I put the pan down beside the bed and dragged him round by his shoulders so his head hung over the edge. I jumped onto his chest. He tried to fight me but with his arms behind him he was fucked. I reached across and picked up the pan. ‘Put the towel over his face. Hold it firmly either side.’
She hesitated.
‘Anna, we have to crack on. No one has ever lasted more than a minute with this. That’s the way it works.’
She placed the towel over his face but wasn’t really holding it.
‘It’s got to be tight. We want to find her, don’t we? This won’t kill him. It’ll just … give him some motivation.’
She wasn’t at all happy with it, but pulled down either side on the towel. He tried to writhe from side to side. I gripped his face with my left hand under his jaw. ‘Pull harder, for fuck’s sake!’ The towel tautened and became almost like a strap around his head.
I started to pour, making sure the water fell evenly and constantly over his nose and mouth. It wasn’t long before he was gagging. The reflex was automatic. There was nothing he could do to stop it.
‘Anna, hold it tight.’ I controlled him with my weight. ‘Hold it, keep it there!’
The gurgling and choking continued under the material. He couldn’t breathe. His body went ballistic, kicking out, trying to buck free of me. He thrust out his elbows in a frantic attempt to pull free of the handcuffs. He was probably ripping his own skin. I certainly had when it had been done to me.
I motioned for Anna to lift the towel. I peeled back the pillowcase far enough to expose his nose and mouth. He coughed up a mixture of water and alcohol-rich vomit.
I gripped his head with both hands and nodded at the pan. ‘Go and fill it up. Hurry…’
Slobo couldn’t see anything because the pillowcase was still over his eyes. His chest heaved up and down for oxygen. His brain couldn’t work out that he was getting all he needed. Waterboarding is guaranteed to get the victim telling everything he knows, and even some things he doesn’t - anything to keep breathing. Physically, it’s like being trapped under a wave, but that’s fuck-all compared to the psychological hell. Your brain screams at you that you’re drowning, that you’re going to die.
Anna returned with the water. ‘Get ready with that towel again.’ I pulled the pillowcase back over his mouth and took the pan from her.
He’d be telling himself to keep calm. But he’d know that he couldn’t. He’d already had one taste of this. The second was going to terrorize him.
I started pouring. His body jerked like he was being Tasered. Then, suddenly, as if someone had thrown a switch, his strength ebbed. He had nothing left to fight with. He knew that death was just seconds away. He’d given up.
I let Anna take the towel off and pulled up the pillowcase. He puked water and bile.
‘Ask him where the fuck she is.’
Anna bent closer to his ear, still talking slowly and gently. His chest heaved beneath me.
I could make out the word ‘Lilian’ again, and then something like ‘Christmas’ or ‘Christine’.
It was just starting to get interesting when there was a thunderous crash at the door.
I looked up. Another of those and it was going to part company with its frame.
19
I rolled off Slobo’s supine body. ‘Anna! The bathroom! Go in the bathroom!’ Anything to keep her out of the line of sight of whoever was about to bomb-burst into the room.
She dived over Slobo and scrambled across to the other side of the bed.
I rolled onto the floor and jammed the web of my right hand onto the butt of Lena’s revolver in the waistband of my jeans.
Two crew-cut monsters exploded through the door, pistols drawn down, heads swivelling, trying to work out what to do next.
I sucked in my stomach, wrapped my thumb and three fingers round the grip of the revolver and pulled it out.
The boy to my left turned and brought his weapon into the aim. My eyes didn’t move. My hand came up and his face blurred as my foresight became pin sharp. I squeezed the trigger as hard as I could to overcome the double action of the hammer. The round kicked off.
The other one dropped to a semi-squat as the back of his mate’s head splattered against the grey wall behind him. He started firing. I had no idea what at.
Where was Anna?
I focused on my foresight once more. The hammer was back in the full-cock position. He brought his weapon round. It completely obscured his face. It didn’t matter. I pulled my trigger and he went down.
‘Anna! Anna!’
She piled through the bathroom door as I got up.
Slobo was writhing on the bed. He’d taken some rounds. Our second uninvited guest must have seen the Desert Eagle within his reach and decided not to take any chances.
Anna looked at the two bodies. ‘The BMW?’
‘Tarasov’s guys. The car was at the factory.’
Anna looked at Slobo. ‘Oh, God …’
His chest was still heaving, but not enough to keep him alive.
‘Do you know where she is?’
‘Yes.’
The noise from the corridor was even louder now. TVs had been cranked up to full volume so Slobo’s neighbours could say they hadn’t heard a thing.
‘Did you get her new name?’
‘No.’
‘She must have one. The photos - they’ve got to be passport photos.’
His eyes rolled. ‘Tell him we want her new name. Tell him he’s not in good shape, but I can save him if he gives us the name.’
I eased his head up to help him speak. This time, Anna didn’t fuck around. Slobo was definitely on his last legs. We needed the answer fast.
‘Tell him I can save him—’
‘Sure, Nick, I’ll tell him you’re Florence Nightingale. Now shut up.’ Her earlier tone had disappeared completely. She was giving Slobo the good news with both barrels.
He slurred a few words. Saliva dribbled from his mouth. His head went limp and his eyes stayed open.
‘Did you get it?’
She nodded.
I let him go.
I stepped over the bodies and checked down the corridor. There was nothing that would slow us down.
I came back and looked her in the eye. ‘Take a breath. Are you ready?’
She nodded.
‘Good.’ I gestured towards the first one I’d dropped. ‘Check him for car keys.’ I frisked the other guy’s long leather coat and came up with the Beamer’s.
We headed out into the corridor, the weapon still in my hand in case we had a drama. We ran down the stairs and out into the street. I pointed Anna to the right and I headed left, eyes peeled for a glint of blue.
She called out to me.
I turned to see her pointing at a vehicle that I couldn’t see. Too many others were in the way.
I ran towards her, hitting the key fob until lights began to flash. ‘You drive.’ I threw her the keys. ‘Lena’s.
