Gods and Monsters

VI

Mr Smith's Safe House - Iver, Buckinghamshire

Pulling up on the gravel outside of the safe house, Mike stepped out of his car and walked towards Charlie. "What's this all about, mate?" he began, his voice clearly tired after being brought out in the early hours of the morning. "I thought we were done for the night?"

Charlie explained the call from Peggy in more detail as the pair walked into the safe house. The two were greeted by an associate of Mr Smith's while she was out of the country on business. "Gentlemen," the young man said, his blue suit neatly pressed and his blonde hair even neater, "My name is Mr Jones. Mr Smith apologises for her absence but I can assure you that the child has been secured. Anything you need me to do just let me know."

"Thanks," Charlie said, "Friends of mine, Scarlett and Peggy, should be arriving shortly. If you can keep an eye out for them while we check on the kid that'd be great."

Mr Jones waited by the door, nodding as Charlie and Mike headed upstairs.

The safe house was spread across three stories with the Purple Vice child on the top floor, as far away from the only entrance to the building as possible. As Mike and Charlie entered the room on the top floor, they saw the child sat on the floor, a colourful array of crayons scattered around him while he drew something out of sight.

Despite never having any kids of his own, Mike always felt he would have made a good father. Kneeling down next to the kid, Mike looked over his shoulder to see what he was drawing. "Hey. What you got there, champ?"

The child still didn't speak, but turned around and smiled at Mike, recognising him from the pub. Handing the picture to Mike, the detective looked it over with a large grin on his face. The child had drawn a picture of the safe house, surrounded in luscious green grass, and in the centre, a stick figure with long orange hair.

"Is that meant to be Detective Parker?" Mike asked the child who responded with an even bigger grin and an eager nod. "I think she'd love it!" He went to pass the drawing back to the child, but was refused. Realising what the child wanted, Mike nodded, "I'll make sure she gets this when she arrives."

A few minutes passed by with Charlie and Mike remaining upstairs with the child. On the ground floor, Mr Jones stared intently out at the gravelled path when he saw two black SUV's pull up outside the safe house. "Mr Quinn. Mr Rigby. I believe your friends have arrived." Jones didn't receive a response, believing that the two gentleman were likely out of earshot. Mr Jones stepped out of the safe house, his blonde hair getting damp as he stepped towards the first car, but the door shot open while he was still halfway across the driveway.

Instead of either Scarlett or Peggy stepping out, a tall balding man with a thick handlebar moustache placed his feet on the cold gravel. "Charlie Quinn?" the man asked, his voice deep and harsh.

Confused as to who this gentleman was, Mr Jones took a moment to respond. "No, I'm Mr Jones. May I ask who you -"

His sentence was cut off by a bullet tearing through his head. Mr Jones fell limply onto the driveway before the man with the handlebar moustache casually stepped out of his car and over the blue suited man who had been in front of him seconds before. "Oh Charlie!" He called. "I don't believe we've had the pleasure. My name is Trevor Hanks and we have a mutual friend in Eugene McDonald."

Charlie and Mike had been staring out of the top floor window since they had heard the gunshot and now watched as Trevor strolled back and forth outside the house. Fortunately all the windows were reinforced and with only one entrance, Charlie and Mike had the higher ground. However, with only one entrance, it meant they only had one exit.

"Now I'm not an unfair man," Trevor continued, "If you give us the boy now we'll let you go with at least seven of your fingers. If not, well, I'm more than happy to come in and take him."

Mike looked over at the child who was now sat on his bed, a worried look plastered across his face. "You brought a pistol, right?" he asked Charlie.

"Well technically it's a revolver but -"

"Did you or did you not?"

"Of course I did," Charlie said as he produced the Colt Python from his jacket pocket.

Mike smirked, "Well, one bloke shouldn't be too much trouble for you then."

Trevor began calling for Charlie again leading the pair to look back out the window and down at the driveway. "Oh, and if you try any funny business," Trevor waved his hand leading to the other doors of both his SUV and the one behind to open up. A further nine men, all heavily armed and protected by military-grade body armour, now stood alongside Trevor as he finished his sentence, "Well, that would be a very bad idea. Tick tock, Charlie. You have two minutes to get the boy out here." 

Continued in Part 7...

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