Brother or Victim

Prologue

Ian looked over the files spread out on his desk. He’d studied each one over and over again for the past few years, searching for something to tell him where he was. Where the heck was he? It’d been so long since he’d last seen him. The heat beating down on the back of his neck through the window behind him, didn’t make Ian feel any calmer. Standing up, Ian started to wander around the room. He had to be somewhere. No one could just disappear. It was physically impossible. He’d searched everywhere where the sly fox could be.

Suddenly the phone rang. Ian paused for a moment before he strode over to the desk and picked it up. “Talk to me.” He said as he went behind the desk and leaned back in his chair.

                “We think we have a lead. You know where to meet and time, right?”

                “Of course. See you then.” He put the phone down and returned to his thoughts. Had they finally got him? He’d waited so long. Ian set about collecting some belongings.

He took his satchel from next to his desk and started to fill it with the equipment needed; phone, files, paper, pens and laptop. The only equipment that he could possible need. He glanced over at the cabinet, where he kept his gun. No, that wouldn’t be necessary for today.

The phone rang gain. This time, Ian froze. Few people knew this number and those who did know it, Ian knew roughly when they would ring. This was unexpected though. Ian took his time as he went over to the desk, sat down and raised the phone to his mouth. “Hello?” He said, restraining his nervous voice.

There was silence on the other end of the line. “Hello my old friend.”

Ian recognised the voice and felt an avalanche of pressure come crashing down on him. He licked his lips and moistened his mouth. Feeling the need to cough, he swallowed silently. “You finally decided to show your face?” Ian said as he leaned back in his chair, trying to sound confident.

                “We should meet up sometime.” The voice said.

Ian refrained himself from losing his temper. The voice was playing with him; it knew that Ian was desperate, but he had to play along with the voice. This was the first contact that he’d had in years. He needed to use it wisely. “You tell me a time and place and I’ll be there.” He said.

To Ian’s dismay, the voice laughed.  “Do you really believe that I would be that foolish to do something like that?”

Ian bit down on his lip. This was his one chance. “You know I would never tell anyone about you, and I still haven’t.”

There was more silence. Ian swore in his head, believing he’d lost him.

                There was a sigh. “You really are a desperate bugger. I’ll phone you another time.” The voice gave in.

Ian paused, with the phone still held to his mouth as the line went dead. He had another chance of putting this right. He couldn’t mess it up again. He put the phone down on the receiver. Everything had to be planned carefully now. No mistakes could be made or this could be all over.

 He breathed deeply as he closed his suitcase. Right now he had an appointment to go to. He picked up the suitcase and walked over to the door. He had to get it right this time. Ian glanced over at the cabinet. No, this need patience not violence. A couple of minutes later, he went over to the cabinet and took the gun out. Its weight boosted Ian’s confidence as he held it in his hand. He put the gun in his inside coat pocket and went over to the door. If his patience couldn’t let last long enough, the gun could always finish the job.

 

George tucked his mobile into his pocket and smiled to himself; the poor bugger was completely in the dark. He looked up at the screen showing the departure for his plane. It was roughly ten minutes till he had to get to the gate. Finishing the last of his coffee, George threw it in the bin and relaxed in his seat.

He looked around the airport. No one paid any particular attention to him; those who did look in his direction, George would give them a friendly smile in return. It wouldn’t matter soon. George rested his hand on his suitcase which was on the seat next to him. He’d almost done it. Just a bit more to go and all this would have been worth it. He allowed his mind to briefly relax. There was just one thing that came before his work. He smiled to himself. He was going to see his daughter soon.