Weston nodded in the direction of the stairwell. ‘They’re all down there.’
The man nodded and dismissed the four men in front of him. Brogan’s heart sank as he watched their progress along the side of the ship, then saw them disappear through another door. In a matter of seconds, he heard shouting, gunfire. Then silence.
His attention snapped back to the man listening to Weston, stooping to hear him. Brogan watched as the man nodded to Weston and barked an order.
‘Start her up. We need to be out of here before sunrise.’
Brogan was shoved out of the way by Weston as he stepped back into the control room and flicked a switch. Brogan felt the rumble of the enormous engines as they roared into life. He took a deep breath and looked out at the coastline, its dark outline silhouetted by clouds. He shuddered. Somehow he didn’t think he’d get the chance to pay it another visit.
He jumped as a door further along the ship crashed open. A man backed out of the doorway, stooped over as he dragged a heavy load after him.
Brogan broke out in a cold sweat as he realised what was happening. He leaned against the railing enclosing the deck. The hijacker caught the movement from the corner of his eye. He turned and grinned maliciously at Brogan. A shout from behind the door made him look back and continue to drag the body out. A second man came through the door after it. Once the hijackers had dragged the body across the deck, they kicked at it until it rolled over the side.
‘Six to go,’ said one, then they disappeared back through the door, closing it behind them.
Brogan turned away from them and closed his eyes. His hands gripped the rail. He couldn’t think straight. A shout from behind him made him open his eyes. Brogan stared at the man walking towards him. The man’s face was a mess. One side of it was torn, with blotchy pink new skin poking out from behind old scars. Brogan shivered. A malevolent glint shone in the man’s tawny eyes. Like he knew the world owed him.
The man stopped in front of Brogan. He grinned and held up a mobile phone, the screen pointing at Brogan. ‘Watch carefully,’ he said, then hit a button.
Brogan felt the tears rolling down his cheeks as he watched the recording. It didn’t have sound. It didn’t need it. His wife, his poor wife.
The man lowered the phone and placed it in his pocket. ‘If you refuse to cooperate, we’ll pay a visit to your daughter next,’ he said. ‘Understand?’
Brogan closed his eyes and nodded.
‘Good,’ said the man. ‘Now show me where the car is parked.’
Chapter 31
Singapore
Dan rubbed his abdomen. Nothing broken, just wounded pride. He grunted to himself.
‘OK?’ asked Sarah.
Dan shrugged. ‘I’ll live.’ He turned and walked along the dock. The noise from the quay had grown quieter in between shifts. A slight breeze ruffled his hair. Further along, bright arc lights enveloped a large container ship being unloaded, the containers being craned onto waiting trucks for their onward journeys. He leaned against the railing, and then turned his back on the activity. He gazed up at the warehouse.
Sarah walked slowly towards him, rubbing her elbow.
Dan glanced at her. ‘Did you get hurt?’
She shook her head and smiled sheepishly. ‘My own fault. When Philippa pulled a gun on me, I was so scared I literally jumped. I knocked myself on the side of one of the cars. They’re surprisingly hard.’
‘I should’ve known we wouldn’t be the only ones trying to work out what Delaney’s plans are,’ said Dan.
Sarah shrugged. ‘At least they’re on our side. Bit of a coincidence though, them being here at the same time as us…’ She trailed off, eyeing him accusingly.
He grimaced. ‘Yeah, I know – we were followed. Chances are, they’ve been watching us for a while to see what we’d do.’ Dan rubbed his chin, thinking.
‘It does make me think they were struggling to find any information,’ Sarah continued. ‘I mean, if their only lead was to follow us.’
Dan nodded. ‘I got the distinct impression they know, or have a pretty good idea, what Delaney’s up to. They just haven’t been able to work out how he’s going to do it.’
‘Until now,’ added Sarah. She leaned against the railing and looked along the dock. She could just see their car parked in the gloom. ‘Come on. Let’s get out of here.’
Dan eased himself off the railing and looked at his watch. Almost four o’clock. Dawn. ‘Okay. Breakfast on the way back?’
‘Sounds good to me.’
They walked back to the car. Dan slid in behind the wheel and started the engine. Sarah climbed into the passenger seat. The engine coughed once. Dan felt his heart beat. Hard. Then he pushed Sarah out of the passenger door as he opened his.
‘Run! Get away from the car – it’s wired!’
He leapt out of the car, ran round to the passenger side and took hold of Sarah’s hand. She looked stunned. He pulled her with him, away down the dock side as fast as he could.
‘Keep up!’ he yelled.
They sprinted away from the vehicle. Dan glanced at the buildings to their left until he saw what he was looking for.
‘Here!’
He pulled Sarah into a narrow alleyway then leaned against the wall of the warehouse, panting.
Sarah bent over with her hands on her knees, gasping for breath. She slowly raised her head until she was staring at Dan. ‘Are you sure?’
He nodded. ‘I think…’
His words were lost in the noise of the explosion. Sarah screamed as the impact blast swept by the narrow alleyway. Dan pulled her close to him and turned his back to the dock, trying to shelter them from the debris and shrapnel as it blew past on a hot wind.
As the roar of the explosion died away, Dan heard a ringing in his ears. It took a few seconds for him to realise it wasn’t tinnitus but a mobile phone. He looked down at Sarah and raised an eyebrow.
She held up her bag. ‘It’s mine.’