The Becket Approval by Falconer Duncan (best big ereader .TXT) 📗

‘You know this stuff?’ Krilov asked him. ‘You play with it before? In Afghanistan or Iraq maybe? Yeah, Maybe you Brits don’t have it yet. Americans have it. They call it speak juice. We call it dopros vody – interrogation water. It’s the new water board. Our boys came up with it when cooking up new assassination compounds. It don’t kill but it sure as hell hurts. But you know that already. Somehow makes nerves ten times more painful. Bad stuff, eh?’

Gunnymede regained composure as the pain subsided.

‘What you doing here?’ Krilov asked him.

‘You raped Megan Henderson,’ Gunnymede said between panting.

Krilov chuckled. ‘You here ’cause I raped Jack’s daughter. That’s funny ’cause I raped Jack’s daughter ’cause he wanted to kill me. Wait, I change that. I didn’t rape her. Ashio did that. Ashio had the fun. I gave the order. You know, Jack, right? SAS.’

‘Yes.’

‘So you know Megan? How is she?’

‘She’s dead.’

Krilov’s expression turned thoughtful. ‘Dead? That’s tough. How’d she die? Ashio wasn’t that hard on her.’

‘Suicide.’

Krilov gave Ashio a chastising look. ‘That’s bad news. That was not the plan. So tell me. Why did Jack want to kill me? He was snooping round my house. Same as you. I found him the same way I found you but he wasn’t so nosy to break into my stuff and he got away before I could catch him. So I punished him. Ah. I know. You’re an assassin. Jack sent you to kill me. Revenge for his daughter. That’s why you have no ID.’

‘No one sent me.’

‘No? So why you here?’

‘Megan was my friend.’

‘Friend? Ah. So this is personal.’

He studied Gunnymede. Considering something. He said something to Ashio. Ashio put down the interrogation juice, removed his gas-mask and gloves and walked out of the building.

‘I want to find out who you are but I’m bored with the modern methods. I like the old fashion ways. We have all night.’

Krilov dug out his own phone to make a call and walked away.

Bethan drove hard along the M3 motorway, past a sign for Winchester. Her emergency lights strobed brightly, motorists moving over to let her whiz along the fast lane.

Krilov sat talking into his phone while Gunnymede lay in front of him. He was in serious trouble and talking wasn’t going to get him out of it. Krilov finished his call, got to his feet, stretched his back and walked towards the far end of the building to make another.

Gunnymede shook the sweat from around his eyes to take a thorough look at his surroundings. The plasticuffs securing his hands looped through the curved bar that served as the headboard. The right end slotted over the horizontal post that supported that corner of the bed. A bolt passed through holes in both of them, the only thing holding the bar in place.

Gunnymede shuffled the plasticuffs along the bar, around the curve and down to the bolt where he contorted to get a hold of both ends of it. The nut turned and he started to unscrew it.

Krilov reached the end and turned to walk slowly back, still on the phone. Gunnymede watched him as he turned the screw. Krilov glanced at him. Gunnymede stopped. Krilov went back to his call. Gunnymede felt the screw thread. There was a good centimetre left to undo.

Ashio returned carrying a large moulded plastic box, a roll of plastic sheeting and a bucket. He put them by the bed and took a moment to place a cigarette between his lips. He was about to light it when Krilov ripped it from his mouth, slapped him around the face, knocking the cigarette away, and verbally abused him, pointing to the explosives in the room.

Ashio looked most apologetic as Krilov shook his head and went back to his phone. Ashio spread the plastic sheeting beneath the bed and positioned the bucket directly under Gunnymede’s head. He removed a well-used electric chain saw from the plastic box, unravelled the cable and plugged it into a socket in the wall. A quick flick of a switch and the roar filled the room as the tooth-covered chain spun around the chain guide. He grinned at Gunnymede as he gunned the motor. Krilov appeared in front of him holding up his phone and looking irritated.

Ashio turned off the chain saw, put it down and Krilov went back to his call.

Ashio looked around aimlessly. Nothing to do. He took out his cigarette pack, looked at Krilov, and walked the length of the building and outside.

Krilov was walking away. Gunnymede shuffled his hands back to the bolt to continued unscrewing it. Krilov reached the end of the room and turned about, pausing as his discussion became heated. Ashio walked back inside exhaling smoke. Gunnymede turned the nut furiously. Ashio was halfway along the building when the nut flew off and bounced along the floor. Gunnymede rolled onto his back.

Ashio stood on the nut, picked up the chainsaw and looked at Krilov who had just finished his phone call. Gunnymede looked at the bolt that was still through the holes. Ashio held up the chainsaw to Krilov who signalled him to commence. Ashio started the chainsaw, revving it for affect and closed on Gunnymede. The teeth rattled around the end of the saw. Gunnymede didn’t take his eyes off it. As Ashio lowered it to cut off one of Gunnymede’s hands the chainsaw jerked in his grasp and died. The thug looked back to see the plug had come out of the socket. The cable had looped around a chair.

Ashio un-looped it resignedly and went over to the plug to push it back in. Gunnymede deftly removed the bolt. The chainsaw burst into life and Ashio advanced on Gunnymede once again. The thug leaned above him and lowered the spinning chain towards his hand. Gunnymede