BLOOD DRAGON by Freddie Peters (books to get back into reading .TXT) 📕

Pole found it interesting that Ollie’s electronic files had been locked so quickly. But perhaps the attempt on his life had spooked the people in charge of keeping the company secure against industrial espionage and cyber-attack.

“I could ask Nikki for a drink or a coffee … see what she has to say.”

“As long as it does not involve doing a Nancy Wu and getting into trouble. And as long as DS Branning is in the vicinity … why not?” Pole sounded more concerned than she had expected. It did not fit the relaxed and self-assured image she had of him. He was the second person to make her swear to be careful with Viro-Tech, perhaps she should listen.

Someone knocked at the door. A small gap opened and Johnny’s head popped in.

“I saw some light underneath the door. Just wanted to check you had not fallen asleep with candles burning around the room as Beth usually does.”

Cora waved him in. He was holding two mugs of chamomile tea.

“And what do you do then? Extinguish the fire hazard by throwing herbal tea over it?”

“I wouldn’t, but Beth might.” He had changed from his work clothes into a brand-new pair of designer jeans and a tight grey T-shirt that showed off his well-exercised trim body. “I saw you talking to the builders when I left this morning … not that we don’t want to have you around. But what did they say?”

“Six months … and I still haven’t been able to access the back of the room.”

Johnny sighed, put both cups down on the bedside table and picked up her hand.

“You tell us if we can do anything to help. Perhaps help you find a new studio or something until you can safely go back in.”

Cora squeezed his hand and grabbed the mug with the other, bringing it to her lips. She blew off the steam and sipped the hot liquid. “Thank you.”

“You’re not thinking about giving up the flat I hope? You’ve been here for as long as we have … and the studio part is ideal. Where else are you going to find high ceilings like these and … and … climb the beams of the flat to rehearse your performance?” Johnny’s arms were waving around, like a windmill.

“Don’t panic … I’m not done yet with it … where else could I find so much space to erect my props and other apparatus?” Cora straightened up when she spoke the last words. Some of the hot beverage spilt over Cora’s hands. She pulled a face and put the mug back onto the bedside table. She disentangled herself from the blanket with difficulty, jumped out of the bed onto the floor in a single leap and stood next to Johnny. “I need to get back to the flat.”

“In the middle of the night … with no electricity and holes in the floorboards … never. I gave my word to Nancy.”

“I just remembered something … something I discussed with Nancy and that we never followed through.”

“And what would that be that requires you charging out all of a sudden? Without mentioning the cops at the bottom of our building, or the fact that you will have to use the old fire exit stairwell …” Johnny had crossed his arms over his chest. The tattoos over his bare skin stretched as his muscles tightened.

“There is something Ollie might have left for me there.”

Johnny’s face switched from doubtful to inquisitive. “You mean like a clue … you mean like evidence?”

“I don’t know, Johnny. I can only find out if I go there and check.”

He rolled his eyes and threw a pair of dark jogging bottoms and the matching top to her. “Well then … I’d like to come with you if you’re going to break your promise to Nancy that fast.”

* * *

The email from his boss had popped into his mailbox just as he was on his way to the airport. Jack ignored it. He was cutting it fine and could always argue reception on the Heathrow Express was not at its best.

Boarding was complete. The crew was going through the usual preparation ritual … the captain made his announcement. … the safety demonstration followed. Jack was glad he had chosen a seat in the Boeing 747 bubble at the top of the aircraft.

It had been a good move. Nancy Wu was sitting only three rows in front of him. She had chosen the window seat and for some reason the place next to hers had remained empty.

The aircraft pushed back from the docking bay and started rolling slowly along the lanes that led to the runway. The seat belt sign came on and within a few minutes they were airborne. The smooth rise of the plane almost made Jack uncomfortable. He had experienced the same discomfort on departure from JFK to London. It was not the usual rough lift of the large army planes he was used to. The man sitting next to Jack changed into the light jogging suit BA provided for its business class customers. He got himself organised, ignoring Jack as he extended the partition that separated the seats to give privacy. He put on a set of headphones and started browsing through the channels provided for entertainment.

Jack sat back in his armchair. He would have preferred to be by a window rather than the aisle but there was enough room for him to read the documents he had scanned without being overlooked. He took out his laptop, pulled out the table from the holder in his armrest, sat the device on it and started logging in.

From the corner of his eye Jack registered the drinks trolley approaching. He chose a cool beer and returned to his laptop. He hadn’t had time to go through the documents that Harris had forwarded from his source. Jack went through the titles of the papers, assessing which documents were the most relevant.