Hidden In Plain Sight.
Chapter Sixteen.
"You sure this is right, honey?" asked Dempsey as he swung the car into the lane that led to Steele's house.
Harry tut-tutted loudly, glaring at him through the darkness of the car's interior as she folded up the map she'd been studiously poring over in her lap, before clipping the navigator style mini spotlight, its chromium plated flexible hose glinting in the gloom, back onto its cradle attached to the dashboard.
"Yes Dempsey! I do know how to read a map you know!" she retorted, pointing a finger at the windscreen. "It's about half a mile further."
Dempsey said nothing, but slowed down and cruised along the lane until the main gates of the house were suddenly picked up by the car's headlamps. He continued by and motored down the lane to get their bearings.
Harry stiffened suddenly as Raif's car was lit up by the Cosworth's powerful beams, the Jaguar parked with it's nearside wheels up on the grass verge.
"There's Raif's car!" she exclaimed.
"Yeah." agreed Dempsey, as they passed slowly by it. "An' for an ex-spy he ain't exactly tryin' ta be invisible, is he? He knows we gonna be in his tracks pretty darn quick."
"Yes but he doesn't care anymore, Dempsey." replied Harry. "All he can think about is killing Scheel and hang the consequences!"
"Dumbass's gonna get his head blowed off." murmured Dempsey.
"Find somewhere to park." instructed Harry. "Dumbass or not, Raif's probably spotted a way in over this wall surrounding Steele's house. And I'll bet it's not far from his car."
Dempsey did a three point turn in the road and drove back to the Jaguar, parking up on the verge in front of it.
"No place like the present, sugar." he said, as a heavy sigh exited Harry's mouth.
"What!?" he continued, raising his eyebrows at her. "You gotta beef 'bout leavin' the wheels here?"
"It might be seen." she replied.
"By who!? The horse's ass we're after's in 'nere!" exclaimed Dempsey pointing towards the house. "Sheesh honey, you wanna dust offa some of them cobwebs from ya eyes. Give that sharp brain a yours a sweep clean? You been outta the game too long, tiger. Come on Makepeace! Get a grip, why doncha!"
Harry glared at him. He hadn't called her Makepeace since their professional relationship had morphed into a deeply loving one. It had been years!
Suddenly it was 1984 again.
"Well, don't just sit there then, Dempsey!" she hissed. "Get going!"
They both leapt from the car, Dempsey grinning, Harry scowling at him and together, they began to search for a way over the wall and into the grounds.
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Meanwhile, Raif's tunnel vision had blocked his ears to the sounds of the two dogs, now unleashed, their barks becoming frantic as they picked up his scent and charged off after it.
"Where in the hell them frickin' hounds goin'!" queried one of the guards to his partner, as the dogs disappeared into the darkness. "You see anyone?"
"Not a bloody thing." came the reply. "Probably a rabbit or summat. But we'd better get after 'em anyway, otherwise it'll be his 'Lordship' chewin' chunks off of us for not keepin' 'em quiet, 'stead of them dogs chewin' a rat to bits!"
They set off after the Rottweilers, quickly breaking into a run as they heard the dogs' barks mutate into growls and snarls followed by high pitched screams that could only emanate from a human throat.
Suddenly a gun went off.
"Shit me!" panted one of the guards. "They bloody got someone!"
"Yeah an' he's armed!" said the other as they both drew their own revolvers from their shoulder holsters and sprinted forward. When they reached the porticoed entrance it was mayhem.
A man, dressed all in black, was sprawled on the ground, his legs and arms flailing in an attempt to stave off the vicious assaults from the two attack dogs, their teeth bared as they snapped and bit at any limb in range.
Raif had fired a shot into the air in a vain attempt to frighten the dogs into backing away. It had worked momentarily, but now they were back at him and he knew it was only a matter of a few more seconds before he would be totally overwhelmed.
At that point the front door opened.
Christopher Steele stood there and gazed down casually at Raif as he was about to be torn to pieces. Amongst Raif's desperate efforts to kick them off him, one of the dogs spotted an opening to his throat. As it went for its target, Steele reacted.
"STAY!" he bellowed.
The dogs halted their attack immediately and stood stock still, their mouths slavering, their eyes fixed on Raif, their teeth still bared and gutteral growls bubbling from deep within their shaking bodies and legs.
"Sorry boss" said one of the guards. "They just took off the second we unleas..."
"Shut up!" snarled Steele, glaring at them, his cold blue eyes freezing them on the spot. Looking down at Raif he continued. "You! Drop that gun and get up!"
Raif staggered to his feet, painfully, his clothes shredded, cuts bleeding from his arms, thighs and calfs where the dogs had bitten into his flesh. His semi-automatic Balester-Moliner clattered to the ground.
"Bring him inside." ordered Steele and, as a guard grabbed one arm, the other picked up the revolver, then gripped Raif's other arm and marched him into the house.
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The three ex-commando's, upon hearing the gunshot ring out into the still, night air, dropped to the ground immediately, Spud Murphy grabbing Dave's shoulder and pulling him down with him. They exchanged glances as they crouched in the field bordering Steel's land, their own revolvers locked, loaded and fitted with silencers.
"What the hell...!?" exclaimed Cutter.
"Keep yer eyes peeled lads." said Spud. "This ain't gonna as simple as we thought. Target could've got assets of his own. Good job we've come prepared."
"Assets?" queried Dave.
"Yeah, bodyguards. And dogs too." replied Spud, standing up cautiously and scanning the area for flashlights or movement. "Cutter and me 'ave got tranquilizer guns with us which'll sort those dogs out. Come on, looks quiet enough now."
"Can't understand why the whole place isn't flooded in security lights." queried Dave, as they moved forward again. "You'd think Steele would've got camera's and spotlamps covering a place like this."
"Yeah, strange." agreed Spud. "Can't worry 'bout the why's and wherefore's now though. Maybe we just struck lucky or somethin'."
As it happens, they had struck lucky that night. The house did boast a wealth of security features. But when one spotlamp detected Raif running towards the front door, it shorted out, bringing the rest of the security circuit down with it. However, there was an emergency back-up system installed, but Steele was too focussed on finding out who Raif was and why he was there, to query why it hadn't activated.
The four men continued trudging through the field until they reached the perimeter of land surrounding the house, a high, brick built wall standing around eight feet tall blocking their way.
"Okay, now let's see what's on the other side." whispered Spud. "Cutter!"
Cutter knew what to do.
He formed his hands into a cup, Spud placing one booted foot into it and as Cutter lifted him, he grabbed the top of the wall and hauled himself up, pausing when his eyes cleared the summit and sweeping the area before him. All was still quiet with no sign of the guards or their dogs.
"Right." he whispered, looking down at the three faces staring up at him. "Looks clear to me. I'll drop down the other side of this wall. Cutter, you help Danny up. You know the drill."
Dave looked bewildered, this was all new to him.
"What about me?" he asked.
"Spud's gonna wait just the other side and once Danny's over he'll stand on Spud's shoulders." explained Cutter. "You cup yer 'ands like I did and I'll climb to the top. When I get there, I'll hang back down and grab yer 'ands an' pull yer up. Okay? Got that?"
"Okay Got it. I think." replied Dave. "Just don't bloody drop me!"
"Listen, Danny'll be holdin' me ankles, so don't ya go worryin' 'bout bein' dropped!" sniggered Cutter. "We've all done this a thousand times, mate!"
They completed this procedure, the whole operation going off like clockwork and soon all four were hidden in the undergrowth, planning their next move.
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Dempsey and Harry had heard the gunshot too, along with the howling and snarling from the two Rotweillers. They'd found the same gap Raif had used and, employing the same technique as the ex-commando's, Harry being the one to cup her hands, while Dempsey hauled her up to join him on the top of the wall, they sat still for a moment.
"Did you hear that!?" whispered Harry urgently. "Don't tell me Raif's shot Steele already!"
"Who's ta say it was Raif's gun that's just gone off!" replied Dempsey. "An' who's ta say he ain't being eaten alive by those mutts either."
"Oh my God!" said Harry, imagining all manner of horrific scenarios.
"An' how in the hell did Raif get over this goddamn wall by himself?" questioned Dempsey. "It's gotta be, what? eight, nine feet tall!?"
"Let's hope he's still alive to tell us!" exclaimed Harry. "Come on Dempsey, he might be in real trouble now! "
They jumped into the same patch of undergrowth previously occupied by Raif and scanned the same expanse of manicured lawns, realising, as Raif had done, that they'd have to keep to the perimeter so as not to be spotted.
"You think Steele has security camera's and lights?" whispered Harry, her eyes searching the house for any sign of them.
"Must 'ave" replied Dempsey. "But there was no lights while all that shootin' and howlin' was goin' on, was there."
"No, that's true. Maybe he hasn't then?" she said, her eyebrows raised in question.
"Dunno Makepeace." replied Dempsey.
"That's the second time tonight you've called me Makepeace."
"Yeah, I know." said Dempsey. "Get's ya focussed on bein' in the front line again, don' it? I might love ya like hell, but you're my workin' partner right now."
Harry smiled to herself. Where would she be without him. Married to the love of her life, mother to a beautiful, precious daughter and being out of active service for so long had softened her up too much.
Dempsey knew it and he knew she knew it too. He was the only one who could galvanise and motivate her back to being the sharp, formidable agent that had set her apart from all the others in SI-10, along with him, of course!
They were about to begin working out a way to get closer to the house, when Harry's acute hearing made her grab Dempsey's arm.
"What's up!?" he whispered.
"I thought I heard something - over in those trees to our right." she whispered back. "Just hang on here a moment. Let me listen again."
They remained rooted to the spot, both straining their ears for any unusual sounds. The air was absolutely still, any earlier breeze having disappeared, so even the stealthiest of movement would be betrayed.
And then they saw them.
Four men sprinting at full speed across the edges of the lawn, reaching the house and backing themselves up against it, guns drawn close against their chests and pointing skyward.
"Holy mother!" exclaimed Dempsey in a fervent whisper. "Who in the hell are those guys!?"
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Raif was trying hard to hold himself together. He'd been stripped to his underwear and strapped into a chair in the vast kitchen.
"Are you alone?" questioned Steele.
Raif nodded. "Yes I'm alone. No-one knows I'm here." he lied, suspecting that Dempsey and Harry would have worked out where he'd gone and why by now. All he could do was endure what might be coming next and hope the other two would arrive before he succumbed.
Steele studied him for a moment, then turned to the two guards.
"Let those dogs loose in the grounds and come back in here." he ordered. "And be quick about it!"
"Ye..Yes boss!" they both replied and dragged the two panting Rottweilers away, whose tongues were still hanging out, both dogs's eyes still transfixed on Raif.
"What's your name?" asked Steele, after the others had left.
"Ralph Fitzallan."
"Never heard of you." snapped Steele. "What are you doing here?"
"I came to kill you." said Raif, staring back into Steele's ice blue eyes, a shiver passing through him as he imagined those same eyes gleaming while his Helen was being brutalised.
He wasn't going to hold anything back - what was the point? He knew his time had come. He'd probably die tonight. He couldn't see how Dempsey or Harry would get past those dogs and guards in time enough to save him.
"You came to kill me?" chuckled Steele, moving up closer and staring down at him. The back of his right hand suddenly whipped across Raif's mouth, followed swiftly by another across his cheek with his palm in the opposite direction.
Raif saw stars and everything went white for a moment. Blood began to trickle from his split lip.
"Now then, Mister Fitzallan." said Steele, matter of factly. "Why would you want to kill me for heavens sake?"
"You brutally tortured my fiance, that's why!" said Raif quietly, his eyes blazing into Steele's. "You and your disgusting henchmen raped and abused her. Then you went to work on her with your instruments before despatching her to Ravensbruk where she eventually died of mistreatment and starvation. You're a disgusting piece of filth!"
At that point the two guards returned and stood still, watching and listening.
"So, you're talking about the war!" exclaimed Steele. "Well my friend, all's fair in love and war, wouldn't you say? And we all have to do what we can to win the love of a woman or a fight with an enemy. Hmmm?"
"You wouldn't know the first thing about fighting an enemy." replied Raif. "The only enemy you ever fought were those strapped down in front of you, helpless, whilst you inflicted as much pain on them as your sick mind could muster."
"You really shouldn't persist in being rude to me, Mr Fitzallan." hissed Steele. "You're in no position, now, are you."
"I don't give a shit!" replied Raif. "You took the only thing I ever treasured from me, used her like a piece of meat and ensured she died in the most painful way imaginable. Your day will come and you'll rot in hell."
"Oh, the matters of the heart." sighed Steele, followed by a few tut-tuts. "You really shouldn't let things get to you so much, Mr Fitzallan. And may I remind you, I am a British citizen and a successful businessman, with connections in the highest of places."
"You're Oberst-Gruppenfuhrer-SS, Kurt Scheel." said Raif. "One of the Gestapo's more mentally challenged monkeys. And I have the proof."
Steele visibly stiffened, ignoring any insult, focussing rather on the last statement.
"What proof!?" he snarled.
Raif could see, instantly, that he had him on the back foot and pressed home his advantage.
"You're a sadist, a bully and a snivelling coward." he said. "And it won't be long before a warrant for your arrest will be issued. You'll be indicted for war crimes and spend the rest of your miserable life behind bars. Probably amongst a bunch of bull queers who'll relish bending you over, given that they'll be told why you're in there with them. They'll mostly be British, you see. Who knows, maybe a relative of theirs died at your hands. You'll have a whale of a time in there, Scheel. So you just go ahead, do your worst to me. As I've said, I don't give a shit."
"Who else knows?" demanded Steele and, again, asked. "What proof do you have?"
"Oh, I don't think I'm obliged to tell you any of that, Herr Scheel!"
Steele glanced at the cuts on his arms and legs. "Are those painful? I have something for them."
Raif glared at him, remaining still.
Steele walked over to a cupboard at head height and took a condiment of salt from it.
Turning to his two guards he instructed. "You two, hold him still!"