Wednesday, January 4th, 2017
Cockburn Hall
Northumberland, England
Approximately 25-miles north of Newcastle, deep in the English countryside, and less than a mile from the North Sea, the 118-year-old Cockburn Hall sat amidst green fields which stretched as far as the eye could see.
In one of the bedrooms, a thirteen-year-old girl opened her eyes. As was normal for any person awaking for the first time somewhere new, confusion reigned. For a few seconds, panic began to build before the previous night's events began to filter through the girl's mind. She sat up in the capacious bed as memories of the flight across the North Atlantic Ocean in a giant aircraft, flooded into her mind. She could barely remember the landing at Prestwick Airport in Scotland, let alone the hour spent in a helicopter. She could just about remember being taken inside a house and up to a bedroom. The girl figured that she must have been on autopilot when she undressed the previous night as she noticed that she was just wearing her knickers and bra. After a few more moments, the girl realised that she needed to wee. Opposite the bed, there appeared to be a door, so she jumped out of bed and took three paces to the door which was partially open. She peered through and discovered that it was, indeed, a bathroom. With relief, she pushed her knickers to the ground and she sat down on a comfortable wooden toilet seat and began to empty her bladder.
Considering where she had been, less than a month before, Lily O'Brien considered that her life appeared to be moving in the right direction, for a change.
..._...
After finishing, wiping, and washing her hands, Lily returned to the bedroom.
Though she had only been in the bathroom two minutes, her freshly-laundered clothes which rather disturbingly had been missing before were now laid out neatly on the bed along with a brand-new set of bra and knickers – they were even the correct size; she had checked. On the floor were her trainers which had been cleaned and looked like they were brand new. There were also two fluffy pink towels, a fluffy pink towelling robe, and a pair of pink fluffy slippers. Lily raised an eyebrow at the pink fluffiness which somebody had assumed she would like – actually, she loved them!
Lily scooped up the pink fluffy items and she returned to the bathroom where she turned on the shower that hung over the bath. Hot water flooded out, quickly filling the bathroom with steam. An extractor fan chewed away attempting to remove the steam as Lily pulled off her bra and knickers before climbing into the bath and under the stream of hot water.
"Ahhh!" she exclaimed as she felt the hot water pounding her skin.
On a small shelf, Lily found some expensive shampoo, conditioner, and liquid soap. With relief, she shampooed and conditioned her hair before moving onto her body with the liquid soap. After fifteen minutes she began to feel a lot more human. When she decided that she was thoroughly waterlogged, Lily shut off the shower and she wrapped herself in a fluffy pink towel, using the other for her hair.
The fluffy pink towelling robe and slippers followed before Lily left the steamy bathroom.
..._...
After a brief search, she discovered all of her own clothing neatly folded and placed into drawers – her holdall was also folded and had been slid beneath the drawers, out of sight.
Once dressed in warm clothing – it was a little nippy, despite the wall-mounted radiator which was hot to the touch – Lily hesitantly opened the only other door in the room and she found herself in a corridor. Ahead was a dead end with a door off to the left. To the right, she had the door to a lift, and to the left, she had an amazing view out over a two-storey reception hall with a sweeping staircase. Above, the daylight streamed through a large rectangular dome. She walked around the landing, passing another closed door on her right and then she found a long corridor heading away from her with doors to the right and left and straight ahead at the end of the corridor. Lily chose to follow the landing around and she passed another closed door before reaching a door to her right which was partially open on the opposite corner to her bedroom. Her Predator curiosity overcame her attempt at being well-behaved and she peered inside the room.
She smiled as she saw Isaac fast asleep on a single bed in the corner. The boy appeared to be very tired but otherwise content. Lily peered into the next bedroom with a partially open door and she found Mackenzie lying on her back fast asleep. Lily was very pleased that the two kids were safe and that they were close by. She chose not to wake the youngsters – especially not Isaac as she wanted peace and quiet for a little longer. It wasn't that the five-year-old was noisy – actually, it was – but he tended to be a little obnoxious and downright annoying at times. Basically, Lily considered, he was a boy!
Lily crept away from the two sleeping kids and she made her way to the staircase.
..._...
Lily set foot on the green carpet trimmed with a pale strip of white embossed with flowers.
The wooden bannister was a dark oak supported by balustrades of a cream gloss-painted wood. There were six steps down to a small sub-landing where the staircase turned to the left, then seven more steps led down to the next sub-landing where the opposite identical set of stairs joined. Then there were eleven steps descending to the ground floor. At the bottom of the stairs, Lily set foot onto a herringbone parquet floor of highly-polished light oak. That was when the smell hit her.
"Oh, wow," she muttered. "That's bacon . . . and sausages."
The sound was also there – the crackling of frying food.
"Good morning, Lily!"
A grinning face appeared from the direction of the appetizing sounds of cooking.
"Morning, Hillary!"
Mackenzie Morley awoke to sunshine peeking around the edges of the curtains.
She counted three windows, two ahead of her, and a third to her right. She sat up and found herself in a large double bed. A brief check showed that she was wearing nothing but her knickers. Over in a corner of the bedroom, there was a large leather sofa, and laid out on that sofa were her clothes from the previous day, all neatly pressed and clean. Beside them, two fluffy purple towels sat along with a fluffy purple towelling robe and a pair of fluffy purple slippers, each of which bore a purple bow. Her mind drifted a bit as she remembered the flight across the Atlantic Ocean followed by a ride in a helicopter. A lot of the journey had left a very vague impression on her tired mind, but she could remember enough. Despite the radiators on the walls pushing out heat, the temperature in the room felt a little nippy on her bare skin. Tentatively, Mackenzie swung her long legs out from under the warm duvet and she placed her feet down onto the soft beige carpet. Four paces later, she entered the biggest and most amazing bathroom that she had ever seen in her entire nine years of life. The floor was covered in large grey marble tiles, as were the walls. Strangely, the floor tiles were not cold as Mackenzie had expected, instead, they were warm under her feet.
"Cool!" she commented to herself as she made for the toilet and pulled down her knickers.
After a long pee, Mackenzie abandoned her knickers on the marble floor and she investigated the massive shower. She had never seen anything so large before. It did not take long for her to be enjoying hot water which pummelled her skin and almost drowned her as it came down over the girl's head like a raging torrent. Five minutes later, when Mackenzie was busy soaping herself for the second time, she heard a voice above the rushing of the water.
"'Kenzie! 'Kenzie!"
Then her little brother burst into the bathroom. The boy took one look at his big sister in the shower and he grinned as he dropped his underwear and pulled open the door to the shower.
"This is enormous!" the five-year-old exclaimed.
Mackenzie was suddenly unsure as she was crushed against one end of the six-foot by three-foot glass shower cubicle. She loved her little brother to death, but the little brat could be so damn annoying – and loud! She was all he had in the entire world and he was all she had in the entire world . . . only, that was not entirely true; they had Lily, who had, for reasons unknown to Mackenzie, chosen to protect her and her brother. Mackenzie was dragged back to reality as Isaac began choking.
"Stop drinking the water, idiot!"
A few minutes later, Mackenzie jumped as something banged against the side of the shower.
"Lily!" Isaac exclaimed, and Lily smiled down at the soap-covered boy.
"You two coming down for breakfast?" Lily asked.
Mackenzie grabbed Isaac and yanked him under the water, washing the suds off him. The boy scrambled out of the shower as Mackenzie shut off the water and he skidded on the marble floor as he tried to reach for Lily.
"Don't you dare come anywhere near me!" Lily ordered as she backed away. "Go and find a towel."
"Go get dried off and dressed!" Mackenzie yelled after her brother who scampered out of the bathroom and across the bedroom towards an interconnecting door which led through to his bedroom.
Mackenzie wrapped herself in a towel and grinned, but then she paused, sniffing the air.
"What is that smell?"
"Bacon, sausages. . ."
Mackenzie yanked off her towel and she executed a perfunctory drying of her body but ignored her hair completely as she pulled on her clothes. The girl was half way out the door of her bedroom before Lily grabbed her by the shoulders and roughly dried off most of the dripping dirty blonde hair.
Isaac was not much better, Lily noticed as they headed down the staircase.
Lily noticed that Hillary was not alone when they all trooped into the kitchen.
"Lara!" Isaac ran at the teenager who allowed herself to be hugged by the youngster.
"You've had a shower, I see," Lara commented as her hand came away wet from the boy's head.
Isaac simply grinned as Mackenzie shrugged.
"Come on," Hillary directed. "Sit down, please."
They sat down around a long glass-topped, metal-framed table which backed onto the garden. Isaac insisted on sitting with Lily on one side of him and Lara on the other, leaving Mackenzie to sit on her own opposite the boy. Hillary, who had already eaten breakfast, began loading the dishwasher with the dirty pots and pans while the children, as Hillary saw them, dug into the sausages, bacon, fried eggs, baked beans, and tomatoes. There were also slices of toast arranged in a rack with real butter and some homemade marmalade. To drink, there was a large pot of tea and some milk. Lily set to work cutting Isaac's sausages for him while Mackenzie dug into her own plate of food. Lara watched the kids as she ate.
Hillary was more than a little concerned about his main charge, seventeen-year-old Lara Cockburn. The girl had lost her father, just eleven weeks or so previously, not to mention enduring eight weeks of God only knew what. Hillary had tried to engage Lara in conversation on the flight, but the girl had refused to discuss the death of her father or the ordeal. There was a lot to discuss as the girl turned eighteen and inherited her title. Hillary had known the girl from the very day she was born, and he had cared for her every day since. He loved the youngster more than anything else in the world. On top of that, there were also the new kids to consider. Until Lara turned eighteen, he would be responsible for all four children.
By the time the plates were clean, everybody was fully woken up and ready for the day ahead. Lily was very happy to be enjoying Hillary's cooking which was to die for, and she had really missed his wonderful cooking. Lily knew that Hillary was annoyed with her, but she just wasn't ready to open up to the man whom she had known for as long as she could remember. It was a strange feeling being back home. Every minute, she expected her father to come through the door and give her a hug, but she knew that that event would never happen . . . ever.
"You okay, Lara?" Lily asked.
"Yes, thanks, Lily. Right, I want all of you to go get your jackets, hats, and gloves, please."
"We going somewhere?" Isaac wanted to know.
"We're going for a walk, Isaac," Lara explained.
Once everybody was ready, they gathered by the front door.
"Will there be Wi-Fi?" Mackenzie asked.
"No," Lily responded, rolling her eyes. "Leave the tablet on the table."
Mackenzie grumbled as she did so before they headed out the door into the very cold morning.
"It's cold out here," Isaac complained.
"I told you to zip your jacket up," Lily said as she zipped up the boy's jacket.
"Thanks!" the five-year-old said as he began to run off down the road, enjoying the open air.
Even Mackenzie had to admit that it was good to be able to walk out in the middle of nowhere. She was an active youngster with plenty of energy which needed to be burnt off. Her younger brother was just the same, running around like he was out of control. The boy took the opportunity to shout and scream as well as to really annoy the hell out of the girls. Once they reached the main road, Lily restrained the boy, just long enough to cross over safely and then walk a quarter mile to a small road that led to the east and the sea.
Lily found the scenery to be stunning.
..._...
The boy yelled out excitedly as he raced down the sandy path and onto the beach.
"He's wild!" Lara laughed as the boy ran around like the proverbial headless chicken.
"He's always had a lot of energy," Mackenzie said as she ran after her brother, laughing.
For the two young Americans, the scenery was like nothing either had ever seen before. They raced up and down the sand and both went as far as the very cold North Sea. It was far too cold for paddling, so the kids were stuck just looking and splashing about in their wellington boots. Isaac took the opportunity to drop down onto the sand and start to build a sandcastle. His big sister watched for a few minutes before she joined in, helping to grow the pile of damp sand.
"They appear to be having fun," Lara commented to Lily.
"They've been through a lot. This is good for them."
"You've been through a lot, too, Lily."
"As have you."
"Yes. But my hell only lasted a few months – yours was much worse."
"I suppose it was," Lily admitted. "But, I survived, and so did you. We need to look forward and make our future the very best it can be."
"Words of wisdom from someone so young," Lara grinned.
"Nah," Lily replied. "I'm just full of it!"
..._...
They were all very, very cold by the time they returned to Cockburn Hall.
However, they were also very, very happy. Not so, Hillary, as he watched Isaac and Mackenzie kicking off their wellington boots, leaving sand scattered around the kitchen. While Mackenzie and Isaac vanished upstairs to change out of their sandy, soggy jeans, Hillary started on lunch and giving the kitchen a quick sweep. Hillary realised that he was going to have a lot of extra cleaning and laundry now that two youngsters had moved in. Not that he was complaining, he loved the extra challenge. He was also very pleased to see Lara smiling and laughing. She and Lily were like sisters and that was good as far as he was concerned. Anything which distracted Lara from what had happened in America was a bonus.
"What is this?" Isaac demanded, twenty minutes later, as he surveyed lunch.
"What are they?" Mackenzie echoed, poking at the contents of her plate with a fork.
"Beans on toast," Lily said. "Eat the beans while they're hot."
"Who in their right mind puts beans on toast?" Mackenzie asked. "You Brits are so weird!"
"Ooh," Isaac muttered. "These are good . . . tomato sauce."
Lily grinned at Isaac's American pronunciation of tomato which sounded so sweet, she thought. Mackenzie was still not totally convinced as she ate two beans, one at a time.
"Still weird," she stated as she ate a few more beans from her plate.
"Hmm . . . tastes good . . . hmmm."
Lily laughed as Isaac shovelled fork loads of beans into his mouth, leaving a ring of tomato sauce around his mouth.
That weekend
Saturday, January 7th, 2017
Cockburn Hall
"You can drive?"
Lara gave Lily a very patronising look. Lara was seated in the driving seat of a Range Rover Autobiography in Velocity Blue with Black Pack. Lily was in the passenger seat, looking on dubiously as Lara started the 4.4-litre diesel engine. Behind the two girls, Mackenzie and Isaac were staring out the darkened privacy glass at their surroundings.
"Of course, I can drive . . . it's just been a while."
"If you say so," Lily ventured uneasily as Lara selected 'D' and pressed down on the accelerator.
They had a very short drive ahead of them – only as far as Alnwick, a town just six miles distant. As they raced up the A1068, Lily felt a little concerned at the speed they were doing along the twisting road. Lara appeared to enjoy speed . . . so did Lily, unless it bordered on dangerous, of course. However, Lara appeared to be a competent driver and a catastrophic crash did not appear to be on the cards that morning. To be honest, Lily's mind was more on their destination.
She was looking forward to being able to enjoy some shopping – she was female after all!
Alnwick
As they entered the market town of Alnwick, Lily had the weirdest feeling that they were being followed.
That feeling grew as they wandered around the town, picking up some clothing, knickknacks, and a lot of confectionary. Isaac for one was very happy as he lugged a small backpack stuffed with sweets and other items which appealed to the five-year-old. As for his nine-year-old big sister, Mackenzie was having the time of her life as she picked up some new clothes and associated items which she thought were 'amazing'. Lara bankrolled the entire expedition, buying some items for herself. Lily was a bit more restrained. Her concentration was on their surroundings which concerned Lily greatly. While she also picked up some clothing and some makeup, the thirteen-year-old kept a wary eye out on their surroundings. She had no idea what it was that spooked her but there was something going on and her Predator training had latched onto the increasingly dangerous atmosphere.
It finally took two hours for Lily to identify the threat. She had identified five people – two men and three women – who appeared to be paying a little too much attention to their small group. However, Lily was unsure if the watchers were there just watching, or whether they had more sinister plans to execute. Lily was in two minds about telling Lara, but she decided it best not to say anything as Lily did not want to alarm anyone unnecessarily. There did not appear to be any overt attempts to cause them any harm so there was not much Lily could do, especially as she could also be very wrong and taking down innocent people would not be helpful to anyone. However, Lily's concerns appeared to be unfounded as they climbed back aboard the Range Rover and Lara began to drive them out of Alnwick.
Then, just as they pulled up at a give way junction on Hotspur Street about to turn right, Lara caught sight of a black Jaguar XE pulling up two cars back. Across the street, in the direction they were heading, an identical vehicle was parked half on the pavement, the engine running. Lily could make out the driver looking into his door mirror. They were being tailed, she was certain. As Lara pulled out of the junction, the Jaguar just ahead pulled out one car ahead. The trailing Jaguar followed along two cars behind. Lara instinctively reached behind her back . . . but she found nothing there.
"Dammit!" Lily muttered.
"Huh?" Lara asked.
"Nothing."
..._...
The mini-convoy headed south on the B6346 with Lara sticking to the 30 MPH speed limit.
At the A1068 roundabout, the Jaguar ahead of them raced off ahead before coming to a stop a few hundred yards further down the road. Lily saw two men getting out. She also saw the Jaguar behind overtaking and slotting in directly behind them. Lily felt her heart speeding up and she felt the jolt of adrenalin, something she had not felt in a while. Whatever it was, it was happening. Lily looked around, she looked everywhere . . . then she had it, the solution to their immediate problem. Coming down the road towards them, a Northumbria Police BMW X5 armed response vehicle was about to pass them when Lily reached across the car, just as Lara was moving forwards and she shoved the wheel over, causing the Range Rover to narrowly miss the right side of the BMW X5, coming to a dead stop along with the police vehicle.
"What the bloody hell, Lily!" Lara exclaimed as she stared out at the angry driver of the BMW.
Lily was not listening as she looked around – instead, she felt a wave of relief spread over her.
The Jaguars had vanished.
An hour later
Cockburn Hall
Lara was not in a very good mood as she entered the kitchen on their return.
"Why did you do that?" she demanded of Lily.
"Just having a little fun, I suppose."
"That's bullshit, Lily, and you damn well know it. I got a major roasting by that police sergeant."
Lily looked over at a concerned Hillary and she nodded.
"Okay – we were being followed by some unsavoury types," Lily admitted.
"What!" Hillary exclaimed.
"I just had a bad feeling while we were in Alnwick – then I saw the cars . . . a pair of black Jaguars. It may have been nothing, but I could not take the chance."
Lara looked horrified.
"Do you mean that it isn't over?" Lara asked, worry in her tone.
"You were sold and that means somebody wants delivery of their asset," Lily stated.
"Is that all I am to you, an 'asset'?" Lara demanded.
"Of course not. I'm just telling it how it is – you want me to sugar coat it? Because I won't."
Lara was very surprised at Lily's fiery attitude but that just told Lara that Lily was very serious. Lara knew what Lily was and she figured that the defensive action in Alnwick was a reflex . . . but if Lily had not been there, or if she had not sensed the danger . . . Lara felt her legs go very weak and then strong hands as Hillary guided his ward to a chair and Lara sat down just in time. She was shaking and she dropped her face into her hands.
Lara sobbed hard.
..._...
"What's wrong with Lara?" Mackenzie wanted to know.
"Just a shock to her system, honey," Lily replied.
"What was?" Mackenzie pressed.
"Nothing to do with you, nosy parker."
Mackenzie scowled as she returned her eyes to the tablet in her hands which was infinitely more interesting than anything else. It took a while for Lara to calm down and Lily led her outside into the garden. Lara was bright and very observant. She noticed that while Lily was talking to her, Lily's eyes were elsewhere, monitoring their surroundings.
"You're looking for anybody coming after me, aren't you?"
"Yes, I am. That is my job – to protect you and the kids."
"Hillary, too?"
"Yes, but I have a feeling that Hillary can look after himself," Lily replied as she watched a humming Hillary saunter past with what appeared to be three boxes of Imperial Game shotgun shells in his hands.
Lily was impressed; they were an expensive premium brand. She knew that Lara was in danger, but she had hoped that there might have been time to break the news and train her, giving the young woman time to settle in at home before broaching her ordeal. It was time to move up the timetable and Lily had a strict set of instructions to follow should an attempt be made on Lara's life. But Lily had to be one hundred per cent sure, before pressing the virtual panic button. The Jaguars had been a threat, Lily was certain, but . . . No! She was not about to second guess herself; she trusted her skills and her training. Afterall, those skills had kept her and the kids alive in Atlanta, she reasoned.
Lily took another look around before pulling out her mobile phone.
Two days later
Monday, January 9th
Cockburn Hall
Mackenzie was sleeping soundly.
However, the nine-year-old was about to be rudely awakened. A certain five-year-old boy was awake, and he wanted his big sister to be awake, too. With practised ease, the little boy crept closer to his sister and he pounced, landing on the bed . . . and his sister.
Mackenzie screamed.
"Isaac, you evil little rat!"
Mackenzie glared at her little brother as he laughed his head off. She knew that it was pointless to try and get back to sleep as Isaac would not allow it. While she hated to give in to the boy, it was often a lot simpler.
"Go get dressed," Mackenzie suggested in an attempt to get rid of the boy.
"Got my clothes with me," Isaac grinned as he pulled off his pyjamas and pulled on his underwear, a shirt, and a pair of jeans
Mackenzie gave up and locked herself in the bathroom, giving herself a few moments peace and quiet while she peed.
..._...
"Oh, for the love of all that is Predator!" Lily groaned as she heard the squabbling kids outside her door.
The door burst open and Lily ducked her head under her pillow. Two seconds later, she felt what could only be young Isaac jumping on her back. Anybody else, and Lily would have thrown them to the ground and beaten them senseless, but Isaac was Isaac and he got a free pass.
"Wakey, wakey, Lily!" Isaac yelled.
"I hate five-year-olds!" Lily growled as Isaac laughed.
"He's not going to stop," Mackenzie reminded Lily. "He can go for hours."
"Okay, I'm getting up!" Lily growled. "Little shit!"
"Bad word!" Isaac scowled.
"Fucking little shit!"
"Bad word!" Isaac scowled, covering up his ears.
"Twat!" Lily added for good measure.
"I'm going," Isaac complained as he vanished from the room.
"Well, that worked," Lily grinned.
"You really shouldn't swear in front of Isaac," Mackenzie scolded. "He remembers everything."
"Sorry."
..._...
"I'm up!" Lara exclaimed as she spied the little boy heading in her direction.
"You're not going to use bad words, are you?" Isaac asked.
"No," Lara chuckled. "You ready for breakfast?"
The boy nodded enthusiastically. Lara led the boy down the staircase where they were joined by Mackenzie.
"Hi, Lara."
"Morning, 'Kenzie. Isaac woke you up?"
"Yes – Lily was woken up, too. She's just getting dressed – I think she had a bad night."
Lara grimaced – she had bad nights too.
"Morning, everybody!" Hillary exclaimed.
"H!" Isaac exclaimed as he bolted forward to give Hillary a hug.
"It's so nice to have a polite child in the house; we've not had one before," Hillary deadpanned.
"I was polite," Lara commented.
"I don't think so, Lara."
Mackenzie laughed as she sat down for breakfast.
Cockburn Hall
That afternoon, there came a knock on the front door.
On answering the door, Hillary found a man who looked to be an American.
"I have a delivery for Miss Lily O'Brien," the man stated in a strong American accent, confirming Hillary's hypothesis.
"May I inquire as to whom is calling?" Hillary asked politely.
"Huh?" the American responded.
"I need to see some ID," Hilary clarified.
The man produced a United States of America Diplomatic Passport and a United States Embassy (London) Security Pass. Hillary had watched the man drive up in a maroon-coloured Jeep 4x4 towing a large twin-axle enclosed box trailer.
"Okay," Hillary mused. "I will seek out Miss Lily."
With that, Hillary closed the door in the courier's face. He found Miss Lily in the kitchen helping herself to a glass of milk.
"You have a visitor, Miss Lily."
"Who?"
"A courier from the US Embassy in London."
Lily grinned.
"That'll be something from Mindy – what I think she's sent you can't just send by Royal Mail," Lily commented.
"I see," Hillary said, pondering what Mindy might have sent as he walked with Lily back to the front door.
"What's up?" Lara asked as she descended from the landing.
"Mindy's sent me something," Lily replied. "Not sure what, though."
"Can't be anything tame," Lara said, voicing her thoughts.
The courier smiled as Lily appeared. The man held up a clipboard which held Lily's photo.
"Miss O'Brien, please sign here . . . here . . . and here."
Lily signed as requested and the courier turned to unhitch the trailer from the Jeep.
"All yours, Miss."
With that, the courier climbed into his Jeep and drove off, leaving the trailer behind. Lily approached the trailer and she walked around it once. At the rear, the tailgate was secured with a pair of combination padlocks and two plastic seals which had not been disturbed.
"Let's get this undercover before we open it, I'm thinking," Lily considered.
..._...
With help from Hillary, they manoeuvred the heavy trailer into the barn.
That was when Lily's mobile beeped as it received a text message from 'Mindy'. The message contained two six-digit numbers. Lily used the numbers to release the two padlocks before she pulled out a pocket knife and she used the blade to cut the plastic seals. Two bolts later, and the steel tailgate was lowered to the ground by Lily and Lara.
"Okay," Lily said as she peered inside the trailer.
There was a wooden crate inside the trailer. On the crate were three labels. On the left side, as they looked inside the trailer, was a label reading: 'SLIDE'. Lily and Lara each grasped an aluminium handle and they slid out the entire side of the wooden crate, depositing the reinforced wooden panel onto the ground. Next, they pulled out the right side which was labelled in an identical manner and deposited the panel atop the previous one.
"Talk about suspense," Lara complained as they both reached for the front section of the crate.
On removing the front reinforced wooden panel, both girls dropped the panel to one side and then stared at what was sitting in the container, a thin plastic sheet covering but not quite concealing the item.
"Is that a . . .," Lara started.
"Motorcycle," Lily breathed incredulously.
Attached to the plastic was a plastic envelope inside which was a sheaf of papers which formed a user guide and a cover sheet:
Look after her, Miss O'Brien, and please read
the manual before first use as it tends to avoid
much unintended embarrassment on the part of the
user. This precision machine is a custom upgrade
of the basic motorcycle and you should find her to
be very suitable for your, cough, 'extracurricular
activities'. Also enclosed, you will find suitable
attire for when you are using said motorcycle, along
with the all-important crash helmet. In the crate,
you will also find a box of goodies which our mutual
friend in Chicago thought might be of use to you
considering your background in such things. Should
you have any problems, you have my phone number in
your cell, and I can be contacted twenty-four hours
a day. Good luck, Miss O'Brien. Lucius Fox, Gotham.
"Wow!" Lara exclaimed.
As Lily pulled off the protective plastic cover, she suddenly felt weak at the knees. The 2017 Triumph Tiger 800 XRx was black all over with certain parts being carbon-fibre. The windshield appeared normal at first glance, but it was thicker than normal and Lily recognised bullet-resistant polycarbonate when she saw it. The tyres were expensive Continental TKX 80 Twinduro tyres and they appeared to be customised too. The engine and gearbox were fitted with protective guards as was the chain. The brakes were non-standard and had been uprated. The exhaust also had a larger-than-normal bore, indicating that the engine output was probably much more than originally intended by the manufacturer.
"What are these?" Mackenzie asked.
"Where did you come from?" Lily demanded as she almost jumped with shock.
"We came to see what was going on," Isaac said as he and Mackenzie looked through a large stack of yellow plastic squares.
"Those would be registration plates – a lot of them," Hillary commented with a raised eyebrow. "All different!"
Lily had discovered her crash helmet which was all black and sat atop two sets of leathers and two sets of lightweight leather boots, one pair ankle height, and the other pair slightly above calf height. Lily then came across a large case which was locked with a padlock – this one with a one-inch square area.
"Lara – I think we need to open this in private," Lara said pointedly as she lugged the heavy case out.
Hillary jumped at the suggestion, understanding completely.
"Mackenzie, Isaac – I could do with some assistance inside," he stated and then headed back to the main house with the two kids in tow.
..._...
Lara placed her right thumb onto the padlock which released a second later.
She felt nervous as she tripped the catches and lifted the lid off the case. The first thing she saw was a small card embossed with the letters HG. Lily had heard about those cards, but she had never actually seen one. After removing the card and a top layer of black foam, she found the main contents of the case. Securely fitted into the foam was a jet-black P90 PDW, fitted with a torch and laser sight, along with four spare (empty) magazines. Next to the P90 were a pair of Heckler & Koch USP Compact Tactical pistols, each with two spare magazines, a suppressor, torch, and laser sight. In the case, along with the firearms, there were a selection of fighting knives, throwing knives, and a lethal-looking Tanto blade.
"Could have done with this lot a few days back," Lily commented dryly.
"I don't like anything in there," Lara commented as she peered over Lily's shoulder.
"None of it is for you, Lara," Lily pointed out.
"Don't I need a gun?"
"You've got guns, right?"
"Shotguns and I think Daddy had a pistol."
"You want a pistol?"
"Yes."
"I might know a place – you ride, right?"
"I do."
"Tomorrow, we head for Newcastle," Lily promised.
The following morning
Tuesday, January 10th
Newcastle-Upon-Tyne
It was a pleasant enough ride down to Newcastle-Upon-Tyne, just thirty-five miles.
Lily spent the first twenty miles getting to grips with her new beast. She had never ridden anything so powerful and she was doing her best not to get carried away. Just as with any Phase 3 Predator, Lily was highly-skilled at riding motorcycles and she quickly mastered the powerful machine. A dozen yards behind Lily, came Lara. The seventeen-year-old had been riding motorcycles since she was twelve and she had owned a succession of machines culminating in a gift from her father for Lara's seventeenth birthday. Lily was actually quite envious of the awesome-looking £26,000 Norton Dominator in a mid-grey. The machine oozed charisma and performance. Lily had to convince her friend to rein in the power to avoid attracting the attention of a speed camera. However, after several warnings, Lily gave up, and she left the speed demon to her fate – at least as far as speeding tickets were concerned. As Lily rode, she could feel the hardness of the pistol in the small of her back. The presence of the weapon gave the Predator reassurances which dug deep into her psyche.
While Lily was a powerful weapon, herself, she was still a girl, not yet a woman, and a gun was often more of a threat than a thirteen-year-old girl, any day.
..._...
The shop was pretty grotty, and Lara received the distinct impression that the clientele who used the shop looked for anonymity.
The usual pawnbroker symbol of three golden balls hung over the door which led inside. Lara cringed and she felt dirty just entering the shop and she was very glad of the baseball cap which hid her features as she had no desire to be recognised. Lily led the way with her usual presence and assurance as she strode directly up to the small glazed security window. There was no sign of anybody, despite the small bell attached to the door which had announced their arrival. Lily rapped her knuckles on the glass.
"Oy!" she called out.
"Hold your fuckin' horses!" a man responded.
The man leered at Lily and then at Lara, taking in the tight motorcycle leathers. He sat down behind his window and the man smiled. It was not a genuine smile, just that of a pawnbroker who smelt a sucker customer. Lily had changed her expression to reel the twat in, knowing how to manage the man at a psychological level.
"You girls look like you're lookin' for somethin' to buy, right?"
"You flirtin' with the customers again, Alan?"
"No, my love; I'm just naturally charismatic."
Lily rolled her eyes at the blatant bullshit. Lara simply cringed at the sight of the greasy-looking woman who had just appeared from the back of the shop and she figured that it was not the man who wore the trousers, figuratively speaking, in their relationship. The woman studied the two female customers and nudged her husband.
"Oh, yes!" the man said. "You buyin' or sellin'? That necklace looks juicy, er might be of interest to me."
Lara quickly zipped up her leather jacket, hiding the jade necklace which she wore around her neck.
"Depends on what you 'ave to sell . . . Alan," Lily replied evenly, turning up her nose as she looked around the 'stock'.
"I has what you see," Alan said, waving his hand to indicate the visible stock.
"No," Lily grinned, leaning in closer. "I want to see the shooters."
"Oh, we don't have nothing like that, young lady," Alan said, suddenly coming over a little uneasy.
"Do I look like a fucking copper?" Lily growled before she grinned dangerously. "Do I need to go and bring Gerome over?"
"Gerome? No, we don't need Gerome," the man muttered, his face paling slightly. "You a friend of Gerome?"
"Best buds," Lily advised the man.
It was a million miles from the truth, but no self-respecting Predator would move in somewhere without finding out who was able to supply illegal weaponry. Gerome was a particularly nasty yardie who ran a large gang in the east end of Newcastle-Upon-Tyne. The shop they were in was a money-spinner for Gerome and he sent his friends there to acquire things that you could not generally buy at Tesco or Argos.
"You have cash?" Alan asked, a greasy smile appearing on his face.
"Anything's possible," Lily growled at the man. "Can we get a fucking move on, we have plans."
"A girl who knows business," Alan commented approvingly as he stood up. "Come on back."
The man's wife disappeared and then reappeared out of a side door and she locked the shop's door, turning the sign around to say 'CLOSED'.