We were in a long, narrow room. The low ceilings were peeling with loose plaster. The floorboards were coated with dust and crisscrossed with footprints. A narrow staircase to our left led up to the next floor at a breakneck angle. A shadowy mountain stood at the far end of the room, reaching up towards the ceiling. As we approached, I saw it was covered with a khaki tarp.
Nick bent over and lifted the tarp to reveal a stack of hundreds of compacted white bricks wrapped in soft plastic. The package closest to me was coated with a fine white powder. I reached my finger out to touch it, then brought it up to my tongue. It tasted foul. I grimaced.
Nick gave me an amused look. ‘Do you even know what cocaine tastes like, Burrowes?’
‘Well, no,’ I admitted.
He grinned and got down on one knee to photograph the giant stack of drugs.
‘Did you hear something?’ said a sharp voice from the floor above us. We both froze. Footsteps echoed overhead and then there was the stomp, stomp of two sets of feet coming down the stairs. Nick grabbed me and pulled me behind the mound, his camera already safe in its case.
‘I’m sure I heard something,’ came the voice again as the footsteps reached the bottom of the stairs. He had a Scottish accent, but it wasn’t Ford.
‘Don’t worry about it.’ It was Grady’s voice, harsh and rasping. ‘It’s probably just a rat.’
There was a tense moment of silence as they listened for further noise. I didn’t dare breathe. Then the door to the alley opened and a shaft of light speared into the warehouse, ending right in front of my feet.
‘So what’s going to happen with Chris?’ asked the first man, obviously resuming a previous conversation.
I got my dictaphone out of my pocket and pressed the record button.
‘I’m taking care of it,’ Grady said.
‘It’s a shame that it’s come to this,’ said the other man. ‘It would’ve been good to get him on board.’
‘I thought he was for a while there,’ Grady said. ‘He agreed to get involved in the distribution side of things. But then one of the boys saw him going into a hotel with that woman who’s been following him around. We should’ve taken care of her in Paris—the boss has spoken to her and tried to throw her off the trail, but she already knows about this place, and it’s only a matter of time before she finds it. She’s obviously not who she says she is. We’ll have to do something about her too.’
Nick and I exchanged glances. I’d spoken to the boss?
‘What are you going to do?’ The Scottish man’s voice held a tinge of guilt, perhaps even regret.
‘What do you think I’m gonna do? The boss can’t make this go away, so Ford has to go and so does—’
The electronic tone of my phone bounced off the walls and reverberated around the room as I fumbled desperately for it, but it was too late.
‘What the fuck?’
It was Grady’s voice, and then their footsteps were running towards where we were hidden. There was nowhere to go. They were on us before we could move.
‘Well, lookie here,’ drawled Grady, slowing to a walk. An unfriendly smile split his face. ‘Speak of the devil and she will appear.’
Now that I could see the other guy from the front, I realised it was Angus Bright. Grady had murder in his eyes. Bright looked shifty and nervous. My stomach contracted with fear. ‘Please—’
‘Please,’ Grady mimicked. ‘What are you doing here? This is no place for a lady.’
I clenched my jaw. ‘I’m not a lady.’ I burst forward and tried to run past them. Nick mobilised beside me, but Bright darted in front of us.
We were about to run the other way when Grady stepped forward. He was holding a gun, and it was pointing right at my chest. I stopped abruptly. Nick took my hand in his.
‘You’re not going anywhere, kids.’ Grady walked towards us. ‘In fact, you’ve given me the perfect opportunity to kill two—or should I say three—birds with one stone. Up the stairs, both of you.’
He gestured with the gun in the direction of the staircase. Nick and I crossed in front of him, our hands still clasped.
‘Isn’t that cute?’ Grady chuckled. ‘They’re holding hands. I guess pretty boy here’s not a fag after all. Think we should give them some time alone before we kill them?’
‘You’re going to kill them?’ Bright sounded anxious now.
We’d almost reached the staircase when Nick surged forward, pulling me with him, and rushed through the open door. Grady swore as Nick kicked the door closed with a crash.
‘Run!’ He let go of my hand and bolted off up the street. I sprinted after him. Nick ducked into an alley, but as I followed, my dictaphone slipped out of my pocket and clattered to the ground. I skidded to a stop. I couldn’t just leave it there. It contained everything: the backstory, all the evidence.
I started back towards where it lay. The sound of a gunshot rang out and a chunk of dark brick flew away from the corner of the building beside me. My heart exploded with fear.
Nick looked back. ‘What are you doing? Come on!’
I hesitated no longer, but took off after him again. He drew ahead of me and I forced my legs to move faster. The running footsteps resumed behind us as Grady and Bright gave chase. The sound of my heart pounding filled my head.
Nick darted down random streets, left and right. The effort to keep up with him was almost more than my body could handle. He looked back over his shoulder at me, then grabbed my hand again. We kept running.
Just when I thought I couldn’t possibly go another step, the footsteps behind us grew fainter, then stopped altogether.
