining of blood effect on people once or twice before, and it was always dramatic when it happened. He assumed he was looking as bad as he felt. He stumbled from the vehicle. Ben ran over, the other man hovering behind him, concerned.
‘We have to go. Now. Molly. They’re going for her, Ben. The soldiers who killed the homeless. I don’t have time to explain. Get in.’
Rachel piped up, ‘They’re going to Penzance to get the ferry to Scilly. They’re about an hour ahead of us.’
Ben was cupping his face, his expression a mixture of bewilderment and horror. ‘Where have you been! For fuck’s sake! Who did this to you? What are you talking about? We’ve missed our flight.Where the fuck have you been?Why Molly?’
‘She’s got…’ He could not finish, scrunched his face and turned it away from any scrutiny.
Ben took his shoulders and eased him back to leaning against the car. He snapped sharply to the others, ‘Give us some space, yeah?’
He leaned closer. ‘Tell me.’
Aleksey swallowed and tried to control his voice. ‘They made a bio-weapon in their lab, and they were planning to release it at the gig race. To infect all the international competitors. But…fuck, I still can’t believe this. When we took that fucking car back, he was loading the bags, remember? It was in one of them. Remember how he hustled you away from them? Well, when his fucking moronic wife opened the case on St Mary’s, it wasn’t there.Molly must have taken it, Ben. She was there on her own while we were talking to him. The suitcase was unlocked. She opened it and she took it!’
‘She wouldn’t do something like that, Nik, you know she wouldn’t.’
‘Does it matter? Does it really matter! Theythinkshe’s got it, they know where she is, and they’re armed and they’re killers!’ He rose to his feet and handed Ben the keys and gave him a desperate look. ‘How fast can you really drive, Ben?’
Before they could get in, the man with the clipboard came closer and held out his hand. ‘Peter. I’m Ben’s instructor.’
Aleksey acknowledged him briefly. ‘I’m sorry, we have to go.’
