Kasem nodded towards the bodyguards. They killed the lights and now just the full moon and the firelight illuminated the meeting. The woman and her children edged away and hid around the side of the house. Saw’s men moved stealthily around in the shadows until they surrounded the newcomers. The four bodyguards formed a ring around Kasem and his son. One of them held a 9mm Sterling sub machine gun, the others semiautomatics. Their weapons shone in the firelight.

‘I have brought the westerners. We have a deal. Now the land is mine.’

‘Let me see them.’

Saw signalled to Handsome to fetch the five. Handsome cut the ties around their feet and pulled them up by their bound wrists. He dragged them over and made them stand in front of Kasem and Tai. Kasem looked them over one by one and Tai stood nodding and grinning as he stared at the girls. He tried to kiss Silke. She squirmed out of his reach. Tai stepped back, laughing.

‘Please excuse my son,’ said Kasem. ‘He is short of company up here in the mountains. But…’ He turned to Saw. ‘The deal has changed. We take the girls in exchange for a shipment of opium. That is all.’

Saw’s eyes were bright and menacing as he answered.

‘You take them all. You give me the land; I can grow my own opium.’

Kasem shrugged. ‘Take it or leave it. The buyers I had lined up for them are no longer interested. They can’t afford to hold on to them until things quieten down. They are not worth anything to me any more. I will take the girls and do you the favour of shooting the boys.’ Tai nodded in agreement with his father as he grinned at Silke and grabbed at her breasts. Jake looked around. He could still see the knife, its blade just visible behind the cooking pot. He looked back to Saw and the discussions going on. He did not understand their words but he sensed trouble in the air. Saw’s men were becoming jittery. There was movement in the shadows.

Kasem’s bodyguards edged forward.

‘The girls will provide a few weeks’ sport for my men, nothing more. Then I will kill them.’ Kasem turned his head left and right. He too knew the signs.

‘No deal.’ Saw looked across at Handsome. Toad was nowhere to be seen.

‘Then you’ve wasted your journey. That is all I can offer you.’ Kasem held up his hand in a gesture of dismissal and turned back towards the car, anxious to leave.

‘Let’s go,’ he said to Tai.

But Tai was used to getting what he wanted and he didn’t understand why they didn’t just take the girls. He hadn’t the experience of his father. He didn’t know how to judge the situation and he didn’t know Saw. Instead, he glared at his father. Kasem glared back and his tone changed even though he maintained his frozen grin. He edged backwards towards the jeep.

‘Get back in the car.’ There was an understated urgency in it that Tai didn’t pick up on until he saw that the bodyguard with the Sterling was waiting for him to get safely out of the way before he opened fire.

But he waited too long. He never had a chance to hone his intuition skills, Toad had already stabbed him in the back and through the heart.

28

Mann was waiting at the airport when he got the text from Alfie to tell him about the burglary. Mann was about to phone him back, but he decided to call his mother first. He took a deep breath.

‘I understand that you must feel bitter about things.’

Mann waited on the other end of the line. There was no response.

‘Maybe that’s why you haven’t used the money Deming left you. But I want you to use it now. I want you to give me the money to put up a ransom.’ He could hear the silence and an intake of breath. He waited; she wouldn’t be rushed.

Then, ‘Yes,’ came the answer, strong, decisive. It was as if Mann had offered her some way to move on and to forgive.

‘I’ll see you when I get back, Mum.’

‘Take care of yourself, son.’

Mann phoned Alfie. He filled him in on the burglary.

‘How is Magda?’

‘She is mad, that’s a good thing.’

‘Do you think they got what they wanted, Alfie?’

‘I don’t know.’

‘We can’t afford to wait and see. Let’s make it interesting. Contact Katrien and say you have a chance of getting hold of two million US to put up for their safe return.’

‘Yeah, but we haven’t.’

‘Yes, you have. My mother has put up the money from Deming’s estate. But don’t let’s give it to her on a plate. She has to prove to us she can deliver. I’m still going out there.’

There was a pause; Mann could hear Alfie dragging on a joint. ‘Good. That is a good thing she does. Please thank her from us.’

‘It’s the right thing, Alfie—for everyone. Two million should prove tempting for anyone. Plus it’s enough to make someone careless. Katrien would cut herself into a slice of that, and she’d come out of it looking really good. Now we get to see what kind of a negotiator she really is.’

‘Oh, I already know what kind of negotiator she is. It takes a lot to afford this girl. She does deals with high-earning businessmen. Check this out—the Bitch is either a highly-paid call girl, or a dealer, or both.’

‘Who are her clients?’

‘I am in the process of trying to tap into her emails. She has contacts far afield, they cross many countries. Put it this way, I’ve seen the video footage—she doesn’t have boundaries.’

29

Jake grabbed the knife from behind the cooking pot and the five ran for the cover of the poppy fields, frantic to get away as the fight turned into a bloodbath and automatic gunfire rattled above their heads, leaving their trace in the night sky just metres away. They used the knife to cut their bonds and then they crawled on their hands and knees across the dried stony earth of the poppy field and headed towards the track at the far side. They crouched in the cover of the poppies.

‘We have to run for it,’ Jake whispered as the gunfire stopped. ‘Head diagonally across to the track and into the woods at the other side. We might have a chance in the dark. Thomas, you go the other side of Lucas, we’ll run together. Anna, hold Silke’s hand. Stay together. Ready?’ They all nodded. ‘GO!’

Lucas staggered to his feet and under the shadow of darkness they galloped and smashed through the poppy heads. Jake looked behind them. He could see the jeeps coming, their headlights searching across the field, heading straight towards them. In the darkness he dropped the knife.

‘Keep running,’ he shouted. The darkness made it impossible to see where the poppy field ended. The yelps and howls of Saw’s men went up around the field. Then, ahead, Jake saw the trees rising black and blocking out the stars.

‘We’re nearly there! Quick!’ They ran on.

The forest was half cleared at its edges: sawn trunks and discarded branches tripped them as they ran. They could hear the sound of Saw’s men howling to each other and the jeeps’ engines chewing up the poppy field. Jake looked across—for a second he couldn’t see Silke, and then he saw Anna helping her up. She had fallen.

‘Run, run…’ Jake shouted across to the girls. Silke looked behind and gave a small cry of fear. Weasel was within ten metres of them. His long legs were flying over the fallen trunks and the sawn stumps, his head held high like a cheetah, intent on its prey.

‘Thomas, take Lucas,’ said Jake. Thomas held on to Lucas. Jake turned back to the girls and he picked up a thick branch. The girls ran past him and he didn’t wait for Weasel to get to him—he sprang at him as he was running full pelt and smashed the wood in to Weasel’s skull. Weasel staggered under the blow and crashed noisily to the ground. Jake threw down the piece of wood and turned to catch up the others but he was blinded by car headlights. The others were on their knees, guns to their heads. Saw was standing over them, laughing. The next thing Jake saw was a flash of light that accompanied the sharp pain in the side of his head as Weasel knocked him out.