“What happens to the girls?” Kronid asks.
“Once we’ve split the money, Chris and I will take the girls to a remote place and leave them tied up. Then we’ll wait an hour and phone their parents so they can collect them. So everyone’s happy.”
Dragos picks himself up and despite the beating, he grins. He knows something his partner Kronid doesn’t. It will be difficult to keep it to himself but he just needs to bide his time a little bit longer.
The trio goes back inside.
The fight is forgotten, for now.
Daniel has heard their plan. Maybe trying to rescue the girls on his own is too dangerous.
The men are stronger than he thought. The girls could get hurt if there is a scuffle.
He’s not a fighter by nature. Perhaps it would be better to involve the police after all.
When the girls find out he has been the one to call the police and rescue them then he will get a chance to meet them and they will still be grateful.
So he will call the police and let them know the basic details of what is going to happen. Then tomorrow at four o’clock he will ring again and tell them where the girls are being held.
All he needs now is to buy a pay-as-you-go phone so they can’t trace who he is. He knows a shop where they sell such phones. It is only a ten-minute drive away.
Daniel sits in the hire car round the corner from the shop where he purchased the mobile phone.
He dials 999.
“Emergency, which service do you require?”
“The police.”
“Hello, Trentbridge Police.”
“I need to speak with someone regarding the kidnapping of the two girls.”
“I’m sorry sir, which two girls?”
Daniel remembers. There hasn’t been anything about the kidnapping on TV or in the newspapers. Even the police seem unaware of what is happening.
“Can I speak with a detective please?”
After two minutes, Daniel is about to give up when a voice comes on the line.
“Hello sir, my name is Detective Inspector Eden Gold. You mentioned something to my colleague about a kidnapping.”
“I know two girls have been kidnapped from the airport and I know where they are. I will phone you tomorrow at four o’clock. Be ready to send people to rescue them and you will find the men responsible.”
“Where are they being held, sir?”
“Somewhere in Trentbridge.”
“Can you give me your name, sir?”
But Daniel has hung up. He has watched the TV shows where the police are able to trace a phone call. He dares not risk them finding him, yet. He turns off the phone so the police cannot trace his location.
Daniel reminds himself to call the car hire company tomorrow morning and book the car for an extra day. He doesn’t have to be at work again until 8pm on Monday.
He’s bought some bottled water, snacks and a couple of sandwiches. He’s also bought some extra supplies, in case his plans change and he needs to rescue the girls himself. Now he is heading back to the old telephone exchange to check up on the girls.
Looking down from the first floor, he can see the twins. They are lying on their beds. They look so beautiful.
It’s almost midnight. Daniel has been watching all day to make sure the girls are safe. Everything is quiet. It looks like the two men have settled down for the night. Daniel doesn’t think anything else will happen until tomorrow.
He takes one last look through the window at the girls.
“Don’t worry. Daniel is here. It won’t be long now and you’ll be safe.”
He’s ready to call the police tomorrow at four o’clock. But maybe he might get a chance to rescue the girls before then.
So perhaps best to prepare, just in case.
After all, his hero Ethan Hunt always has a plan ‘B’ in the movies.
Chapter Fifty-One
It’s past midnight when Daniel leaves the old telephone exchange building. He has work to do. First, he heads to the old furniture store on Mitcham’s Corner. He drives round to the driveway and parks the car. He takes the supplies he’s purchased and let’s himself into the basement and puts the supplies in the kitchen.
He checks to make sure everything is tidy, especially the bedroom where the girls might stay. Once he's satisfied everything is good, he locks the doors and gets into his hire car. Daniel heads home to his bedsit.
He decides it could be a long day. It’s 3am. He needs to grab a few hours of sleep. He sets his alarm for seven.
Four hours later, he awakes feeling refreshed.
The bathroom at his bedsit is shared with two other people but he knows they don’t use it before eight.
A long hot shower and he washes his hair, cleans his teeth and puts on some smart clothes. He cleans his shoes and makes sure he smells nice with his Lynx deodorant. He needs to make himself look presentable. Cereal and toast for breakfast.
Daniel has some gifts he’s bought. He decides he needs to wrap them up before he gives them to the girls. He doesn’t have time now. He’ll leave them in his bedsit to collect later.
He jumps in the hire car and turns on the radio to his favourite local station.
The record fades out.
“And that was Echo Beach by Martha and the Muffins. Now to get us off to a cheerful start on this sunny Monday morning, let’s see what is in the news.”
“The main story is someone has thrown a milkshake at Nigel Farage while he was out campaigning for the Brexit Party.”
It brings a smile to Daniel’s face. But not as much as the follow-up story.
“Grieving Game of Thrones fans can pay £40-an-hour to speak to a counsellor about the show’s ending. What are your thoughts about that? Let’s have your calls or send me a text or engage with me on Twitter. In the meantime let’s listen to Shake It Off by Taylor Swift.
On his way, Daniel pops into a mini-supermarket and buys bottled
