Chapter 16
615 Words
16
Zoran and Milan had been hiding in the bushes for what felt like hours, but must have been far less. The obvious thing to do would have been to keep running down the road and go as far as they could, but there was no way they could outrun someone in a car.
Zoran had suggested they try to find the town centre or somewhere with lots of people around, so there’d be witnesses and they could seek help more easily, but Milan wasn’t keen on the idea. He didn’t know who they could trust, he said. They’d have to lie low until they’d sorted their heads out.
Nobody seemed to be passing through the park at this time of night. Milan was pretty sure the main gates had been closed. He vaguely remembered seeing them as they darted down the alleyway that ran down the side of the park, before clambering through a gap in the fence a few yards further down. They were sheltered from the wind by the nearby cricket pavilion, and the ambient temperature wasn’t too bad. They’d be fine here for a while.
‘We can’t stay here forever,’ Zoran said in their native language.
‘I know. But we can’t go running yet either. They’ll be looking for us. We can’t go anywhere near the roads. You can hear the cars from here. How do you know which ones are safe? Do you know what cars these guys drive?’
‘We got away once. We can do it again. We can’t go living in a bush for Christ’s sake.’
‘Zoran, listen. These guys are dangerous. That guy I had to… the guy they put me with. He’s a judge at the High Court. He won’t be the only important person who goes there to get his disgusting little kicks. The place is crawling with them, I bet. Do you have any idea how much money, power and influence is going to be involved with a place like that? If they find us, they will kill us.’
‘Don’t be stupid. They’re not going to kill us,’ Zoran said.
‘Keep your voice down! And yes, they will. They don’t care about us. What they care about is keeping the secrets of the rich and powerful. That money is worth far more than our lives, believe me. Do you think we’re the first guys they’ve got to do that? We won’t be the last either. Not unless we put a stop to it.
‘Put a stop to it? How?’
‘I don’t know. We need to tell someone.’
‘Like who?’
‘I don’t know. I don’t know! For all we know the police could be involved too. That’s how these places get to keep running. They can’t do it unless they’ve got people involved at every level of power. That’s why these places never get shut down.’
‘Oh great. Well maybe we’ll let the local fishmonger know. He can get it shut down for sure.’
‘For Christ’s sake, Zoran, will you keep your voice down? I don’t want us getting caught just because you can’t learn how to whisper properly.’
‘Get over yourself, man. You’re speaking louder than I am anyway.’
‘Sshh! Shut up a minute. Listen.’
Zoran listened, but he didn’t know what he was meant to be hearing.
‘Can you hear that?’ Milan whispered.
‘Hear what?’ he replied, a millisecond before the sirens first became audible to him. ‘Oh shit.’
‘What do you think it is?’
‘Dunno. Maybe the police boss has just found out his favourite rent boy has done a runner.’
Milan punched Zoran on the arm, and the pair listened as the sirens got closer and closer. They winced as they heard the car doors slam shut. That meant they were near.
The pair held their breath, squeezed their eyes tight, listening as the footsteps got louder and louder. Milan opened one eye slightly and saw the moving light of a torch swishing across the ground.
One of the people spoke. ‘Neil. In here, look.’
‘Alright. We see you. Come on, come out.’
Milan and Zoran looked at each other, and knew they had no option.
- Writer
