NATIONAL TREASURE by Barry Faulkner (the best electronic book reader .txt) 📕

entrance to the main tunnel we’d come out of. Janie’s absence had been noted. We’d made it, but only just.

‘Shit!’

‘What?’ There was a note of fear in Janie’s voice.

‘They know you’re out.’

I clicked my mic on.

‘Gold?’

‘I’m listening.’

I knew she would be. ‘We are on a metro train.’ I looked up at the metro map stuck on the wall. ‘Just left Izvor station, the next on the map is Timpuri Noi. Can you meet us there?’

‘Hang on, I’ll take a look on my mobile.’

There was a ten second pause.

‘Yes, got it, I’m not far. I’ll pull up as near as I can opposite the station entrance – traffic’s busy so wait if I’m not there before you.’

‘Okay, and by the way, they know Janie’s gone so take care.’

‘Will do.’

Click.

Janie looked up at me from the floor. ‘Are you going to tell me what all this is about now?’

‘No, not now – we have other things to concentrate on. At the next station my partner will be meeting us there with a car. When the train pulls into the station, we separate and get in amongst the crowd and make our way up to the street. I’ll be behind you, but don’t look round – merge in. When you get to the street, cross it and wait there – get in a shop doorway if you can, and wait. She’s in a black Range Rover, one lady driver all in black. Understand?’

She nodded. ‘Yes.’

We were already slowing down as the train pulled into Timpuri Noi. It was thankfully a busy station. I waited until half those leaving the train were off and those getting on were squeezing past into the carriages, and then opened the guard door and we left. I followed Janie along the platform, dodging between the people and then off it onto the up escalator. I stayed a good ten metres behind; I had it in my mind that the goons at Izvor station would see the tunnel door from their club to the line was open and guess we must have taken a train. Then it was guesswork; would we stay on board to the end of the line, or get off before that? They wouldn’t have enough immediate manpower to send people to all the stations, and in any case we might change lines at one, so I took a guess they’d be on their way to Timpuri Noi. I just hoped we’d get out before they arrived.

We didn’t; Janie did. We got across the station entrance hall and into the street amongst the crowds; she darted through the bumper-to-bumper traffic to the far side of the road and into a dark shop doorway, well-hidden by passing pedestrians. I stayed the station side of the road watching for Bogdan’s men and Gold. I hoped she would arrive first and we could be on our way. She didn’t; they did. I saw them leave a large BMW CRV that pulled into the kerb and stopped fifty metres up the road, which was as close as it could get to a parking space. Four goons – no disguising what they were – got out and jostled and bumped people out of their way as they made towards the station. I stood back out of sight against a side wall of the station foyer and knelt down, appearing to fiddle with my right bootlaces as I slipped my knife out of its ankle sheath.

The first two passed me hurrying into the station hall; the other two stood on the kerb looking around. I slipped into the crowd leaving the hall again and onto the street, edging over towards the goons who were more concerned with checking the travellers coming off the escalator than those in the street. When I was near enough I stepped quickly between them from behind and stabbed both their thighs, quickly and with force. They sank to the pavement screaming in pain as I bent low and ran away through the traffic and across the road. The crowd panicked and started running in all directions, which suited me. I nodded to Janie to follow me and we merged into the fleeing horde along the pavement away from the scene.

Gold came on the comms. ‘What’s happening, there’s a riot or something at the station?’

‘Two down, but there’s another two at the station. Drive past, we are further along the road.’

I pulled Janie into a doorway and looked back towards the station; the traffic was moving past us slowly, with drivers trying to rubberneck what was happening, horns blaring at the people running between the cars, and in the distance sirens began wailing. I knelt and slipped my knife back into its sheath and spied Gold in the Range Rover ten cars back, making her way slowly towards us. I pulled Janie into a shop doorway.

‘See the black Range Rover about ten cars back?’

‘Yes.’

‘That’s ours. When it gets level, walk out slowly and get in the back.’

‘Okay.’

She did exactly that. Gold nodded to me from the driver’s seat. I clicked on my comms. ‘I’m going to ride shotgun for a while.’

‘Okay.’

The car moved away in the slow traffic, I backed into the shop doorway and waited, watching the road back to the station. It wasn’t long before I saw what I was expecting. The other two goons plus two more were hurrying along the road, two either side of the traffic queue checking the cars for us. They probably would know what Janie looks like, but they wouldn’t know me so surprise was on my side. I checked on Gold’s progress; traffic was still slow but she was a good hundred metres away up the road.

Turning away from the crowd I pulled out the gun and slipped the safety off before holding it in my pocket. The