“I’m sure I can manage without you both for a few minutes,” said Faith flatly.
“Are you sure?” said Vance.
“I’ll lock the door behind you and I won’t open it until you come back, promise. And if it makes you feel better, we can arrange a password or maybe a special knock.”
“All right, I get the hint,” he smiled. “We won’t be long.”
Faith followed them to the door and locked it behind them when they’d gone. She returned to the kitchen and phoned through the pizza order before opening the bottle of wine. She poured herself a glass and took a long drink, sighing with relief, almost dropping the glass when the fire alarm went off.
“Shit,” she said, putting down the glass.
She ran for the front door but stopped before she reached it when the lights went out and she was plunged into darkness.
As her eyes adjusted to the gloom, Faith ran to the balcony, pulled open the doors and stepped out, shivering against the blast of cold night air. Looking up and down the road she saw only their building was in darkness. The flats either side were still lit up.
“They’re here,” she breathed.
There was nothing out of the ordinary in the car park below, no ominous red fire engine.
Returning inside, she closed the balcony doors and took out her phone to call Vance, tutting when his phone burst into life on the coffee table. She tried Caleb’s phone instead, relieved when he answered.
“Caleb, they’re here,” she said.
“I know but unfortunately we’re stuck in the bloody lift.”
“Oh hell. What’s that noise?” she said when there was a loud clang on the other end.
“Vance trying to open the doors but they’re not budging. You need to get out Faith. The building will be being evacuated. Slip in with the crowd and stay with them. They can’t do anything if you’re surrounded by people.”
“What about you two?”
“We’ll be fine. You’re the leader Faith, you’ll be their main target.”
“Okay, I’m leaving the flat now,” she said, pausing to pull on her jacket, the weight of the extendable baton she kept hidden there reassuring.
Vance’s voice came on the line. “Stay on the phone with us Faith.”
She opened the door and peered out. “The corridor’s full of smoke.”
The last of the neighbours on their floor were just heading down the stairs and she tagged on behind, coughing as the smoke hit the back of her throat. “I’ll get you both help,” she said into the phone.
“Stop worrying about us and get yourself out,” said Vance’s firm voice.
“There’s smoke but I can’t see any fire,” she said as she reached the next level, coughing as the smoke grew thicker.
Vaguely up ahead she could see the woman she’d been walking behind disappear down the next flight of stairs. As she moved to follow, an enormous figure stepped out before her, breathing apparatus over their face, oxygen tank strapped to their back. Despite the swirling smoke and the mask, she could see right into their eyes.
“Ben,” she breathed into the phone. “He’s standing right in front of me.” Her eyes widened. “He’s holding an axe.”
“Run,” Vance bellowed in her ear.
She turned and ran back the way she’d come, the smoke getting into her lungs and stinging her eyes but she didn’t have any heavy equipment strapped to her back, so she pulled ahead of him, managing to stay out of reach.
Faith burst back onto her floor, coughing and spluttering, racing back towards her flat. She stumbled and the phone fell from her hand and she couldn’t see through all the smoke to retrieve it. Glancing over her shoulder, she saw Ben in pursuit. She threw open the door of her flat, slammed it shut and locked it. Blows started to rain down on the other side and she backed away from the door. Ben had an axe, so it wouldn’t take him long to break through.
She was trapped.
CHAPTER 17
“Faith,” Vance yelled into the phone.
“What’s happened?” said Caleb.
“I don’t know, she’s not answering. Christ, I hope they haven’t got her,” he said, frantic with worry.
“Someone’s trying to open the doors,” said Caleb when they heard a thud against the metal.
“Meaning we’re not stuck between two floors,” replied Vance, the phone still pressed to his ear, hoping to hear something from Faith but there was nothing. “It’ll be Ben’s people on the other side, so we need to be prepared.”
The brothers backed away from the doors, readying themselves to fight, Vance handing Caleb back his phone, who shoved it into his jeans pocket. They started to cough, eyes tearing as the smoke began to filter into the lift.
“Should we call Kev and the others?” said Caleb.
“No. They’ll come tearing over here and give these bastards more targets. They’re trying to take us to use as leverage to get the others to give them back the product.”
“But they can’t just drag the three of us out of here against our will.”
“All anyone will see is a group of firefighters pulling three unconscious people out of a smoke-filled building. Who’s going to condemn them for that?”
“Unconscious?”
“They’ll make sure we’re unconscious before they take us outside. Then they can do what they like with us and no one will stop them.”
“Bloody hell. This is insane.”
“Yes it is. Get ready,” Vance told him when there was another loud clang on the other side.
The door was prised open sideways a couple of feet before it refused to go any further.
“Close your eyes,” cried Vance when two small round objects were tossed inside.
Vance could see the burst of light even behind his closed lids. Judging by Caleb’s surprised cry, he hadn’t been fast enough. He opened his eyes in time to see a stocky man burst through the gap
