Red Notice

79

Tom kept parallel with Colin and watched as he passed the shrink-wrapped cases of water along the three occupied carriages. Some passengers made sure the kids and the elderly got a drink first. Others just grabbed the nearest bottle and gulped it down. It made Tom gulp too: he could have done with a couple of those things. The one person he wanted to see drinking was Delphine and he still couldn’t find her: neither pushed up against the glass nor anywhere inside, beyond the human shields.

His iPhone vibrated in his pocket. He pulled it out. The sender ID was Delphine, and the text message read:

where r u?

Tom moved into cover beneath the carriage, hiding the illuminated screen inside his jacket, and tapped a response.

close

He didn’t have to wait long.

come get me coach 2 i’m scared

He texted back.

sit tight be there soon

The iPhone vibrated again almost at once.

come get me. I can run to the blown up door — meet there — tell me when you are at door and we can run

Delphine watched, horrified, as her iPhone beeped again.

Laszlo smiled as he read the incoming message.

stand by — may take time

He replied, then signalled his gunmen to position themselves by the door. They crawled quietly and purposefully along the passageway. Delphine heard a series of faint metallic clicks as they took their positions and flicked off their safety catches.

no — now — tell me when at door — only chance want go home

There was no response for a moment, then:

which home?

Laszlo knelt down beside Delphine and yanked her head back. ‘Where is home?’

Delphine muttered through tight lips.

He let go of her hair and let her head fall back.

He tapped in her response.

England

Her heart sank even further as she heard another beep. She waited, ready to scream a warning. Laszlo looked down and read the message, then cursed and threw the iPhone to the floor. It skittered towards her. When it stopped spinning, Delphine could just read the message it contained:

harm her — u die slowly

Laszlo raised his hand and motioned to his men. Then he kicked out at Delphine. She took the force of his boot between her shoulder-blades and curled into a ball of pain.

The gunmen burst out of the carriage and whipped around, shining torches into the darkness, tracking the beams with their weapons. Two of them even climbed up onto the roof of the train.

‘Well?’ Laszlo called to them.

‘Nothing,’ came the reply.

He grabbed Delphine by the hair and dragged her violently towards the window. They could see little beyond the pool of light in the immediate area of the window but still he kept looking. She knew Tom was starting to get to him. She also knew Laszlo would not give up easily. And that, from now on, he would make absolutely sure he had control of her all the time. That way, Tom would come to him.

Delphine’s scream of pain carried into the dark reaches of the tunnel, where Tom lay in hiding as the torchlight slashed its way wildly across the walls.

As the gunmen got back into the train, empty-handed, he was already moving back towards the three occupied carriages, knowing full well that Laszlo would prepare for his return, and that Delphine was the bait. Knowing that he no longer held his trump card: the element of surprise. And knowing that an even bigger set of problems would be rocking up the tunnel any minute, and they’d all be dressed in black.