Page 54 of West (The Moral Compass 1)
“Zed, can I borrow you and your guys for a bit longer?”
“The job’s not done yet, Boss. We are here until the end.”
I show Zed the app. He nods and goes over to the group. With a quick nod and a shake of his head, we are off in three separate cars all going in the same direction but on different roads. The helicopter is quicker than we ever could be, but as long as Sutton and Kara have the phones, we can find them even after the helicopter lands. It’s the only bloody thing that’s gone right today.
In the car, I start to think about all the things that have not gone to plan. I still can’t think of North being dead. It’s just not real and, right now, I can’t accept that I won’t see that cocky bastard again. I switch gears in my head back to working out what I could have done differently. I could have stayed with Sutton this morning, and then I would have been at the house when they were taken. I wouldn’t have let it happen, and she would have been okay. Or they could have killed me too, and no one would be looking for her right now.
I watch the app as Zed drives. “They’ve stopped. The icon hasn’t moved in three minutes,” I say to Zed.
We pull up the details and see it’s a stately home. Thirty minutes later we are pulling up the driveway. “Something feels really off, Zed. Why have they stopped here? There are loads of cars outside.” My phone rings with East on the other end.
“You need to turn around and go and get some suits on. The place you are looking at is an auction. You won’t get in there in your combat gear. You need to be dressed in full monkey kits. Also, they will have metal detectors on the entrances, so if you’re going to be armed, you need to get them in some other way.”
“Thanks.” I hang up.
“Fuck, man, I hate them fucking things. They always make me look huge.” Zed winks and points in the back. He has thought of everything.
“How the fuck did you know to bring them?” I ask, completely fucking dumbfounded.
He laughs. “Well, we better not get them wrecked. They’re for my sister’s wedding next week. I’d just picked them up, like a good brother does, when I got the call. Good timing, don’t you think? There are twelve suits in the back. Might have to mix and match a bit to get a fit, but we should be good.”
He smiles and winks, and his cockiness reminds me of North.
Nope, not thinking of that right now. I have a job to do.
We discuss the plan, and it’s agreed that as they know who I am, it would put Sutton and Kara at more risk if I’m seen inside. They will know we have found them and either move them on again or kill them. I am going to be up a tree with sights on the property and a rifle ready to take out Ralph when the girls have been retrieved.
A text from East makes me go cold.
East: The phones have both come back online, and tracking says they are still in the building.
West: Is there any way we can get audio?I know it’s a long shot, but God knows what Mark put in these phones. They look archaic, but they’re the best tech in the world.
East: Yep, I’ve got it. I’ll download it to the app. But, West, please don’t listen if things get shitty. You can’t unhear things just like you can’t unsee them, okay?
West: Message received. I’ll refresh the app. Keep in touch.
I refresh the app and get into position sitting up at the top of a tree. It’s the first time today I’ve been alone, and I don’t want to think. I pull on my beanie hat with the Wi-Fi earphones and click on the app.
I can hear voices, but I am not able to make out who they are. Then I hear her voice. Sutton. She’s alive. I breathe out a long breath I didn’t realise I’d been holding. I can’t quite make out what she is saying, but it sounds like she is consoling someone. Kara.
“It’s going to be okay, Kara. We will get out of here. I promise”
“You can’t promise, Sutton. When they sell us, won’t we be separated immediately?”
“No, you won’t,” I mutter to myself.
Zed and the lads have photos of them both and have been told to buy them all no matter what the cost. No figure is too much. I’d give my whole fortune to get them back. There’s a noise and some more crying, and then a woman’s voice speaks out loud and clear.
“Stop your fucking snivelling. Straighten your faces and get them washed and fresh. You will be called out one by one, and you will be naked. The clients want to see what they are buying. The lower the figure, the lower your chance of surviving the night. You want to live, girls? Make it look like you do. Make them want to pay money for you that they don’t want to lose on a one-night fuck because, if you don’t, they will still fuck you but then they will kill you and move on. Think on, girls. Get them puffy eyes in order. Oh, and if you don’t get bought, you don’t leave here.”
I hear gasps and realise there is more than Sutton and Kara in the room with them. The auction is our last chance. If they are out there naked, they will have nowhere to hide the phones.
Fuck!
Chapter 42
Sutton
