Dying For LA by Ian Jones (top fiction books of all time .txt) 📕

standing open marked ‘Detention’ and down a set of stone steps he hadn’t noticed when they came in. At the bottom was a steel gate which Louisa unlocked, and they went into a square room with nothing than a desk, a blackboard on the wall with a list of numbers and a pair of locked gates set in the opposite side from where they entered.

‘Right,’ said the corporal. ‘Jacket and shoes off please.’

Reluctantly Keane did as he was asked. Louisa checked both shoes carefully and went through the jacket, producing Keane’s wallet and badge along with a notebook, cigarettes, spare clip for his gun and a pager.

‘Empty your pockets on the desk please, and your watch,’ the corporal asked.

‘Wait …’ Keane began, but Reed pushed him across.

The corporal stood looking at him.

‘If you don’t do what he says, I’ll just hold you upside down and shake all the crap you’re carrying out,’ Reed said mildly.

Keane sighed, and slowly took everything out of his pockets. Loose change, keys, a lighter, then removed his watch. The corporal placed everything into a plastic bag and folded the jacket neatly, placing the shoes and the bag on top. Then he expertly patted Keane down.

‘Clear,’ he said, stepping back.

Reed looked over at the blackboard, which was empty other than one to six written down on the left.

‘Good job we didn’t get rid of this down here,’ he commented.

‘Yeah,’ replied the corporal, who walked over and wrote ‘*Keane R* – Captain Reed’ next to the number five.

There was a buzz and a beep as the pager went off, a red light now flashing. John looked at it through the plastic bag and Reed made a note of the number that was displayed.

‘It’ll be a burner, but I’ll ask Judy to check it anyway,’ John said.

Louisa opened the left side gate and the corporal pushed Keane through into a short, wide corridor with cells on either side. Simple design, just thick bars running from floor to ceiling. All identical. A gate on the left. Bunk with two beds against the back wall, toilet with a low partition at the side in the corner.

‘No fucking way. I been real patient here. But this bullshit, it ends now. Gimme my phone I’ve had enough of this shit, I got work to do,’ Keane countered, standing stock still in the centre, looking around at everyone.

‘Corporal,’ Reed said in reply, and the corporal opened the gate set in cell number five, which was the last one down on the right. He stood patiently, holding it open. Reed pushed Keane hard, and he staggered forward and John shoved him into the cell. The corporal slammed the gate closed and locked it. Immediately Keane started banging on the bars and shouting to be let out.

‘Let’s go,’ Reed said, and they filed out, through the outer room and up the stairs, Louisa locking all the gates as they passed through.

Once back in the lobby Reed produced the sheet of paper he had been given by the gate sergeant and asked John to complete a couple of details and sign at the bottom. It was an application for a temporary pass. John did so and Reed disappeared into the office.

Louisa directed John to some seats at the side, then Reed emerged with a laminated pass on a lanyard and placed it reverentially over John’s head.

‘Ok. Let’s leave him to blow off steam, he ain’t bothering nobody down there anyhow, and he can shout as loud as he wants but nobody gonna hear him. We don’t never use those cells much, normally only the ones on this floor that are a lot newer. Come on, let’s go get some lunch,’ Reed said and the three of them left the building.

Chapter Twenty-Nine

Incredibly Yann Voorhees had made it all the way up the stairs to the top floor. To the sheer amazement of everyone who was there he was now standing on the narrow footbridge that spanned the yard, forlornly scanning the area with binoculars. Sal, Rico, Rolf and Greg were watching him with interest to one side.

Below them they could see Pinsky stalking around the expanse, looking in the warehouses and talking animatedly on his mobile phone.

Voorhees stood up straight and put down the binoculars on the railing.

‘I do not like this. I do not like this at all,’ he said ominously.

‘What’s up Yann?’ asked Sal.

Voorhees produced his mobile from somewhere within the folds of his gown and looked closely at it.

‘It’s too quiet. This phone was always ringing. Always I was being told to this, or that, or asked questions. But ever since he got here,’ he nodded down at Pinsky, ‘now I don’t hear nothing at all. Nobody is calling, nobody.’

‘What does that mean? And what were you looking at with the binoculars?’ Rico asked.

Voorhees fixed him with an icy stare.

‘I’m checking the perimeter, what do you think? I’m waiting instructions but not one person has rung me. Nothing at all. Yesterday I was told everything would soon be in place, but not a word today. And I got a feeling something is not right, and I’m wondering why. Since he got here it is all him. Something must be happening.’

He looked down at Pinsky again.

‘Coincidence? I don’t think so.’

He looked at Rolf and Greg.

‘You arrived here with him. He say anything to you?’

The two men shook their heads

‘No. I got a call when we were on the way, telling us we had to meet him. So we did, he was waiting for us. But we don’t know him, and he never said nothing, just that we had to get over here,’ Greg replied.

Voorhees nodded.

‘Yeah, basically I got the same call. I’m not happy.’

He looked at them, frowning.

‘Hey you guys don’t have any other cellphones, do you?’

Again, the two men shook their heads. They had switched them off and given them to Yann as soon as they first arrived, it was expected as far as they knew.

‘Good, that’s good, we had some problems with that