Chapter 7

Keel awoke around 6.30am after a fairly good night's sleep and he felt alert and ready to continue in his hunt for Sam. He had been really wired when he returned home last night and he half expected he would be up all night, but due to the emotional stress he had suffered due to Sam's disappearance, he had fallen into a deep sleep minutes after getting into bed. He had showered, dressed and was ready to leave when there was a knock at his door. Sighing irritably at the delay to him leaving, he opened the door to find the postman grinning at him.

"Got a package for you, at least I think it's for you only some idiot has got your name wrong!" He handed it over to Chris who looked at the familiar writing on the front. The name was indeed odd, because it had been addressed to Sam Malone, but the writing was definitely Sam's and Keel's heart beat faster as he held onto the plain brown envelope.

"Sign here!" The postman offered his electronic signature machine for Chris to scribble on, before leaving.

Keel almost reverently carried the envelope over to his table and placed it down. He had to be sure it wasn't booby trapped and so carefully inspected it for any signs of a trap. Wearing gloves and taking a sharp blade, he gently slit open the top of the envelope and removed the contents with infinite care. It was a plain yellow file and attached to it was a note written by Sam. Judging by the poor quality of the handwriting, he must have been in one hell of a hurry. He read the words with a knot in his gut.

'Chris, I am sending this to you because there are people after me who must not get it under any circumstances. Keep it safe at all costs and if you can, get it to Gerry Owens, ex MI6, but if not, it is the key to the Morris brother's downfall and must not fall into their hands. I am being pursued by a dark blue BMW, reg OE58 KLN and I have to make sure they don't find this file. Find Gerry Owens and he will explain.'

Keel read the words a few times and muttered under his breath, 'where are you, Sam? Who has you?' He looked again at the envelope and understood what Sam had done. By putting a false name, it wouldn't give Chris's name away if anyone found it. Typical Sam, even in the heat of trouble his thought processes remained calm. Keel gently replaced the contents and hurried out to his car to get the file to Malone.

Sam had not had such a pleasant night's sleep as his partner; in fact he hadn't slept at all and as Jack entered the room Sam barely moved due to exhaustion and cold. He felt the handcuffs being removed and his muscles complained violently, causing him severe pain. He was pulled upright by Burke and Hare (as he had named the other two thugs) as Jack addressed him.

"Good morning, Agent Curtis, I trust you had an uncomfortable night?"

Sam's intense green eyes glared his answer, as he struggled with frustration against the strong arms that held him. Jack smiled patronisingly.

"Good. I wouldn't like you to think of us as animals, so you will be allowed to use the bathroom before we have our chat."

Sam looked at his two minders in turn and quipped, "Animals? The thought hadn't crossed my mind!"

Burke and Hare didn't like his response and so pushed him out of the room and along a corridor, to where there was a toilet. Sam used it gratefully, even though the two thugs remained close by. Sam took in his surroundings as he relieved himself and came to the conclusion it was a deserted hospital. He tried to glance out of the window to try and get a landmark but strong hands grabbed his arms once more and he was marched into a different room. This room had a trolley with restraining straps and Sam had a sinking feeling about their purpose. Sure enough he was thrown onto the trolley, and his wrists and ankles secured. Burke and Hare then left as Jack entered with a box on wheels. Jack wheeled the box up to the trolley and smiled.

"Do you know what this is, Agent Curtis?" He held up electrodes which when touched together sparked noisily.

Sam knew all too well what they were but didn't give Jack the satisfaction of an answer.

"No? I think you do, but I'll tell you anyway. They are used in electric shock treatment, and today you are the patient. I am somewhat well versed in which areas of the body hurt the most, so if I am unhappy with your answers, you'll find out how good I am!"

Sam had to mentally prepare himself for the pain to come because there was no way he would relinquish the whereabouts of the file. Jack came close to the side of the trolley and undid Sam's shirt. The bruises from his broken ribs etched an ugly black mark across his toned torso but this seemed to please Jack.

"Now, Sam. Where is Gerry Owens?" Jack held the electrodes inches from Sam's skin.

Sam answered flatly, "I've told you, I have no idea."

Pain is a strange phenomenon but one thing is certain and that is, if you aggravate an already painful injury it increases the pain tenfold. Jack applied the electrodes directly to the area of the broken ribs and as the voltage surged into him, Sam's body convulsed in agony.

'Don't scream out loud!' Sam's inner voice was urging him. 'Once you scream, you are lost.'

Sam grunted as the strong belts held him firmly in place, but he managed to hold in the scream that threatened to escape his lips.

Jack nodded. "I see, still giving me that lie again!"

Sam's breathing was shallow. "It's the truth. It doesn't matter how many times you use your do it yourself electrician kit, I won't have a better answer!"

"I think you will!" And he again touched the electrodes to Sam's damaged ribs.

More white, searing pain convulsed his body and Jack repeated this cruelty a few times, until he realised Sam had lost consciousness.

Slapping him awake he was not pleased.

"Come on now, Sam! We've only just started!"

Sam blinked himself awake and Jack smiled again.

"Good, glad you're back, now I'll try another question; where is the file?"

Sam closed his eyes as he replied, "I don't know, I don't have any file!"

"Wrong answer!" Jack shouted, and applied the electrodes to the soles of his feet.

This questioning went on for an hour or so and by the end of it, there wasn't a part of Sam's body that hadn't been assaulted. He had lost consciousness again and again and Jack had now become bored. Burke and Hare were ordered to take the unconscious agent into a different room and laying him on a thin mattress on the floor, they handcuffed his one wrist to a radiator before leaving.

Over at CI5, Keel had presented the file to Malone who had sucked in his breath and said nothing. He carefully examined all the contents before thinking quietly to himself. Keel was getting impatient at his superior's lack of input.

"It's definitely from Sam, sir."

"I can see that, Mr Keel." Malone replied in his annoyingly calm voice.

"Well, shouldn't we be doing something?" Keel added impatiently, patience not being one of Chris's strong points.

"Indeed we should, Mr Keel, and when I have sorted out a plan of action I will endeavour to let you know!" He turned to his rather headstrong agent and remembering his attitude was out of concern for his partner, went easy on him.

"All this tells us is that of 5pm yesterday evening, Mr Curtis was still alive. We already know in which direction he was travelling because we found his car and we also knew about Gerry Owens, so tell me, Mr Keel, what is our next move to be?"

Keel miserably shook his head and answered, "I don't know, sir. I just hate standing around whilst Sam is in trouble!"

Malone smiled slightly. "I too am aware of the urgency of the situation, but we must use resources correctly to locate Mr Curtis quickly. I have already put out an alert for Gerry Owens so I suggest you follow up on the progress."

Before Keel could answer, Spencer came to the door and knocked.

"Excuse me, sir, but the Hungarian Ambassador's wife is here and wishes to see you!"

Malone narrowed his eyes.

"Does she indeed? Show her in, Mr Spencer."

Keel went to leave.

"No, Mr Keel, I want you to remain and kindly ask Miss Backus to join us."

Keel did as he was asked and they were all three waiting for Mrs Kantor when she entered the office.

Malone was charm personified as he welcomed her and offered her a seat.

"Good morning, Mrs Kantor. I must admit I am a little surprised to see you here today, but none the less delighted. How may I help you?"

The Ambassador's wife shifted in her chair.

"My daughter and I have been talking and I felt I needed to explain about the other day, when we went missing."

Malone kept smiling. "Please, go on."

Mrs Kantor looked at Keel and Backus and then back to Malone.

"I need you to understand that my husband is a cruel man, Mr Malone. He is friends with some very unpleasant people and he has had many dealings in this country which would land him in jail should they become public. My daughter and I intend to leave him and that is why he engaged CI5 to look after us. It wasn't due to any terrorist threat, he found out I was planning to run. When your agents were employed to follow us, I saw it as an opportunity to practise our escape plan. After all, if we could lose your people, we could lose anybody!"

Malone gave a slight grin. "I take that as a compliment!"

Keel and Backus exchanged looks. Mrs Kantor looked at them earnestly.

"Please forgive us for fooling you like that, we only intended to hide for a while and Aranka is so worried about Mr Curtis taking the blame. I would like you to understand that when we slipped away, we were very careful not to be found and it wasn't Mr Curtis's fault. No one could find us because we were very careful where we hid."

Malone nodded. So Curtis's hunch had been correct. "I appreciate you coming and telling us this, Mrs Kantor, and I will bear in mind what you have just said at Mr Curtis's inquiry."

She smiled as if a weight had been lifted off her shoulders.

"So you will reinstate Mr Curtis?"

Malone took off his glasses and sighed.

"I'm afraid Mr Curtis is missing at this present time. Whilst on suspension he decided to help out a friend and he is now being held by some very unpleasant people and we are trying to locate him."

Mrs Kantor looked horrified. Malone continued.

"I am also now concerned as to your safety, Mrs Kantor. I cannot overlook what you have told me and if your husband is as dangerous as you say, he needs to be stopped."

She shook her head sadly. "He has diplomatic immunity; you will find it impossible to hold him!"

Malone smiled broadly.

"Impossible is not a word we use in CI5, Mrs Kantor! Now, tell me everything from the beginning."

Mrs Kantor spoke quietly and Keel, Backus and Malone listened intently. It would appear that Andres Kantor was indeed a dark horse and some of his connections were dubious to say the least. He was involved with some of the most notorious mobs in London including the Morris's. Malone pressed her on these dealings and found to his utter delight that Kantor had been involved with the Docklands project. Keel grabbed the folder and began to scan the contents and yes, there were letters from Kantor to William Morris and also a telephone transcript of a conversation recorded not long after the fatal collapse.

Malone stood up.

"Mrs Kantor, I need you to listen to me. We will be able to free you and your daughter from your husband and ensure he goes to prison for a very long time, but we will need your help to do it."

She looked at Malone with a mixture of confusion and hope.

"I need you to try and find out where the Morris brothers are holding Mr Curtis and at the same time ensure that your husband incriminates himself."

Mrs Kantor only needed a second to think about it. "I will do what I can to help." She replied.

"What I suggest is that you now go home with Miss Backus and tell your husband you bumped into one another and she kindly gave you a lift home. Mr Keel will also be in the car but will be dropped off out of sight before you get to the embassy and then the two of them can be around should your husband divulge anything of interest. It will mean you wearing a wire so that we can overhear what is being said. Do you have any objections?"

She shook her head. "No. I need to do this for Aranka."

"Very good. Miss Backus will take you now and fit the wire and will brief you on the journey. I want to thank you for your help, Mrs Kantor. You may be Mr Curtis's only hope."

Mrs Kantor nodded and followed Tina out.

Keel turned to his boss. "Do you really think he'll lead us to Sam, sir?"

Malone kept watching the two women as he replied, "I have no idea, Mr Keel, but at this moment in time, it's the only hope we have!"