“Si, patron,” Carlos’ voice came over the speaker.
“Traer el coche aqui.” He slithered on his belly in the direction of the hut, closely followed by Hackett.
When Carlos turned the ignition key, the capacitor began climbing towards its full charge. He had pulled the car away from its hiding place when a spark from the capacitor ignited the gas at the top of the can of lighter fuel and a blue flame snaked through the boot. Carlos heard the light thud in the rear of the car as he drove towards their base beside the hut. He saw his patron squatting directly in front of the hut and drove directly for him.
Safardi watched the approach of the BMW. Kane was but a flea on the backside of the world. He nodded to Hackett. “Time to go.”
“I’m going nowhere. I came for Kane and when I get him, I’ll go.”
“We’ve got the drugs. You’ll get another shot at Kane.”
“You do what you want. I’m not leaving here with Kane alive.” Hackett squirmed around the side of the hut.
There was an inferno inside the boot of the car as the fire sucked up all the available oxygen creating a partial vacuum which began siphoning petroleum gas through the hole which Kane had cut in the tank.
“Let’s go.” Safardi jumped into the passenger seat as soon as Carlos brought the BMW to a stop. “Let’s get the hell out of here.”
Carlos nodded and moved the car forward when a ball of intense heat shot from the rear and the fuel tank exploded. By the time the explosion came, Safardi and Carlos were already enshrouded in sheets of flame. The air was filled with overpowering heat. Safardi tried to breathe but the conflagration had sucked all the oxygen in the car and he inhaled pure fire burning his lungs to a crisp. He turned and saw Carlos slumped in the driver’s seat, the hair on the top of his head burning like a Christmas candle. There was a whoosh of flame and Safardi screamed noiselessly as his body was incinerated.
Kane heard the explosion and knew that his surprise package had worked. He wondered whether any of Safardi’s men had been caught by the blaze. It was better to assume that they hadn’t. So as far as he was concerned, there were still four men to be taken care of before Morweena and he were safe. He worked his way towards the lagoon and quietly slipped into the warm waters.
Ignacio was working his way along the edge of the lagoon circling the position where they had last seen the shooter. He heard the explosion in the distance and wondered what could have caused it. The explosion was followed by shouting and screaming. Perhaps their enemy was already dead. The thought made Ignacio unhappy. He had already decided that he would be the one to kill the shooter and obtain his boss’s grateful thanks. The man should by rights be already dead had Pedro not gone into the clearing against him. The Colombian had been a fearsome character among Safardi’s guards who were themselves no angels. If the man had managed to kill Pedro, anything was possible. Ignacio continued his circling manoeuvre sticking as close as possible to the edge of the lagoon. The tall grass would hide him from the view of anyone near the clearing. As he ended his circle and began to move towards the centre of the glade, the water behind him erupted and he whirled in time for a sea monster to plant a knife up to the hilt between the sixth and seventh ribs and then up into his heart. The stricken man tried to scream but his assailant’s left hand was clamped firmly around his mouth. His feet thrashed at the water as the light began to fade from his eyes and his dark red life’s blood oozed from his heart and into the blue waters of the lagoon.
“Que pasa, Ignacio?” the voice of Gonzalo was soft and sibilant.
Kane let Ignacio’s inert body slide downwards and slip into the still water of the lagoon. He stepped out of the water and slipped in behind a thick copse of cork oak which shot out horizontally two feet above the ground.
Gonzalo padded softly towards the area where he had heard the noise in the water. He brushed aside the bushes which barred his path letting them slide back gently. Loud shouts came from the area of the birdwatcher’s hut and Gonzalo wondered if the fight was over. As he turned to listen, a strong hand clamped his mouth and he could feel the cold steel of a knife against his throat.
“Drop the Uzi,” Kane ordered, increasing the pressure on the blade against the man’s throat.
Gonzalo did not understand the words but he understood the increase in pressure of the knife. The hunt was over and the prey had won. He let his Uzi fall to the ground where it quickly lost itself in the thick foliage.
Kane removed a Glock 17 from a holster at Gonzalo’s side. He crashed the gun into the back of his head before removing the knife from his throat. Gonzalo slipped from his grasp.
Morweena still lay stretched on the ground in the glade.
“You can get up now,” Kane said softly.
Morweena stood. Kane was dripping wet, his clothes sticking to his muscular torso. “Is it over?” she asked.
“There might still be some of them about,” he said, putting his arm around her shoulder.
“What was the explosion?”
“I left a present for Safardi in the trunk of the car. Somehow, I had the feeling that we wouldn’t get out of this so easily. I prepared for that eventuality.”
“How very professional of you.” She shivered involuntarily in his arms.
The faint sound of sirens could be heard in the distance.
Kane looked at his watch. The second hand wasn’t moving; a consequence of the dip in the lagoon. “What time is it?”
“I don’t know, why?”
“If you listen very carefully, you can hear
