Collusion

97

The Traveller crossed the room to the wheelchair and set it upright, kicked the brake to lock the wheels. He crouched down by O’Kane and got his hands under the old man’s arms. Christ, he was heavy, frail and wasted as he was. The Traveller got O’Kane to the chair, hoisted him up and into the seat.

‘Go finish him,’ the Bull said between gasps of air, sweat thick on his face, spit hanging from his lip.

‘I’m getting you out of here first,’ the Traveller said. ‘There’s a fire in the cellar. Won’t be long till it spreads up here.’

O’Kane grabbed the Traveller’s arm. ‘I’m not going anywhere till Fegan’s dead.’ Spit prickled the Traveller’s cheek. ‘Now for Christ’s sake do what I tell you and go and get the fucker.’

The Traveller pulled his arm away and grabbed the handles at the back of the chair. He released the brake and pushed it towards the door, but O’Kane twisted in the seat and swung a big fist at him.

‘I told you to go after Fegan, for Christ’s sake, now do it or I’ll fucking kill you.’ O’Kane’s eyes brimmed. ‘I can look after myself. There’s a lift out there. I can get out if I need to. Just do what I paid you for.’

‘Jesus.’ The Traveller let go of the chair and stepped back. ‘All right, you mad old bastard, whatever you want.’

A high wailing cut the air as the smoke alarms kicked in.

‘The fire’s spreading,’ the Traveller said. ‘If I can’t get back to you, then you’re on your own.’

The Bull breathed deep, seemed to gather himself. He wiped his forearm across his mouth and eyes. ‘Don’t worry about me,’ he said. ‘Just worry about Fegan. He’ll probably go after the woman and the kid. Go to them, then he’ll come to you.’

The Traveller drew his Glock and left the Bull in the recreation room. He headed for the old servants’ quarters at the other end of the building, using his teeth to pull at the tape that secured the strapping on his wrist. The bandage peeled away. He flexed his fingers. It triggered a spasm in his wrist, but the pain was better than the restriction when he had to fight.

Black motes floated in the hazed air as he walked along the gallery, his Glock held out ahead of him. That same air seemed to disappear for a second or two, long enough for the Traveller to feel it pull at his lungs. The floor shuddered beneath his feet, and he felt rather than heard the pressure of the blast somewhere below. He fell to his knees as the door he’d closed just a few minutes ago was blown across the entrance hall. He rolled away from a wave of heat that rose up from below and flooded over him.

The walls reflected shifting and flickering oranges and reds, and smoke leaked up between the banisters. Heat prickled his throat and chest and stung his eyes.

‘Fuck me,’ the Traveller whispered as he clambered to his feet and got moving, aiming for the door at the far end of the hallway. Beyond it lay a small staircase that led to a series of tiny hallways and rooms that would once have housed maids and valets. He took his time, mindful of the shadows. He stopped halfway to blow a mixture of snot and soot out of his nose onto the carpet. He pictured the layout of the rooms beyond the door, recalling what he’d seen of them as he carried the woman up the stairs to Orla’s room, the girl following, clinging to her mother’s loose hand. There was a fire escape at the outer wall. If he could get Fegan, then fine. If he could get back to O’Kane, then all right, he would. If he could do neither, then to hell with Bull O’Kane and his money, he’d get the fuck out and leave them to burn like the cop in the cellar.

A thin dark blanket crept along the ceiling above him and the air grew hotter. The Traveller quickened his pace until he reached the door to the servants’ quarters. He tested the brass doorknob for heat like he’d seen on television. It was cool. He took a breath, coughed, and threw the door open.

A wall of heat and black smoke knocked him to the floor. He landed on his back, blind and choking. The Glock had slipped from his fingers. He rolled onto his belly and felt the floor around him, seeking out the comfort of cold metal. He blinked hard, and his vision returned in a watery haze, but not enough to make out the pistol. His fingers brushed something solid as they swept along the floor, and he swung his hand back to find nothing. Had he knocked it away? No, he couldn’t have, he’d hardly touched it.

‘Fucking bast—’

Hard hands seized his collar, hauled him to his feet, and spun him around. He blinked again and again, trying to clear his eyes, until the stony ridges of a face came into focus, a face streaked red and black.

‘Where are they?’ Gerry Fegan said.