Kane walked back to the car slowly, running everything through in his head. Dreading having to tell Rhys what was going on. He felt helpless. He hated not having control over his life. It drove him crazy to think that Kirsty was in trouble. He wanted to help her more than anything. What was she going thorough at the minute? Did she blame him?
He pulled the door handle and swung the car door open, getting in.
"Well?"
"I'll take you home. I can deal with this myself."
Kane started the car. Rhys gripped the steering wheel, locking in into place. Kane turned the engine off and looks across at Rhys' determined face.
"Tell me what is going on with my daughter!"
Rhys' violent outburst makes Kane jump back slightly in his seat.
Kane didn't know how to explain it. Kirsty had just been caught in the crossfire in one of his family's battles.
"It's a long story"
"Is my daughter in trouble?"
Rhys can hardly contain his anger. Kane's blunt answers only maddened him further. He just wanted to know the truth. All there was to know.
"Yes"
Kane avoids eye contact and stares at the windscreen.
"Then I have the right to know what's going on"
Kane took a deep breath.
"It seems my Dad and my brother did... something a while ago. This guy I met thought I was involved"
"I want the full story Kane. Not a flimsy outline of what's going on"
Kane sat back in his seat, trying his hardest to relax. There was no easy way to describe his family to someone who didn't have a clue.
"It looks like my Dad and Scott murdered my Dad's brother, my uncle - Dennis - about four years ago. Dennis was found at the bottom of a harbour stabbed to death and his killers were never found by the police. Dennis' fiancee, Rose, committed suicide a year later because she never got over it. This guy is her brother and he is out for revenge for both of the deaths"
"So what's it got to do with you - why have they taken Kirsty?"
"It's complicated... Basically, this guy - Troy - thinks that I was involved in the murder with Dad and Scott. He has some flimsy evidence. Anyway, seeing as Dad and Scott are inside he's trying to use me to get to them. Taking Kirsty was just a way of making me do what they want"
Kane tried to monitor Rhy's reaction from the reflection in the windscreen. He was furious, no doubt about that. Rhys was finding it almost impossible to keep his anger under control
"What does he want you to do?"
Kane noticed how strained and forceful Rhys' voice was and Kane was unwilling to put him in a worse mood.
"I have to sponsor Scott for day release and set up a meeting between him and Troy. And he wants to know which prison my Dad's in. I don't have a clue - all I know is that it's on the East Coast and -"
He paused as he saw Rhys' icy expression. He decided not to continue with details of his family.
"Anyway, Troy just wants revenge for his sister."
Rhys contemplated what he had just heard. He hated the guy, but him sacrificing his family was too much.
"Doesn't look like I have a choice."
"Is this man dangerous?"
Kane was fed up of Rhys' prescence. They always managed to wind each other up. They were poles apart. Of course the man was dangerous or Kane would have overpowered him.
"He had a gun. So yeah, I'd say so"
Kane started the engine and pulled out of his parking space. He prepared to drive along the road leading to the caravan park. He had no intention of dragging Rhys into this unnecessarily. As he turned out of the car park a movement in his wing mirror caused him to stop the car and reverse back into the the car park, switching off the headlights. Someone was emerging from the far side of the wharf. It seemed strange that someone else would be around at this time of night. . He was sure it was the same man he had just spoken to. Of course he couldn't be sure. It had been so dark beneath the wharf. But it seemed like a pretty big coincidence. He was wearing the same dark clothes. Black leather jacket. The man walked underneath a streetlight and Kane became even more convinced that he was right about the mans identity.
"What the hell's going on?"
Rhys was wound up enough as it was. He just wanted to find his daughter and now Kane was being irritatingly slow and secretive. Kane nodded in the direction of the figure. He was about 150 yards away next to a car on the roadside.
"That's him... Troy"
"Are you sure?"
"As sure as I can be at this time of night"
The figure was opening the drivers door and getting in. Kane watched as the other car pulled out of the roadside and started the engine again. This time he turned the opposite way when leaving the car park. Away from the caravan park.
"What do you think you're doing?"
"Following him. He might lead us to Kirsty"
"The guy has a gun. We could get ourselves killed. We should just call the police"
Kane sighed. He knew Rhys would be like this. Wanting to bring the police into it. In his experience, the police only made the situation worse.
"And get Kirsty killed?"
Kane kept in pursuit of the other car, following about 100 yards behind. Another car had driven onto the road. At least it didn't make their car so obvious on the usually lonely road.
The car led them out of Summer Bay onto a bendy country road. Kane was convinced that they'd be spotted sooner or later. They were the only two cars on the road now. At least there wasn't a turn off for miles. They had an excuse for travelling in the same direction
"Have you got your phone?"
"In the glove compartment"
Rhys opened it up and pulled out Kane's phone. He dialled out to the caravan park.
CARAVAN PARK
The phone rang and Shelley rushed to answer.
"Hello?"
"Shell, it's me."
"Rhys, what's happened? I thought you'd be home by now."
"So did I. Listen, I'll tell you the details when I get home. Right now, Kirsty's in a bit of bother and we're following a car into the country - Kane thinks it might help us find her."
"What sort of bother? Something to do with Kane?"
Rhys sighs
"Yeah. What did you expect? I've got to go. Give me a few hours."
Shelley was concerned by her husbands tone of voice. He stressed and reluctant to give details which only worried her further.
"Shouldn't we call the police?"
"Not right now, trust me. If I'm not back in a few hours I'll call you."
A short silence. The signal is fading and Shelley struggles to make out what Rhys is saying.
"Right... bye"
"Bye"
Rhys hangs up.
The car in front turns off onto a muddy track and Kane doesn't follow. Instead, he continues several hundred yards up the road before pulling in.
"What are we doing?"
Rhys wished that Kane would tell him what he was doing before he did it instead of making all the decisions himself.
"What was I meant to do? Follow the car down that road? It would make us look a bit obvious. I would put money on it being a dead end"
Kane opened his door and stepped out of the car. He knew this area well. He had lived around summer Bay all his life.
"The building over there"
Kane points in the direction which Troy's car turned off. There is a shadowy building visible through the darkness across the fields.
"What about it?"
Rhys was fed up of Kane's attitude. Why did he have to turn everything into a game? Couldn't he just say something straight off?
"My Dad used to work there. It's an old warehouse. Used to belong to a company called Graylings. The building was used for storage. Graylings went bankrupt a couple of years back. Warehouse was never sold."
"And your point?"
Kane gritted his teeth. He hated Rhys' patronising tone.
"If I'm right the road that Troy followed leads right up to the warehouse and finishes there."
Kane opens the boot of the car and produces a torch
"What are we doing?"
"I don't know about you but I'm going in"
"And if you get caught?"
"That'll be my problem, I'll deal with it... coming?"
Rhys doesn't see that he has much choice. He slams his car door shut and allows Kane to lock it. Kane jumps over the wooden fence into a field.
Rhys couldn't believe he was doing this. Walking around the countryside in the middle of the night to invade a warehouse containing a madman with a gun. He glanced at his watch. Quarter past midnight. He kept thinking that he was doing it for his daughter. He followed Kane over the fence and reluctantly followed him out into the field. Only a couple of days ago Rhys would have been happy to see Kane dead but right now he was glad of the company. At least Kane appeared to know what he was doing, however insane the whole scheme looked.
.............................................
The two men reached the warehouse. Rhys was slightly out of breath after the 400-yard trek over to the warehouse in the pitch dark. Neither of them seemed sure of what their next move should be.
"Where now? How do we get in?"
"How the hell should I know?"
"You said your dad worked here"
"I've only been here once myself. And that was in the middle of the day"
Rhys gritted his teeth. He forced himself to put up with Kane for the sake of finding Kirsty. He was trying his hardest to be civil.
.............................................
Somehow, Kane has succeeded in finding a door. The lock has already been smashed and the whole place is run down. Vandalised. The majority of the high windows are smashed. Kane opens the door cautiously and steps inside. Rhys follows. They enter some kind of large storeroom. High ceilings and dreary walls covered in graffiti. The odd storage crate is lying around, unused for years.
Their footsteps echo around the large room. Once Kane is sure there is no one there he switches the torch on and flashes it around to find a door. He locates several and pushes one open cautiously.
"It's some sort of office"
The small room was empty, but obviously in use. A half full coffee cup sat on the desk, surrounded by stacks of papers and notebooks.
"Stay outside and keep an eye open"
Kane is curious to find out what has been going on. If there's anything he can use against this man. Rhys steps out of the room, fuming that Kane should try and boss him around. Kane flicks through the papers, a mass of names, dates and times that mean nothing. He spots a piece of metal piping and clasps hold of it. It could come in useful. Rhys comes back in.
"Didn't I tell you to wait outside and keep lookout?"
"I don't take orders from you"
Their voices were sharp, but whispered.
"We'd better get out of here - unless you don't want to do that either"
Rhys was about to reply when he heard a click nearby. Kane felt the cold metal barrel of a gun press against his neck.
"What have we here?"
He pulled the door handle and swung the car door open, getting in.
"Well?"
"I'll take you home. I can deal with this myself."
Kane started the car. Rhys gripped the steering wheel, locking in into place. Kane turned the engine off and looks across at Rhys' determined face.
"Tell me what is going on with my daughter!"
Rhys' violent outburst makes Kane jump back slightly in his seat.
Kane didn't know how to explain it. Kirsty had just been caught in the crossfire in one of his family's battles.
"It's a long story"
"Is my daughter in trouble?"
Rhys can hardly contain his anger. Kane's blunt answers only maddened him further. He just wanted to know the truth. All there was to know.
"Yes"
Kane avoids eye contact and stares at the windscreen.
"Then I have the right to know what's going on"
Kane took a deep breath.
"It seems my Dad and my brother did... something a while ago. This guy I met thought I was involved"
"I want the full story Kane. Not a flimsy outline of what's going on"
Kane sat back in his seat, trying his hardest to relax. There was no easy way to describe his family to someone who didn't have a clue.
"It looks like my Dad and Scott murdered my Dad's brother, my uncle - Dennis - about four years ago. Dennis was found at the bottom of a harbour stabbed to death and his killers were never found by the police. Dennis' fiancee, Rose, committed suicide a year later because she never got over it. This guy is her brother and he is out for revenge for both of the deaths"
"So what's it got to do with you - why have they taken Kirsty?"
"It's complicated... Basically, this guy - Troy - thinks that I was involved in the murder with Dad and Scott. He has some flimsy evidence. Anyway, seeing as Dad and Scott are inside he's trying to use me to get to them. Taking Kirsty was just a way of making me do what they want"
Kane tried to monitor Rhy's reaction from the reflection in the windscreen. He was furious, no doubt about that. Rhys was finding it almost impossible to keep his anger under control
"What does he want you to do?"
Kane noticed how strained and forceful Rhys' voice was and Kane was unwilling to put him in a worse mood.
"I have to sponsor Scott for day release and set up a meeting between him and Troy. And he wants to know which prison my Dad's in. I don't have a clue - all I know is that it's on the East Coast and -"
He paused as he saw Rhys' icy expression. He decided not to continue with details of his family.
"Anyway, Troy just wants revenge for his sister."
Rhys contemplated what he had just heard. He hated the guy, but him sacrificing his family was too much.
"Doesn't look like I have a choice."
"Is this man dangerous?"
Kane was fed up of Rhys' prescence. They always managed to wind each other up. They were poles apart. Of course the man was dangerous or Kane would have overpowered him.
"He had a gun. So yeah, I'd say so"
Kane started the engine and pulled out of his parking space. He prepared to drive along the road leading to the caravan park. He had no intention of dragging Rhys into this unnecessarily. As he turned out of the car park a movement in his wing mirror caused him to stop the car and reverse back into the the car park, switching off the headlights. Someone was emerging from the far side of the wharf. It seemed strange that someone else would be around at this time of night. . He was sure it was the same man he had just spoken to. Of course he couldn't be sure. It had been so dark beneath the wharf. But it seemed like a pretty big coincidence. He was wearing the same dark clothes. Black leather jacket. The man walked underneath a streetlight and Kane became even more convinced that he was right about the mans identity.
"What the hell's going on?"
Rhys was wound up enough as it was. He just wanted to find his daughter and now Kane was being irritatingly slow and secretive. Kane nodded in the direction of the figure. He was about 150 yards away next to a car on the roadside.
"That's him... Troy"
"Are you sure?"
"As sure as I can be at this time of night"
The figure was opening the drivers door and getting in. Kane watched as the other car pulled out of the roadside and started the engine again. This time he turned the opposite way when leaving the car park. Away from the caravan park.
"What do you think you're doing?"
"Following him. He might lead us to Kirsty"
"The guy has a gun. We could get ourselves killed. We should just call the police"
Kane sighed. He knew Rhys would be like this. Wanting to bring the police into it. In his experience, the police only made the situation worse.
"And get Kirsty killed?"
Kane kept in pursuit of the other car, following about 100 yards behind. Another car had driven onto the road. At least it didn't make their car so obvious on the usually lonely road.
The car led them out of Summer Bay onto a bendy country road. Kane was convinced that they'd be spotted sooner or later. They were the only two cars on the road now. At least there wasn't a turn off for miles. They had an excuse for travelling in the same direction
"Have you got your phone?"
"In the glove compartment"
Rhys opened it up and pulled out Kane's phone. He dialled out to the caravan park.
CARAVAN PARK
The phone rang and Shelley rushed to answer.
"Hello?"
"Shell, it's me."
"Rhys, what's happened? I thought you'd be home by now."
"So did I. Listen, I'll tell you the details when I get home. Right now, Kirsty's in a bit of bother and we're following a car into the country - Kane thinks it might help us find her."
"What sort of bother? Something to do with Kane?"
Rhys sighs
"Yeah. What did you expect? I've got to go. Give me a few hours."
Shelley was concerned by her husbands tone of voice. He stressed and reluctant to give details which only worried her further.
"Shouldn't we call the police?"
"Not right now, trust me. If I'm not back in a few hours I'll call you."
A short silence. The signal is fading and Shelley struggles to make out what Rhys is saying.
"Right... bye"
"Bye"
Rhys hangs up.
The car in front turns off onto a muddy track and Kane doesn't follow. Instead, he continues several hundred yards up the road before pulling in.
"What are we doing?"
Rhys wished that Kane would tell him what he was doing before he did it instead of making all the decisions himself.
"What was I meant to do? Follow the car down that road? It would make us look a bit obvious. I would put money on it being a dead end"
Kane opened his door and stepped out of the car. He knew this area well. He had lived around summer Bay all his life.
"The building over there"
Kane points in the direction which Troy's car turned off. There is a shadowy building visible through the darkness across the fields.
"What about it?"
Rhys was fed up of Kane's attitude. Why did he have to turn everything into a game? Couldn't he just say something straight off?
"My Dad used to work there. It's an old warehouse. Used to belong to a company called Graylings. The building was used for storage. Graylings went bankrupt a couple of years back. Warehouse was never sold."
"And your point?"
Kane gritted his teeth. He hated Rhys' patronising tone.
"If I'm right the road that Troy followed leads right up to the warehouse and finishes there."
Kane opens the boot of the car and produces a torch
"What are we doing?"
"I don't know about you but I'm going in"
"And if you get caught?"
"That'll be my problem, I'll deal with it... coming?"
Rhys doesn't see that he has much choice. He slams his car door shut and allows Kane to lock it. Kane jumps over the wooden fence into a field.
Rhys couldn't believe he was doing this. Walking around the countryside in the middle of the night to invade a warehouse containing a madman with a gun. He glanced at his watch. Quarter past midnight. He kept thinking that he was doing it for his daughter. He followed Kane over the fence and reluctantly followed him out into the field. Only a couple of days ago Rhys would have been happy to see Kane dead but right now he was glad of the company. At least Kane appeared to know what he was doing, however insane the whole scheme looked.
.............................................
The two men reached the warehouse. Rhys was slightly out of breath after the 400-yard trek over to the warehouse in the pitch dark. Neither of them seemed sure of what their next move should be.
"Where now? How do we get in?"
"How the hell should I know?"
"You said your dad worked here"
"I've only been here once myself. And that was in the middle of the day"
Rhys gritted his teeth. He forced himself to put up with Kane for the sake of finding Kirsty. He was trying his hardest to be civil.
.............................................
Somehow, Kane has succeeded in finding a door. The lock has already been smashed and the whole place is run down. Vandalised. The majority of the high windows are smashed. Kane opens the door cautiously and steps inside. Rhys follows. They enter some kind of large storeroom. High ceilings and dreary walls covered in graffiti. The odd storage crate is lying around, unused for years.
Their footsteps echo around the large room. Once Kane is sure there is no one there he switches the torch on and flashes it around to find a door. He locates several and pushes one open cautiously.
"It's some sort of office"
The small room was empty, but obviously in use. A half full coffee cup sat on the desk, surrounded by stacks of papers and notebooks.
"Stay outside and keep an eye open"
Kane is curious to find out what has been going on. If there's anything he can use against this man. Rhys steps out of the room, fuming that Kane should try and boss him around. Kane flicks through the papers, a mass of names, dates and times that mean nothing. He spots a piece of metal piping and clasps hold of it. It could come in useful. Rhys comes back in.
"Didn't I tell you to wait outside and keep lookout?"
"I don't take orders from you"
Their voices were sharp, but whispered.
"We'd better get out of here - unless you don't want to do that either"
Rhys was about to reply when he heard a click nearby. Kane felt the cold metal barrel of a gun press against his neck.
"What have we here?"
